Town hit 5 in convincing win.

Denbigh faced newly promoted Llandudno Junction at Central Park knowing they had to get three points after suffering two league defeats and a cup loss in their last three games.

The Railwaymen of Llandudno Junction had yet to register any points and Town manager Eddie Maurice-Jones was keen for his players to start the game well and within three minutes they should have been ahead. Warren Duckett’s header was well saved by Junction keeper Jones who parried the ball to the head of Josh Davies only for Jones to make another excellent save.

Town had the wind behind them and they had most of the possession in the early stages. On 5 minutes Dan Sullivan rose to a Kristian Pierce corner only for his header to sail over the crossbar. The Railwaymen responded and forced two corners in quick succession but these were comfortably defended by the Town’s central defenders Ben Nash and Danny Sullivan. Hill-Dunt in Denbigh’s goal was forced to punch a vicious shot away from Junction’s Bryan Roberts.
This seemed to spur Town into action and Josh Davies made some good work only for his shot to just fire over the crossbar. New signing Steve Cunningham also saw his shot just miss the upright as Denbigh’s pressure began to tell.

Great work by the industrious full back Gareth Partridge saw him win a corner which Kristian Pierce floated into the goal mouth. The wind caught the ball slightly and this meant keeper Jones having to back track, but he could do nothing as the ball flew into the far corner to give Denbigh a deserved 1-0 lead on 22 minutes.
Minutes later Pierce broke free from the half way line and a ball on for Josh Davies whose shot was well saved by Jones diving to his left hand side. Davies then beat Jones with a well taken header after a great cross from Partridge on 32 minutes to put Denbigh 2-0 up and at this stage Town looked comfortable
Pierce linked well with Nathan Williams with a swift one two to put Pierce in again only for his shot to go just past the post. Craig Pritchard was as busy as ever in midfield and his hard work paid off when he fired a shot from the edge of the penalty area across Jones’ goal to put Denbigh 3-0 up on 34 minutes.

Just as Town were looking to the interval with a commanding lead, a lapse in concentration at the back saw Dean Seager nip in and fire past Hill-Dunt to make the score 3-1 at half time.
Junction came out stronger in the second half and Hill-Dunt was forced to make a fantastic save from close range to thwart Bryan Roberts getting Junction’s second. With the wind in their favour they looked to press further into the Town half but Town’s midfield and defence were holding firm.

Upfront, Warren Duckett was getting back to his old form after a long spell out from injury. On 59 minutes Josh Davies provided some great work and laid a superb ball on for Duckett to fire in from 18 years to give Denbigh their fourth.
Duckett them made way for Jake Eyre and shortly after Sam Tate came on for Kristian Pierce who had just returned from injury. Town’s pressure continued with Matty Cook feeding Pritchard a great ball from which Pritchard placed a delightful pass for Jake Eyre to run onto and fire in Denbigh’s fifth on 74 minutes.
The hard working Matty Cook was replaced by promising youngster Lewys Turner on 80 minutes and Turner made some telling tackles in the short time he was on the pitch. He provided a chance to make it six in the last few minutes as he fired a shot across the six yard box but no one could get on the end of his ball.

This was a much needed win from Denbigh with a much better performance than has been seen in recent weeks. Manager Eddie Maurice-Jones was pleased with his player’s response and with their work ethic which resulted in five goals against a well disciplined Junction team.
The next fixture is an away visit to Porthmadog on Saturday 16th September with a 2.30pm kick off.

Denbigh Town
Jon Hill-Dunt, Gareth Partridge, Nathan Williams, Dan Sullivan, Ben Nash, Matt Cook, Kristian Pierce, Steve Cunningham, Warren Duckett, Josh Davies, Craig Pritchard Subs: Jake Eyre, Lewys Turner, Sam Tate

Llandudno Junction
Keighan Jones, Joel Hewitt, Sam Sinkinson, Dan Roberts, Adam Hodgson, Alun Roberts, Lee Ellis, Joe Morgan, Dean Seager, Bryan Roberts, Merrick Knight. Subs Adam Eden, Steve McAfferey, Tom Williams, Keiron Davies

Referee – Ellis Hughes – Wrexham
Assistant – Simon McCormick
Assistant – Alun Jones
Attendance 86