LLANFAIR 1
LLANRHAEADR 2
A PEP talk is what Llanfair boss Roger Beech needed after a frustrating night.
Beech felt his side had the bulk of the possession and chances versus Llanrhaeadr, but they failed to put them away as the determined visitors came away with all three points.
“I feel like Pep Guardiola this morning!” said Beech on Friday.
“You could have all the statistics you want. We had a lot of possession and so many chances, but if you don’t put the ball in the net, you don’t win.
“We didn’t deserve to lose and it was a good game.”
Llanrhaeadr’s Bryn Evans was a proud figure after seeing the club’s younger players achieve a positive result.
“We got a bit lucky, maybe, but the young lads were superb,” he said.
“They ran their socks off.”
Llanrhaeadr made the brighter start, but gradually Llanfair managed to get on top and create a number of chances.
Both Beech and Neil “Twin” Davies hit the crossbar with efforts for the home side, while Llanrhaeadr keeper Kevin Evans was an impressive figure between the sticks.
It was the home side who struck first after 20 minutes.
Rob Williams’ fine cross was diverted into his own net by Alun Williams.
To their credit, Llanrhaeadr managed to turn things around before the interval.
Just five minutes after falling behind, Osian Davies’ free kick was blocked in the Llanfair box and Arfon Davies was in the right place to grab his second goal of the season.
Even better was to follow for the visitors when the impressive Mark Jones supplied one of a series of brilliant crosses and a Llanfair player sliced the ball into his own net.
Llanrhaeadr had to dig deep in the second half as Llanfair looked for a route back into the match.
Neil “Dafis” Davies, Simon McGrath, Meredydd Jones and Ifan Roberts all had good opportunities to find the target, but a determined visiting backline held firm.
With Mark Jones in fine form out wide, Llanrhaeadr were by no means toothless in the second period and Jones continued to send in probing crosses.
“If we keep playing like that, we will be okay,” added Beech.
“We just couldn’t put the ball in the net!”
For Llanfair, central midfielder Gwion Williams put in a man of the match performance.
Fifteen-year-old duo Matty Evans and Rhys Hughes were impressive figures at opposite parts of the pitch for Llanrhaeadr, while Joe Peskett was also a key figure.