Llandudno Junction F.C v Nefyn United F.C
09th February 2008

After a difficult week within the Football Club and a lot of tough decisions being made, I took the responsibility of Managing the First team with Peter Hunt running the Reserves. The change was enforced when Gary and Paul left the club the previous Saturday by mutual consent, along with this news the Club was also dealt a further blow when the Reserves lost at home to Prestatyn in the league.
The job description reads - Avoid Relegation at all costs – it’s as simple as that. I spoke to most of the First team through the week and by Thursday everyone was aware of the new structure. Wednesday and Thursday’s training saw 20 plus lads in both sessions which was great to see and a good mixture of players from both of the squads which will hopefully now become One and move the Club forward. With the talent that is available throughout the Junction setup the job of picking the First team was difficult in some respects because the standard is very high but on the other hand was easy because the Players are very good, whoever we picked would be capable of playing good football, so the squad this week was as follows :-

Rob Jones

Tony Priestley, Ben Thomas, Darrel Jones, Dwyfor Williams.

John Pal Colville, Nathan Jones, Neil Poynton, John Blundell.

Steve Priestley, Bobby Colville.
Subs:
James Hobson, Neil Picton, Tom Roberts, Mike Williams.

Home at the Flyover is the best place to start, especially when the sun is beaming down and the crowd is out in force. At first there was a lot of nervous tension surrounding the dressing room area, this began to disappear when we talked about some rules and what we expect going forward, the lads got ready and started their warm up whilst we sorted out the paperwork. We put the lads through a little warm up routine to get the blood pumping but by now the adrenaline was pumping harder and the lads were ready to go, we talked through a few things just before kickoff and made it clear that they were to go out and enjoy the game. The game started with the Home dugout facing into the sun which we hope will be on the opposite side next time, as we were blinded by the sun. The game started at a fast pace and we created some good work down the right hand side in the 6th minute which resulted in us being awarded a corner his was defended well and ended up with us gaining another corner, this time the ball was whipped in from the far side but Crouchy just got underneath of the ball and put it over.
From the resulting goal kick Nefyn launched along ball forward which found their number 9 in space with a good turn he followed up with a speculative drive just wide of the upright. Then Tony took a quick throw into Neil who turned his marker well and sped into the box, he managed to get a good ball towards the pen spot but some good defending denied us a goal scoring chance. In the 11th minute we were awarded a free kick which Dwyfor delivered perfectly onto Darryl’s head which he guided into the net to make it 1-0 and a great start.
We were having a lot of good play down the right hand side with Tony starting most things in the 14th minute Rob released Tony who found John Paul with a good little ball into his path he ran at the Nefyn’s defence and then clipped a good ball into Bobby who managed to flick onto Nathan but as he done Bobby was launched into the air by Nefyn’s number 5. This signalled a scrappy fifteen minutes or so which the Referee controlled very well, but unfortunately saw a few yellow cards being waved for lack of discipline. As Nefyn were battling their way back into the game they managed a good period of pressure which saw them come close on a couple of occasions which we defended well. We did create a very good opportunity in the 34th minute when the ball was switched from right to left to find Dwyfor in acres of space and this enabled him to deliver a fantastic ball to John Paul who was unlucky not to burst the net with a diving header. Bobby was fantastic up front and working ever so hard winning most aerial challenges that were asked of him and in one instance he brought the ball down and laid it off to Natty perfectly, who in turn found Tony on the right hand side which led to Tony bombing down the right hand side and only being stopped by a very good tackle. For all our good play Nefyn were battling hard and on the 39th minute delivered a blow when a long ball found their number 10 who brought the ball under control and he picked out his team mate who dispatched a good shot just passed the out stretched arm of Rob to make it 1-1.
 We looked and pointed the finger for a second or two then we realised that it wasn’t the end of the World and the response was fantastic and in the final stages of the first half we were awarded a series of corners which, on another day, Darryl would have been celebrating his second of the afternoon, when he got on the end of a corner which was tipped onto the bar and out for another.

Half time score 1-1 and a performance that had potential to build on for the second half.
Our chat at half time saw loads of positive aspects of the game and not many negatives the lads were enjoying the game and everyone was confident of getting the three points which were vital. We started the second half in the same manner as the first with good positive play and when Natty delivered a quality free kick into the box, Crouchy as daft as it sounds was just too short. Nefyn took control of the ball and broke very quickly this attack was abruptly brought to a halt with an excellent tackle by Crouchy who managed to get back in time for his defensive duties. In the 52nd minute we gifted Nefyn a goal when a long ball forward was headed back too softly by Darryl and Nefyn’s number 10 who latched on to it and slotted home to make it 1-2. Mistakes happen in football it’s how we respond to them that makes a difference and Darryl certainly made up for this mistake in abundance with his overall performance throughout the game. We got back to playing the football that was on show in the first half and Natty cut open the Nefyn’s defence with a disguised pass to John Blundell who fired just wide. We played some very good football and we had certainly put behind us going behind and when Bobby took control of a difficult ball he turned and volleyed goal wards which brought a great save from their goalkeeper. We kept attacking from all areas of the pitch, Poynton headed to John Paul out wide, who crossed a very good ball into the box but we couldn’t get on the end of it. Nefyn seemed to be tiring and we kept applying pressure which kept them on the back foot Neil had a great driving run into the box which finished with a good strike that their keeper saved well.
The 75th minute saw our hard work rewarded when Natty delivered another good free kick which John Paul flicked on and Darryl buried to make it 2-2, which sparked great celebrations. Within 8 minutes we had taken the lead again when Natty was found in the centre of goal with only the keeper to beat which he easily done and the score line stretched to 3-2, this time the celebrations were more special as Nathan who was rescued from the ‘Postage Stamp’ earlier in the season turned to the fans and kissed the Junction badge scenes reminiscent of a day in Llanfairpwll when he was brought back from exile. We brought off the very impressive John Paul and John Blundell who had worked hard all afternoon and brought on James and Tom who both combined in the 86th minute when James burst down the right hand side and smashed a ball into the box which skipped over the defender and unfortunately under Tom’s foot which would easily have been our fourth of the afternoon. In the final seconds of the game, saw some good closing down by Bobby who forced their keeper to rush his clearance which ended up with James just inside their half and he delivered a first time effort which bounced into the roof of the net and again spark wild celebrations as the score line read 4-2 and a winning start.

The lads played with heart a desire and gave themselves a big boost of confidence which was much needed hopefully we can take this into our next game against our biggest rivals Conwy and start to climb out of our current position. Big thanks to everyone who supported the team and have done over the last few months and again to all who helped before, during and after the game.