As is usually the case at this early point in the season, the Welsh Cup 1st round proper draw threw up some interesting ties, and the game I chose to watch was no exception.
For the first time in their history Llanuwchllyn, of the Welsh National League (Wrexham Area) Division One, had made it through to the first round and they were taking on Buckley Town of the Cymru Alliance (which is two leagues above in the Welsh pyramid).
Llanuwchllyn is a small, predominantly Welsh speaking, village on the outskirts of Bala. In fact it is at the southern edge of Bala Lake (Llyn Tegid) and is the headquarters of the Bala Lake Railway.
The football club was formed in 1957 and play on a field, known as Cae Ffwtbol, adjacent to the local village hall.
The entrance to the ground is at the side of this hall, where I paid my £2 admission. It was disappointing, for me anyhow, that no programme had been produced to commemorate today's historic occasion.
The ground, as you would expect at this level, is basic with no real spectator facilities, but the vista is stunning! The club did make an effort on their big day with a Gazebo erected to sell hot drinks, crisps and chocolate.
The entrance to the ground is at the side of this hall, where I paid my £2 admission. It was disappointing, for me anyhow, that no programme had been produced to commemorate today's historic occasion.
The ground, as you would expect at this level, is basic with no real spectator facilities, but the vista is stunning! The club did make an effort on their big day with a Gazebo erected to sell hot drinks, crisps and chocolate.
It was a fine afternoon for football as the previous weeks wet weather gave way to some autumnal sunshine. The game also turned out to be a belting cup tie!
The home side were quickest out of the blocks, their pacey attack caught Buckley cold and soon they were 2-0 up. After 11 minutes Buckley 'keeper Ben Jones' clearance was sent back first time by Owain Williams and, before Jones could get back on his line, the ball was in the net.
The home side were quickest out of the blocks, their pacey attack caught Buckley cold and soon they were 2-0 up. After 11 minutes Buckley 'keeper Ben Jones' clearance was sent back first time by Owain Williams and, before Jones could get back on his line, the ball was in the net.
It got better for Llanuwchllyn after 15 minutes when a corner was headed back across goal by Llian Roberts and Dewi Edwards added the finishing touch from a couple of yards out (pictured right).
However, before they had time to settle on their lead, it was 2-2 within five minutes. There was a "suspicion of handball" as Carl Lamb controlled a cross to hit the ball home after 16 minutes. There was nothing controversial about his second goal though as he raced onto a long ball to round the 'keeper before shooting home, via a deflection. This was after just 19 minutes.
The game calmed down after that but Llanuwchllyn were still causing Buckley problems. However as the half wore on Buckley began to take control of the game and really should have gone in at the break in front.
It wasn't long into the second half before they did take the lead. After Alwyn Rowlands in the Llanuwchllyn goal had pulled off a stunning double save, Anthony Lipton gave the visitors the lead on 55 minutes, with a superb sidefooted effort from the edge of the box.
It wasn't long into the second half before they did take the lead. After Alwyn Rowlands in the Llanuwchllyn goal had pulled off a stunning double save, Anthony Lipton gave the visitors the lead on 55 minutes, with a superb sidefooted effort from the edge of the box.
From then on the complexion of the match changed as Buckley pinned Llanuwchllyn back, the home sides rhythm not helped by a couple of enforced substitutions and a red card, and Buckley wasted numerous chances to put the game to bed.
With just a couple of minutes remaining however, the ten men of Llanuwchllyn grabbed an unlikely equaliser. In their only real attack of the second half, they broke clear and Adam Williams' daisy cutter from the corner of the penalty area sent the game into extra time.
Llanuwchllyn were dead on their feet and in extra time Buckley finally killed off their plucky hosts with three more goals. Lipton scored his second with a shot that looped over the 'keeper (99) Derrick Taylor was allowed the freedom of the box to turn and shoot home (115) and substitute Reece Norton completed the scoring (118) when racing through to beat the advancing Rowlands.
There was also an extraordinary sequence of Buckley hitting the crossbar 3 times in the space of 20 seconds in the first period of extra time.
The scoreline in the end probably gave a true reflection of how the game went but Llanuwchllyn can be very, very proud of their efforts today.
Saturday 6th October 2012
Welsh Cup 1st Round Proper
CPD Llanuwchllyn 3-6 Buckley Town (After Extra Time, 90 mins 3-3)
Attendance: 77 (h/c)
Cae ffwtbol is welsh for football ground, that is not the name of the pitch.
ReplyDeletehowever, nice mention for Llan, they recently won 21-0 in a game vs Mold. Onwards and Upwards