Llandyrnog Summer League: Cefn vs. Llandyrnog

One of only three photos not ruined by the sun or my ability to take pictures.

Another night of Summer League action and what has to be, to this point, Llandyrnog's biggest game of the season. I'm sure the kind folk that read this know the score already (you either played in the match, watched the match, or follow Shaun Free Press on Twitter) but for the one of you that doesn't know, Llandyrnog won 1-0.

The game was played under a beaming sun and atop a glorious surface, well half a glorious surface, you see Cefn had only seen fit to mow one half of the pitch! Classic Summer League once again, I believe the home side had run out of time whilst cutting it and as a result the pitch was left with the playing surface equivalent of a mullet.

With the game underway, it was Llandyrnog who got the first real chance as Josh Davies fired just wide of the goal from 10 yards out after beating two men having received the ball from a huge Tom Evans challenge (the tackle was so big that Ron Jeremy is worried he might start losing out on starring roles!). Cefn responded well to that scare and went close themselves as a great diagonal ball played the home forward in behind the defence only for him to pull the trigger and miss the ball, which in turn gave Russ Moorcroft to cover and knock the ball out for a corner. There then followed a period of pressure on the Llandyrnog goal, Cefn winning three corners in quick succession which were dealt with fairly routinely by the away side. Llandyrnog also had to defend against the ridiculously long throw one of the ~~St. Asaph~~ Cefn players was capable of, absolute missiles.

Llandyrnog then enjoyed a spell on top as Danny Roberts's 25 yard free kick flew just over the bar with the keeper looking beaten. Josh Davies thought he'd scored soon after as he got himself on the end of a Danny Roberts flick on before heading straight at a grateful Cefn goalie from 6 yards.

The biggest moment of the game thus far arrived when Cefn were awarded a penalty, John Jones handling on the line as the ball looked destined for the net, it was a save his brother would have been proud of. With the penalty awarded to the "home" side there was the small matter of the punishment, Cefn yelled for a red card to be given and even John "The Cat" Jones looked worried for a moment but fortunately for the Llandyrnog faithful the referee decided that the blatant red card offence only warranted a yellow card punishment. It was the same referee that had decided against carding a Caerwys player for the same offense against Llandyrnog earlier in the season so at least he is consistent in not awarding red cards. Favourable decision aside, there was the small matter of a penalty to deal with. You've all seen the score at the top of this article so you know the outcome of this penalty but in a season defining moment for The Blues, young goalkeeper Daniel Jones got down well to his right hand side to keep the score level. We found out after the game that Dan actually broke his finger in saving this penalty! For the cause Dan, well played lad.

The game then took on the form of a basketball match with both sides taking it in turns to attack, Chris Williams almost scoring with a header from 18 yards after catching the increasingly suspect Cefn keeper off his line. Cefn then went close themselves as a free kick on the edge of the 18 yard box hit the outside of the post before going out for a goal kick.

With it being such an important game it was inevitable that tensions would run high and things took a feisty turn as a tackle between Tom Evans and two Cefn players resulted in a bit of afters on the floor and with what appeared to be a punch thrown by one of the Cefn lads. A melee ensued before the ref was able to calm things down and get the game underway again. Barely a minute had gone by when the game turned nasty again, the Cefn 8 booked for not only putting a bad challenge on Chris Williams but for kicking him in the aftermath and shoving a Dyrny player, likable lad. Whilst the free kick for the foul on Wellies was being set up and the booking was being given, there was controversy in the box as Tom Evans elbowed a Cefn defender in the chest only for the defender to hit the ground holding his face! I won't condone what Tom did but I understand. Cefn yelled for a card but very few people saw it as everyone was looking at the ongoing booking. Again afters ensued and the only calmed down when Big Ems waded into the middle of it all only for the Cefn lads to scatter fairly quickly.

There was just enough time in the half for Cefn to go close again only to be denied by a tremendous save from Daniel Jones, broken finger and all. The Cefn attacker volleying with serious power from 8 yards out only for Dan to get a strong hand to it and turn it over the goal. Finest save I've witnessed this season from any keeper, absolutely top drawer.

That was the first half!

In the second half it was Llandyrnog who started the brighter, hitting the woodwork twice within the opening ten minutes of the half. Firstly Chris Williams hit the bar when he was unable to keep his side-footed effort down as the Cefn keeper flapped helplessly at it. Tudur Morris then found the base of the post with a good hit from the edge of the 18 yard line, I actually thought the keeper had turned the ball wide but a goal kick was given and one of our fans said Tuds had hit the post, I'm taking their word on it.

As was the pattern of the game up to this point though, the pendulum swung again. Cefn actually thinking they'd taken the lead only to see that the referee had disallowed it. A Cefn free-kick lumped into the box caused confusion in the Llandyrnog defence before bouncing off Tom Evans's leg and into the net, the referee blowing for what I believe was a shove in the box but I was writing my notes and didn't really see it (I'm turning into Arsene Wenger here).

Llandyrnog responded well and Emyr Jones caused a bit of havoc in the Cefn as he was first to every header during a series of corners the Llandyrnog side had earned. Two efforts going fairly close as the Cefn defence tried to figure out how to cope with Ems.

The game chugged along after that as control of the game swung back and forth between the two sides without any real chances being created. Llandyrnog manager Jimmy McNally then chose to make a change, bringing on Craig Jones to replace Phil Hinchcliffe up front. All credit to Jimmy as the fresh legs put the Cefn backline under a bit more pressure and resulted in them resorting to hoofing the ball out of the back rather than trying to play through their midfield where their most talented player happens to sit.

With 4 minutes left on the clock Llandyrnog needed to someone to step up to the plate and make some headlines. Enter Pat Hinchcliffe. Pat getting the ball 20 yards out, turning well and unleashing a low shot that really should have been saved but thankfully for us, was not, that hit the back of the net. Cue jubilant scenes as Pat ran to the sideline to celebrate this goal with his old man Phil before being swamped by his team-mates and manager. Huge moment in the season.

With only a few minutes left on the clock Cefn lumped the ball forward again and again only to see it headed back again and again by the Llandyrnog back four, who were again superb. Try as they might they could not get through the Dyrny defence and they soon ran out of time as the referee blew the final whistle.

Llandyrnog 1 Cefn 0. Farewell to the Cefn unbeaten streak. Always nice to put the big city folk in their place.

For anyone who cares I give my Man of the Match award to Daniel Jones in the Llandyrnog goal, a penalty save and a truly remarkable one ensure he gets his first blog award. On any other night the award would have belonged to Tom Evans who got right among the Cefn side and was the most determined man on the pitch, surprisingly keeping his cool in the face of provocation (elbow aside) when he so often wouldn't.

The team was as follows:-
Daniel Jones
John Jones, Russ Moorcroft, Emyr Jones, Tudur Morris
Patrick Hinchcliffe, Phil Hinchcliffe, Tom Evans, Dan Roberts
Chris Williams, Josh Davies

Subs - Craig Jones, Adam Lloyd, Mally Hughes

There are some pictures below but the sun ruined most of them and might terrible understanding of how my girlfriend's camera works ruined the rest.