Lack of numbers hit Llanystumdwy hard in defeat at Kinmel Bay

KIA LLANDUDNO NORTH WALES COAST WOMEN’S LEAGUE

Kinmel Bay 3 (Walsh 15, 25, 87)

CPDM Llanystumdwy 1 (Ellis 4)

REPORT: CPDM Llanystumdwy

Llanystumdwy manager Sion Parry lamented the lack of players available for Sunday’s tough trip to Kinmel Bay.

A squad of only 12 members were able to make the journey to Y Morfa on a day where a bit of strength in depth could have made a difference.

Llan did take a very early lead, but were soon pegged back and finished up 3-1 losers, with Kinmel Bay goal machine Lexi Walsh doing all the damage with a hat-trick.

This ls Llanystumdwy’s report…..

A fast start for the visitors and the first chance fell to Kate Davies who didn’t quite connect properly with her shot as the keeper made a comfortable save.

Less than a minute later Davies turned provider, getting the ball out wide on the halfway line before cutting in and playing a through ball to Seren Ellis who went through one on one with the keeper and slotted into the bottom right corner.

The lead lasted just 10 minutes, when Georgia Williams had possession at the edge of the box and played a great pass behind the defence, Lexi Walsh beat the onrushing Sara Lacey to the ball and poked it past her to make it 1-1.

In the 25th minute the game was completely turned on its head. A set piece for Llan saw players pushing forward, and when the original ball was cleared to Bay captain Seren Williams, her long delivery forward to Walsh saw her beat the defender and a powerful finish from the edge of the box put Kinmel Bay 2-1 up.

Kinmel Bay were getting stronger as the half went on and deserved their 2-1 lead at the break.

Second half saw the visitors start the same way as the first. The first 15 minutes saw a couple of good chances fall to Kate Davies, the first was well saved by Shelby Wild in the Bay goal, and the second 5 minutes later went just past the post.

Although Llan had some encouragement from a good start to the second half, Kinmel Bay always looked a threat going forward with some dangerous players in attack and some last ditch defending at times stopped the hosts getting a clear shot at goal to finish the game.

Any hope Llan had of getting a result seemed to end when on 75 minutes they were reduced to 10 players. Only having 1 sub available – which was made 5 minutes earlier – meant that when Leonie O’Hara couldn’t continue with an injury there were no replacements on the Llan bench.

Kinmel Bay now had full control of the game despite Llan’s best efforts, and with minutes left on the clock Walsh completed her hat-trick. Second half sub Baileigh Aaron won the ball in the middle, playing a good pass through to Walsh who made no mistake with a great finish across goal into the bottom corner.

Sion Parry, Llanystumdwy manager, said: “We had the worst preparation possible with the majority of our team arriving late due to traffic, we didn’t get out to warm up until 1:55pm – with 1 player not even arriving until 2:05pm, but i’d like to thank Naomii of Kinmel Bay and the ref for their cooperation and agreeing to a delayed kick off.

“Clearly it didn’t have any effect on the team as we started better than we have done in any game this season. Obviously the disappointment for us then was that we’ve not been able to keep the lead for long, and when you’re playing a team with Kinmel Bay’s quality you can’t afford to give up many chances and they made us pay.

“I was pleased with a lot of things today, we started both halves well, we had a couple of chances to get back into the game, and i think we battled well and made it hard for Kinmel Bay. But from our point of view i am annoyed that because of a lack of availability we didn’t get a full chance to rescue something from the game,

“i know it would’ve been difficult anyway, but we’d created a couple of chances and were defending well, and the best way to get something from a football match is with 11 players on the pitch, so through our fault only that chance was taken away from us. But the 12 players that travelled gave their all and i felt for them after the game seemingly having to struggle week in week out.

“Finally, well done to Kinmel Bay, they’re a very good side and have talented players, and they punished us when the chances came. I also found out after the game it’s Naomii’s birthday today, so Happy Birthday Naomii!”