November 2009 Archives

GUTTED after his team suffered their first home league defeat in almost a year when losing 2-1 to Haverfordwest on Saturday, Rhyl player-manager Greg Strong defiantly vowed he will not allow a promising season to go off the rails.
The champions blew an opportunity to go level on 30 points with top two Llanelli and The New Saints as they let a game they had under control slip from their grasp by allowing Haver to score twice in a minute just past the hour.
Yet again the worrying problem of missing chances reared its head and left Strong perplexed as to where it has all gone wrong for a team which went unbeaten in its first 13 matches this season in all competitions.
"I'm devastated," he said. "Week after week I'm questioning why teams need only one shot to score against us while we seem to need so many to score ourselves.
"We played some very good stuff for the first 20 minutes, but after we scored we went off the boil and then the same silly mistakes cost us goals."
Such was his disappointment Strong declined to talk to S4C's Sgorio Cymru programme after the game, but he kindly gave an interview to the Daily Post and Lilywhites Online.
He admitted sparks flew in the dressing room after the game: "It's time some of these players took more responsibility, because not enough of them did today.
"What I can say is it will change - I won't accept things the way they are at the moment."
Saturday's clash at Belle Vue turned on a 57th minute incident when with Rhyl 1-0 up, Paul Smith missed a golden chance to put the game virtually to bed, but Strong refused to blame one error on the defeat.
"We shouldn't be looking at one chance as the reason we didn't win - with the players we've got we should be winning games comfortably," he stressed.
"I suppose you get what you deserve and I take nothing out of this game except a lot of frustration."
As for the effect of Saturday's result on the title race, Strong added: "It's a very strong league this season and teams will take points off each other, but it means nothing if we don't do our jobs."

RHYL 1 (Strong 16)
HAVERFORDWEST COUNTY 2 (Briers 60, Walters pen 61)
WELSH PREMIER LEAGUE - NOVEMBER 28, 2009
RHYL have lost back-to-back games in the Welsh Premier League for the first time in four seasons.
The last occasion the Lilywhites were beaten in successive league encounters was in 2005/06 when they followed up a 1-0 home reverse to Llanelli with a dismal 3-1 defeat at Welshpool Town.
Yesterday's loss to Haverfordwest - Rhyl's first home defeat of the season and their first at Belle Vue in the league since December 2008 - could so easily have been avoided if only the Lilies had killed off their opponents in a match they had under total control until the hour mark.
The previous week's setback at The New Saints was certainly a case of the better team winning on the day, but Saturday's debacle was anything but.
Even without 18-goal talisman Mark Connolly the champions should have taken the Bluebirds to the cleaners.
This is not a case of a team not capable of scoring goals. Rhyl were bagging them right, left and centre not so long ago, but perhaps without the dynamic Connolly to give them confidence things are not quite the same without him.
The raw statistics still say Rhyl are having a great season considering all the upheaval of the summer, but the high standards they set themselves from the off have slipped and the train needs putting back on the rails.
Team selection for yesterday's game was interesting with Paul Pritchard selected ahead of number one choice James Coates in goal, while Greg Stones and Chris Williams were on the bench, Phil Doran was given a start at left-back and Paul Smith returned after missing the TNS defeat through illness.
Rhyl started well and should have taken the lead on four minutes when Matthew Williams' byeline cross presented Smith with an open goal but his header lacked power and fell into the arms of keeper Lee Idzi.
The hosts did edge ahead on 16 minutes when Idzi connected weakly with a Martyn Naylor free-kick and Strong controlled on his chest before volleying home his fourth goal of the season.
A Tyrone Kirk cross led to an almighty scramble with Smith having the final shot which was blocked, while Haver's only effort of the first half saw Robbie Walters' firm drive well held by Pritchard.
Williams' 20-yarder was pushed behind by Idzi as the hosts ended the half on top and in apparent control.
The game should have been settled on 57 minutes when Hunt was in the clear and chipped a lovely ball across the six-yard box but Smith arriving at the back post somehow blasted over. The miss looked a lot worse on TV.
Williams drilled inches wide for Rhyl, but then totally out of the blue the visitors equalised on the hour.
The hosts failed to deal with Jarrod Price's cross from the left and Kirk's inept attempt to tackle Bobby Briers led to the midfielder curling a lovely shot beyond Pritchard for the equaliser.
Just a minute later the diminutive but lively Steffan Williams was pulled down by George Horan in the box and the resulting penalty saw Walters coolly make it 2-1.
Haver continued to attack, Walters denied by a good Pritchard stop before heading against the post from a Williams cross.
Rhyl piled on the pressure in the last 10 minutes, Hunt missing with a header from a Kirk cross before the striker's volley was smothered by Idzi.
In the 83rd minute substitute Chris Williams' chip over the defence released Hunt, who rounded Idzi, but defender Kyle Graves got back heroically to block.
Williams' shot on the turn was deflected behind for a corner and Rhyl's last chance was gone.
Quite a strange match overall. Haverfordwest were only in it for around 10 minutes, but in that time did enough to win it. The rest of the game was all Rhyl, but their play was at times inconsistent, too many wasteful passes and not enough quality in key areas.

RHYL: Pritchard, Naylor (Stones 80), Doran, Horan, Strong, Leah, Smith, Owen (C Williams 67), Hunt, M Williams, Kirk. Subs: Dowling, Heenan, Coates.

MATCH FACTS
GOALS - Rhyl 1 Haver 2
ATTEMPTS - Rhyl 20 Haver 6
ON TARGET - Rhyl 9 Haver 5
CORNERS - Rhyl 7 Haver 5
YELLOW CARDS - Rhyl 4 Haver 2
RED CARDS - Rhyl 0 Haver 0
ATTENDANCE - 385
LO MAN OF THE MATCH
Matthew Williams (Rhyl)
Gave his all up front.

RHYL FC RESULTS 2009/10
Aug 15 - Carmarthen Town (WPL - home) 2-1 (Strong, M Williams)
Aug 21 - Airbus UK Broughton (WPL - away) 2-2 (Hunt 2)
Aug 25 - Airbus UK Broughton (LC - a) 2-1 (Hunt, Owen)
Aug 29 - Port Talbot (WPL - h) 2-0 (M Williams, Hunt)
Sep 1 - Prestatyn Town (LC - h) 2-1 (Naylor, Connolly)
Sep 5 - Gap Connah's Quay (WPL - a) 2-0 (M Williams, Connolly)
Sep 11 - Bangor City (WPL - h) 5-1 (Hunt 2, M Williams pen, C Williams, Connolly)
Sep 19 - Newtown (WPL - a) 4-2 (M Williams 2, Strong, Connolly)
Sep 22 - Airbus (LC - h) 4-0 (Connolly 2, Kirk, Doran)
Sep 26 - Porthmadog (WPL - h) 4-0 (Connolly 3, Kirk)
Oct 3 - Llanfairpwll (WC-a) 3-1 (Connolly 2, Smith)
Oct 6 - Prestatyn Town (LC-a) 3-0 (Connolly, Hunt, C Williams)
Oct 9 - Bala Town (WPL-a) 4-0 (Smith, Doran, Horan, Hunt)
Oct 17 - Neath (WPL-a) 0-2
Oct 23 - Elements Cefn Druids (WPL-a) 1-1 (M Williams)
Oct 27 - Porthmadog (LCQF-a) 4-1 (Connolly 2, M Williams 2)
Oct 31 - Bridgend Town (WC-h) 4-2 (Connolly, M Williams, Strong, C Williams)
Nov 7 - Llanelli (WPL-h) 0-0
Nov 10 - Gap Connah's Quay (a-LCSF 1st leg) 1-2 (Connolly)
Nov 14 - Caersws (WPL-h) 3-1 (Connolly, Hunt 2)
Nov 17 - Gap Connah's Quay (h-LCSF 2nd leg) 4-0 (Connolly, Hunt, Smith 2)
Nov 22 - The New Saints (a-WPL) 0-4
Nov 29 - Haverfordwest County (a-WPL) 1-2 (Strong)

GOALS (57): 18 - Mark Connolly; 11 - Lee Hunt; 10 - Matthew Williams; 4 - Paul Smith, Greg Strong; 3 - Chris Williams; 2 - Tyrone Kirk, Phil Doran; 1 - Gareth Owen, Martyn Naylor, George Horan.

RHYL v HAVERFORDWEST COUNTY
WELSH PREMIER LEAGUE
SATURDAY 2.30pm
MIDFIELDER Paul Smith is poised to return for a Rhyl side looking to bounce back from last Sunday's bruising 4-0 defeat at title rivals The New Saints.
Former Chester City player Smith had to withdraw from the Park Hall encounter when he reported feeling unwell but looks favourite to fill the gap caused by the injury to leading scorer Mark Connolly.
"We've got plenty of options available but definitely Paul will be back in contention," confirmed player-manager Greg Strong.
Connolly is likely to be sidelined for three weeks after being stretchered off to hospital on Sunday with what was first feared to be a serious knee injury.
"Of course we'll miss him but we've got to dust ourselves down and get on with the job of producing the consistent form that will take us back to the head of the table," said Strong.
"All top teams take a beating at some time or other and it's up to us to accept what's happened and move forward."
More good news for third-placed champions Rhyl is that winger Chris Williams, who has also been under the weather since the TNS game, has told Strong to count him in for what will be the first meeting with sixth-from-bottom Haverfordwest this season.
"They will be coming here hoping to catch us on the hop so we are prepared for a tough battle," cautioned Strong. "There are no easy games any more and I believe the title is more wide open than ever with any of the top six sides, or even lower down than that, capable of mounting a serious challenge.
"From what we've experienced so far I reckon the standard now is higher than it's been for years. Any team that thinks it can relax and cruise along is heading for trouble and there's no risk that we will make that mistake. We've got a great set of fans and we owe them our best effort every time."
With top two Llanelli and TNS both winning 4-0 last night against Aberystwyth Town and Caersws respectively, Rhyl need to beat the Bluebirds to move level with the leading pair on 30 points.
The Lilywhites' goal difference (+15) is inferior to Llanelli (+25) and TNS (+24) though.
Rhyl have met Haverfordwest 24 times in the Welsh Premier and lead by 13 wins to five with six draws.

GREG STRONG says his Rhyl side will have to take Sunday's demoralising 4-0 thrashing against The New Saints on the chin and come back stronger for the experience.
The Lilywhites crashed to their heaviest league defeat since getting pulverised 6-0 at Llanelli in September 2006 - over three years and 108 games ago.
The result meant the reigning Welsh Premier champions have taken just one point out of nine against fellow title contenders Llanelli, Neath and TNS this season.
"I'm very disappointed, too many of our players didn't do their jobs," said Strong. "The more I think about the game, the more stoppable I think their goals were.
"We didn't do ourselves justice, but we have to take it on the chin and come back stronger."
One silver lining for the Lilies is the injury suffered by 18-goal top scorer Mark Connolly five minutes from the end of the Park Hall defeat is not as serious as first thought.
Visiting supporters feared the worst when Connolly went down in agony clutching his right knee and needed to be taken by ambulance to the Maelor Hospital in Wrexham.
"It's nothing worse than slightly pulled ligaments which is good news as it could have been a lot worse," said Strong.
"Conno's a good, determined lad and he'll want to get back as soon as possible but we need to make sure he's 100% right so he'll probably be out for between two to three weeks."
Promising midfielder Paul Smith had to miss the TNS game through illness and Strong added: "We're hoping he'll be back soon as he's an important player for us."
The Lilywhites player-manager was asked whether considering the pre-season problems he had at Belle Vue - losing 13 members of last term's title-winning squad and initially struggling to sign new players - he is happy with the current situation his team is in.
As well as being joint leaders of the Welsh Premier, Rhyl are also in the League Cup final and the last 16 of the Welsh Cup.
"Not really," he replied. "Times change, you set certain standards and we've set very high ones with excellent performances against the likes of Bangor, Port Talbot and Llanelli.
"These lads have set these standards themselves, it's not me talking them up, but they let themselves down on Sunday."
Strong was full of praise for the large army of Rhyl supporters who travelled to Oswestry.
"They were excellent, they totally outnumbered the TNS supporters and were still singing at the end despite the result.
"I made sure the players went over to acknowledge them, they kept us going when we needed them, you need the fans behind you when times get tough."

THE NEW SAINTS 4 (Abbott 10; Ruscoe 31 pen; Jones 43; Berkeley 49)
RHYL 0
WELSH PREMIER LEAGUE - NOVEMBER 22, 2009
THE morning after the nightmare before there is at least some good news for Rhyl fans.
Top scorer Mark Connolly, who went down in agony clutching his right knee five minutes from the end of yesterday's defeat at Park Hall, is only expected to be out of action for three weeks.
Lilywhites supporters feared the worst when Connolly, who has netted 18 goals in all competitions this term, was carried off on a stretcher and taken to Maelor Hospital in Wrexham.
To lose such a key player for a potentially long spell would be a bitter blow to Rhyl's ambitions of retaining their Welsh Premier title.
But this morning player-manager Greg Strong reported Connolly had "tweaked knee ligaments" and should not be on the sidelines for more than three weeks.
That's the good news, the performance at TNS was certainly the bad.
Rhyl crashed to their heaviest league defeat in over three years - the worst since a 6-0 hammering at Llanelli on September 16, 2006 - some 108 matches ago.
It is too early to talk about title winners yet, but certainly on yesterday's showing TNS are champions in waiting. They were a class above Neath and Llanelli for sure.
What made the Park Hall drubbing even harder to take was the Saints' man of the match was a player Rhyl let go - right winger Craig Jones, who scored one and had a hand in two other goals.
On the plus side, the Lilywhites are still joint leaders of the Welsh Premier, have made it to the League Cup final and are into the last 16 of the Welsh Cup.
With all the pre-season trials and tribulations, had anyone offered Rhyl their current position back in mid-August they would gladly have taken it.
Whether the TNS hammering was just a bad day at the office remains to be seen, but player-boss Greg Strong is still doing a great job and deserves everyone's support.
As for yesterday, TNS led 3-0 at half time, Steve Abbott opening the scoring with a 10th minute header from a Jones cross after James Coates had parried a Scott Ruscoe shot.
It could have been a different story had Connolly's fabulous 20-yard strike on 24 minutes not come back off the post.
But on 31 minutes a bad tackle by Martyn Naylor on Matthew Berkeley in the box led to a penalty which Ruscoe put away.
Two minutes before the break Steve Evans played a simple ball down the middle and Jones timed his run perfectly to beat the advancing Coates.
It could have been more but for a couple of fine last-ditch saves from Coates.
Any hopes of a remarkable comeback ended four minutes after the break when Jones burst into the box from the right, fed Ruscoe whose shot was saved, but Berkeley's deflected follow-up effort found the net for 4-0.
Connolly, the only Rhyl player who looked remotely like scoring, had one powerful shot beaten away by Paul Harrison, but TNS were in cruise control and so nearly made it five when Jones made a sizzling run at the Rhyl defence but thundered against the bar.
Had that one gone in, it really would have rubbed salt in the wound, but the final score was bad enough.
On a gloomy, rain-soaked afternoon, the one plus point for Rhyl was the excellent travelling support who never stopped singing throughout.
Manager Strong expressed his thanks to all the fans who made the trip to Oswestry and only wishes the team could have provided a better result.

RHYL: Coates, Naylor, Stones, Horan (c), Strong, Leah, C Williams, Connolly (Dowling 85), Hunt, Owen (Doran 60), Kirk (M Williams 46).

MATCH FACTS
GOALS - TNS 4 RHYL 0
ATTEMPTS - TNS 15 RHYL 8
ON TARGET - TNS 10 RHYL 5
CORNERS - TNS 5 RHYL 0
YELLOW CARDS - TNS 0 RHYL 0
RED CARDS - TNS 0 RHYL 0
ATTENDANCE - 503
LO MAN OF THE MATCH
Craig Jones (TNS)
No Rhyl player really worthy of it on the day.

RHYL FC RESULTS 2009/10
Aug 15 - Carmarthen Town (WPL - home) 2-1 (Strong, M Williams)
Aug 21 - Airbus UK Broughton (WPL - away) 2-2 (Hunt 2)
Aug 25 - Airbus UK Broughton (LC - a) 2-1 (Hunt, Owen)
Aug 29 - Port Talbot (WPL - h) 2-0 (M Williams, Hunt)
Sep 1 - Prestatyn Town (LC - h) 2-1 (Naylor, Connolly)
Sep 5 - Gap Connah's Quay (WPL - a) 2-0 (M Williams, Connolly)
Sep 11 - Bangor City (WPL - h) 5-1 (Hunt 2, M Williams pen, C Williams, Connolly)
Sep 19 - Newtown (WPL - a) 4-2 (M Williams 2, Strong, Connolly)
Sep 22 - Airbus (LC - h) 4-0 (Connolly 2, Kirk, Doran)
Sep 26 - Porthmadog (WPL - h) 4-0 (Connolly 3, Kirk)
Oct 3 - Llanfairpwll (WC-a) 3-1 (Connolly 2, Smith)
Oct 6 - Prestatyn Town (LC-a) 3-0 (Connolly, Hunt, C Williams)
Oct 9 - Bala Town (WPL-a) 4-0 (Smith, Doran, Horan, Hunt)
Oct 17 - Neath (WPL-a) 0-2
Oct 23 - Elements Cefn Druids (WPL-a) 1-1 (M Williams)
Oct 27 - Porthmadog (LCQF-a) 4-1 (Connolly 2, M Williams 2)
Oct 31 - Bridgend Town (WC-h) 4-2 (Connolly, M Williams, Strong, C Williams)
Nov 7 - Llanelli (WPL-h) 0-0
Nov 10 - Gap Connah's Quay (a-LCSF 1st leg) 1-2 (Connolly)
Nov 14 - Caersws (WPL-h) 3-1 (Connolly, Hunt 2)
Nov 17 - Gap Connah's Quay (h-LCSF 2nd leg) 4-0 (Connolly, Hunt, Smith 2)
Nov 22 - The New Saints (a-WPL) 0-4

GOALS (56): 18 - Mark Connolly; 11 - Lee Hunt; 10 - Matthew Williams; 4 - Paul Smith; 3 - Greg Strong, Chris Williams; 2 - Tyrone Kirk, Phil Doran; 1 - Gareth Owen, Martyn Naylor, George Horan.

THE NEW SAINTS v RHYL
WELSH PREMIER LEAGUE
SUNDAY 2.30pm
RHYL player-manager Greg Strong believes the artificial surface at Park Hall Stadium can help rather than hinder his team when they visit there to take on The New Saints on Sunday (2.30pm).
Strong was part of the Lilywhites side which triumphed 3-0 on the all-weather pitch last season on their way to winning the Welsh Premier League title.
"It's not an ideal surface to play on and last season it was very icy and perhaps the game shouldn't have been played," said the Lilies boss, a former Premiership, Football League and Scottish League player.
"But looking back I remember playing on artificial pitches at Preston, QPR and Luton and TNS' pitch is 100 times better than what theirs were.
"I think the pitch will help us football-wise as we like to keep the ball on the floor so it will be to our advantage in that respect."
Strong is fully aware, however, how difficult Sunday's task will be against a Saints outfit which won 2-0 at fellow high-flyers Llanelli last weekend.
TNS could go above Rhyl on goal difference if they beat them by two clear goals, while the Lilywhites lost the leadership of the table last night after Llanelli's 1-0 win at Haverfordwest.
"We won there well last season but we've got different players now and so have they," added Strong.
"We'll do our utmost to get a result, but we know they are a good team with good individual players and a very good manager."
Strong hopes to have a full complement of players to choose from with no injuries carried over from Tuesday's night 4-0 Loosemores League Cup semi-final victory over Gap Connah's Quay.
That result booked Rhyl a 5-2 aggregate win and a meeting in the final with holders TNS.
"I'm absolutely delighted to make my first final as a manager," Strong beamed. "We showed good attacking skills and though overall it wasn't pretty we did what we had to do.
"I've used the competition to rotate the squad and I've got to pay tribute to all the players who've got us to the final - they've done a fantastic job. In the final, I'll be sticking with the lads who got us there."
But first there's the matter of TNS to deal with this Sunday. Rhyl have taken only one point out of six in their battles with the "big four" to date, so will be keen to put things right at Park Hall.
"We'll be doing our utmost to gain a victory and if we don't, then as long as we come away having given 150% I won't be complaining," stressed the manager.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
2008/09 - TNS 0 Rhyl 3; Rhyl 2 TNS 1
2007/08 - TNS 1 Rhyl 0; Rhyl 0 TNS 1
2006/07 - Rhyl 0 TNS 0; TNS 2 Rhyl 0.
2005/06 - TNS 1 Rhyl 0; Rhyl 0 TNS 0.
2004/05 - TNS 2 Rhyl 2; Rhyl 1 TNS 2.
2003/04 - Rhyl 1 TNS 0; TNS 2 Rhyl 3.
2002/03 - Rhyl 0 TNS 1; TNS 5 Rhyl 0.
2001/02 - TNS 1 Rhyl 2; Rhyl 1 TNS 1.
2000/01 - TNS 3 Rhyl 0; Rhyl 2 TNS 0.
1999/00 - TNS 2 Rhyl 1; Rhyl 2 TNS 4.
1998/99 - Rhyl 0 TNS 3; TNS 6 Rhyl 0.
1997/98 - TNS 1 Rhyl 0; Rhyl 2 TNS 1.
1996/97 - TNS 0 Rhyl 1; Rhyl 1 TNS 3.
1995/96 - TNS 5 Rhyl 1; Rhyl 3 TNS 0.
1994/95 - TNS 3 Rhyl 1; Rhyl 3 TNS 1.
PLAYED: 30
TNS WON: 16
RHYL WON: 10
DRAWN: 4

RHYL 4 (Connolly 8, Hunt 40, Smith 88, 90+3)
GAP CONNAH'S QUAY 0
LOOSEMORES LEAGUE CUP SEMI-FINAL SECOND LEG
(Rhyl win 5-2 on aggregate)
RHYL reached their sixth League Cup Final in eight seasons after two late goals from substitute and 18th birthday boy Paul Smith completed a 5-2 aggregate win tonight at Belle Vue.
While the final score suggests this was a comfortable victory for the Lilywhites, that was not the case as at 2-0 up they had to endure a concerted spell of pressure from a Gap outfit desperately seeking a goal to force extra time.
Greg Strong's side made a lively start and in just the second minute Greg Stones looked to have scored from a low Tyrone Kirk corner, but somehow the ball stayed out (I didn't clearly see what happened!).
After eight minutes the hosts brought the tie level when Mark Connolly notched his 18th goal of the season with a cracking 20-yard volley on the run.
That makes it six in six games for Conno and he would have made it six scoring matches in a row tonight had he taken just one of those chances against Llanelli.
Earlier this season of course, the 25-year-old midfielder broke a modern-day club record by finding the net in eight successive games.
After falling behind Quay responded well, Danny Forde just clearing the bar before Stuart Scheuber should have done better from a free header.
Lee Hunt looked set to double the home lead when he slipped the ball past advancing keeper Terry McCormick, but from an acute angle the striker could only find the side netting.
Rhyl did manage to score again on 40 minutes when Hunt rose highest to nod in Martyn Naylor's brilliant deep cross from the right.
The visitors did plenty of attacking after the break but their shooting was awry, player-manager Mark McGregor typifying this when he scuffed a golden opportunity on 87 minutes.
And the Lilywhites made Quay pay when a minute later a delivery from the left by Phil Doran picked out fellow sub Smith who controlled, worked the ball on to his left foot, and applied a lovely finish.
In the 93rd minute Hunt helped on a cross-field pass from Gareth Owen and Smith raced clear to put away the fourth.
So it is now holders TNS or Port Talbot in the final for the Lilywhites who will be seeking to win the League Cup for the third time in their history.

RHYL: Pritchard, Naylor, Stones, Horan, Strong, Leah, C Williams (Doran 72), Connolly, Hunt, M Williams (G Owen 55), Kirk (Smith 65). Unused subs: Dowling, Coates.

MATCH FACTS
GOALS - Rhyl 4 Quay 0
ATTEMPTS - Rhyl 14 Quay 11
ON TARGET - Rhyl 8 Quay 2
CORNERS - Rhyl 3 Quay 3
YELLOW CARDS - Rhyl 3 Quay 3
RED CARDS - Rhyl 0 Quay 0
ATTENDANCE - 253
LO MAN OF THE MATCH
Paul Smith (Rhyl)
Happy 18th birthday - two goals in five minutes and brought something new to Rhyl when he came on.

RHYL FC RESULTS 2009/10
Aug 15 - Carmarthen Town (WPL - home) 2-1 (Strong, M Williams)
Aug 21 - Airbus UK Broughton (WPL - away) 2-2 (Hunt 2)
Aug 25 - Airbus UK Broughton (LC - a) 2-1 (Hunt, Owen)
Aug 29 - Port Talbot (WPL - h) 2-0 (M Williams, Hunt)
Sep 1 - Prestatyn Town (LC - h) 2-1 (Naylor, Connolly)
Sep 5 - Gap Connah's Quay (WPL - a) 2-0 (M Williams, Connolly)
Sep 11 - Bangor City (WPL - h) 5-1 (Hunt 2, M Williams pen, C Williams, Connolly)
Sep 19 - Newtown (WPL - a) 4-2 (M Williams 2, Strong, Connolly)
Sep 22 - Airbus (LC - h) 4-0 (Connolly 2, Kirk, Doran)
Sep 26 - Porthmadog (WPL - h) 4-0 (Connolly 3, Kirk)
Oct 3 - Llanfairpwll (WC-a) 3-1 (Connolly 2, Smith)
Oct 6 - Prestatyn Town (LC-a) 3-0 (Connolly, Hunt, C Williams)
Oct 9 - Bala Town (WPL-a) 4-0 (Smith, Doran, Horan, Hunt)
Oct 17 - Neath (WPL-a) 0-2
Oct 23 - Elements Cefn Druids (WPL-a) 1-1 (M Williams)
Oct 27 - Porthmadog (LCQF-a) 4-1 (Connolly 2, M Williams 2)
Oct 31 - Bridgend Town (WC-h) 4-2 (Connolly, M Williams, Strong, C Williams)
Nov 7 - Llanelli (WPL-h) 0-0
Nov 10 - Gap Connah's Quay (a-LCSF 1st leg) 1-2 (Connolly)
Nov 14 - Caersws (WPL-h) 3-1 (Connolly, Hunt 2)
Nov 17 - Gap Connah's Quay (h-LCSF 2nd leg) 4-0 (Connolly, Hunt, Smith 2)

GOALS (56): 18 - Mark Connolly; 11 - Lee Hunt; 10 - Matthew Williams; 4 - Paul Smith; 3 - Greg Strong, Chris Williams; 2 - Tyrone Kirk, Phil Doran; 1 - Gareth Owen, Martyn Naylor, George Horan.

RHYL stayed top of the Welsh Premier League after Llanelli were beaten 2-0 at home by The New Saints today.
Had Llanelli won, they would have knocked the Lilywhites off the summit on goal difference, but they were comfortably beaten by a superior TNS side.
Next up in the league for Rhyl is TNS away next Sunday - what a test that should be.

RHYL 3 (Connolly 47; Hunt 49, 55)
CAERSWS 1 (Lewis pen 66)
WELSH PREMIER LEAGUE - NOV 14, 2009
RHYL returned to the top of the Welsh Premier this afternoon after three goals in 10 minutes at the start of the second half put paid to Caersws.
The Lilywhites were well below par in the first half and almost conceded in the sixth minute when Scott Williams drilled a dangerous ball across the face of goal.
Caersws keeper Dave Jones did well to smother a Matthew Williams effort from an acute angle, then produced an excellent save from a 12-yard Lee Hunt strike following a neat pass from Gareth Owen.
Mark Griffiths fired just wide for the visitors before two minutes prior to the break Rhyl's Williams skilfully created space in the box but was thwarted by Jones at his near post.
This was certainly not good enough from the Lilies whose passing lacked sharpness and the chances which flowed so regularly against Llanelli seven days earlier had virtually dried up.
With player-boss Greg Strong's interval blast still ringing in their ears, the Lilies emerged a different proposition for the second period and on 47 minutes Mark Connolly nipped in ahead of advancing keeper Jones to head in John Leah's free-kick and record his 17th goal of the season.
How often this season has Conno been Rhyl's saviour, or the man to end a deadlock when others failed.
Two minutes later Martyn Naylor sent over a deep cross from the right and Hunt's well-placed header made it 2-0.
Tyrone Kirk then lit up Belle Vue when he left two defenders standing with a dynamic run and only the foot of custodian Jones denied him a wonder goal.
The champions added a third in the 55th minute when Connolly rose determinedly on the right to head on a long kick from keeper James Coates and Hunt controlled outside the area before beating Jones with a superb left foot shot.
It could so easily have been four when Kirk delivered a lovely low ball across the six-yard box, but a skidding in Connolly blasted high over the bar.
Totally against the run of play Caersws replied on 66 minutes when the otherwise outstanding young defender Shaun Dowling, in for the suspended George Horan, brought down Griffiths in the area and Geraint Lewis converted the resultant penalty.
Hunt hammered wide for the hosts following a great run by Kirk and slick lay-off from substitute Phil Doran, while Caersws threatened occasionally on the counter but had no end product.
Late on Naylor hit a 30-yard cracker just over, then in injury time Connolly shot wide from a Hunt pass.

RHYL: Coates, Naylor, Stones, Dowling, Strong, Leah, Connolly, Owen (Smith 58), Hunt, M Williams (Doran 64), Kirk. Unused subs: Heenan, Ruane, Pritchard.

MATCH FACTS
GOALS - Rhyl 3 Caersws 1
ATTEMPTS - Rhyl 21 Caersws 5
ON TARGET - Rhyl 9 Caersws 1
CORNERS - Rhyl 5 Caersws 1
YELLOW CARDS - Rhyl 1 Caersws 1
RED CARDS - Rhyl 0 Caersws 0
ATTENDANCE - 401
LO MAN OF THE MATCH
Shaun Dowling (Rhyl)
Had pretty big boots to fill but did an outstanding job.

RHYL FC RESULTS 2009/10
Aug 15 - Carmarthen Town (WPL - home) 2-1 (Strong, M Williams)
Aug 21 - Airbus UK Broughton (WPL - away) 2-2 (Hunt 2)
Aug 25 - Airbus UK Broughton (LC - a) 2-1 (Hunt, Owen)
Aug 29 - Port Talbot (WPL - h) 2-0 (M Williams, Hunt)
Sep 1 - Prestatyn Town (LC - h) 2-1 (Naylor, Connolly)
Sep 5 - Gap Connah's Quay (WPL - a) 2-0 (M Williams, Connolly)
Sep 11 - Bangor City (WPL - h) 5-1 (Hunt 2, M Williams pen, C Williams, Connolly)
Sep 19 - Newtown (WPL - a) 4-2 (M Williams 2, Strong, Connolly)
Sep 22 - Airbus (LC - h) 4-0 (Connolly 2, Kirk, Doran)
Sep 26 - Porthmadog (WPL - h) 4-0 (Connolly 3, Kirk)
Oct 3 - Llanfairpwll (WC-a) 3-1 (Connolly 2, Smith)
Oct 6 - Prestatyn Town (LC-a) 3-0 (Connolly, Hunt, C Williams)
Oct 9 - Bala Town (WPL-a) 4-0 (Smith, Doran, Horan, Hunt)
Oct 17 - Neath (WPL-a) 0-2
Oct 23 - Elements Cefn Druids (WPL-a) 1-1 (M Williams)
Oct 27 - Porthmadog (LCQF-a) 4-1 (Connolly 2, M Williams 2)
Oct 31 - Bridgend Town (WC-h) 4-2 (Connolly, M Williams, Strong, C Williams)
Nov 7 - Llanelli (WPL-h) 0-0
Nov 10 - Gap Connah's Quay (a-LCSF 1st leg) 1-2 (Connolly)
Nov 14 - Caersws (WPL-h) 3-1 (Connolly, Hunt 2)

GOALS: 17 - Mark Connolly; 10 - Matthew Williams, Lee Hunt; 3 - Greg Strong, Chris Williams; 2 - Tyrone Kirk, Paul Smith, Phil Doran; 1 - Gareth Owen, Martyn Naylor, George Horan.

RHYL v CAERSWS - WELSH PREMIER HISTORY

PLAYED: 30

WINS:
RHYL 15
CAERSWS 8

DRAWS: 7