|
INJURY TIME SICKNER DEFLATES UNITED’S SPIRITS
Even though his team were denied three points when Conwy converted a 97th minute penalty, Llanrug manager Aled Owen insisted his team were lucky to get a draw at Y Morfa.
“It was backs to the wall from the first minute,” said Owen, who was without two key players for this second league encounter of the season.
“We were very lucky to get a draw even though their injury time penalty was very dubious.”
Against the run of play Llanrug took a 22nd minute lead when right-back Gethin Phillips lofted the ball over the Musselmen’s defence and striker Matthew Phillips chipped the advancing keeper.
Before the break the Tangerines equalised when the visitors made hard work of clearing the ball and Andrew Turner pounced to fire in from just inside the box.
The second half brought more defending for the overworked Llanrug rearguard, but again the Caernarfon area side upset the apple cart on 55 minutes when Matthew Phillips latched on to a long ball from the back and lifted it over the keeper once more.
It was all out defence for Llanrug for the rest of the game before seven minutes into injury time an innocuous challenge in the box earned Conwy a fortunate spot-kick which Adam Jones put away.
LLANRUG UTD: Dave Ball, Gethin Phillips, Chris Joyce, Iwan Price (Gavin Rogerson - 78mins), Eifion Williams (capt), Marvin Pritchard, Carl Wayne Jones, Carl Griffiths (Martin Bohana - 87mins), Gareth Eifion Jones, Mathew Phillips, Andrew Williams.
SUBS (Not Used): Aled Owen .
MOTM: Iwan Price
Huwsi's view
A very late, dubious penalty robbed United of all the points at a sun drenched Morfa ON Saturday. The Musselmen’s dirtiest and slyest player went down in the area in the 97th minute with a dive that would be a contender for a gold medal in London in 2012, and although a point each would be a fair reflection of the match as a whole, the United players could only feel that they had been cheated out of all three points.
Absent from the starting line-up for United was top marksman David Noel Williams, who had family commitments elsewhere, so with a bit of a re-shuffle Iwan Price had his first start for United in the centre of defence with Carl Wayne Jones moving to his more familiar surroundings in the centre of the park.
It didn’t take long for Carl Wayne’s name to enter the referee’s book, six minutes in fact when he ‘accidently’ brought down Conwy’s number 10 just outside the area when he was free on goal, but the resulting free-kick hit the side netting. The first 15 minutes saw both sides have efforts on goal, Dave Ball denied Conwy with a fine save from an effort 25 yards out, and the captain thwarted another effort from 10 yards out with a well timed challenge, with the resulting corner being headed well over the bar. A few minutes later Carl Wayne hit the side netting when a Gethin Phillips throw, some six yards from the corner flag was lofted to the far post, which the keeper could only palm outwards to the edge of the area which Carl Griffiths returned to the feet of Carl Wayne and his low effort was inches wide of the mark.
The deadlock was broken in the 23rd minute when brothers Gethin and Mathew linked well, with an over top ball that eluded Conwy’s defence, and Mathew made no mistakes from just inside the area when he found the back of the net to the keepers left. Two minutes later and Dave Ball pulled off another fine save, Iwan Price made a rare mistake when he misjudged a header which went back and aided Conwy’s forward however from 10 yards out he could not get the better of Ball who kept United’s lead with a fully stretched save to his right side.
Six minutes from the interval and the hosts levelled things up, United lost the ball in the centre of the park, and Andrew Turner’s left footed volley was unstoppable, driven low and passed a fully stretched Dave Ball’s left side. H-T, 1-1.
Five minutes into the second period and Conwy should have taken the lead however the effort from 10 yards out was miss-kicked and Dave Ball picked up easily and immediately release Mathew Phillips (Pepe Reina style!) down the centre of the field, Mathew controlled well and took the ball into the left side of the area and lobbed the keeper from just outside the six yard box, 1 – 2 and a couple of well taken goals for Mathew. Andy, Gareth Eifion and Carl Griffiths linked up well a few minutes later, but the final strike by Carl from around 30 yards out went well over.
After 65 minutes Dave Ball got injured, when Conwy’s number 9 challenged him for the ball when Dave clearly had the ball in is hands. A minute earlier the Referee had words with the player for his dirty challenge on Marvin Pritchard, so why wasn’t he booked only the referee will know? Whilst Dave was receiving treatment by a very busy stand-in physio, it was another Dave that took over our attention, with his reminiscing of times gone by when he heard a plane in the sky, and immediately identified that the sound belonged to a spitfire, a noise he had often heard in the trenches apparently! He then saw a buzzard and was worried about some pigeons flying by, I hope you slept well on Saturday Mr Phillips!
Anyway, back to the game. The referee found 7 minutes of injury time, and this was due to injuries to Llanrug players, Gethin Phillips suffered a back injury, Gareth Eifion pulled out of a challenge and got injured (but not before he made a gleaming run of approx 14 yards!), Dave Ball suffered at the hands of Conwy’s number 9 and Iwan Price which was not a 100% following an illness had time on the ground and was replaced by Gavin Rogerson after 78 minutes. The final 15 minutes or so saw United with their backs very much against the wall and decisions seemed to be going the hosts’ way, Chris Joyce having just been fouled by the illusive number 9, won the ball fairly just outside the area but the referee thought better of it and awarded a free-kick in a dangerous position, however the resulting free-kick went straight into the wall.
Following a short corner, Dave Ball was called into action once again with a low effort and a minute later it was Conwy’s number 9 who had the last laugh, he’d been getting away with all sorts of unfair challenges throughout the game, and it was him who dived in the area to fool the officials to award a penalty, which according to Conwy’s manager was not a penalty, but they deserved something from the game! Adam Jones drove the penalty home with a powerful effort, and although Dave Ball dived correctly to his right, he could not stop the inevitable resulting score line, Full Time was called with the spoils shared.
Next up, Nefyn Utd on Wednesday night for United’s first home tie of the season a practice run for the Welsh Cup tie in a fortnight’s time. |
2009/2010 