November 2008 Archives

A CONTROVERSIAL 87th minute goal denied Colwyn Bay a deserved point at home to Skelmersdale United (Nov 29).
The Seagulls were very unhappy with the officials who lost control of the game as the fog descended, after refusing what looked a clear penalty for a foul on Hopley when he looked certain to score, while the Bay claimed Skelmersdale striker Mark Houghton had been guilty of an elbow to give him the chance to get on the end of Martin Crowder's cross to score the late winner.
That was a cruel finish to the game after the Bay had recovered from a really rocky patch at the end of the first half to produce a strong second half performance that deserved a point.
Manager Neil Young said: "After losing 6-2 to them a couple of weeks ago we set up differently and looked to play more on the counter attack, and for first first 20 minutes I thought we did well.
"We got a bit ragged in the last 15 minutes and conceded a silly goal right on half-time, but we changed things again at the break and I thought our second half performance definitely deserved a point.
"We were denied a stonewall penalty, got the equaliser and had chances to go in front, but then their number nine got away with a blatant elbow in the build up to scoring their winning goal and I don't feel the officials assisted the game at all with some of their decisions."
After an early escape when Sean McConville volleyed wide from six yards, Colwyn Bay did quite well with Rob Hopley getting the ball in the net ony to be ruled offside, but Steve Aspinall, a surprise choice at left back, struggled against the pace of McConville and Colwyn Bay started to get over-run in midfield as the half progressed.
Mark Cartwright, forced out of retirement to play his first game in nearly five years because of Bay's goalkeepiing injury problems, tipped a shot from McConville over the bar and then did well to get his foot to the ball to save his side as George Donnelly tried to go round him in a one on one.
But just when it seemed the Bay would survive to half-time, Donnelly was allowed to turn and run at a retreating defence before firing into the bottom corner of the net from 25 yards with nobody going to close him down.
Danny Edwards came on for Craig Garside at half-time with Dean Canning moving into the centre of midfield and the Bay looked much better for that.
Hopley got in a good shot which keeper Ryan McMahon beat away and Lee Davey's follow up shot was deflected for a corner off a defender.
Hopley was then played in by Mike McGraa and was bundled over from behind just as he was about to shoot with only the keeper to beat - but amazingly the referee waved away the penalty claims.
"It was a stonewall penalty; I was set to score," insisted Hopley afterwards.
A dreadful tackle which left McGraa in heap and later forced him to retire also went unpunished by the referee.
McMahon made a fine save to turn a free kick from Aspinall round the post for another corner before Colwyn Bay deservedly equalised on 76 minutes with Hopley breaking free on the left and crossing low for Lee Davey to slide in with defender Shaun Foster, who looked to get the final touch, to divert the ball past the keeper.
Davey will be happy to claim his second goal in two games, although he wasn't as effective playing in a wide right role as he was playing down the middle at Harrogate the previous week.
Colwyn Bay failed to make the most of another good chance when the keeper dropped the ball under pressure and Aspinall fired over the bar after another free kick had rebounded back to him off the defensive wall.
As the fog closed in, the game looked to be heading for a draw, but on 87 minutes Crowder got in a cross through the mist from the left and Houghton deflected it past Cartwright for that cruel late winner.
Colwyn Bay: Cartwright, Aspinall, Wood, Branch, Challinor, McGraa (Mitchell 69 mins), Canning, Garside (Edwards 45mins), Hopley, Moran (Brandreth 88mins), Davey. Sub not used: O'Mahoney.
Colwyn Bay are hoping to sign two more players in the next few days and possibly two more before next weekend.

LLANDUDNO lost further ground on leaders Bala Town in the Cymru Alliance with a 1-1 home draw against Penrhyncoch, and were only rescued from defeat by 85th minute equaliser from Craig Hogg.

Conwy United stay third in the Welsh Alliance after winning 6-1 against struggling Nantlle Vale. Llanrwst United did even better, thumping Barmouth 9-1 while Llandudno Junction drew 2-2 at Halkyn. Glan Conwy's game against Llanrug was postponed.

AN 80th minute debut goal by new signing Lee Davey gave Colwyn Bay a 1-0 victory at Harrogate Railway Athletic - despite playing for all but five minutes without a recognised keeper.
Michael Langley injured knee ligaments as he landed awkwardly after jump under challenge to catch a high cross very early in the game and became the fifth keeper to be injured playing for Bay this season.
With top scorer Rob Hopley already playing in the centre of defence due to Graham Branch's absense through injury, Langley's early departure forced more changes with skipper Dave Challinor taking over in goal, while midfielder Steve Aspinall made up a makeshift central defensive partnership with Hopley and striker Andy Moran, back on a second loan spell from Fleetwood, moved back in to midfield with Danny edwards coming off the becnh to play up front.
Challinor dealt competently with everything he had to do, but apart from a 10 minute spell immediately after the injury, a poor Harrogate side were unable to put him under any pressure, with the only direct shot he had to save coming from a free kick which was straight at him.
Hopley and Aspinall played well in the middle of defence. while Mike McGraa was excellent in midfield and Davey impressed up front on his debut with some deft lay-offs and great pace.
He came closest to a goal in the first half, taking a return pass from Edwards, clipping the ball over a defender's head and cracking a left foot volley which brough a fine leaping save from Harrogate keeper Liam Sutcliffe.
As the second half progressed Colwyn Bay gained more and more control and in the end could have won by two or three goals.
Edwards hit the bar with a header and saw a chip over the keeper land on the roof of the net, while Sutcliffe made a flying save to punch a McGraa free kick away for a corner and Craig Garside shot wide from a good scoring chance.
But the breakthrough finally came 10 minutes from the end when Davey latched onto a long ball down the left and cut inside before scoring with a low angled shot past the keeper.
Dean Canning, who played on after breaking his nose in a goalmouth collision, should have added a second but shot wide after a great solo run and taken clear of the defence with just the keeper to beat.
The Bay lost Matty Wood with an ankle injury the and survived a couple of scares in four mintes of added time, but in the end thoroughly deserved the win that has moved them up to 11th place in the table.
Manager Neil Young again praised his side's work rate for the win.
"It was a big decision to put our only established central defender in goal when Michael Langley was injured, and we've had to shuffle the side around as a result, but all the players have worked really hard to get us a very important win," he said.
"That's 10 points out of 12 and if we hadn't conceded a last minute equaliser at Radcliffe we would have had four league wins in a row - and that is very hard to do in this division."
Colwyn Bay: Langley (Edwards 5 mins), Mitchell, Wood (Frost 86mins),Challinor, McGraa, Canning, Garside, Davey (O'Mahoney 89mins), Moran, Aspinall.

LLANDUDNO won 2-0 at Denbigh with first half goals from Lee Thomas and Chris Boulton penalty and closed the gap slighty on the top two, Bala and Holyhead, who both drew.

GLAN CONWY reached the quarter-finals of the FAW Welsh Trophy with a 3-1 win at Presteigne St Andrews. In the Barritt Cup there were wins for Conwy United, Llandudno Junction and Mochdre Sports, while Llanrwst United's game at Bethesda was postponed.
Full details in this week's Weekly News.

CONWY UNITED reached the quarter-finals of the Cookson Cup with a 3-2 win over Llanrwst United at the Morfa on Wednesday night (Nov 19).
The teams were level at 1-1 at half-time with Ricky Jones putting Conwy in front early on before Bryn Jenkins equalised nine minutes before the break.
Jamie Jones then put Conwy back in front a minute into the second half and Ricky Jones got his second of the game before Lee Allen pulled a goal back for Llanrwst with an 84th minute penalty.
Conwy are now away to Pwllheli for a place in the last four.

COLWYN BAY were hit for six as they suffered a first half defensive meltdown to crash out of the Unibond League Cup on Monday night (Nov 17).
They lost 6-2 to a Skelmersdale squad which included three ex-Colwyn Bay players in Martin Crowder, Kyle Armstrong and Adam Wade, and were torn apart by Skelmersdale's pace in a calamitous first half in which they conceded five goals and were fortune it wasn't more.
In the end they hauled off an out-of-sorts Graham Branch and pulled top scorer Rob Hopley out of attack to play in the centre of defence to try and stem the tide.
He did well, to be fair, and coped much better against the threat of George Donnelly who had been creating havoc down the middle, but by then the damage had already been done.
Skelmersdale caused problems with their pace straight from the kick off but were helped by a soft looking penalty after nine minutes when Mark Houghton went down in the box and Sean McConville scored from the spot.
The Bay looked to have ridden the storm and equalised on 18 minutes when Dean Canning slid in at the far post to turn in Hopley's mishit shot after great work on the right by Danny Edwards.
But they then conceded three goals in the space of seven minutes with two for George Donnelly and one by Houghton following a corner, helped by a catalogue of defensive and goalkeeping clangers.
Steve Aspinall's trip on McConville a minute before half-time then gave the winger his second goal from the penalty spot.
Colwyn Bay reorganised at half-time and did much better in the second half with a 3-5-2 formation, pulling a second goal back on the hour with a Dean Canning header from Matty Wood's cross on the hour.
But there was never going to be a way back in to the tie and Skelmersdale added a sixth a minute later from a quickly taken free kick, as McConville crossed for Houghton to slide in and score from close range.
Overall the Bay did not play that badly at times and at least showed some determination and character in the second half, but the manager must be concerned at the way his defence fell apart against genuine pace in that first half.
Colwyn Bay: Langley, Mitchell, Wood, Branch (O'Mahoney 32mins), Challinor, McGraa (Black 79mins), Canning, Garside, Edwards, Hopley, Aspinall.

COLWYN BAY gave probably their best display of the season to beat Clitheroe 3-0 and fully avenge their undeserving 3-0 defeat at Shawbridge last month.
Although they capitalised on a couple of awful defensive blunders for their first two goals, they fully deserved the victory.
With Steve Aspinall and Mike McGraa outstanding in midfield, the Bay moved the ball around very well at pace with Neil Black looking sharp up front and Dean Canning having his best game weeks.
At the back Dave Challinor stood out in a solid back four that was so commanding that new keeper Mike Langley only had one save of note to make in the game.
Manager Neil Young commented: "What pleased me most of all was our work ethic.
"I have said all along it would be a slow process to turn things around, but there were signs today that we are getting there. We've now taken seven out of nine points in are last three games which is encouraging and but for a last minute goal at Radcliffe it would have been nine out of nine."
Neil Black was nursing an ankle knock after the game, but the manager said he wanted to keep the same side together if at all possible for Monday's League Cup game at home to Skelmersdale (7.45pm), although much depends on how quickly the players recover.
" I am not a fan of Monday night games because it doesn't give the players enough time to recover, and thankfully after the Skelmersdale game we are reverting back to Tuesday nights," added the manager.
"I hope we can threw that because we want to have run in the cup if we can."
New signing Andy Pew was not involved against Clitheroe after injuring a knee in training and the manager added: "If the back four continue to play like they did today he may have to wait a while to get his chance."
Colwyn Bay were in front after only two minutes when indecision by defender Jonathan Smith saw him lose the ball to Neil Black who strode clear to slide the ball past the advancing keeper.
Rob Hopley put a shot narrowly wide and Black had another shot saved before the Bay increased their lead 20 minutes later.
A dreadful defensive pass by Clitheroe was intercepted by Black who surged into the penalty area and although his angled shot was parried by keeper Martin Fearon, Dean Canning was following up to score with a diving header.
Only a tremendous point blank save by Fearon prevented Black scoring a third from Hopley's cross before half time and Dave Challinor put a header inches over the bar from a corner.
The third goal come early in the second half when the Bay won the ball well in midfield and played it forward for Hopley to ghost past a defender and score with an angled shot that went in off the far post.
Substitute Dan Edwards and Craig Garside were both narrowly off target with chances to add a fourth and Fearon made another flying save to turn a shot from Graham Branch round the post for a corner.
That was one of 10 Colwyn Bay corners to just three by Clitheroe which was a fair reflection of the game, with Langley's only save of note coming late in the game to turn away a shot from Clitheroe defender Connor Kavanagh.
The delighted fans in a crowd of just over 300 gave the team a great ovation at the end and they will be hoping for more of the same on Monday.
Colwyn Bay: Langley, Mitchell, Wood, Branch, Challinor, McGraa, Canning, Garside, Black (Edwards 75mins), Hopley (O'Mahoney) 82mins), Aspinall. Subs not used: Brandreth, Coverley.

LLANDUDNO were twice in front at Mynyd Isa with goals from Lee Craven and two by Chris Boulton, but finished up with only one point from a 3-3 draw.
They have now dropped to fifth in the table and are 11 points behind leaders Bala.

In the Welsh Alliance Conwy United beat Holywell Town 3-1, but Glan Conwy were held to 2-2 all draw at home by Rhydymwyn, Llandudno Junction drew 3-3 at Llanberis and Llanrwst were beaten 3-1 at home by Nefyn United.

LLANDUDNO had two players sent off as they suffered a major blow to their hopes of catching the top two in the Cymru Alliance with a 3-1 home defeat to Holyhead Hotspur on Wednesday (Nov 12).
In a game they badly needed to win, Gwyn Peters was denied an early goal by good save from the Holyhead keeper, before the Anglesey side took the lead on 16 minutes when Marc Evans broke clear and rounded keeper Sean Pearson to score.
Llandudno were level a minute later when Chris Boulton scored with a header from a Paul Roberts cross, but six minutes later Ken Owen got Holyhead's second in a goalmouth scramble.
Much of the play after was scrappy but red cards for Joe Morgan and Lee Thomas, continuing their poor disciplinary records for the club, left Llandudno to fight on with nine men, and Holyhead added a third two minutes from the end with Ken Owen scoring his second of the game.
The result puts second-placed Holyhead seven points clear of Llandudno with two games in hand.

LLANDUDNO scored three goals in the last seven minutes to win 4-0 in their top-five clash at Ruthin Town in the Cymu Alliance (November 8).
And that has moved them into the top three and sets up a huge game at home to second-placed Holyhead on Wednesday.
The Maesdu Park men dominated the first half without being able to make a breakthrough, but after surviving a couple of early scares in the second half, they took the lead just after the hour mark when Jason Sadler laid the ball off perfectly for Chris Boulton to stride forward and fire past keeper Simon Williams.
Boulton then capped a man of the match performance by setting up all three of Llandudno's late goals to seal the points.
Played in by Carwyn Williams, he had his shot blocked by the keeper only for Danny Hughes to follow up and score from the rebound, and then Roberts played in Boulton again, and he beat a defender before his shot was parried by the keeper for Sadler to score.
Boulton then crossed from the right for substitute Joe Morgan to head the fourth in added time.

COLWYN BAY reached the quarter finals of the North Wales Rugby Cup after an 8-7 win at Mold with a try from Chris Hughes and an Ashley James penalty.

NANT CONWY ran in eight tries to reach the quarter-finals of the North Wales Cup by ending Bethesda's unbeaten record with a 50-12 victory on Thursday night (Nov 6).
Although Nant got an early try from Carwyn ap Merddyn, Bethesda competed well for half an hour and led 7-5 at one stage with a converted try.
But Nant had taken control by half-time with two quick tries in the last five minutes of the first half, and ran out comfortable winners in the second half.
Skipper Elgan Davies went over for two tries and other try scorers were No 8 Dewi James, scrum-half Osian Roberts, full-back Peredur Elis, flanker Arwyn Jones and prop James Jones.
Llandudno are also in the last eight after their double header win at Bala last weeknd, while Colwyn Bay play at Mold on Saturday (Nov 8).

COLWYN BAY survived an anxious last 18 minutes to end their six-match winless run with an unconvincing 1-0 win over struggling Rossendale United.
They found it a struggle against a side who had lost eight of their previous nine games, but in the end Rossendale had every right to feel they could have got something out of the game.
Manager Neil Young admitted he was very unhappy with the performance, but commented: "We have have played much better than that and been beaten, and at the moment three points and a clean sheet is more important than the performance.
"We've now got two weeks without a game in which we can really put in some work with the players and possibly bring in a couple more who will help to push us forward."
Colwyn Bay edged the first half, but Daniel Edwards shot wide after being set up by Garside's challenge on the edge of the Rossendale area and keeper Lee Bracey made a good diving save form Neil Black and Mike McGraa saw his follow up shot deflected over the bar off a defender.
Lycett also put a chance narrowly over the bar, but the Bay struggled to create too much apart from that.
They got the the only goal of the game, however, three minutes into the second half when Rob Hopley was fouled on the right and McGraa's free kick into the area was steered into the net off the inside of the post by Dave Challinor.
Black should have made it 2-0 when he got past defender Kevin Brown and was one- on-one with the keeper but delayed his shot too long and Bracey was able to deflect the ball for a corner.
Colwyn Bay failed to create a single chance after that as Rossendale began to dictate the play and Phil Eastwood looked certain to equalise until Dean Canning flung his body in the way to deflect the ball over the bar.
Young 17-year-old keeper Peter Kennedy, on loan from Tranmere Rovers, made a fine diving save from James Heywood and Rossendale substitute Jermaine Steele missed twi good chances to snatch an equaliser, while the visitors also had a driven cross deflected onto a post and out for a corner.
Colwyn Bay: Kennedy, Mitchell, Wood (Hughes 80 mins), Branch, Challinor, Lycett, McGraa, Garside, Black (O'Mahoney 77mins), Hopley, Edwards (Canning 56, mins). Subs not used: Coverley and Brandreth.
Attendance: 237

LLANDUDNO moved into the top five of the Cymru Alliance as they came from 1-0 down to beat Glantraeth 2-1 at Maesdu Park thanks to goals from Jason Sadler and Gareth Evans.

IN the Welsh Alliance Llandudno Junction hit struggling Nantlle Vale for six in a 6-1 win, while Glan Conwy beat Llanllyfni 3-1 and Llanrwst United defeated Holywell 3-2. Conwy United, however lost 3-1 at home to Barmouth. More details on these games in Thursday's Weekly News.