Stalemate for Lakesiders in South Wales
The Lakesiders and the Bluebirds played out a goalless draw with points shared at the Bridge Meadow Stadium.
Bala went closest to scoring only ten minutes into the game. Ollie Shannon seeing his shot cleared off the line by Jazz Richards in what was the only real highlight of a poor first-half.
Then both sides had their fair share of chances in the second-half with the hosts’ danger man Mason Jones-Thomas unable to beat Alex Ramsay on two separate occasions. While Antony Kay late effort to snatch a victory came off the bar as Bala were forced to settle for a point.
Shannon misses golden opportunity
It was a bright start by the Lakesiders as we looked to push the pace and give the hosts an early setback. Some beautiful build-up play between Chris Venables, Paul Rutherford, Dave Edwards saw the ball arrive at Shannon’s feet with an empty goal to aim at. But his hesitation before firing allowed Richards to track back and clear the ball off the line.
Bala went close to breaking the deadlock again minutes later through Venables as he caused Lee Idzi to spill the ball in his own area. The ball crawled towards the hosts’ net, but Kyle Patten was there to hook it clear and keep the scores level.
There was little to report on for either side with half-time approaching, both managers doing everything to avoid going behind. Ben Fawcett looked most likely to give the hosts the lead in the opening half, but the striker looked a lonely figure upfront with little support around him.
Rutherford fails to make the most of a defensive mishap
Following half-time, the hosts looked a lot more threatening, with Jones-Thomas given the freedom to run at our defence. Do exactly that he did, as he went close to putting the hosts ahead on several occasions.
The first of which came on the hour mark with Johnny Spittle managing to get his body in the way of the wingers’ effort as the side netting welcomed the ball.
Rutherford had an opportunity to test the Bluebirds’ goalkeeper following a poor defensive clearance, but the midfielder’s touch let him down as the chance got away from him.
Jones-Thomas threatens for the Bluebirds
Jones-Thomas was later able to test Ramsay for the first time as he forced the keeper to get down well with a bobbled shot from outside the area. Again, Jones-Thomas was at the forefront of another attack, he forced our shot-stopper into another great save after he managed to weave himself into the box.
The final opportunity though landed to Caton’s men. Kay climbing his way to meeting a Rutherford corner with a header that came off the bar!
A fair result in the end as both sides had an equal amount of opportunities to take the three points. In what felt like a must win game, the Lakesiders will feel discouraged to leave with only a point.
The Christmas period will now see us take on Cefn Druids at The Rock, next Friday, December 17th, with kick-off set for 19:45pm.
Starting Line-ups
Bala Town – Alex Ramsay, Sean Smith, Nathan Peate, Johnny Spittle, Antony Kay, Oliver Southern, Ollie Shannon, Kieran Smith, Paul Rutherford, Dave Edward, Chris Venables
Haverfordwest County – Lee Idzi, Jazz Richards, Elliott Scotcher, Alaric Jones, Dylan Rees, Daniel Williams, Kyle Patten, Kieran Lewis, Mason Jones-Thomas, Ben Fawcett
Substitutions:
Bala Town – Will Evans > Chris Venables (57), Steve Leslie > Kieran Smith (82)
Haverfordwest County – Sisay Touray > Daniel Williams (84)
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