Ardal North West weekend reports – Flint Mountain and Rhyl 1879 share points, Denbigh back to winning ways

ARDAL NORTH WEST – WEEKEND REPORTS

SATURDAY, JANUARY 7

Flint Mountain 1 (Smyth 78)
CPD Y Rhyl 1879 1 (M Taylor 48)

Report: Shôn Hughes

A well-earned draw for Rhyl 1879 put them level on points with leaders Bangor 1876, the Lilywhites having played two games more.

New signings Tom Kemp and Frankie Davies both featured in 1879’s match day squad, but manager Gareth Thomas was forced into making a late change as goalkeeper Luke Wilmot became ill during the warm-up and was replaced in the starting line up by Ryan Roberts.

Just seconds into making his debut, Kemp was shown a yellow card by referee Tony Moore following a robust tackle.

Throughout the opening exchanges 1879 found themselves on top, often getting the ball out wide and limiting Flint to launching long deliveries forward.

This would not last as the home side began to find success utilising the wide areas as the half progressed.

Mountain came close to breaking the deadlock when a corner headed towards goal was miraculously cleared off the line by Chris Bennett.

Macauley Taylor volleyed just over for the visitors as the half ended 0-0.

Just three minutes into the second half Dan Sim slid a wonderful ball to Macauley Taylor, who used his pace to beat the defender, cutting inside to fire past John Danby in the Flint goal to give 1879 the lead.

Unfortunately, this would be Taylor’s final contribution of the game as just two minutes later he would be helped off the field by physio Colin Edwards after receiving lengthy on field treatment for an ankle injury.

Poor discipline again affected the game for the Lilywhites. On the hour mark referee Moore was called over by his assistant who indicated that Jonny Taylor had used his elbow in an off the ball collision with a Flint player. Referee Moore showed Taylor a straight red.

Although being a man down for a third of the game the visitors largely weathered the storm, resilient defending by Miles Todd and Reece Fairhurst limiting the home side to long range efforts.

With just over 10 minutes left, Flint would finally find a breakthrough, Mountain newcomer Aaron Hassall struck the post from a free kick, with the rebound fired neatly away by Kyle Smyth.

In the closing moments, Flint would see a header hit the bar.

Following the game Gareth Thomas praised his side’s commitment and energy, giving a special mention for debutant Kemp, who also, along with Sim in midfield, kept the Flint side at bay until the latter stages.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 6

Llandudno Albion 0
Denbigh Town 2 (Brown 39, S Jones 61)
Played at Central Park, Denbigh

Report: Iwan Jones

Denbigh returned to winning ways with goals from Nathan Brown and Sion Jones in a game they should have won by a more comfortable margin.

The match was Albion’s home fixture, but with their pitch unavailable for the foreseeable future the game was switched to Central Park on a wet January evening.

Town’s manager Dewi Llion Jones has been busy in the transfer window which opened on January 1 and three new signings were in the squad.

Former Town favourite Craig Pritchard has made a welcome return to the game after some time off with injury. Pritchard was Denbigh’s player of the season in 2017/18, when the team finished second in the Tier 2 Huws Gray Cymru Alliance League.

Pritchard started the game and showed once again he still has the artistry and skill that made him such a popular player.

The Bennett brothers, Luca and Harvey, have both been signed from Rhuddlan and they are both youngsters held in high regard. They both started on the bench and joined the action midway through the second half.

After the disappointing loss at Flint Mountain a week ago, Town were determined to start brightly, and had several early chances.

A clumsy challenge led to a penalty on seven minutes which Jake Walker hit wide.

With 10 minutes played Brown slotted the ball past Ash Lavender in Albion’s goal, but the assistant referee’s flag was raised for offside – disallowed.

The constant Denbigh pressure continued, and they thought the deadlock was broken on 31 minutes when Walker’s shot was in, but ruled out for offside once again.

Shortly after Albion mounted their first real attack when club record-scorer Dave Maddock broke through the Denbigh defence and bore down on Aaron Jones’ goal. He let fly a strong venomous shot from 15 yards which Jones did well to hold onto.

As the half reached its latter stages, Denbigh got the goal they so richly deserved. Once again it was great link up play between Pritchard and Brown with the new signing finding his team-mate with an intricate ball which split Albion’s defence.

Brown was able to turn his man and fire home from 10 yards.

After the break Denbigh stayed on top. With Pritchard tiring after his first game in a long time, the management team felt it was time for fresh legs with Jason Foulkes replacing him on 60 minutes.

Shortly after, Denbigh had their second when some great work by Ben Lockley down the right wing saw him cross into the box for Brown to shoot from close range, The effort was blocked, but the rebound fell to Sion Jones who blasted into the net from 18 yards.

A comfortable win for Denbigh, who now have a further two Friday night league games over the next fortnight at Central Park starting this weekend when Brickfield Rangers are the visitors.