Flint suffer agonising derby defeat

Spurned first half chances were to prove costly as a Michael Wilde header with 10 minutes remaining saw the reigning champions edge victory.
Flint were a side transformed from the somewhat lethargic outfit that struggled on Saturday, benefiting from having a competitive game under their belts, and manager Neil Gibson must have been delighted with the effort and workrate from his side.
They started with a lot of verve and energy, and carve dout a couple of excellent chances in the opening ten minutes. Callum Bratley forced Oliver Byrne into a good stop with just two minutes on the clock, and as the ball bounced off the keeper, Jordan Buckley just couldn't quite stretch enough to force the ball into the net. Then, a lovely lay off from Josh Amis, making his first start for Flint, played in Bratley once more, and this time Byrne had to tip the shot over the bar to once again deny the Flint striker.
Nomads created their first chance on 14 minutes, when Danny Davies unleashed a shot from just outside of the box. This time it was home keeper Jon Rushton's turn to push the ball over the bar.
Good battling work by Buckley earned his side a free kick in a dangerous position on the edge of the box after 20 minutes. A Rob Hughes shot once again had Byrne at full stretch, and again he was unable to hold onto the ball, but no-one in a black and white shirt was on hand to pounce on the loose ball, and it was smuggled out for a corner. From the resulting delivery, the ball was cleared to Buckley, who found himself in an inviting position, and his curled effort was just too high for the far corner.
Flint's play was disrupted somewhat for the remainder of the half, when they seemed to fall foul of the referee, and were left increasingly bemused by some strange decisions.
At half time the game remained goalless, although the Silkmen, had they been a bit more accomplished in front of goal, should have been at least a goal to the good.
The second half developed into a tough attritional battle, but was thoroughly absorbing. Nomads were putting pressure on the Flint defence with long throws and balls into the box, whenever the opportunity presented itself, but the Silkmen's backline were generally coping extremely well. That was, right up unto the 80th minute, when a long free kick from inside his own half by keeper Byrne was played into the Flint box, and Wilde, not for the first time in his career, got on the end of it, and back headed it into the corner of the net, eluding Rushton along the way. The reaction and elation from the Nomads bench , told its own story, as Flint's dogged defensive line was finally breached.
With the game in stoppage time, the Silkmen almost carved out an equaliser, when Conor Harwood combined well with Ben Maher, and Maher raced in on goal from the right, but Byrne parried his shot, and as the ball looped over him and spun towards the goal line, a desperate clearance stopped it from crossing. Then a follow up shot was deflected over for a corner, as Flint were once again denied.
As ever, small margins in such games make big differences, and perhaps a lack of anticipation at vital times in front of goal, cost the Silkmen the chance of a point. But to have pushed the champions so hard gives real encouragement that there is a lot more to come from this side over the rest of the season, and we will not be giving up our premier league status lightly.

Line Ups :
Flint Town United - J. Rushton, B. Nash, E. Clarke, B. Maher (c), E. Gumbs, K. Edwards, R. Hughes (S. Hart 70), R. Foulkes (C. Harwood 70), J. Amis, J. Buckley (T. Weir 80), C. Bratley (R. Weaver 58). Unused Subs - R. Woods (GK), J. Hampson
Connah's Quay Nomads - O. Byrne, J. Disney (J. Hunt 46), D. Poole, G. Horan (c), D. Harrison, C. Morris, D. Davies (T. Moore), D. Holmes, C. Curran, N. Danns, M. Wilde. Unused Subs - K. Calderbank-Park (GK), D. Tharne, S, Dool, C. Holland, S. Rickett

Flint MOM - Josh Amis (was a real handful for the opposition defence throughout the game)