Pitchero

Gaerwen

Llannefydd

L Vaughan (15' Pen), G Davies (89'), S Monument (90')

Full time

Sat 16 Dec 14:00 - Lock Stock Welsh Alliance Football League - Division Two Attendance 75

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Highlights

Selection

League round up

A monumental strike sees Gaerwen steal a point

By Richard Williams

Gaerwen 3-3 Llannefydd

Last Saturday (16th December) we welcomed Welsh Alliance Division Two newcomers Llannefydd to Lon Groes for a league fixture. The Denbighshire side have been doing well and have picked up some impressive wins in their debut season in the league so we knew that we were in for a tough game.

The home side started the game extremely sloppy, giving the ball away time and time again however, Llannefydd failed to capitalise on this, the closest they got was hitting a post with a great effort from a free kick. A counter attack on 15 minutes saw Llion Vauaghan brought down inside the penalty box, Llion got up and dispatched of the penalty well. 1-0.

In spite of the goal Gaerwen still failed to settle into their normal, confident passing game and were giving the ball away far too cheaply. A couple of good saves on his near post from Gwyndaf Owen saw Gaerwen keep their 1-0 lead. However, the away side deservedly equalised on 35 minutes from a corner kick. As much as the equaliser was deserved the home side felt hard done by as Owen in the Gaerwen net felt he had been held in the build up.

Liam Morris cut a frustrated figure as the lone striker for much of the first half but nearly managed to get himself on the score-sheet with an audacious over-head kick but his effort was well saved, 1-1 h/t.

Gaerwen started the second half much better, Llion Vaughan and Dafydd Jones both going close as the home-side started to turn the screw. However, on 60 minutes Llannefydd went ahead against the run of play, another set piece creating havoc in the Gaerwen box. Just 10 minutes later things got from bad to worse as Llannefydd doubled their lead with a slick move and a good finish inside the home-side's box 1-3.

In all fairness to the home-side they continued to search for a route back into the game despite not being at the race but Llannefydd's back-line were holding firm as Gaerwen struggled to create any clear cut chances. Gethin Davies went closest on 80 minutes his free-kick brilliantly saved by the away side's keeper and Kieren Lewis could only hit the post with the rebound.

Gaerwen looked to have got a consolation goal on 90 minutes this time Davies finding the top corner with a fantastic 25 yard free kick. With 4 minutes of added time left the away side seemed to have done enough to clinch the 3 points, however one last attack by the home-side saw Shaun Monument let fly from 25 yards, his strike was deflected and looped into the empty net. Final-score 3-3.

Manager Lee Jones commented:

I'm relieved we've come away with a point in the end, we weren't at the races today and I don't think anyone can be pleased with the way that they played both individually and collectively as a team. However, I'm proud of how the boys continued to battle until the end, when you're two goals down with 5 minutes to play a point is a good one.

We've got a break next week now with Christmas coming up, but travel to Pentraeth on the 30th, we'll have to play much better than today if we are going to get anything out of the game.