Bala frustrated after six-goal thriller

BALA Town made the trip to Caersws for their first competitive visit to the Recreation Ground since 2010 on a glorious early autumn afternoon.

The Lakesiders were boosted by the return of goalkeeper Rhys Williams, although five senior players remained sidelined through injury.

Caersws threatened early and almost took the lead after just three minutes when a corner was headed on, but the resulting effort flew narrowly over the crossbar.

It was a fiercely contested opening, with Bala struggling to find any real attacking rhythm while the hosts pressed aggressively.

Another Caersws effort drifted just wide after 12 minutes, while Bala were left frustrated moments later when a strong appeal for a foul on Nathan Burke on the edge of the penalty area was waved away.

The visitors’ growing frustration was reflected when Naim Arsan was booked for dissent.

The deadlock was broken on 25 minutes. A long ball forward caused problems for the Bala defence, and Will Bell was adjudged to have brought down the home striker inside the area. Rhys Hesden made no mistake from the penalty spot to move ahead.

Bala responded positively to the setback. Okera Simmonds came close with a fierce effort that cleared the crossbar before another excellent opportunity arrived from a free-kick, only for a header to flash inches wide.

Their improvement was rewarded eight minutes before the break. A superb delivery from Osebi Abadaki picked out Simmonds, whose powerful header found the far corner to level the scores at 1-1.

At the other end, Rhys Williams was called into action late in the half, producing an excellent save to tip a header over the bar following a long throw.

Bala began the second half strongly, enjoying the majority of possession and looking the more likely side to find a breakthrough. However, they were unable to turn their territorial advantage into goals, while Williams remained alert to deal comfortably with a dangerous free-kick on 63 minutes.

Charlie Fisher was replaced by Tom Kelly on 67 minutes, but three minutes later the hosts regained the lead when an unchallenged strike by Callum Francis-Jones from 12 yards flew past Williams.

With time running out, Bala produced their best football of the afternoon. Simmonds hauled his side level on 81 minutes with a stunning individual effort, cutting inside before curling a magnificent 25-yard strike into the top corner.

The visitors sensed victory and continued to pour forward. A goal was then ruled out for a contentious offside decision, but Bala refused to be denied.

Deep into stoppage time, Simmonds' powerful shot was parried by the Caersws goalkeeper and John Owen reacted quickest to slam home the rebound and put Bala 3-2 ahead in the 91st minute.

It appeared the visitors had snatched all three points, but there was one final twist. In a frantic and chaotic finish, Bala failed to clear their lines and Iawn Smout grabbing a dramatic equaliser.

The result dealt another blow to Bala’s hopes of mounting a serious challenge at the top of the Novir Cymru North table

However, there were positive signs in their attacking play, particularly during the closing stages, and they will now look to build momentum when they host Buckley Town at Maes Tegid on Friday evening, with kick-off at 7.45pm.