Jake to the rescue as Town move to next round

Denbigh moved into the hat for the third round of the FAW Trophy after two second half goals from Jake Walker saw them overcome a stern test against Halkyn & Flint Mountain who had taken the lead in the first half.

The hosts play in Division One of the Welsh National League (Wrexham Area) having been promoted at the end of last season and are in effect a league below Denbigh and the tie had all the makings of being a cup upset.

Manager Dewi Llion had a new central defence pairing of Conor Jones and Les Brophy as Miles Todd was unavailable. Both Mark Roberts and Kristian Pierce were out with injuries and Will Ashley returned to start in midfield.

On a warm sunny afternoon, Denbigh started brightly with plenty of possession and were looking to play the ball as wide as possible on and use their wingers as much as possible. Halkyn & Flint Mountain were not allowing Town any time on the ball and the first half hour was a stalemate with no real attempts on goal.

That all changed in the 31st minute when from a throw in mid way inside Denbigh’s half found Aled Reece on his right wing. A low cross into the box saw Sean Williams meet it and with a low shot to the corner the ball beat Antoni Jan Sarnowski.

The hosts put more pressure on Town’s goal and from a free kick from 20 yards Sarnowski was happy to see the shot just go over his bar. Denbigh responded and captain Jonathan Terry was unlucky to see his header just go over the bar from 10 yards. The effective Stuart Vernon was instigating many of Denbigh’s attacks and he himself had a fine shot from the right wing just going over the crossbar.

Half time came with Denbigh one down and the second half continued with Denbigh having plenty of ball but unable to make serious inroads against a resolute Halkyn & Flint Mountain defence.

After 65 minutes manager Dewi Llion made a double substitution which had a marked effect on the game. On came Sion Jones and Lewis Jenner for Dan Lloyd and Conor Jones as Denbigh looked to switch tactics and formation. Jones immediately put himself about in the middle of the field and had an impact in that it gave Denbigh’s forays more impetus and purpose.

The change paid off as on 71 minutes some great play by Stuart Vernon saw him send in a low cross for Jake Walker to knock in from 6 yards – a real goal poacher’s goal

The equaliser saw Denbigh take control and pile on the pressure and Walker was unlucky to see a free kick just dip over the bar.

With the defenders tiring Dan Clarke came into his own with a dazzling run to evade two defenders to set up Walker for his second on 81 minutes when the goalscorer fired in from close range (see photo).

Owen Heath came on for Sam Tate as Denbigh now looked to hold onto the lead. Halkyn & Flint Mountain probed for the equaliser and some tense moments were played in the Denbigh area, but Sarnowski was not called upon to make any real save as his defenders protected his goal admirably.

After 4 minutes of added time the final whistle blew and Denbigh were through to the third round

Manager Dewi Llion said after the game “We knew this was’nt going to be easy. Going to a pitch none of us had played on before against a team we knew nothing about except for their performances last season - it had all the markings of a potential banana skin cup tie for us. We had a game plan and it worked in so far as they had limited chances on Antoni’s goal. Everyone worked hard as we looked to penetrate their effective defence by using the width of the pitch. We showed character and professionalism with our response to come back with two second half goals from Jake who has had a great goalscoring start to the season.”

Its back to league action next week as the team have an away fixture on Anglesey against Bodedern

Denbigh Town FC

Antoni Jan Sarnowski, Stuart Vernon, Dan Lloyd, Les Brophy, Conor Jones, John Terry, Billy Holmes, Will Ashley, Sam Tate, Jake Walker,, Danny Clarke. Subs : Owen Heath, Sion Jones, Lewis Jenner

Attendance - 50