DERBY AT BELLE VUE ENDS GOAL-LESS
RHYL 0
PRESTATYN TOWN 0
PRE-SEASON FRIENDLY - JULY 28, 2009
NEITHER side deserved to win or lose tonight's pre-season derby at Belle Vue which featured plenty of chances but no goals.
Allan Bickerstaff was back from a two-week break and in charge of the Lilywhites who were without striker Lee Hunt and midfielder John Leah, both on holiday.
New-look Prestatyn included recent signings from Rhyl Paul O'Neill and Gareth Wilson in their side, but ex-Lilies goal-getter Andy Moran was absent from the seasiders line-up due to holiday commitments.
Town started enterprisingly and within the first couple of minutes a cross from the right by Russ Jones was headed just wide by player manager Neil Gibson.
Rhyl's first threat came on 12 minutes when a Luke Holden chip was tipped over the bar by back-pedalling keeper Matt Towns. From the resulting Gareth Owen corner neither George Horan or Neil Roberts could manage a headed finish.
There was a worrying sight for the hosts on 17 minutes when skipper Horan came off injured to be replaced by Jack Higgins, a reserves regular last term.
While the Lilywhites can field a starting XI to rival anyone in the Welsh Premier, the current squad is far too small and any injuries to key players would leave the champions in deep trouble.
Prestatyn should have scored on 23 minutes when Gibson's slide rule pass beat the offside trap and striker Ian Griffiths raced clear on goal, but Lee Kendall was off his line rapidly to block the shot.
Holden was the biggest danger for the home side, his left foot rocket zipping just over before a chip into the box from the former TNS winger was headed off target by Roberts.
Kendall's weak connection with a Steve Hoult corner on 40 minutes led to a game of ping-pong in the home box, but right on half time Rhyl went close with a Martyn Naylor 35-yarder.
SECOND HALF
The second period took a while to liven up, but then the attempts on goal began to flow; Rhyl's Luke Sherbon crashing a 59th minute volley from 20 yards against the bar.
Jack Lewis hit a screamer just wide for the visitors, then a Jon Fisher-Cooke shot was deflected behind for a corner. Substitute Fisher-Cooke then beautifully picked out Mike Parker in space, but he snatched at his shot and failed to test Kendall.
Rhyl missed a great chance on 70 minutes when a combination of Matthew Williams and Greg Stones from a Holden corner found Roberts six yards out, but his shot on the turn went wide.
Holden's 20-yarder flew wide, but Prestatyn looked certain to score when Dave Hayes met an Alec Williams corner with his head only to see Kendall somehow keep the ball out.
The impressive Towns pushed behind a volley from Holden, who then concerningly left the field injured to be replaced by Seb Walker.
Both teams pushed for the winner, but defences were on top and 0-0 was a fair result.
RHYL: Kendall, Naylor, Stones, Horan (Higgins 17), Strong, Sherbon, Owen, Connolly (New 89), Roberts, Williams, Holden (Walker 79). Not used: Pritchard, Evans.
PRESTATYN: Towns, Jones, Lewis, Hayes, O'Neill, Parker (Harris 90), Gibson (Moody 75), Wilson (Hannen 83), Hoult (Williams 68), Rogers (Fisher-Cooke 60), Griffiths (G Davies 89). Not used: Evans, Dunt, A Davies.
Att: 350 (approx).
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Is "New" the actual name of our 89th minute sub, or don't we give names now to the yougsters we find to sit on the bench ?!!!
What's the situation on the 3 injuries ?
At least AB won't be bothered by selection problems with just 9 or 10 fit outfield players and a couple of new subs.
The squad seems very thin in numbers but not quality. As Dave says in his report, if we hit a bad run of injuries during the season there may be trouble ahead.
I heard that we only took a very small squad to Belgrade and I'm not sure of the reason for that - holiday commitments? Lack of money? Lack of commitment as we were 4 down and sensing a drubbing? Or we have only a small squad? Whatever, the reason it does not bode well for the forthcoming season.
I also feel that last night showed that the club should not have let Paul O'Neil go and, for anyone who watched (dare I say it?) Bangor last week in Europe, Chris Roberts either. Both played very well last season and they would have played a vital role in the club's quest to retain the title in 2009/10. Chris Sharp would also have been of value, if he had stayed, but then again he may be moving on to pastures new with a bigger club than Bangor very soon.
On the 'new boys' front, I feel that Jack Higgins had rather a decent game, although he did start off rather tentatively, but he gained in confidence as the game wore on and he produced some nice touches towards the end. I feel, watch this space is the order of the day with him.
All in all, I have to agree with Dave that a draw was a fair result although the game did get a bit 'tetchy' at times and that includes a rather 'direct' dialogue between the two managers which happened whilst one was still on the field!
"New" is Ashley New , a young prospect from Holywell who has featured in a couple of friendlies as a substitute so far.
I totally agree with Rae, Chris Roberts and Paul O'Neill were far too good to let go. I think Allan Bickerstaff wanted to keep them both.
Bangor manager Nev Powell said to me last week he couldn't believe he'd got Chris Roberts.
I was very impressed with Prestatyn, I think the new additions will ensure they achieve mid-table status this season at least.