Nathan Peate's second-half strike saw him score in back-to-back games and guide the Lakesiders to a priceless victory over Flint Town at the Essity Stadium.
Having scored against TNS in midweek, Peate added his sixth goal of the season early in the second-half with a striker like run and finish in behind the Flint backline. Bala looked comfortable in our lead until Antony Kay was shown a straight red card following an altercation with an opposition player. The Lakesiders hung on with a tremendous team performance sealing a vital victory.
Bright beginning from Bala
Brad Bauress was in the thick of the action for the Lakesiders right from the word go. He set up Will Evans a couple of minutes into the game with a pinpoint cross, Evans seeing his shot rebounding off the post yet the linesmen's flag was ready anyway to deny Bala a great goal. The ball was then down the other end of the field with Alex Ramsay put into action as he pulled off a great stretching save to deny a header across goal.
Again Bauress whipped in a cross on the Lakesiders' next attack as he found Dean Ebbe who tested Ryan Woods for the first time and was there to deny our No9. Bauress aimed for the goal himself a couple of minutes later as he struck a sweet strike from twenty yards out at Woods who again pulled off another save.
Flint hit the post!
The Silkmen's best chance came in the 22nd minute. Ross Weaver found space to direct a header at goal which struck the post before a Flint player was unable to convert from close range.
Smith stings Woods' palms
Our best chance of the half on the other hand fell to an unlikely source. Sean Smith bombed forward and found space to strike at goal with his well taken shot forcing Woods' into a reflex save.
Peate puts the Lakesiders ahead!
The Lakesiders looked to take the lead following the break as they pushed men forward. We got our wish when Ramsay rifled a long ball into the box and found a patient Peate who struck the ball straight past Woods.
Kay sees Red
Having taken a deserved lead, Colin Caton's men's task of taking home three points was made that much tougher with a third of the game to go. Kay was given his marching orders for an act of apparent aggressive behaviour as viewed by the linesmen with the Lakesiders left stunned by the decision.
Anthony Stephens came onto the field for Paul Rutherford to help restructure Bala following Kay's dismissal. He made a heroic block at the back on the 76th-minute mark when he threw his torso in the way of a shot directed at goal.
Bala beat Flint for three pivotal points
The Lakesiders closed out the remaining few minutes with a controlled performance. Despite having one less player on the field, Bala looked the better side in the closing minutes as they had the majority of possession. Caton was a relieved manager at full-time as his side avoided a potential banana skin with the Lakesiders having now beaten the Silkmen in all of our last seven encounters.
Next for the Lakesiders is arguably our biggest game of the season as we take on Newtown at Maes Tegid with huge implications involving the automatic European qualification spot.
The Robins arrive on Good Friday with kick-off set at a slightly later time of 15:00pm.
Lineups:
Bala Town – Alex Ramsay, Ollie Shannon, Nathan Peate, Antony Kay, Sean Smith, Kieran Smith, Brad Bauress, Paul Rutherford, Dave Edwards, Will Evans, Dean Ebbe
Flint Town - Ryan Woods, Jake Phillips, Sam Hart, Ben Maher, Ben Nash, Kai Edwards, Mark Cadwallader, Callum Bratley, Daniel Roberts, Ross Weaver, Conor Harwood
Substitutions:
Bala Town - Anthony Stephens > Paul Rutherford (63)
Flint Town - Oliver Nugent > Ross Weaver (77), Liam Ellis > Daniel Roberts (86)