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| Aberystwyth (a) |
Carno (a) |
Ruthin (b) |
Penrhyndeudraeth (b) |
Pwllheli (b) |
Salford (b) |
Pathfinders Cup -Saturday, 9th August CPD Porthmadog ... 2 Rob Evans 45 Andrew Papirnyk 54 Salford City ... 2 Phil Marsh 32 Josh Messer 40 What a great day at the Traeth, wonderful support from the Cricieth Pathfinders and excellent opponents in Salford City who provided marvellous testing opposition ahead of the new season. There was a good crowd and a real sense of occasion with the Pathfinders Cup providing a great penalty shoot-out finale. Port were well aware that facing the conquerors of the Class of 92 would require them to be at their best or they too would be swept away. Port had a first dart at goal when Josh Stadniki met Eilir Edwards’ right wing corner and was only narrowly off target. Then, despite some good passing in midfield, Port failed to threaten the visitors’ goal which meant that slowly but surely Salford exerted increasing control of the game. A good break by Wiles down the right created an opening for Seddon and it needed a good save from Andrews to prevent a score. Wiles then saw a shot curl wide from the edge of the box. Just past the half hour mark Salford went ahead when Phil Marsh got in at the back post to touch in a Seddon cross. Just eight minutes later and the visitors doubled their advantage when Josh Messer converted another right wing cross. But on the stroke of half-time Port pulled themselves back into the game. Dave Edwards made a good break down the right before finding Rob Evans in the box with an accurate low cross. Evans controlled well and picked his spot to cut the deficit. 1-2 at half-time. From the re-start Port looked far livelier with the subs having an immediate impact. A good break involving Andrew Papirnyk drew a good save from City keeper James following a good exchange with Iwan Lewis. A sighter from Josh Hartrick was not far over the target while at the other end a Rother flick at the back post did not miss by much. But with 54 minutes on the clock Port drew level. Andrew Papirnyk ran on to a perfectly weighted through ball from Stuart Rogers and with work still to do he held off his marker and netted with an accurate low finish. Play became end to end Josh Hartrick for Port struck another 20 yarder to again test City’s keeper. Andrews in the Port goal was also in action saving well from Wiles and then Platt and Madeley thundered a shot across the face of goal. In the latter stages the depth of the City squad was showing as fresh legs came on. But Port defended well with Lomas and Stadnicki again proving their quality while Gwydion Ifan at right back looked a good addition to the squad. One last flourish from each team with Dave Edwards for Port finding Andrew Papirnyk whose well struck shot needed a full stretch save from the city keeper. For Salford Danny Brown met a right wing corner with a powerful header which flew just over the bar. All square after 90 minutes and with a trophy on offer there had to be a decision. A penalty shoot-out followed. Darren Andrews pulled off a fine save to stop Salford's first and with Port converting all of their five penalties they also pickedup the Pathfinder Cup winning 5-3 on penalties. Spot kicks for Port: Ceri James, Dilan Lomas, A Trialist, Stuart Rogers and Eilir Edwards. Squad: Darren Andrews, Gwydion Ifan, Josh Banks, Dilan Lomas, Josh Stadnicki, Ceri James, Iwan Lewis, Rob Evans, A. Trialist, David Edwards, Eilir Edwards, Stuart Rogers, Josh Hartrick, A. Trialist2 August 2nd CPD Porthmadog ...4 Dave Edwards Trialist(2) Josh Hartrick CPD Pwllheli ... 1 Another good workout ahead of the new season saw Port recover from an early set back to score four times before the interval. The game however lost much of its impetus in the second period. It was the usual pre season mixture of signed players and trialists starting for Port. Like in previous friendlies they quickly settled into their passing game forcing the visitors back. But it was Pwllheli who struck first winning the ball in midfield and breaking quickly to the right of the box and a low angled shot gave Darren Andrews no chance. Port continued to pass well and when they forced a corner down the right Josh Banks rose well at the back post and though the header appeared to cross the line the referee waved play on. In the 11th minute Port levelled the scores when a good Iwan Lewis ball into the box found Dave Edwards whose shot from the narrowest of angles was helped into the net by the keeper at his near post. Josh Hartrick made a good break into the box but the keeper pulled off a good save. Then midway through the half Port scored twice in two minutes. First it was a great leap by Hartrick meeting a right wing corner and powerfully finding the back of the net. Two minutes on and the keeper’s attempted clearance struck Dave Edwards to ricochet kindly into the path of A.Trialist for an easy tap in. The home side continued to dominate possession with Jamie Steel spraying passes from midfield. A Trialist then added a fourth meeting a good right wing cross from Dave Edwards. The second half again saw Port dominate territorially but they lacked a final ball into the box and seemed unwilling to have a crack at goal. Instead preferring to try and walk the ball into the net. The game petered out towards the end with further substitutions and there was no addition to the score. Port Squad: Darren Andrews: Gwydion Ifan, Craig Papirnyk, Gruff Williams, Josh Banks: Jamie Steel, Josh Hartrick, Stuart, Rogers, Iwan Lewis: Dave Edwards, A Trialist: Eilir Edwards, Rob Evans, Guto Hughes. CPD Porthmadog ... 1 A Trialist(pen) CPD Penrhyndeudraeth ... 2 Carwyn Price Steve Jones Two goals in two minutes midway through the first half were enough to give Penrhyn the bragging rights in this excellent friendly derby game at the Traeth before a large and enthusiastic crowd. Port could only respond with a penalty late on. Port started strongly with Paul Lewis prominent in midfield. Five minutes into the game Dave Edwards fired powerfully over the bar from 20 yards. Port produced their best move of the match shortly afterwards when they moved the ball quickly from back to front with a good exchange of passes between Paul Lewis and Dave Edwards which opened the defence but though well place Edwards failed to hit the target. This was one of a number of good first half opportunities which Port failed to turn to their advantage. Penrhyn came close after 20 minutes with a good break down the right and keeper Darren Andrews saved well. From the corner Penrhyn struck. The home defence failed to clear and Carwyn Price took full advantage firing low from 10 yards. Two minutes later and Penrhyn struck again. A well worked counter attack and the ball was played across from the left finding Steve Jones racing into the box and striking powerfully. 0-2. In the second half Port kept the ball well and dominating the game territorially. Penrhyn however defended well in numbers and their defence was never really opened up in this second period. Port’s goal came from the penalty spot after 75 minutes. A Trialist scoring with a well placed shot. Squad: Darren Andrews, Gwydion Ifan, Gruff Williams, Josh Banks, Paul Lewis, Rob Evans, Eilir Edwards, Dave Edwards, Guto Hughes, Stuart Rogers plus 4 trialists. CPD Porthmadog ... 5 Paul Lewis Rob Evans Dave Edwards (3) Ruthin Town ... 1 Here are Craig’s comments on Saturday’s game. My former club Ruthin Town FC visited the Traeth this past Saturday , Ruthin who are rebuilding with Phil Hinchcliffe brought a talented young side to play us. We started the game brightly and retained possession well, Ruthin also looked to play good football, the pitch allowed both teams to move the ball around nicely, albeit the surface was very hard which was to be expected with the glorious weather we have had, although I’m sure Phil will be doing a few rain dances as the pitch is in need of some heavy rainfall!! With Ceri James, Iwan Lewis and both Manchester boys Dilan & Josh away, myself and Gruff John filled in at centre halves for the second game running , Gwydion Ifan and Josh Banks full backs with Guto Hughes playing in the defensive midfield role , Stuart Rogers and Eilir Edwards in midfield with Rob Evans playing more attacking behind David Edwards and Paul Lewis . New faces and new positions for some players, and this needed time for us as a team to get used to in the opening 45mins. Guto was replaced by Jamie Steele after 30mins through injury and he went on to impress and have a very good game in the holding role. The opening goal come from back to front, it was myself who played the left footed through ball over the top to Lewis who was too fast and powerful for the defender and unleashed a powerful shot from inside the box to beat the keeper high into the net. Chances where created and missed through the half but improvements where needed for us to push on in the second half. Ruthin had limited chances in the opening 45 but still played good football from the back and through the middle of the park. Stu was replaced by Josh Hartrick who come on at half time to play on the right side of midfield, a strong attacking, intelligent footballer who had a very good performance in his first game for the club. Josh was involved in the build up for the next goal from a winning header by myself at the back played down into Josh’s feet he turned and advanced forward and then expertly slipped a lovely through ball into the path of Rob Evans who finished really well with a half volley low into the corner of the goal. For the opening 30mins it was all Port and Ruthin struggled to get out of their half, moving the ball nicely around and retaining possession we created chances from both left side and right side of the field with Banksy and Gwyds offering width at every opportunity. The next two goals which were scored by Dave Edwards where typical poachers goals , both times the ball was played across the six yard box for Dave to finish nicely. Being in the right place at the right time as they say and a great attribute to have in our game!! I was replaced by young Nathan Williams after 60mins and Ruthin pulled one back not long after!! A long kick forward from the goal keeper which we failed to clear landed nicely for the Ruthin striker to finish well from a tight angle after it looked like the ball had run away from him, a consolation goal for Ruthin who had limited chances throughout the game but deserved a goal for the way they tried to play football from the back to front when in possession. Rob had a goal disallowed for offside and we could have had a few more to add to the 4 before Dave got his hatrick , good build up play and with Jamie Steele over lapping in the box to pull the ball back into Dave’s path who hit it perfectly only for the keeper to pull of a great save but Dave doing what every good striker does followed up and finished the rebound coolly, and seal his hatrick ! His first goals for Port FC with hopefully a lot more to come for him!! Overall a pleasing performance and good run out again , more miles in the tank for the lads and another game as a new squad played together. Carno FC ... 0 CPD PORTHMADOG ... 3 Iwan Lewis Paul Lewis(2) Here are Craig’s post-match comments. A very convincing performance by us, we played a fluent, quick passing game! Possession was key and we worked the ball across the pitch really well, players interchanging and moving around the park which Carno struggled to deal with. Iwan Lewis opened the scoring from a Gwydion Ifan pass into the box. Iwan unleashed an unstoppable shot which went across the goal from right to left and into the top corner stanchion. We created chances all through the 1st half, Gruff John and Josh Banks going close with headers, both Paul Lewis and David Edwards unlucky not to get on the scoresheet in the opening half. Second half and to Carno's credit they began to move the ball quicker and created some chances but none which really tested Darren Andrews in goal. Another well worked piece of play through midfield involving Ceri James, Iwan and Eilir Edwards saw Iwan break down the flank and whip in a cross to be met by a leaping Paul Lewis to head home. We continued to create chances through the half and the last goal was a real team goal, the ball played across the back into midfield and finally into Paul Lewis to take the ball around the keeper and fire home. Carno the week before had beaten Llanidloes Town 4-1 so overall a very pleasing performance with far more positives than negatives. ABERYSTWYTH TOWN ... 5 Chris Davies Chris Venables 3 (1 pen) Luke Sherbon CPD PORTHMADOG ....... 0 A Porthmadog side featuring a mixture of regulars from last season, new signings and trialists started brightly, but Europe-bound Aber proved too strong as they brushed Port aside after the interval. The opening 30 minutes were quite open, with Port probably shading things during this spell, with Eilir Edwards, Gruff John and new signing Iwan Lewis creating many of the openings. Paul Lewis, playing in the unusual role of striker did have a few opportunuities to work the keeper during this period, but Port's best chance to score came through a Josh Stadniki header which crashed off the bar from a corner. As the half wore on, Aber did start to create more openings, and the breakthrough finally came on 28 minutes when their summer signing Chris Davies from Prestatyn broke down the right before powering his shot home past Darren Andrews in the Port goal. Aber had much of the posession for the remainder of the half, without really troubling back pair Lomas and Stadniki. The second half was a very different affair, with Aber upping the tempo and driving forward with much more pace, and it wasn't long before they doubled their advantage through Chris Venables on 49 minutes and extended their lead further through Luke Sherbon on 52. There was a touch of the comical about Aber's fourth as the ball rebounded off the post and came off Venables' face for his second, from inches out. On 77 minutes, Venable clinched his hat-trick from the spot to make it 5-0 for the hosts. Port's best chances in the second half fell to Mark Bridge and to Gruff John. Bridge came close on 70 minutes after being put through by an excellent pass from Leo Smith who had just come off the bench. The best chance of all fell to Gruff John in the last minute of the match, with Mike Lewis' fingertip save pushing the ball onto the bar from his header and denying Port a late consolation goal. It would be silly to read too much to a five-nil scoreline in any pre-season friendly, let alone a match so early in our preparations for the new season. Aber, with their European adventure only weeks away, will be much further along in their preperations for the new campaign, despite this also being their first friendly. There were plenty of positives for Craig Papirnyk to take from the displays of many of the new faces and the returning regulars from last season. Port: Darren Andrews, Paul Beresford, Gruff John Williams, Dilan Lomas, Josh Stadniki, Rob Evans, Iwan Lewis, Stuart Rogers, Paul Lewis, Eilir Edwards, Gwydion Evans. Subs used: Mark Bridge, Daniel Gwynne, Leo Smith, James Papirnyk. |
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