Betty Pickering Cup: Llanystumdwy defeat Trearddur Bay in mudbath

BETTY PICKERING CUP GROUP D

Llanystumdwy 4 (Cynan 8 & 13, Morgan-Price 17, Savage 55)
Trearddur Bay 0

On an already torn up pitch after hosting a men’s cup tie the day before, more bad weather overnight and the next morning meant Sunday’s women’s clash at Parc Dwyfor was never going to be easy on the eye.

Bay made the better start and looked dangerous with runners from midfield, but eight minutes in and against the run of play some great football led to the first goal for Llan.

Sophie Evans won the ball deep in her own half and found Lea Ephraim at left back. Her pass picked out Shayna Vidamour in midfield and she then set Evans, who started the move, free down the left.

Evans carried the ball the length of the half, before crossing to Jo Cynan, whose control beat the oncoming goalkeeper and she then found the net.

The next 10 minutes saw Llan having a lot of the ball and scoring two more.

A succession of set pieces led to the second goal on 13 minutes, the ball eventually breaking out to Sian Elin, who found Cynan outside the box. Cynan set herself well to beat a defender before striking into the bottom right corner.

Just four minutes later and the same two players combined again. Cynan fed a throw-in to Sian Elin, who inside the box turned well and slotted the ball into the back of the net,

No more clear chances followed for the rest of the half, although Bay looked dangerous playing the ball over the top to their wide players. A couple of good efforts from distance were well saved by Sara Lacey.

Half time; Llanystumdwy 3-0 Trearddur Bay

Ten minutes into the second half, Llan were awarded a free kick in a dangerous position. Heledd Savage’s well-struck effort beat the defensive wall and the keeper to make it 4-0.

On a worsening pitch, it was getting even harder to play, Llanystumdwy were able to sit back and defend what they had, giving Trearddur Bay a lot of the ball but depriving them of scoring chances.

Llanystumdwy manager Sion Parry said: “I couldn’t be happier with this result today, we did exactly what we set out to do.

“We knew the condition of the pitch, we knew the quality that Trearddur Bay had, and we knew our own strengths. We had a plan before the game and the players executed it to perfection.

“Without going too much into our own plan, Trearddur Bay started very strongly, perhaps a bit more than we’d like, but for us we wanted those early goals, we knew the pitch would get worse and it was almost impossible to play some nice football on, especially as the game went on with it cutting up even more than it already had.

“So we wanted the early goals which we got, we then managed the half as to not let them back into the game. At half time it was a similar talk to the one I had with the lads on Saturday, pleased with the scoreline but knowing we could play better. And as I found out on Saturday a 3-0 scoreline is never comfortable.

“We set out to get another early goal in the second half and we did exactly that. We were then happy to let Trearddur Bay have the ball in their half, but in a way that wasn’t inviting too much pressure. The girls were excellent today, did exactly what was asked, and it’s nice to get off the mark in the group.

“And finally, thank you to Trearddur Bay for travelling down, having an open communication the morning of the game was good, and a willingness to get the game on regardless of how torn up the pitch was.”

Trearddur Bay report (Gemma Thomas)

Bay had a few changes in their starting 11, Abbie Manning coming into the side after her recent good performances and also Chloe Taylor appearing for the first time this season having recovered from injury.

The pitch conditions were not great after all of the rain recently, but this didn’t stop Trearddur getting off to a good start, passing the ball well.

From Llanystumdwy’s first attack of the game, Bay found themselves 1-0 after 8 minutes, Jo Cynan the scorer.

Trearddur continued to play good football, but conceded again in the 13th and 17th minutes, Cynan and Sian Elin on target.

Bay kept performing well and appeared to be the much better team, but the scoreline did not reflect this.

They had lots of chances but could not find the back of the net.

Freya Davies, Rhian Griffiths and Chloe Taylor all went close for the visitors.

Before half time, Gemma Thomas won the ball high up the pitch and delivered a cross onto Ashleigh Jones’ head, but her attempt just missed the target.

At half time, Bay decided to change their formation, going with a back three of Shelley McMullan, Stacey Evans and Catrin Jones, pushing Gemma Thomas forward into midfield.

This change in formation was effective as it allowed Hannah Smith to push forward more and see lots of the ball. This resulted in Trearddur Bay controlling the game even more as they passed the ball around and linked up nicely.

However, in the 55th minute Trearddur gave away a free kick in a dangerous position, which resulted in them being 4-0 down, Heledd Savage with a great strike.

Trearddur made some changes, taking off Abbie Manning, who had worked hard all game, and brought on Saffron Williams.

Another switch was made shortly after, Rhian Griffiths replaced by Amelia Roberts.

Again more chances came their way, including Ashleigh Jones finding herself one-versus-one against keeper Sara Lacey, only for a defender to get back and make an important block.

Bay had numerous free kicks and corners, but couldn’t find a way through. Credit must be given to Llan keeper Lacey,, who held on to everything that came her way, even in the tough conditions.

Trearddur Bay will be disappointed with this result, as the performance certainly does not reflect the scoreline.

Bay player of the match was awarded to Stacey Evans who put in a solid performance and showed a lot of experience at the back.