Football

Porthmadog still without win

Huws Gray Cymru Alliance

Buckley Town 2

Porthmadog 0

PORTHMADOG manager Gareth Parry (pictured) was left still seeking his first win in the Huws Gray Cymru Alliance after his side under-performed in a disappointing two-goal defeat at Buckley.
This weekend will see Rhyl visit the Traeth with a 100 per cent record, after three matches, and it all makes for an urgent stock-take by Porthmadog.
The hope is that, with the return of senior players, including captain Ryan Davies, extra stability will be evident.
Club chairman Phil Jones said: “Gareth is a young manager at 29 years old, and he is working with limited resources. He is certainly not under any pressure from us on the club board.
“As to the suggestion about looking for new players already, that is simply not the case, because we have not had the full squad available yet, and that will happen hopefully this weekend”.
Porthmadog’s fate at Buckley was settled in three damaging minutes around the hour mark, when they conceded a couple of sloppy close-range goals to the home team’s Jack Challenor, and then had a player dismissed.
Right-back Geraint Mitchell could count himself unfortunate as, after being shown a yellow card for a foul earlier, he handled at point blank range.Buckley’s first goal on 59 minutes arose from a low cross pumped from the left by Joe Desormeaux into the visitors’ penalty box, where ‘keeper Richard Harvey parried the ball for Challenor to punish the loose rebound.
Porthmadog had not regrouped after that body blow when the second goal went in two minutes later, following Stuart Wood’s free-kick from the left, then a Gareth Evans assist and another Challenor finish from a few yards.
The first period had been evenly contested, and the away team’s Cai Jones found the net only to be whistled up for a foul on home ‘keeper Jamie Hulse.
Craig Roberts went close with a header, after a Jamie McDaid set-up, Darren Jones blazed over from 20 yards, Iwan Williams steered around a post and Mike Foster’s free-kick was met by Roberts, who was off-target.
In the second half Porthmadog hardly threatened to upset the composed homesters, although Roberts and substitute Jonathan Sadler miscued, and the latter tested Hulse near the end.
Buckley, whose defence were effectively organised by centre-back Gareth Edwards, the winner of virtually every aerial contest, succeeded in protecting their keeper from any real danger.
The hosts were promising moving forward, so that in the opening spell Desormeaux tested Harvey, John Leonard sliced across the face of the goal and Challenor misdirected a chance by steering the ball outside a post.
Challenor also sent a couple of tame efforts straight towards Harvey and Gary McConnell missed out on a one-on-one with Porthmadog’s ‘keeper by dragging his shot wide, and he put another just a whisker past a post.

BUCKLEY TOWN: Hulse, Freeman, Wood, Rowlands, Edwards, Quirk, Desormeaux, Leonard, Wynne (McConnell 68 minutes), McIntosh (Pugh 88 minutes), Challenor (A Williams 80 minutes).
PORTHMADOG: Harvey, Mitchell (sent off 62), Foster, D Jones, E Roberts, G Owen (Pyrs 65), McDaid, J Jones, C Roberts, C Jones (Orlik 65), I Williams (Sadler 79).