The Lakesiders brought an end to another successful season in the Cymru Premier with an eleven goal thrashing of Penybont.
With a Welsh Cup final ahead for the Bont next week, Rhys Griffiths took no risks with injures as he opted to field a squad full of academy players. The result went as expected with Bala taking advantage of the fortunate situation by fielding our strongest eleven bar the injured Chris Venables.
Shannon hits the bar!
It didn't take Bala long to warm up as Ollie Shannon fired the first effort of the game off the woodwork! A warning sign for Penybont that the Lakesiders would start on the front foot, looking to score as many as possible.
It actually took Bala twenty minutes to score the opener however through the unlikeliest of sources. Antony Kay scoring his first goal of the season. The captain tried his luck from range with the ball bouncing on its way to beating the keeper.
Goals galore
The floodgates started to open on the thirty-minute mark. Dean Ebbe provided the second goal of the afternoon with an easy as you like finish. It was Kieran Smith who assisted the striker with the simplest of tasks in front of goal. A minute later, the Lakesiders added a third. Bala attacked straight from kick-off giving Will Evans an opportunity to add his name to the scoresheet. With his first effort on goal, Evans did so, as he shot an effort which beat the keeper for power and pace.
Lassana Mendes was up next to pop up with a goal as he received the ball in the danger zone to slot home the fourth for Bala. This was the last of the goals in a solid first half for the Lakesiders which ended with us four to the good.
Ebbe starts off a hectic second-half
It didn't take long for the second-half's goal counter to start tallying up. Two minutes in, off the bench came Brad Bauress to set up Ebbe for his second of the game. Before another substitute got involved in the action as Paul Rutherford grabbed only his second league goal of the campaign.
Bauress got his deserved goal having been involved in the thick of the action since he made his way to the pitch with little under half an hour to go. The midfielder got onto the end of an inviting cross whipped in by Jonny Spittle to add a seventh goal. Before the man of the match grabbed a brace as Spittle provided yet another outstanding assist to set up Mendes.
The audacious assists didn't stop there as the ninth goal was provided through a wonderful Kieran Smith delivery. It was Rutherford who was on the end of it to add further delight for Colin Caton's men.
Spittle scores two in two minutes!
He may be a defender, but that didn't stop Spittle from showing what he can do down the other end of the field. Having already provided two assists off the bench, he now looked to get himself onto the scoresheet. He successfully did so through Dave Edwards' magic who provided a pinpoint cross for the defender to convert.
Spittle's confidence only grew with the goal. Seconds later, he was back on the attack. Spittle then struck a sweet strike to score his second in an unbelievable couple of minutes for the defender.
That was the last of the goals as Bala produced yet another memorable scoreline, one of many this season. The Bont gave everything they could in a learning experience for the academy players, one that will be put to good use in their development.
A fitting way to bring an end to a successful season for the Lakesiders which sees us finish runners-up in the Cymru Premier while qualifying for Europe once more. The campaign concludes with us only one point behind our record points tally for a Cymru Premier season. The record will be targeted next year as the Lakesides look to go from strength to strength.
Line-ups:
Bala Town - Alex Ramsay, Sean Smith, Antony Kay, Nathan Peate, Oliver Southern, Ollie Shannon, Lassana Mendes, Kieran Smith, Dave Edwards, Will Evans, Dean Ebbe
Penybont - Tye Williams, Cullen Lowtown, William Flay, Rhys Stevens, Jonah Lewis, Dylan Wiliams, Corby Rogers, Tom Tweedy, Jak Carson, Matt Greenwood, Shae McCarthy
Substitutions:
Bala Town - Brad Bauress > Will Evans (45), Anthony Stephens > Nathan Peate (45), Johny Spittle > Oliver Southern (46), Paul Rutherford > Ollie Shannon (45), Harri Lloyd > Alex Ramsay (51)
Penybont - Liam Walsh > William Flay (45), Sam Goodwin > Tye Williams (46), Jack Shaw > Rhys Stevens (46), Jack Bevan > Matt Greenwood (50)