Town in trouble after defeat at Holyhead

Holyhead Hotspurs 2 Denbigh Town 1

There was a minute silence before this game at Holyhead out of respect for young Vale of Clwyd footballer Joel Darlington who sadly passed away so suddenly recently. Everyone at the ground showed the utmost respect with the only sounds being the occasional click of cameras. Thank you to everyone at Holyhead.

What a great shame, though, that this entertaining and exiting competition between two teams struggling at the wrong end of the table and fighting to remain in Tier 2 of the Welsh football pyramid should be marred by Denbigh's poor discipline and lack of respect to match officials in the second half.

This match started so well. It was fast and furious with opportunities at both ends of the pitch straight from the whistle with the best one falling to Denbigh with less than five minutes gone. After good work by Lewis Sirrell on the left the ball came to Kristian Pierce whose shot was blocked by the keeper and rebounded to Scott McHarrie and his effort was blocked on the line. There was some good football on show with both sides working hard. Bailey Jackson was doing well in the middle of the park with some strong tackling and some nice passes. A long punt at goal nearly put Sirrell on the scoresheet and it was clear that a goal was looming but unfortunately it was Hotspurs who found the net on 13 minutes. After a possible misunderstanding in the Denbigh defence Number 9 Mel McGuiness found some space in the penalty with the ball at his feet and after a quick turn and a low left foot drive the home team were 1 nil in front.
The visitors did not panic at this stage and it must be said that they actually looked reasonably comfortable and confident of getting back in the match. Minutes later they should have done just that when Lewis Sirrell again ran into the box between two defenders and drawing others to him he squared the ball to Kristian Pierce whose shot from ten yards was well saved by keeper Carl Jones. Shortly after an inswinging corner by Sirrell was met under the bar by Denbigh's Miles Todd who delighted in nodding it home . 1 - 1
Within minutes of the kick off it was Holyhead who came close when their No 10 Chris Jones came sliding in and was inches away from forcing a Dan McGuinness cross into goal. His brother Mel then put a header over the bar. What a match ! The game continued in this vein but Denbigh probably had the edge as the game progressed and had the clearer chances. Pierce came very close after some very good build up play when his shot went just wide and Miles Todd twice more came close with headers from Sirrell's excellent corners. Centre forward Jake Walker was having one of his better games as a target man up front and Sirrell was showing what an important creative player he is. Everything was looking okay for the Reds as the ref blew up for half time..

Denbigh started well in the second period and were looking favourites to take the three points in the opinion of those on the sideline. After a about ten minutes Denbigh mounted a good attack with Pat Hinchcliffe turning the left back inside out with his weaving run before passing to McHarrie who shot just wide. Somehow or other the player trying to stop Hinchcliffe injured himself and after some delay had to leave the field. Holyhead brought on substitute John Littlemore and pushed him forward leaving three at the back. Why not ? They had nothing to lose as only a win was any good to them. This was where the game turned. Holyhead then attacked Denbigh and put the Reds under pressure. Although both sides had players disputing almost every decision that went against them some of the Denbigh players seemed to lose their composure completely. Captain Tony Davies was booked on fifty five minutes for dissent and there seemed to be a long delay before Holyhead took a through in. The throw was taken and Denbigh appeared wrong footed as the ball was pumped forward. In fact it looked that the ball was going out for a goal kick but Mel McGuiness kept running and caught the ball just before it crossed the bye line and whacked it across into Denbigh's area into the path of John Littlemore who volleyed it past the diving Craig Vernon. Holyhead were now in front and looking on top. Five minutes later Pat Hinchcliffe was booked for a late tackle which may have been a bit harsh but by now the referee would have been justified in taking action against a number of players who were swearing at him and the linesmen. Dan Lloyd was replaced by Andy Thomas before Curtis Langton was booked for dissent. Jacob Walker went off and was replaced by Stu Vernon. Vernon went right back , Miles Todd went into the middle of defence as Tony Davies was sent upfield. Denbigh were desperate for that equaliser as the clock ticked away and sent the long ball up time and time again as the match went into added time. The referee was looking at his watch when he gave a free kick which Miles Todd had a problem with. There was only seconds left but he had to be booked. Miles Todd disagreed and said something further to the referee and was shown a second yellow and told to walk. Needless and so disappointing as we lose the services of yet another player for the run in. Four or five seconds later the whistle went for full time.
Holyhead have now won two matches on the bounce and Denbigh, although with a slight cushion between the teams below, have played more games than the likes of Holywell and with only four games left and another suspension we are left sweating.

We need some points from somewhere that is for sure. Buckley, Rhyl , Holywell and Llanrhaeadr games to go.

Next game on is on Saturday, a week tomorrow, at Central Park with a 2.30pm - Denbigh v Buckley