FLASHBACK – 15 YEARS AGO: Buckley Town make hosts Porthmadog pay for defensive lapses

HUWS GRAY ALLIANCE – FEBRUARY 26, 2011

CPD Porthmadog 2 (Rhys Roberts 37, 81)
Buckley Town 4 (Wes Brereton 17, 33, Neil Wynne 49, 76)

Report: http://www.porthmadogfc.com

Pictures: Emyr Gareth – diolch

Fifteen years ago this week defensive blunders proved costly in a second home league game running for Porthmadog.

Thanks to a first half brace by Wes Brereton followed by a Neil Wynne double in the second period, Buckley were able to overcome a Port side for whom defender Rhys Roberts also found the net on two occasions.

It was a game full of niggly, ill-tempered fouls ending with Buckley defender Gareth Edwards being sent off for a head butt.

Had the referee produced some yellow cards earlier in the game then maybe this sanction could have been avoided and the small crowd would have been given more in the way of entertainment.

Port, with the wind on their backs, had most of the early possession with Carl Owen a threat. They won a couple of corners and a free kick in a dangerous position which Mike Foster lifted over the bar.

But with 17 minutes on the clock, Buckley scored with their first shot at goal. Brereton broke down the right before crossing low to the near post, prompting a rare error by Richard Harvey, who only managed to parry the ball into his own net.

Following the goal Port continued to dominate possession with Gareth Jones Evans shooting narrowly over from 25 yards and a minute later the excellent Jamie Hulse had to go down at the feet of Marcus Orlik to thwart a dangerous home move.

Another Port attack saw Carl Owen’s effort deflected for a corner after good work by Jamie McDaid.

Buckley countered with a good break from Wynne and from the resulting corner Gareth Caughter saw his header cleared off the line by Jones Evans.

Against the general run of play, it was Buckley who doubled their advantage when Brereton scored his second. It came directly from a well taken free kick on the edge of the box which he lifted over the wall and inside Harvey’s left hand post.

Port now upped their game and a few minutes later cut the deficit. Rhys Roberts rose at the back post to head Foster’s corner past Hulse to reduce the arrears.

The hosts continued to threaten and a good move set up by Jones Evans gave Owen a shooting chance from 12 yards but an excellent Joe Freeman block frustrated him and the same player followed similarly to deny Paul Roberts.

An Orlik cracker was deflected into the side netting and Hulse pulled off another good save when Owen volleyed a low Orlik cross.

HALF TIME: Porthmadog 1 Buckley 2

Four minutes into the second half and Buckley were handed what amounted to a winning lead when Wynne outwitted two defenders to get on to a long ball from the back, control well and score from 12 yards.

The game now became increasingly bad tempered but a strong well-organised Buckley defence denied Port the goal they desperately needed to bring them back into the game.

The hard-working Owen had a header cleared off the line, but then it was Buckley who found the net again.

They opened up a 4-1 lead with lone striker Wynne once again getting the better of Port’s central defenders. This time it was a long cross from the right and Wynne scored with a looping header from 8 yards.

Port did manage to pull one back in the 81st minute, Cai Jones creating the opening with good work down the left and his cross was flicked on for Rhys Roberts to score with a close range header, but this was the Bucks’ day.

PORTHMADOG

Richard Harvey, Euron Roberts, Mike Foster (Craig Roberts 70), Ryan Davies, Rhys Roberts, Dan Pyrs, Gareth Jones Evans, Jamie McDaid (Darren Gowans 56), Carl Owen, Paul Roberts (Cai Jones 77), Marcus Orlik. Sub not used: Gareth Parry.

BUCKLEY TOWN

Jamie Hulse, Joe Freeman, Barry Calder, Jack Rowlands, Gareth Edwards, Wes Brereton, John Leonard, Gareth Caughter, Neil Wynne, Anthony Williams (Paul Armour 76), Phil Molyneux (Jack Chaloner 88). Subs not used: Liam Jones, Terry Pugh, Jack Delgado.

WHAT ELSE HAPPENED IN THIS SEASON?

• Porthmadog finished eighth in the Cymru Alliance with Buckley just a place and a point below
• In the reverse league fixture, Buckley won 2-0 at home
• Port gained revenge late in the campaign when they defeated the Bucks 3-1 at Y Traeth in the Huws Gray Cup
• Paul Roberts was top-scorer for Porthmadog in 2010-11 with 25 goals in all competitions.