Bala Town march on with third straight win

BALA Town maintained their perfect start to the Novira Cymru North campaign with a convincing 3-0 victory over Gresford Athletic at Maes Tegid on Friday evening.

The Lakesiders, now three wins from three, were in control for long periods and could easily have added to their tally on a night when they created a host of chances.

Tom Kelly threatened early on with a curling free-kick that found its way around the wall, forcing Gresford goalkeeper Alexander Tyrrell into a smart save. Kelly was again involved midway through the half when a neat exchange with Craig Lindfield created an opening, but his effort drifted narrowly over the crossbar.

Bala continued to press, with Henry Evans seeing a powerful strike blocked before Charlie Fisher tested Tyrrell once more as the hosts searched for a breakthrough.

The deadlock was finally broken on the stroke of half-time. Kelly's corner was met by Lindfield, who powered a header into the net at the near post to give the hosts a deserved lead heading into the interval.

Bala stepped up a gear after the restart and doubled their advantage seven minutes into the second half. Kelly was again the architect, delivering a dangerous ball from the right that was expertly headed home by Fisher.

The result was all but secured on the hour mark when Iwan Lewis produced the goal of the evening. The midfielder met the ball with a sweetly-struck half-volley that flew into the left-hand corner, leaving Tyrrell with no chance.

It completed an impressive night for the Lakesiders, who not only claimed another three points but also handed new signing La'Trell Jones a clean sheet on his debut.

Manager Steve Fisher was pleased to see his side continue their winning run but believes there is still more to come from his newly assembled squad.

"I said to the lads before the game it was all about getting points on the board and keeping the winning run going," said Fisher.

"I was pleased with the 3-0 win. It could have been more and probably should have been more. We did really well in spells.

"We were a little bit off it in the first half but we got the goal just before the break, which was important.

"Performance-wise, I still think there's a lot more to come from us. We're a fairly new squad and it's taking time for everyone to gel together. You can see the improvement every game and every week, but we're still a couple of matches away from seeing this team at its best."

Fisher knows tougher tests lie ahead, with Bala facing Rhyl, Newtown and Porthmadog in their next three league outings.