PENALTY FURORE

RHYL 1 (Connolly 90)
ABERYSTWYTH TOWN 1 (Bowen pen 90+)
WELSH PREMIER LEAGUE - APRIL 17, 2010
WAS it or was it not a penalty?
The spot-kick decision which could have wrecked Rhyl's hopes of qualifying for Europe has been the subject of much debate over the past 24 hours.
After a bitter struggle to break down Aberystwyth's defence, Rhyl had taken a 90th minute lead through Mark Connolly's header and looked home and dry.
The season's second highest crowd of 842 - the Rhyl contingent at least - went wild and three points were in the Lilywhites' grasp.
Seconds later, however, Aber's Geoff Kellaway was tackled fairly on the edge of the area, but play moved on and substitute Geraint Passmore went flying.
Referee Mark Whitby pointed to the spot, Rhyl players reacted furiously and Matthew Williams, who was alleged to have committed the foul on Passmore, was red-carded for dissent.
Luke Bowen fired home the penalty and a draw was secured. It was definitely a deserved draw as far as Aber were concerned, but the nature of the equaliser left a bitter taste in the mouth.
Personally, I cannot give a cast-iron comment. My first instinct was Passmore had thrown himself over in the area in a desperate bid to win a penalty - i.e. dived.
I've only seen the incident once live and once on TV and still am not convinced either way. I'd need to see it again to be in a better position to give my opinion.
Was the angry reaction to Whitby's decision by Rhyl players totally down to the fact they disagreed with it, or was it part disappointment - a knee-jerk reaction to an incident which could cost the club thousands?
One thing's for sure, the result cannot be changed now and the Lilies need to win their final two games at Llanelli and Welshpool and hope their rivals slip up if they are to maximise their chances of reaching the Europa League.
Although the main talking points from Saturday's clash at Belle Vue came after the 90 minutes, the game itself was a very entertaining one and nothing like the two previous 0-0 bores at Rhyl between these sides.
Both keepers - Rhyl's Jack Cudworth and Aber's Dave Roberts - produced some fine stops and the shots never stopped flying in from both teams.
Rhyl probably came the closest to breaking the deadlock before it was eventually ended, Andrew Pearson and Chris Williams both hitting the crossbar.
But Aber were refreshingly lively and slick, the best I've seen them play at Belle Vue. Their passing was crisp, their play was pacy and it was a contest from the word go.
Rhyl took a while to find their stride, but as the game wore on it was notable the effect wingers Chris Williams and Tyrone Kirk were having on proceedings.
It was no surprise that Williams provided the assist for Connolly's goal, the ex-Stockport County wide man feeding in a lovely cross from the right and Rhyl's top scorer powered a header past Roberts for his 30th goal of the season.
In scoring Conno became the first player in the WPL to reach 30 in all competitions this term - ahead of Rhys Griffiths, Jamie Reed, Chris Sharp, Martin Rose - the lot. What a season he has had.
The Conno goal looked to have provided a fitting end to a home campaign which has been at times frustrating but very often exciting, but the visitors' penalty ensured it finished on a low note for Greg Strong's men.
On to Llanelli on Thursday now, sadly without the suspended Matthew Williams.
It is a case of relying on others for favours and Rhyl have had few of those this season - especially at the hands of officials.

RHYL: Cudworth, Naylor, Dowling, Strong, Ojapah (Doran 34), Leah, C Williams, Pearson, Connolly, M Williams, Kirk. Unused subs: Owen, Owens, Heenan.

MATCH FACTS
GOALS - Rhyl 1 Aberystwyth 1
ATTEMPTS - Rhyl 17 Aberystwyth 19
ON TARGET - Rhyl 8 Aberystwyth 7
CORNERS - Rhyl 3 Aberystwyth 6
YELLOW CARDS - Rhyl 2 Aberystwyth 0
RED CARDS - Rhyl 1 Aberystwyth 0
ATTENDANCE - 842
LO MAN OF THE MATCH
Jack Cudworth (Rhyl)

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 (h-WPL) 1-2 (Strong)
Dec 5 - Aberystwyth Town (a-WPL) 2-2 (Leah, Hunt)
Dec 12 - Technogroup Welshpool (h-WPL) 4-1 (Leah, C Williams, Hunt, Owen)
Dec 16 - Colwyn Bay (a-NWCC) 1-0 (Stones)
Dec 26 - Prestatyn Town (a-WPL) 0-0
Jan 2 - Prestatyn Town (h-WPL) 1-1 (Leah)
Jan 16 - Port Talbot (a-WPL) 1-2 (Turner)
Jan 23 - Gap Connah's Quay (h-WPL) 4-1 (Connolly, Horan, M Williams 2)
Jan 26 - Airbus UK Broughton (h-WPL) 2-1 (M Williams pen, Turner)
Jan 30 - Pontardawe Town (h-WCR4) 7-0 (Leah 3, Connolly 2, Turner, Kirk)
Feb 7 - Bangor City (a-WPL) 1-3 (M Williams pen)
Feb 14 - Newtown (h-WPL) 4-2 (Strong, M Williams, Owens, Kirk)
Feb 20 - Porthmadog (a-WPL) 2-0 (Strong, Connolly)
Feb 24 - Bala Town (h-WPL) 5-2 (Pearson, C Williams, Connolly 2, Turner)
Feb 27 - Prestatyn Town (a-WC) 4-4 (Connolly 2, M Williams, Turner) - Lost 5-4 pens
Mar 6 - Neath (h-WPL) 0-1
Mar 13 - Elements Cefn Druids (h-WPL) 6-0 (M Williams 3, 1 pen, Connolly, C Williams, Pearson)
Mar 27 - Caersws (a-WPL) 2-2 (M Williams, Owen)
Apr 2 - The New Saints (h-WPL) 1-2 (M Williams)
Apr 10 - Haverfordwest County (a-WPL) 4-2 (Connolly 2, Kirk, M Williams)
Apr 13 - Carmarthen Town (a-WPL) 1-0 (M Williams)
Apr 17 - Aberystwyth Town (h-WPL) 1-1 (Connolly)

GOALS (110): 30 - Mark Connolly; 23 - Matthew Williams; 13 - Lee Hunt; 6 - Chris Williams, John Leah, Greg Strong; 5 - Rob Turner, Tyrone Kirk; 4 - Paul Smith; 3 - Gareth Owen; 2 - Andrew Pearson, George Horan, Phil Doran; 1 - Martyn Naylor, Greg Stones, Andy Owens.