Match Analysis: NFA 1 Flint Town United 3

MATCH ANALYSIS

NFA 1 Flint Town United 3

Dave Jones reports from the land of Brickfields Pond

NFA may be bottom of the Genero Adran North table but they proved once again today they are no pushovers.

For the first 10-15 minutes against Flint, the Rhyl team were the better side and deserved to take an early lead through Claire Smedley.

Once the Silkwomen settled, they controlled most of the possession and could have won by more in the end.

The main reason they did not pick up a much bigger victory was the tremendous display at the back by NFA’s Amy Webster.

Often in the past a striker, who is among the club’s top-three all-time scorers, Webster stood out in the defence, winning every tackle, every header, saving goals and feeding numerous good passes.

While at her best in the first half, Webster was also rock solid in the second 45, and was constantly praised by the away fans.

On a difficult surface, Flint’s passing game was not made easy, but they did produce some great spells of quality football.

Right-back Taylia Chaloner particularly stood out, being right on her game both defensively and attack-wise. There can be few more consistent defenders in the league.

Relentless Ruby McGilloway (pretty good nickname I reckon) never stopped running, constantly putting in tackles and looking to use the ball positively. She must get through more yardage than most players in every game she plays.

Excellent for Flint to see Rosie Hughes back from injury, she lasted the pace perfectly, while Daisy Hughes was very effective at times on the left.

Daisy’s delivery into the box for Kaelyn Williams to equalise was the pass/assist of the game.

Zoe Stopford was her usual livewire self up front and took her match-winning penalties efficiently.

Flint could still grab a top-four finish, which would be superb in their first season at Tier 2.

Going forward, I’d like to see them take more shots – at times they often seem to seek out the perfect goal with smart build-up and short inter-passing, but they use the flanks well and the midfield are always aiming to get on the front-foot.

They’ve come a long way in less than 3 years.