Porthmadog 3 Felinheli 0

Ardal North West

AFTER last Saturday`s horror-show at Llannefydd, Port were in no mood to face another bad defeat and duly completed the double over Felinheli with an emphatic victory which was even more convincing than the scoreline suggests, writes Treflyn Jones.

As early as the fourth minute, Port’s Danny Brookwell came desperately close to opening the scoring when his close range shot was well-saved by Marc Wyn Jones who was to become a very busy boy for the remainder of the match.

Rhys Alun`s free-kick was then charged down by the defensive wall before keeper Jones again blocked a good shot on the turn by Brookwell.

Port continued to dominate proceedings and Sion Williams should have put them ahead on 10 minutes but his first touch was too heavy as he rounded the keeper and the chance was gone as he faced too tight an angle to take on the shot.

Mid-way through the half, Port deservedly went ahead when Rhys Alun tricked his way past two defenders before guiding the ball beyond the keeper’s reach.

Attacking full back Josh Banks then dribbled his way into the box but blazed over as he was forced to shoot with his less favoured right foot.

Port continued to pile on the pressure and Jones had to be alert to tip over a fine left-footed drive by Rhys Alun.

Just after the half-hour mark, Felin enjoyed a brief spell of pressure. They forced two corners in quick succession and it was heart-in-mouth time for the Port faithful when the second of these came off the foot of the near post

.A few minutes before the interval, Port gave themselves a two goal cushion.

A mis-directed back pass went beyond the keeper, and, following a great sliding clearance off the line, Rhys Alun’s dribble took him away from a defender before driving the ball low past the keeper on his near post and the half ended 2-0 in Port`s favour.

Early in the second half, Rhys Alun nearly came up with a collector’s item, namely a headed goal, but his attempt from a deep cross by Jake Jones drifted narrowly wide.

Port came close again when a glorious left-footed 25-yard drive by Brookwell was met by a fine one-handed diving save by Jones.

All this before a Rhys Alun free-kick clattered the top of the bar.

On 72 minutes, however, Sion Williams, playing in a less familiar forward-looking position, made the game safe for the men in black and red as his low shot was deflected past the wrong-footed Jones.

Rhys Alun was then so unfortunate not to complete his hat-trick as he latched on to a great cross-field pass by Kurtis Pearson before firing a confident shot on to the foot of the post.

It was then Elis Puw`s chance to spurn a very good opportunity. Having beaten the off-side trap, his attempted chip was well-read by the Felin custodian as he palmed the effort beyond the post.

Port are still on top of the league three points clear of Rhyl who beat neighbours NFA 2-4.

On the 28th of December, we make the short trip to Pwllheli for a keenly-awaited Yuletide derby.

This will be a very tough test even though Pwllheli lost 8-2 today at bottom club Menai Bridge Tigers. It`s a funny old game!