CAERNARFON WANDERERS 0
LLANDYRNOG UNITED 2
ELFED Lloyd’s Llandyrnog United have finally won a match inside 90 minutes!
After opening the season with a hat-trick of cup wins that required either extra time or penalties, the Cae Nant side benefited from a goal in each half to begin their Welsh Alliance League Division Two tilt on a winning note.
Caernarfon Wanderers put pressure on Llandyrnog from the start and at first seemed the more likely to take control.
The visitors found it hard to get beyond the halfway line in the early stages and tended to give the ball away cheaply in their own half, almost inviting the home side to take the initiative.
The villagers soon settled and started finding the strikers’ feet a lot more, which resulted in the first goal.
Simon Brown was fed the ball out wide left and got beyond the defensive line before delivering a peach of a ball which Josh Davies attacked well to head home.
That goal was the beginning of a purple patch for Llandyrnog, which should have resulted in more goals.
With the home side finding it difficult to keep up with their opponents’ quick movement of the ball, Josh Davies received possession on the edge of the box and cleverly created space for himself to turn and shoot, only for his effort to be turned around the post by the home keeper.
Kristien Pierce’s pace always looked a threat and the youngster found himself breaking through the home defence following some good interlinking by Phil Parry and Si Brown, but his effort flew over the bar.
With chances going begging, Llandyrnog’s defence had to stay focused.
Adam Lloyd and Neil Brown controlled the heart of the defence with little trouble.
As the Wanderers began to get back into the game, Lloyd’s side looked at picking them off with quick transitional play, with Danny Jones and Kristien Pierce always looking to support the lively pair up front.
The second stanza saw the home side again starting strongly, as Llandyrnog’s quality seemed to disintegrate.
Poor passing and poor control put the visitors under pressure again, but with Tom Evans and Phil Parry holding a good shape in midfield, Wanderers found it difficult to break through the rearguard.
Llandyrnog added to their tally on 55 minutes.
Kristien Pierce covered ground having picked up the ball in his own half and he ran forcefully with the ball prior to feeding Si Brown who rifled a shot into the net to make it two-nil.
Wanderers continued to ask questions of the visitors’ defence and were unlucky not to score after a mistake by Neil Brown.
The home striker’s shot rebounded off the post and went out to safety.
With possession quite equal, Azzie Hughes was troubled very little in the villagers’ goal, his only scare coming from a long range shot that skidded off the now wet surface.
With Josh Davies and Kristien Pierce making way for the fresh legs of Liam Jones and Gareth Roberts, Llandyrnog pushed on and seemed to be the more likely to score again and there was little doubt in the result towards the end.
Although they were not playing at their best, Llandyrnog’s effort and organisation was enough to see them through the match with a clean sheet.
The result keeps their 100 per cent winning run for the season intact, but that record will be severely tested in this weekend’s Welsh Cup clash against Cymru Alliance Flint Town United.
It promises to be a tough test for the side from Cae Nant, but it is one that the current squad of players will relish.