Although Flint matched top of the table Penybont for the opening half, the south Walians completely dominated the second period, as the Silkmen seemed to tire markedly and run out of legs whilst the visitors upped their game and their workrate.
Harley Peagram, starting in place of the injured Elliott Reeves, was causing problems early doors with his darts into the penalty box. Unfortunately the final ball was lacking and he was unable to find a team-mate as promising situations fizzled out.
‘Bont broke on 12 minutes when James Crole ran onto a ball over the top. Despite looking suspiciously offside, he got the benefit of the doubt from the Assistant and advanced in on Jack Flint’s goal. Flint came out to meet him, and got good contact on the shot to beat it away from goal towards the touchline, where Crole collected it, and rolled it into the path of the supporting Nathan Wood. But Flint had reset himself and saved the follow up attempt.
The home side’s best chance of the half, and indeed the match, came on 34 minutes, when Florian Yonsian met a long clearance from Flint and flicked it into the path of Josh Jones, who looked up and tried to catch Penybont keeper Adam Przybeck off guard with a chip. However the ball sailed just wide of the target.
The second half turned out to be pretty much one way traffic with the Silkmen resorting to long balls out of defence that more often than not failed to find anyone in black and white. When they did try to play it on the deck, poor distribution, particularly in the midfield area, gifted possession back to the opposition.
Penybont served notice of their intentions on 54 minutes, when a short free kick caught Flint off guard. Captain Kane Owen, who had taken the set piece received the ball back, and then picked out Crole with a nicely weighted through ball. The forward smacked his effort against the crossbar.
The breakthrough arrived on 70 minutes, when Gabriel Kircough made a forward run before squaring the ball to Owen Pritchard who was situated on the ‘D’ of the area, He made the most of the space afforded to him by looking up and calmly picking his spot.
The lead could have been doubled in the final minute, when Flint parried out a Mael Davies effort, and as the ball ran loose, Harry Owen tangled with Jasper Jones, conceding a penalty. Kane Owen stepped up but Flint was more than equal to it, plunging down to his left to keep out the spot kick.
But his side were unable to use this to their advantage in what little time remained, and Penybont ran out worthy winners, consolidating their position at the top of the table.
Report by Nigel Sheen. Photos by Geoff Quinn.
Line Ups:
Flint Town United – J. Flint, B. Beaumont, I. Lee, S. Fofana, H. Owen (c), I. Lambert, J. Phillips, B. Hughes (R. Oakley 87), H. Peagram (L. Mariette 74), F. Yonsian, J. Jones. Unused Subs – L. Murphy (GK), G. Maire, T. Mfuni, H. Cartwright, L. Sumner
Penybont – A. Pryzbek, J. Woodiwiss, K. Owen (c), G. Kircough, B. Borge, O. Pritchard (I. Phillips 83), L. Harling, N. Wood, J. Crole (J. Jones 89), C. Green. Unused Subs – M. Lewis (GK), K. Ludvigsen, P. Coe, E. Bregua, J. Florence
Flint MOM – Jack Flint (made a couple of important contributions to keep his side in the game, including the penalty save)
