PORTHMADOG..........(0)0 INTER CABLETEL..........(1)4
Porthmadog went into this match without the services of five first team
regulars. Andy Taylor, Tony Draper and Jason Joyce were suspended, while
Richard Hughes and John Aspinall were injured in Wednesday's match at
Bangor. This was therefore always going to be an up hill struggle for the
home team against high-flying Inter CableTel.
Inter showed their superiority right from the beginning of the first half.
But Porthmadog defended well and managed to keep the Inter attack at bay
throughout most of the half. Inter's early pressure nearly paid off after 5
minutes of the match when Simon Tyler attempted a long range shot from the
left side, but Kenny Dixon saved well, managing to get his finger tips to
the ball.
But, despite the superior possession of Inter CableTel, Porthmadog managed
to put some neat passing movements together and create some goal scoring
opportunities. On 14 minutes Kenny Woods passed the ball from the middle of
the park to Martin Hines who went round one defender before attempting a
shot, but the acrobatics of Jon Roberts was enough to push the ball off the
target. Hines was one of the most influential players for Porthmadog in the
first half. On the half hour, he again attempted a long range shot, this
time from 30 yards but it curled off target.
20 minutes into the match, the corner of Norman Parselle from the left was
met by Simon Tyler on the far post, but went just over the bar. But two
minutes later, Inter had took the lead. Simon Tyler this time capitalized
on a defencive error by Chris Waring who miss-judged a clearance from a
Porthmadog corner on the other end of the pitch. Tyler stormed pass Waring
before firing home from 25 yards, leaving Dixon in the Porthmadog goal with
no chance.
There was little goal scoring opportunity for nither side in the last
quarter hour of the half despite the superior pressure of Inter, who
dominated the whole of the first half. Porthmadog were totally out played,
and unlike their other encounters with top class opponents in the past
week, they failed to really threaten their opponents.
Things went even worse for the home team in the second half when most of
the play was right in front of Kenny Dixon's goal. On 53 minutes Wayne
Hewitt, who had a very good performance in the second half, broke through
Porthmadog's mid-field before he was pulled down just out-side the box by
Chris Waring who received a yellow card for his troubles. Three minutes
later Hewitt was again right in the action, but his shot from 25 yards was
cleared for a corner by Chris Banks. On 58 minutes Simon Tyler should have
added to Inter's lead but his shot from close range went well over the bar
after a cross into the box from the left.
Inter CableTel's second goal came finally came after 64 minutes. But it
was a very poor goal that came after Paul Howard's miss-judged pass back to
Kenny Dixon set Dean Threlfall free for one of his easiest goals this
season. On 72 minutes Inter's lead was up to three goals. Richard David
headed home from close range after a corner was taken from the left by
Wayne Hewitt. This was a period of massive pressure by Inter on the
Porthmadog goal.
There was another near-miss by Inter 2 minutes later when Dean Threlfall
made a run down the left, but the cross was just to far for Hewitt who was
waiting in the box. Inter CableTel's pressure on the Porthmadog goal
continued, and on 82 minutes the inevitable fourth goal had been scored. It
was scored once again from a corner, this time it was taken by Threlfall
and the scorer, who headed home from the near post, was substitute Simon
Jones.
In desperation Porthmadog managed to put together some attacking movements
in the last five minutes of the match, but these attempts were to little,
to late. Five minutes from time Martin Hines passed the ball to Paul Howard
on the side of the box, but Howard's long range effort from around 25
yards went well over the bar. In the last minute of the match, substitute
Paul Whelan nearly created a good opportunity when he passed the ball
through to Martin Hines, but Jon Roberts rushed off his line to reach the
ball first.
So, a weakened Porthmadog were well beaten by Inter CableTel who deserved
to win by such a clear margin. This result will remind Porthmadog that the
Season is well from over and that they are not in any way safe from the
drop.
PORTHMADOG:
K. Dixon, P. Osahan, C. Roberts (R. Williams), M. Foster, C. Waring, C.
Banks, N. Barry, K. Woods, P. Howard, M. Hines, O. Hall (P. Whelan).
Sub not used: J. Aspinall.
Iwan,
BANGOR CITY..........(1) 3 PORTHMADOG..........(1) 3
This was a local derby that Bangor felt they had to win after their
disappointing results of late. But after Porthmadog's improved performance
in a narrow defeat by Ebbw Vale on the week-end, Bangor new that this game
wouldn't be a push-over.
The game started lively with Porthmadog managing to create most of the
goal-scoring opportunity despite Bangor's slightly superior possession. In
the very first minute of the match a created for the visitors, but Andy
Taylor's shot was wide after a run into the Bangor half. Taylor's shot was
again wide three minutes later after a run down the right by Martin Hines.
Hines was very influential during this period, and on 6 minutes his cross
from the right was met by Nigel Barry whose header went close.
Despite the fact that Bangor had plenty of possession we had to wait until
12 minutes for them to have any real pressure on the Porthmadog goal.
Bangor's Karl Owen saw his header coming off the post after he had met Mark
Lloyd Williams' cross from the left side of the box. Chris Whelan's long
range effort from outside the box on 20 minutes for Bangor went just
off-target.
On 33 minutes, Porthmadog's frequent brakes to the Bangor half had finally
paid off. Chris Waring's cross found Andy Taylor who taped home from
close-range for Porthmadog's first goal. It looked as if the second was on
it's way for the visitors 4 minutes later when Martin Hines ran to the side
of the Bangor box before shooting. The shot was good enough to beat David
Williams in the Bangor goal but it came off the wrong side of the post and
was an escape for Bangor.
But there was bad news for Porthmadog one minute before the interval, when
defender Richard Hughes had to be stretchered off after twisting his ankle.
Things went from bad to worse two minutes later when Bangor capitalized
from a goal-mouth scramble with Steve Ashton somehow managing to score. So,
a very competitive start to the match with a draw the fair scoreline.
But, the second half started Bangor's way, with all the play in front of
the Porthmadog goal. Their defence finally gave in 6 minutes into the half
when a misunderstanding between Tony Draper and Andy Taylor, who was now
playing in the defence after the substituting of Richard Hughes, resulted
in a Penalty for Bangor. The Penalty was coolly converted by ex-Porthmadog
striker, Mark Lloyd-Williams. Bangor's pressure nearly paid off on 60
minutes when they had three consecutive shot's on goal which ended with a
long range effort by Chris Whelan that wet inches over the bar.
But, less than a minute later, Porthmadog were back once again on
level-terms. Martin Hines' cross from the left was met by Nigel Barry who
converted from the left side of the box. This goal showed that Porthmadog
could take their chances despite the fact that they were fewer and further
between throughout the second half. Martin Hines was one of the most
influential player throughout the evening, and it was he that created most
of the pressure Porthmadog had on the Bangor goal. On 73 minutes he made a
run down his right wing once again, before this time trying to finish, but
his long range effort went well over.
From around 75 minutes onwards, Bangor took full control of proceedings.
On 76 minutes, substitute Craig Dulson had a shot from close range but it
was easily saved by Dixon in the goal. Two minutes later Mark
Lloyd-Williams made a run into the box from the left, but his weak shot
went across the face of the goal. But, on 80 minutes, all the pressure paid
off when Lloyd-Williams made a run into the box and this time scored
because of sloppy defending by Andy Taylor.
The game became much more competitive in the last five minutes, but there
were little clear cut scoring opportunity's until the very last minute.
Andy Taylor dashed into the Bangor half before confidently chipping the
ball over Bangor goalie, David Williams into the bottom left corner of the
net. This last minute goal made amends for some of Andy Taylor's earlier
defencive mistakes, it also showed that Andy better at creating problems
for the opposition's defence than he is at stopping the opposition's
strikers.
This was a massive boost for Porthmadog's bid to stay in the LoW for
another season. But, it was also a massive blow for the hopes of Bangor to
reach Europe via the league. It was a very competitive encounter with both
teams creating their fair share of chances, and it could be said that a
draw was, on balance, a fair result. But, after seeing Bangor's
performance, I wouldn't think that they will pose to much of a Problem for
Barry on the week-end. It's either that, or Port are better than I think
they are.
PORTHMADOG:
K. Dixon, J. Joyce, T. Draper, R. Hughes (O. Hall), J. Aspinall (C. Banks),
M. Foster, N. Barry (P. Whelan), C. Waring, C. Woods, M. Hines, A. Taylor
Iwan,
EBBW VALE..........(0) 2 PORTHMADOG..........(1) 1
Porthmadog's problems were somewhat eased by last week's away win at
Welshpool. But they couldn't expect much from today's visit to Gwent. There
was one new signing for the Traeth team, with ex-Caernarfon captain Chris
Wearing getting international clearance just in time to play in today's
match. This was the first of many encounters Porthmadog will have against
high placed opposition in the next few weeks.
But Porthmadog started very lively, and they had a scoring opportunity in
the very first minute of the match when John Aspinall's shot went just over
the cross-bar after a cross by Paul Howard who was making use of Nigel
Barry's short corner. One of the most influential players, early on, for
Ebbw Vale was Paul Giles. On 6 minutes he crossed the ball from the left,
and Justin Perry's close range header went just wide. Giles featured in the
action for Ebbw Vale again four minutes later but was pulled down by Tony
Draper just outside the box. On 19 minutes his long range shot went just
wide.
Both teams were very equal throughout the first half with both teams
creating a number of chances. On 27 minutes it was Andy Taylor who came
close for the visitors. His strong header after Mike Foster's cross went
just wide in a move that started with a Paul Howard short corner. But three
minutes later it was a great opening goal for the visitors. It was the
debutante, Chris Wearing who scored with a brilliant 25-yard effort from
the left to leave Adrian Tucker in the Vale goal with no chance. Although
this lead by Porthmadog would not have been expected it was not in any way
against the run of play.
Six minutes from the interval Tony Rees came close for Ebbw Vale with a
spectacular over head kick attempt that was only saved by the very quick
reactions of Kenny Dixon in the Porthmadog goal. But this was a very good
defencive performance by Porthmadog. In time added on for injury's at the
end of the first half Justin Perry's run into the Porthmadog half was
halted by a brilliant John Aspinall tackle. But a minute later, it seemed
that the visitors defence had finally cracked, the ball crossed the line,
but the referee decided that Kenny Dixon had been fouled. So, a brilliant
first half for the visitors who fully deserved the half time lead.
Ebbw Vale started the second half with much more purpose and looked far
more dangerous but the defencive performance of Porthmadog was strong. Four
minutes into the second half, Kenny Dixon again showed his worth with a
brilliant save after a strong header was directed goal-wards by Ebbw Vale's
Chris Morgan. There was a further scare for Porthmadog after 15 minutes of
the half when Richard Hughes managed to reach the ball before Eston
Chiverton after Paul Giles' cross from the right. This was a great
performance by Richard Hughes who has hit top form once again, and five
minutes later he had to clear the ball off the line after Kenny Dixon had
for once been beaten.
Porthmadog's chances were by now few and far between as they decided to
soak up the Ebbw Vale pressure. But they did manage to get a couple of
breaks that created some problems for the home team. On 24 minutes Kenny
Woods made a run down the right, but his shot went across the face of the
goal before crossing the line for a goal kick. Six minute later Nigel Barry
broke through the center of the pitch but his shot was disappointing and
gave Vale goalie, Adrian Tucker, no problem.
Cards were thrown in every direction throughout the match despite the fact
that it was not in any way a dirty affair. On 32 minutes Porthmadog's Andy
Taylor was sent off for a second bookable offence after two very petty
decisions. One minute later, for no apparent reason, Vale were also down to
ten men when Barry Thomas was sent off after a minor incident involving him
and Tony Draper. The bad news for Porthmadog is that the same referee will
be officiating in their match against Inter CableTel in seven days time.
But, ten minutes from time, both teams were back on level terms after
Adrian Needs' low drive from 25 yards somehow found it's way through the
Porthmadog defence before crossing the line for the goal. There followed a
period of immense pressure on the Porthmadog goal, but Port defended
resolutely. Seven minutes from time Eston Chiverton's cross from the left
was met by Alun Evans' header that was only stopped by an acrobatic Kenny
Dixon save. Porthmadog's only break in the last ten minutes came when Mike
Foster broke through before making a long cross-field pass to Martin Hines
who was stopped by a tackle by an Ebbw Vale defender. Foster was again in
the action at the other side of the pitch three minutes into the time added
on for injury's at the end of the match. He was adjudged to have pulled Lee
Price down in the box and a penalty was awarded, but only after the
linesman had a word with the referee.
This was a cruel blow for Porthmadog who had deserved the point for their
valiant efforts throughout the match. But, this result showed that
Porthmadog are capable of putting some good performances together against
some of the best teams in the League. But things will be very difficult for
Porthmadog with matches against the likes of Inter, Cwmbran, Barry, Newtown
and Bangor still to come. The fact that they will be without the services
of Jason Joyce, Tony Draper and Andy Taylor as they have picked up to many
cautions, will not help their bid to survive to fight another year in the
LoW.
PORTHMADOG:
K. Dixon, J. Joyce, T. Draper, M. Foster, J. Aspinall (O. Hall), R. Hughes,
C. Wearing, N. Barry, K. Woods, A. Taylor, P. Howard (M. Hines).
SUB NOT USED: C. Banks
Iwan.
WELSHPOOL..........1 PORTHMADOG..........2
This relegation battle was tension-filled all through the 90 minutes. This
was clearly seen as tempers were frayed - on and off the pitch. Countless
bookings were shown (although this was as much down to the erratic
refereeing of Mr. R Evans as to the nerves of the players). There were also
heated exchanges on the pitch side involving both sets of supporters.
With both teams in the relegation dog-fight, this was a crucial match in
deciding who will be saying good bye come May. Both teams came into the
match knowing that a win was crucial and it was Porthmadog who had the best
of the play in the opening minutes.
The play in the first five minutes of the match was all in the Welshpool
half of the pitch. On four minutes Martin Hynes made a good run down the
right, but his cross was poor and failed to reach anyone. One minute later
Porthmadog's Paul Howard was pulled down in the box, but no penalty was
given. It was only a matter of time now before Porthmadog would score.
Chris Banks surged into the box on seven minute before passing to Paul
Howard, but his shot was deflected for a corner. The corner was taken from
the right by Martin Hynes, and Paul Howard was waiting in the box to pounce
with a header to score his third goal for Porthmadog.
It seemed at the time that the flood-gates would open for Porthmadog. But,
how wrong we were. The Porthmadog opener brought Welshpool to life. On 15
minutes they had their first real pressure of the game when Steve Clifford
made a run down the left before attempting a long range shot that went well
over. Two minutes later Welshpool were very unlucky not to be awarded a
penalty after Steve Clifford was tripped in the penalty area by
Porthmadog's Tony Draper. But the referee, Mr. R. Evans of Presteigne, some
how decided that there had been no foul to the amazement of the Welshpool
players and waved for play on.
Porthmadog's early domination of the match was by now fading and had to
rely more on brakes. Just before the half hour, Martin Hynes made a run
down the right but his shot went well wide of the mark. Hynes was again in
the action two minutes later, but this time his cross was too short to
reach Nigel Barry who was waiting in the box.
On 35 minutes, ex-Porthmadog favourite Dave Taylor, who was once Europe's
leading scorer, created a chance for Chris Roberts, but Roberts took too
long to take control of the ball and it was easily cleared by Porthmadog's
John Aspinall. The game by now was played from end to end, and Porthmadog
had a chance to add to their score two minutes later. Nigel Barry passed
the ball back to defender Mike Foster, but his long-range attempt went
inches past the post. Steve Clifford was again influential for the home
team five minutes from time but his shot, after he found himself clear on
the side of the box, was saved by Kenny Dixon who had come rushing off his
line.
So Porthmadog were in the lead at half time, but only by the skin of their
teeth. Both teams then had a lot of work to do if they wanted to gain the
vital three points. Welshpool started the second half in the same mood as
they had finished the first 45 minutes. Even so Porthmadog managed to
create a break of their own only three minutes into the half when Andy
Taylor broke down the right, but his long range attempt went well off
target.
Steve Clifford was once again Welshpool's most influential player. He
found himself in space on the left side of the box on ten minutes, but Tony
Draper reacted quickly to disposess Clifford before clearing. After further
pressure from the home team the break-through finally came on 17 minutes,
when Clifford scored with a shot from close range after some poor defending
on Porthmadog's behalf.
Four minutes later Welshpool had a clear opportunity to take the lead.
Chris Roberts broke through the middle before passing to Dave Taylor who
had only Kenny Dixon to beat. But the finishing of Taylor was poor and his
shot went miles over the bar, Taylor showing none of the form that had
taken him to the top of the European scoring charts whilst with Porthmadog.
There was another scare for Porthmadog two minutes later when John Aspinall
headed a fine cross away for a corner. Shortly afterwards it was Jason
Joyce who saved Porthmadog when he made a brilliant tackle on Dave Taylor.
One of Porthmadog's few threats on the Welshpool goal during the half came
on 28 minutes when Martin Hynes' corner resulted in an Andy Taylor shot
that came off the bar. This chance gave Port the confidence to kick-start
their performance once again. Five minutes later Jason Joyce powered his
way through the Welshpool defence but his long range attempt was
disappointing and went well off target. On 40 minutes the cross from Chris
Banks was too long for Andy Taylor to control straight away, but Taylor
managed to get the cross in for Paul Howard whose weak header was easily
saved.
Porthmadog were by now desperately searching for the equalizer, and only
two minutes from the end of real time the break-through finally came. Andy
Taylor found himself clear in the Welshpool half, but he had plenty to do.
He managed to shrug off the challenge of the last Welshpool defender, and a
couple of yards into the area he unleashed his shot which beat the outward
rushing Wayne Griffith. The ball seemed to take ages on its way towards the
goal, but the relief of the sizable Porthmadog support was evident when the
ball hit the back of the net.
But, it was not over yet. In the last minute of the match Dave Taylor came
close to equalizing, but his downward header was saved on the line by Kenny
Dixon who played his usual, vital, part in the game. So, disappointment for
Welshpool after controlling long spells of the match. But a vital three
points for Port in their fight against the drop. Manager Colin Hawkins has
set a target of 40 points to avoid relegation. This win takes them to 31,
but it remains to be seen if a further nine points can be gained from
fixtures including Barry, Bangor, Cwmbran and Inter.
Iwan,
PORTHMADOG:
K. Dixon, T. Draper, J. Aspinall, M. Foster, J. Joyce, N. Barry, C. Banks,
K. Woods, M. Hines, P. Howard [R. Williams], A. Taylor [O. Hall]
Sub not used: P. Whelan.
PORTHMADOG ..........1 CONNAH'S QUAY ..........3
From now on every Point for Porthmadog, and despite Connah's Quay's high
position in the table there was some hope for at least one point after the
result they had in the last match on the Half-way a couple of weeks back.
And, it was Porthmadog who were first off the mark. Just one minute into
the match there was a chance created by club captain, Mike Foster who made
a run into the box from the left. But Richard Hughes' shot went inches over
the bar.
Connah's Quay's first chance came on six minutes, when Richard Jones
stumbled on the ball, but Kenny Dixon rushed off his line to deny Stuart
Rain. But it was against the run of play that Connah's Quay took the lead
on 20 minutes. Poor marking left Craig Hutchinson in acres of space and his
long range shot left Kenny Dixon in the Porthmadog goal with no chance.
There followed great pressure on the Nomads' goal, but they failed to
capitalize on their pressure in front of goal. But on 28 minutes,
Porthmadog's pressure was rewarded. Martin Hines, who was playing his first
match after arriving from Caernarfon, scored a brilliant long-range goal
from the right after a pass from Kenny Woods.
Porthmadog's Paul Howard was poor in front of goal on 42 minutes. He found
himself un-challenged in the Connah's Quay penalty area, but failed to
control the ball and the chance went begging. His finishing was poor all
night, which meant that Porthmadog failed to take advantage of their
superior possession.
Two minutes into stoppage time, Connah's Quay took the lead once again. A
defencive mistake from Tony Draper set James Hughes free in the Porthmadog
penalty area, and he made no mistake from five yards. This was a cruel blow
for Porthmadog, who had gained enough possession and created enough
pressure to be on level terms at half time atleast.
It was Connah's Quay who took control in the opening ten minutes of the
second half. John Kenworthy's shot for the visitors went wide, after he had
made an impressive run through the Porthmadog defence, four minutes into
the second half. Three minutes later, Kenworthy's cross from the left was
headed away by Porthmadog's Mike Foster.
Paul Howard was again influential for the home team, but his break-away on
the Connah's Quay goal was spoiled by his shot that went closer to the
corner flag. On 12 minutes Andy Taylor,- who was tonight playing up front
in the absence of Steven Pugh, - made a long range effort from the left but
it was easily saved by Phill Collister in the Flint goal.
There was controversy 16 minutes into the half, when Chris Banks close
range shot was adjudged to have been saved on the line, despite the
protests of the Porthmadog players who said that the ball had crossed the
line. Porthmadog supporters behind the goal were adamant that the ball had
clearly crossed the line.
Two minutes later Paul Howard was again wasteful when he hesitated before
shooting for another clear scoring opportunity to pass. Mike Foster was
extremely unlucky when his brilliant free kick was only stopped by the
finger tip save of Phill Collister on 22 minutes. Two minutes later Chris
Banks was close with an overhead kick inside the penalty area that went
inches wide after a corner.
Connah's Quay's opportunities were by now few and far between. On the
half-hour Stuart Rain broke down the left but was pulled down by Richard
Jones. John Kenworthy's free kick after this incident was headed away by
Jason Joyce. This lead to a Porthmadog counter-attack that ended with
Richard Hughes chipping over Phill Collister, but the ball went only inches
wide.
34 minutes into the second half the victory was sealed when Stuart Rain
tapped in for his team's third after Darren Wynne had passed the ball
accros the face of the goal. Again, this was a goal scored against the run
of play. Porthmadog's relentless pressure from that point to the final
whistle did not result in any goal.
Porthmadog will be disappointed to say the least that they did not manage
to win despite enjoying the lion-share of the possession. This result will
put the pressure on them to win on Saturday against fellow-strugglers
Welshpool.
Iwan,
PORTHMADOG: K. DIXON, R. JONES, J. JOYCE, T. DRAPER, M. FOSTER,
C. BANKS, K. WOODS, M. HINES, R. HUGHES, P. HOWARD (O. HALL),
A. TAYLOR, SUBS NOT USED: P. WHELAN, J. ASPINALL.
