Welsh Premier (JT Hughes, Mitsubishi) -Saturday, December 20th

Porthmadog ... 1     Connah's Quay .... 1
Danny Hughes 55    George Horan 52

The goals in this game came within three minutes of each other early in the
second period but from very early on this game had shown every likelihood of
ending as a draw. These two teams had faced each other in the season opener
when Port had pulled off an outstanding victory and so this represented the
first opportunity for a double. This was not to be, however, in a scrappy
game where the home side matched the usual strong physical presence of the
visitors.

A strong wind made both passing and controlling difficult and this led to an
untidy opening quarter. The best of the early chances came the way of the
Deeside visitors as they played with the strong wind at their backs. After
10 mins Emrys Williams was turned by the experienced Stuart Rain but Gareth
Owen's cross raced untouched across the Port goalmouth and two mins later
Hutchinson shot wide after receiving a deflected ball in the box. Gerard
McGuigan made an excellent save diving low to keep out Tommy Mutton.

Port weathered the early pressure and Gareth Parry and Danny Hughes in
midfield and Mark Williams up front began to stamp their presence on the
game. Gareth Caughter after 21 mins tested keeper Andy Hughes following an
excellent build-up involving front men and midfield. On the half-hour mark
Port could well have taken the lead when keeper Hughes failed to gather
under pressure and Danny Hughes for Port could not capitalise as he appeared
to have been held back by the beaten visitors keeper as he was about to
shoot. The claims for a penalty were waved away by referee AD Woodthorpe who
made several strange decisions during the afternoon.

Towards the end of the half the visitors came back into the game and Horan
headed wide from a corner and Tommy Mutton burst past Webber on the left but
was foiled by a well time Foster tackle. The referee once more waved away
penalty claims when Mutton for Connah's Quay broke wide into the box
appealing that he had been brought down by Emrys Williams.

Early in the second-half the two goals came. In the 52 min George Horan rose
unchallenged at the far post to head Andy Griffiths' right wing corner past
McGuigan. The lead did not survive long for within three minutes visitors
keeper Andy Hughes misjudged the bounce of Mike Foster's long ball and Danny
Hughes was on hand, and this time nothing deterred him from placing the ball
in the net.

That proved to be the end of the scoring and there were few if any clear
chances during the remainder of the game. Andy Griffiths shot wide after a
cross from the right and Mutton went close following a good run by
Griffiths. At the other end a Gareth Parry block almost ended up in the back
of the net while Carl Owen lifted his shot over the bar after a tantalising
run by Steve Pugh down the right.

In the end both sides will be happy to take a point each from the game and
for the first time this season Port have shared the spoils in a league
match.

Port: Gerard McGuigan, John G. Jones, Emrys Williams, Lee Webber, Mike
Foster, Danny Hughes, Dafydd Evans, Gareth Parry(Ritchie Owen), Gareth
Caughter(Steve Pugh), Mark Williams, Tony Williams(Carl Owen).

Connah's Quay: Andy Hughes, Steve Hopkins, Nicky Brookman, Craig Hutchinson,
George Horan, Paul Mazzarella, Andy Griffiths, Tommy Mutton, Stuart Rain,
Jon Kenworthy, Gareth Owen.
Subs: Robbie Chesters, Mark Highman, Stuart Terry.

Gareth Williams

Welsh Premier (JT Hughes Mitsubishi) -Saturday, December 6th.

Caersws ...3              Porthmadog ...2
Graham Evans 3        Mark Williams 15, 79
Andrew Davies 84,89

Two late goals by Andrew Davies for Caersws snatched a victory that had
appeared to be Port's, when Mark Williams headed them into a 79th minute
lead. This was a game played at a rather frantic pace throughout and in a
swirling wind it all became something of a lottery. From the start it seemed
likely that there would be goals as neither defence inspired confidence.
Indeed Port conceded an early goal, which has been the case for the third
consecutive game, and was the result of some poor defensive marking.

After only three minutes Graham Evans received a Christmas bonus when he
rose unmarked to head Dylan McPhee's free-kick over Gerard McGuigan and into
the visitors net. Mcphee was again involved after 6 mins shooting just wide
after a good cross by Venables who had burst past Ritchie Owen on the right.
Port, however got themselves back into this end to end game, after 15 mins,
when an excellent long cross from the left, by Carl Owen, found Mark
Williams on the back post and the striker's header looped over Mulliner and
into the net.

This completed the scoring in the opening half but there were chances at
both ends. Gareth Parry was just off target, for Port, after Gareth Caughter
had flicked on Mark Williams' left wing cross. While at the visitors end
Dafydd Evans had to clear off the line after McGuigan had dropped a McPhee
corner from the left. Later McGuigan saved well from Mark Howells and again
from the busy Dylan McPhee.

In the second period the early chances fell to Caersws. An useful 30yd
effort by Andrew Davies, following a corner on the right, sailed just over.
Graham Evans was also off target after Emrys Williams had failed to clear.
Just after the hour mark it took a brilliant point blank save by McGuigan to
keep out Graham Evans and Andy Marfell spurned a good heading chance from a
cross from the right. Port were still in the game and  began to strike back
though relying too much on the long balls for Mark Williams to hold up and
neglecting the passing game through midfield which has previously served
them well.

The introduction of Steve Pugh on the right pleased the visiting supporters
and soon brought more variety into the attack. Following a couple of pacy
runs to suggest that he would be a threat Pugh burst past Howells and
reached the bye-line before crossing a fine near post cross for Mark
Williams to place a perfect header past Mulliner. This 79th minute goal was
the best of the five goals. The visitors had got their noses in front but
their defence was not oozing with confidence and the home side threw
everything in to attack.

With only six minutes left McGuigan leaped up  to palm out Marfell's cross
but in the crowded penalty area Andrew Davies reacted first and Port just
failed to scramble out his shot on goal with the linesman confirming that
the ball had crossed the line. More was to come and once again, with time
running out, it was Andrew Davies who took his opportunity to find the net
in a crowded box.  Caersws had snatched a victory in game that could easily
have gone either way. There was time for a couple more Caersws corners and a
30yd effort from Gareth Caughter which flew past Mulliner's post.

Caersws were pleased to gain their first home league victory of the season
while Port will feel disappointed to have thrown a winning lead with just
six minutes to go. An exciting end to end game but one that cried out for a
player who could slow the game down and give the attacks more purpose and
direction. It was all too frenetic with few players prepared to hold the
ball and create.

Caersws: Mulliner, Andrew Thomas, Mark Howells, Colin Reynolds, Hugh Clarke,
Dylan McPhee, Chris Venables, Andy Marfell, Graham Evans, Graham Jones,
Andrew Davies.
Subs: Jamie Davies, Mark Probert, Alan Williams.

Port: Gerard McGuigan, John G. Jones, Emrys Williams, Danny Hughes, Mike
Foster (Lee Webber), Gareth Caughter, Gareth Parry, Dafydd Evans, Ritchie
Owen(Steve Pugh), Mark Williams, Carl Owen (Tony Williams).

Welsh Premier (JT Hughes Mitsubishi)    -Saturday, November 15th

Porthmadog .... 2        Aberystwyth ....1
Ritchie Owen 15         Lee Spike 17
Lee Webber  52

This game kicked off at 2.00pm, a grudging concession by the visitors to
events in Moscow, but those who stayed away missed a treat. Any neutral
spectator could be forgiven for thinking that Port were the team that were
challenging at the top of the table as they took the game by the scruff of
the neck from the first kick. The home side could have gone ahead in the
first minute when an useful Dafydd Evans cross reached Carl Owen in space
on the left but the striker found the angle too narrow and failed to
convert the opportunity. The pressure was kept up and after 9 mins Mark
Williams came within inches of converting what would have been a
spectacular overhead shot on goal.

Six mins later and it was no more than Port deserved when they went
ahead. First Mark Williams had a shot cleared off the line then Lee Webber
drove the ball through a crowded box and Ritchie Owen touched the ball
past Worsnop into the net. The lead lasted for only two mins as once again the
defence blundered to concede a very untidy goal, when keeping a tight hold
on things was all that was needed. Lee Spike took advantage of the slack
defence, and a ricochet, to level the score.

Port though continued to dominate and it remains a mystery how the home
side did not restore their advantage after 25mins when first of all
Worsnop pushed Gareth Parry's header against the post and Mark Williams
put the ball in the net but the referee had spotted an offence. Aberystwyth
rarely threatened and their only real strike on goal came from a Lawless
free-kickwell saved by McGuigan.Apart from this effort the much praised
Lawless had liitle impact on the game as he was kept well in check by John
Gwynfor who turned in another excellent performance.The opening half ended with
Port again on the attack with Baker doing well to clear another Gareth
Parry header off the line and Carl Owen, whose pace often exposed the
sluggish visitors' defence, broke on the right but his low shot was well saved by Worsnop.

There was little change in the second period where Port if anything were
even more dominant.Even the news that TNS had slipped up failed to inspire
them. Aber did however have an early chance when Bari Morgan, failed to 
take advantage of a poor Webber defensive header, blasting his shot well
over. Seven mins into the second half and Mike Foster, showing throughout
that he was  back to full fitness, floated across a perfect free-kick for
Lee Webber at the far post to finish with a classic header back across the
keeper and into the net. At the other end the scorer then failed to clear
and gave Mark Lloyd Williams his only sight of goal in the entire game a
nd on this occasion McGuigan was on hand to deal with his effort on goal.
Emrys Williams' tight control of the dangerous 'Juice' was probably a
decisive factor in the game.

By now Dafydd Evans was running the game from midfield spraying passes to
both flanks. A fine ball to the right found Mark Williams on the right and
Worsnop cleared at the near post under pressure from Carl Owen. Then Ev
ans sent Carl Owen through on the left and by now a desperste Finley could
only stop him at the expense of a yellow card. Though Port were well on
top their failure to add a third meant that Aber were always in with a
chance.

Towards the end they did mount some serious attacks and twice Spike got
on the end of crosses but McGuigan again proved equal to the task. In fact
even in the closing stages Port seemed the more likely to score and subs
Tony Williams and Steve Pugh, on the counter-attack, should have done
better when the Aber defence was once more outpaced. When the final
whistle blew Port had deservedly taken Aber's unbeaten league record and
the visitors left the field knowing that the defeat could well have been far
heavier.
 
Viv Williams will be pleased not only with the three points but also the
manner in which the victory was gained -by playing their passing game. And
to cap it all didn't Osian do well in Moscow?! All in all I'd say it's b
een a perfect day.

Port: Gerard McGuigan, John G Jones, Emrys Williams, Lee Webber, Mike
Foster(capt), Danny Hughes, Gareth Parry, Dafydd Evans, Rutchie Owen, Mark
Williams(Tony Williams), Carl Owen(Steve Pugh). Sub not used: Gareth
Caught
er.

Aber: Worsnop, D Burrows, Chris Short, Ben Jones, Ged Hennigan, Gary 
Finley,Phil Baker, Mark Ll. Williams, Bari Morgan, Lee Spike, Glyndwr 
Hughes, John Lawless.
Subs: Chris O'Sullivan,Tappin, Cerith Davies.

Gareth Williams

Welsh Premier League(JT Hughes, Mitsubishi) -Saturday, November 1st.

Port Talbot 3......     Porthmadog ....2
Mark Dodds 16, 86   Lee Webber 68
Hayden Fleming 82   Mark Williams 73

It was a case of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory for Porthmadog as
they let slip a 2-1 advantage held with only 8 mins left. It appeared that
the visitors were going to break the sequence of poor results when disaster
struck twice in the space of only four minutes. First Mark Williams gave the
ball away in midfield with a downward header which ran into the path of
Hayden Fleming, for the home side, and he took full advantage of the error,
drilling a clean 25 yd effort low into the net. Before Porthmadog could
utter the words "We'll settle for a draw", Mark Dodds collected wide on the
right and held off a challenge by Lee Webber  before breaking into the box
and settling the match with a clinical finish.

Despite their lowly league positions both sides turned in good performances
and provided the crowd with a thrilling end to end game. Mark Williams, for
Porthmadog, tested Rayner in the 2nd min with a flicked header from Dafydd
Evans' early free-kick. While at the other end Craig Hughes shot narrowly
wide and Dodds gave McGuigan an early taster following Cockings free-kick
from the right. John Gwynfor provided Carl Owen with an useful ball but the
striker was forced wide and only succeeded in winning a corner. Then with
Porthmadog applying the pressure the home side turned defence into attack in
the most decisive fashion. A quickly taken long free-kick caught out the
visitors defence allowing Mark Dodds to get behind them and scoring with a
low shot from the edge of the box which gave McGuigan, in goal, no chance.

Port soon replied with a good three man move involving John Gwynfor, Mark
Williams and Carl Owen but the latter's shot was well saved by Raynor. At
the other end McGuigan made a scrambled save after Johnson had turned well
in the box and soon after Wayne Savage was only narrowly wide with his 25yd
effort. Towards the end of the opening half Gareth Parry, for the visitors,
let fly a powerful 20 yd effort following good work by Carl Owen and Mark
Williams.

The visitors started the second-half strongly and after only 3 mins Gareth
Parry whipped across a good ball from the right and it took the full 6ft
5ins of Simon Raynor to touch Gareth Caughter's header over the bar. Soon a
good three man move involved Dafydd Evans, Danny Hughes and Carl Owen for
the latter to test Raynor again. On the hour mark Porthmadog introduced the
width that had so obviously been lacking in the opening half when Pugh and
Tony Williams replaced doubtful starters Carl Owen and Gareth Parry. A
minute later and they almost found a way through when Ritchie Owen's
free-kick, initially misheaded by Mark Williams only for Caughter to head
over when well placed. Then on 68 mins came the breakthrough when Ritchie
Owen's free-kick from the right was headed on by Mark Williams finding Lee
Webber unmarked in front of goal and the defender made no mistake from close
range. Five minutes later and the visitors, now well on top, took the lead
when Mark Williams took advantage of another set piece to flick Dafydd Evans
right wing free-kick curling it over Raynor's outstretched arms and into the
net.

Having gone ahead Porthmadog made the crucial error of sitting back and
trying to sit on their lead when they could have gone on to win the game.
They now yielded possession and Johnson and Fleming started to control the
midfield. Port Talbot then with two goals in the last eight minutes snatched
the victory which had earlier seemed out of their reach.

Porthmadog will rue the failure to clinch the victory in a game where the
very least they deserved was a draw. They will however be pleased with the
two goals after such a barren period. Their general play also showed
considerable improvement on recent performances again underlining the fact
that they play best when they use wide players.

Port Talbot: Raynor, Cockings, Gurney(Casey), Carter, Hancock, Fleming,
Savage, Johnson, Dodds(Driscoll), Craig Hughes, Matthews(Wigg).

Porthmadog: McGuigan, John G. Jones, Emrys Williams, Lee Webber, Ritchie
Owen, Danny Hughes,(Harrison), Dafydd Evans, Gareth Parry(Steve Pugh),
Gareth Caughter, Mark Williams, Carl Owen(Tony Williams)

Gareth Williams.

Welsh Premier League(JT Hughes, Mitsubishi)  -Saturday, October 25th

Porthmadog ...... 0        Haverfordwest County .... 2
                           Tim Hicks 17, 71.

The six straight defeats became seven as Port tumbled to a home defeat at a
wet and dismal Traeth. Things could have been so different when, after only
7 mins, referee M.S. Whitby pointed to the spot and showed Eston Chiverton a
yellow card for bringing down Richard Owen in the box just as the midfielder
was about to shoot at goal from 12yds out. Up stepped, the usually reliable
penalty taker, Dafydd Evans who, instead of his usual trade mark blaster,
tried to place the ball past Lee Kendall in the visitors goal, but the
keeper guessed correctly and saved well near his right hand post.

This punishment for this failure was doubled after 17 mins when Tim Hicks
took advantage of a speedy break on the right by Nicky Palmer followed by a
quick transfer into the box where Hicks shot powerfully to beat McGuigan at
his near post. The goal apart there was little in the way of goalmouth
incident with neither side creating many chances. The best Port effort came
following a good run on the left by Carl Owen before cutting into the box
but he lacked support and the chance did not materialise. On the stroke of
half-time Rhys Griffiths for the visitors let fly from 25 yds but his
powerful effort flew wide.

Port enjoyed their best period of the game just after the interval with
Dafydd Evans, John Gwynfor and particularly Gareth Parry prompting well in
midfield. With Pugh on as sub on the right the home side abandoned their
ineffective long ball game and made the visitors defence work hard as the
ball was played around constructively. Near the hour Pugh broke on the right
and supplied Gareth Parry but the midfielder's shot was off target. The
visitors now called on the experience of defenders Chiverton, Wyn Thomas and
player-manager Deryn Brace to weather the storm and this they did
successfully.

Soon the dangerous trio of Hicks, Palmer and Rhys Griffiths were threatening
again. Palmer and Griffiths combined well after 62 mins only for the latter
to see his header strike the post before bouncing to safety. McGuigan was
now more and more in the thick of things, in the home goal, and after 67
mins was forced to make a point blank save as the middle of the home defence
was opened up.Four minutes later came the goal which virtually settled
matters and again it was a break on the right by Palmer who switched a good
low ball into the box for the lively Hicks to find himself in oplenty of
space in the box and made no mistake sending a low shot past McGuigan. Hicks
was denied his hat-trick as McGuigan pulled off another good save after the
forward received from Griffiths' downward header.

There was no way back for Port and though late on sub Wagstaffe managed to
get behind the visitors' defence there was no one on hand to convert his
useful low cross. These are worrying times for manager Viv Williams as the
team faces the long journey next week to Port Talbot knowing that they have
now gone three matches without scoring a goal.

Port: Gerard McGuigan, John G Jones, Emrys Williams, Lee Webber, Mike
Foster(Andy Wagstaffe), Danny Hughes(Steve Pugh), Dafydd Evans, Gareth
Parry, Ritchie Owen, Mark Williams(Gareth Caughter), Carl Owen.

Haverfordwest: Lee Kendall, Deryn Brace, Wayne Jones, Adrian Harris, Wyn
Thomas, Eston Chiverton, Nicky Palmer, Tim Hicks, Rhys Griffiths, Colin
Loss, Darren Ryan.
Subs: Chris Miller, Dylan Blain, Rob Jones, Lee Walters, Haydn Ralph.

Gareth Williams.