STALEMATE AT BELLE VUE - BUT HOW?

RHYL 0
LLANELLI 0
WELSH PREMIER LEAGUE - NOVEMBER 7, 2009
ALTHOUGH Rhyl returned to the top of the Welsh Premier today on goal difference they should have enjoyed a landslide victory over Llanelli - but missed chances cost them dear.
The Lilywhites could easily have been 3-0 up inside the opening 10 minutes as they pushed the visitors firmly onto the back foot.
In the first minute Mark Connolly found space on the left-hand side of the box but Llanelli keeper Ashley Morris went down to deny him and Matthew Williams' follow-up effort was blocked.
Connolly was then through one-on-one with Morris who thwarted him again and Williams lashed the loose ball against the underside of the crossbar.
Llanelli showed what they are capable of, though, when the profilic Rhys Griffiths' header from an Andy Legg cross clipped the bar.
James Coates then did well to keep out a firm strike from Antonio Corbisiero, but Rhyl were doing most of the attacking and Chris Williams blasted just over after leaving a trail of defenders in his wake.
Chris Williams forced Morris into a decent stop with a left-foot attempt and just before the break Connolly's header from a Gareth Owen free-kick narrowly missed the target.
The home side continued to carve out most of the opportunities after the interval, Owen drilling wide from 18 yards before Connolly nodded over from Tyrone Kirk's centre.
Owen and Martyn Naylor crashed long range thunderbolts over, but in the last 15 minutes the Reds at last began to show some adventure.
Owain Warlow's low shot tested Coates and from the rebound Griffiths steered the ball across the six-yard box but the Lilies managed to clear.
Griffiths then stormed in to meet Craig Moses' right wing cross only for Rhyl skipper George Horan to make a fantastic last-gasp clearance.
Legg's resulting corner clipped the bar, but the closing stages saw the Lilywhites go all-out for the winner.
Rhyl were unfortunate not to win a penalty for handball against Legg, Kirk volleyed wide from a great position and was foiled by a great Morris save, then the home side's day was summed up when Connolly's header from a Williams cross hit the post.
So, there was no repeat of last season's 5-1 scoreline although there could easily have been had Rhyl taken their chances.
Certainly the Lilywhites produced the better football and apart from the finishing put in a good display.
There were a few murmurings around the ground as to why substitute Lee Hunt was not tried out in the closing stages, but Greg Strong has not got much wrong so far and surely there is a big win in this Rhyl side just around the corner.

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

MATCH FACTS
GOALS - Rhyl 0 Llanelli 0
ATTEMPTS - Rhyl 17 Llanelli 7
ON TARGET - Rhyl 8 Llanelli 4
CORNERS - Rhyl 10 Llanelli 6
YELLOW CARDS - Rhyl 2 Llanelli 1
RED CARDS - Rhyl 0 Llanelli 0
ATTENDANCE - 587
LO MAN OF THE MATCH
Chris Williams (Rhyl)
The far more effective of the two wingers on the day - the only thing missing was the end product.

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

GOALS: 15 - Mark Connolly; 10 - Matthew Williams; 8 - Lee Hunt; 3 - Greg Strong, Chris Williams; 2 - Tyrone Kirk, Paul Smith, Phil Doran; 1 - Gareth Owen, Martyn Naylor, George Horan.