Llany moved to the top of the league last Saturday with a 2-0 win away to Morda but were unable to follow through on that result fully as an organised Forden team played well to nullify Llany’s attacking threat in a game of few chances. There were positives to take, despite the initial disappointment as a brilliant goal from Chris Grommell gave Llany another valuable point to add to their already impressive total.

Nathan Bartram made five changes from the side which chalked up a win in Morda last week with Grommell, Lewis Williams, George Jones, Matt Prince, and Jamie Phillips returned to the side. Prince was in goal with Williams at right back and Phillips partnering Josh Hayward in the heart of the defence. Lee Rogers moved to left back and Simon Botley moved forward into midfield to play alongside Grommell and Jack Roberts. Up front the attacking trio consisted of George Jones, Mike Edwards and Grant Jones.

In windy conditions at Station Road the match got off to an uncertain start as both teams pushed a few balls forward early to try and test out the opposition defences to no avail. The main action of the match in the space of a couple of minutes as two moments of real quality which were out of keeping with the rest of the game put both sides on the score sheet.

It was Forden who struck first as they managed to turn a Llany attack to their own advantage as they launched a swift counter attack. After gaining possession near the halfway line they forced the ball out to their right hand side. From there it was sent in to their striker who took a brilliant first touch to bring the ball under his control from slightly behind him. Another couple of touches juggled the ball into the air before he smashed a dipping volley across the goal and into the back of the net for a brilliant opening goal.

The visitors lead lasted for no longer than a minute as from the kick off Roberts took the ball forward and after it cannoned around the midfield a free kick was awarded to Llany as Forden were penalised for a handball. Grommell lined up the ball from 25 yards out and in customary fashion curled the ball into the top corner of the goal. The ball was hit with his usual blend of power and accuracy and dipped beautifully at the last minute to find the back of the net and restore parity in the game.

Llany looked to build some momentum and from a corner Grant Jones rose highest to send the ball back across goal and Roberts was left disappointed when he powered a header narrowly off target. Phillips, Roberts and Grommell all had efforts blocked from promising positions in and around the penalty area before Grommell almost doubled his tally as he charged on to a loose ball on the edge of the penalty area and unleashed a ferocious drive which was only inches over the crossbar.

Callum Whyte was introduced as Phillips was forced off at half time with Botley taking the captain’s armband and moving into his position at centre back in what proved to be the first of many changes to the Llany defence during the second half. After a very sloppy start to the second half Hayward took a fall as he retreated towards his own goal which left the Forden striker to bear down on goal. With a number of options in the box he opted against squaring the ball and tried to beat Prince at his near post, but the returning Llany stopper put it out for a corner.

That proved to be Hayward’s last involvement in the game as he was replaced by Matt Jones, who was making his debut for Llanymynech after signing from Llynclys FC and slotted in alongside Botley. Prince followed his earlier save up minutes later when the referee ignored a raised offside flag and the striker was once again through for a one-on-one which once again resulted in a corner for Forden.

Grommell switched places with Matt Jones to try his hand at centre back, before he became the third Llany player forced off with illness or injury, with Scott Jones taking his place. Whyte became man of the match Botley’s fourth centre back partner over the course of his 45 minutes in defence, while at the other end Scott Jones took only minutes to make an impact when Grant Jones played him in and he had a right footed shot deflected behind for a corner.

Matt Jones marked his debut with a yellow card as he let his emotions get the better of him whilst remonstrating with the referee over the award of a free kick to the visitors, before Llany survived their biggest scare of the second half. A ball was sent down Forden’s left wing and their winger found himself bearing down on goal albeit with the Llany defence hot on his heels. He lifted the chance over the bar from a tricky angle and Llany were able to breathe a sigh of relief as they set off in search of a winner.

The first opportunity dropped to Edwards for one of his few sniffs at goal over the course of the game, only for him to snatch at his volley and put it wide. Whyte drifted a free kick into the box and when the initial header dropped it was to Llany’s number nine, but he couldn’t make the goalkeeper work.

There was worse to come in the dying stages as the ball was switched over to Scott Jones on the right hand side. He bustled his way into the penalty area and flashed a ball across goal. The ball ballooned into the air and dropped to George Jones at the back post, but despite having time to pick his spot he rushed the chance and sent the ball wide of goal.

Llanymynech Football Club

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