The Lakesiders were forced to settle for a point in our first game of 2022 as Cardiff Met held us to a draw at the Cyncoed Campus.
The game itself involved little clear-cut chances for either side with Alex Ramsay denying Adam Roscrow from close range the closest the game went to finding a winner. Will Evans tried to break the deadlock on numerous occasions in the first-half against his former side. But it wasn’t to be, as we picked up our eighth draw of the season.
Evans goes close again, again, and again!
With Chris Venables suspended, it was Evans who led the line for Colin Caton’s side with Dave Edwards in his preferred midfield slot for the match. It was through the former Archer that Bala went closest to scoring throughout the opening half. His first chance came in the tenth minute from a Brad Bauress free-kick which Evans clipped the side netting from with the slightest of touches.
His next effort came a few minutes later when this time it was Paul Rutherford who delivered a ball into the box that found the head of the 24-year-old, the ball unfortunately crawling past the wrong side of the post. Again, Evans looked to test the keeper with another Bala attack from just inside the area as he found space to drill a shot that was saved well by Alex Lang in goal. This meant we entered the break all square in the Capital.
Kay heads just over
Ramsay was tested for the first time in the match minutes into the second-half when a swerving shoton goal from Thomas Price forced our shot-stopper into spilling the ball inside his own box. He was able to recover quickly however to deny Lewis Rees the opportunity to jump on the rebound.
Evans continued to be the biggest threat to The Archers’ defence as we looked to find the attacker with every break forward. Yet our first opportunity of the second-half fell to stand-in captain Antony Kay who was on the end of our best chance of breaking the deadlock in the second-half. But his header failed to hit the target from a cross as it sailed over the bar.
Super Rambo with a super save
It looked as if the Lakesiders were set to be punished for one individual error and leave with nothing from South Wales when Roscrow had the chance to win it at the death, but Ramsay was there to deny him with a superb save. Kieran Smith gave the ball away cheaply, before Harry
Owen was able to receive it and play through Roscrow whose shot was met by our Number 1 shotstopper to deny the striker.
Ramsay’s late save ensuring we left with a point to show for our first-half efforts with neither side doing enough to obtain the victory at Cyncoed Campus. This stalemate means we remain in seventh following Caernarfon’s win on Friday night as the importance of three points continues to grow now with every game.
We will return to Maes Tegid for the first time in over a month for our first home game of 2022 on Friday January 28th against Newtown with kick-off set for 19:45pm.
Match Stats: Bala Town - Alex Ramsay, Oliver Southern, Antony Kay, Nathan Peate, Sean Smith, Lassana Mendes, Kieran Smith, Will Evans, Paul Rutherford, Brad Bauress, Dave Edwards
Cardiff Met – Alex Lang, Matt Chubb, Kyle McCarthy, Emlyn Lewis, Tom Price, Chris Baker, Eliot Evans, Harry Owen, Lewis Rees, Joseph Evans, Adam Roscrow
Substitutions:
Bala Town – Steve Leslie > Paul Rutherford (55), Calum Woods > Brad Bauress (84)
Cardiff Met – Craven > Eliot Evans (65), Liam Warman > Lewis Rees (65), Thomas Davies > Joseph Evans (72), Harris Feltham > Harry Owen (84)
