Huwsi's view from Cwt Te
A late ‘short corner’ rescues a point for United......
With some hard work in the morning to clear the snow, the usual Saturday morning staff did a good job to get this game on, but a heavy sleet shower at lunch time, meant that Eithin Duon become a mud bath, and hardly a blade of grass could be seen come full time. It was so bad at one stage that United’s Andrew Williams and Conwy’s Ian Pattison tried a bit of mud wrestling in Conwy’s area, but a quick word from the referee followed by a couple of yellow cards, meant they got back to trying to play football on the slippery surface.
Gareth Eifion Jones got into a goal scoring opportunity in the 1 st minute, but the ball seemed to get stuck to his feet on the six yard line. Conwy then applied some pressure with United having to double block goal bound efforts in the third minute, before United conceded in the fifth minute, when they were caught napping. A throw, 20 yards from the corner flag on the left side was not dealt with, nobody challenged which allowed Oliver Walters time on the ball and to take the lead with a low drive beyond Dave Ball into the bottom right corner from 15 yards or so across goal.
Within a few minutes United were playing nice one touch football, with Gareth Eifion and Rhys Roberts linking well down the right flank, but the final ball into the area was too close to Kyle Dent, Conwy’s custodian to allow Andy Williams to pounce. This allowed Conwy to counter and they narrowly missed with a shot passed the right upright. Gareth Eifion levelled proceedings in the 12 th minute, a fine move by Rhys Roberts on the left side, he advanced to the corner flag and delivered a fine low cross to Gareth Eifion to tap in from two yards at the far post.
Mathew Phillips had a chance in the 25 th minute to take the lead, he beat the offside trap well when David Noel Williams delivered a fine over the top ball, he advanced into the area and with only the keeper to beat he could not get the better of Dent, who blocked his effort for a corner. The corner was taken quickly by Charlie, low to the near post, but none of his teammates read his intentions!
Rhys Roberts was next to get a golden opportunity, Conwy’s left-back lost his footing in the mud which allowed Rooney to advance on goal, but once again with only Dent to beat, Rooney shot a foot or so wide of the right upright. Conwy were once again denied with a double block three minutes from the interval, Dave Ball used his legs to divert an 18 yard shot for a corner, and an United head cleared off the line from the resulting corner. On the stroke of half time Rooney was denied when his header from a great Marvin Pritchard right sided cross from 30 yards was saved by Conwy’s custodian, moments before the mud wrestling incident! Half time and the scored remained even, but quite possibly United should have scored three or four!
Conwy started the second half with an early goal, a cross from the left corner flag in the 2 nd minute was tapped in by Ben Hughes from two yards passed a stunned Dave Ball who could have easily saved to his right, but he thought the ball had gone out of play. His only reaction was a plea to the pink haired assistant referee from Porthmadog, however we all know that it’s the referee’s whistle that counts, right or wrong it’s a fact (TOTM – maybe?)! Within a minute Conwy nearly made it three, when Dave Ball should have smothered the ball some ten yards off his line, but with the ball fast approaching the goal-line, he was then adjudged to have been fouled as he frantically tried to return to his line, and thus saved his blushes (TOTM – maybe?)!
Within minutes and Conwy’s Mathew Bennett had the chance to increase Conwy’s lead, but his shot from the edge of the area went straight at Dave Ball. The 61 st and 62 nd minutes saw a couple of free-kicks from David Noel Williams, in similar positions some 25 yards, the first on the left came to nothing, but the second on the right was saved high by the keeper. The keeper saved once again from a Charlie free-kick in the 74 th minute, when Andy Williams was brought down in the area, but the referee after consultation with his assistant punished the initial contact, a yard outside on the right.
Eifion Williams blocked a goal bound effort in the 77 th minute, before a bit of calamity a couple of minutes later when he slipped, but Dave Ball was on hand to collect but he dropped, which lead to a goalmouth scramble before Marvin eventually cleared for a corner. Conwy once again came close in the 87 th minute, when a free-kick from just within their own half was floated in to the six yard box, and although Conwy’s Anthony Tierney was first to connect, his tame effort went straight to Dave Ball.
A couple of minutes before time, United were awarded a couple of corners on the right side, both delivered long by David Noel Williams, the first was cleared for another corner by a Conwy head, the second was cleared up field but only for Charlie to regather, but as he advanced towards goal he was muscled off the ball, which went out for a goal-kick. At this stage a case of mistaken identity saw Conwy’s Ian Pattison sent off for a second yellow (the first having been obtained for the mud wrestling incident!), apparently the goalie had sworn at the assistant referee, but although he came clean about his involvement, it was Pattison who saw red.
With time up, we knew from past experience that Mr Dukes from Penrhyndeudraeth would add the usual Alex Ferguson extra minutes, and thank God he did, the lengthy injury time cost us the points against Junction earlier in the season, but this time the 95 th minute proved decisive for United. A nice piece of vision from David Noel Williams, with a well worked ‘short corner’ (I’m a great fan really!), and for the first time this season, United gained a reward from the aforementioned tactical move, when Charlie returned with an inch perfect cross to the head of Gethin Phillips, who blasted the net passed the keeper’s right arm from three yards out. I think he was pleased he scored, but I’m sure Brian wasn’t that pleased when he got the kit to be washed! Although, after saying that, there was a bonus, as the left-back’s kit was the cleanest on the pitch, and this coupled with the effort he tried on goal from the half-way line in the 22nd minute, got him a harsh nomination for TOTM! He wasn’t that clean when he left the Penbont though, after Dave Ball ‘dropped’ the ketchup and ‘smothered’ Joyce as he reached for Ball’s ‘sausage’!
A deserved point from a tough game in tough conditions, and it looked like Eithin Duon would be out of action for some time. If the weather is kind and if the grounds’ man and chairman can work their magic, then it’s Halkyn up next Saturday at Eithin Duon.
LLANRUG UNITED: Dave Ball, Marvin Pritchard, Chris Joyce, Ceirion Williams (Gethin Phillips – 35 mins), Eifion Williams, Carl Wayne Jones, Andrew Williams, David Noel Williams, Rhys Roberts, Gareth Eifion Jones (Carl Griffiths – 75 mins), Mathew Phillips.
SUBS (Not used): Gavin Rogerson.
MOTM: Rhys Roberts.
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2009/2010 
