Flint bounced back from last Monday’s derby day disappointment to record their first win of the season over previously unbeaten Cardiff Met. They came from behind to lead 2-1 at the break, and then having had a wobble at the beginning of the second half, during which they conceded the equaliser, they dug in and showed the necessary grit and determination to go again and claim two more goals, for a well deserved victory.
The Silkmen were stunned on six minutes, when a Ryan Reynolds long throw was met by Sam Jones who was allowed the freedom of the 18 yard area to head towards goal, and Joel Edwards applied a close range flick to send the ball past Jack Flint to give the visitors the lead.
Flint dusted themselves down, and started probing the Met defence. A Jake Phillips free kick caused chaos in the Cardiff box, with keeper Kelland Absalom making a mess of trying to claim the ball. Elliott Reeves was on hand to seize on it, but he was unable to get sufficient purchase on the ball, and his shot was cleared off the line. But the equaliser wasn’t long in arriving. A Ben Wynne long throw was met perfectly by the returning Alec Mudimu who produced a clean header to net a debut goal.
The home side were now in the ascendency and following a Phillips free kick on 24 minutes, which was initially blocked by the wall before coming back to the taker, Mudimu received the ball and crossed to Jack Thorn whose curling shot went just around the post.
Elliott Reeves was proving a handful for the Met defence, and on 27 minutes he received the ball on the left, and weaved his way past 4 defenders, ending up deep inside the Cardiff box, before calmly slotting past Absalom to give his side the lead.
The game was then subject to a lengthy stoppage, as Matthew Chubb was injured as he tried to stop Reeves in his tracks, looking to have turned his ankle as he attempted a tackle.
After the restart, Reeves then stung Absalom’s hands when he fired in a shot from a narrow angle.
Thorn thought he had put Flint 3-1 shortly before the break, when he got on the end of a long pass and headed in, getting the better of defender Liam Walsh in the process. However, an Assistant’s raised flag stopped the celebrations short, as Thorn was adjudged to have pushed Walsh as he leaned in to head the ball. It looked to be a very soft free kick, that had come to the visitors aid, meaning the deficit remained at just the one goal at the interval.
Early in the second period, the home side were almost punished when a misplaced pass by by Isaac Lee gifted possession to Met in an advanced position on their right. The ball was delivered into the box, and Flint was called upon to produce a double save from close range to keep the ball out, following up his initial stop by swatting the loose ball away with his left arm, before a foul on a home defender gave his side the respite of a free kick.
But just a couple of minutes after that let off, the away side were level. An inswinging corner from Lewis Rees, possibly assisted by the strong wind blowing across the pitch, ended up curling direct into the far corner of the net.
The lead was quickly restored for the Silkmen though, when another long throw from Wynne caused chaos in the Met defence, and with Reeves challenging for the ball, Thorn was on hand close by to stab it home as it fell into his path.
The goal re-energised Flint and they went in search of a killer fourth. First Wynne broke through the middle, and but for a great last ditch tackle by Gruff Morgan as he was about to pull the trigger, he would surely have scored. Then Thorn produced a fine raking cross field pass to find Phillips in space. He cut inside and sent a shot whistling just over the bar.
Reynolds almost got his side back into the game once more when he met a delivery on the half volley, but Flint was alert and equal to it.
The crucial fourth goal for the home side came with 8 minutes remaining. A ball was pumped up into the box from a free kick, and Harry Owen went to meet it, but got wrestled to the ground by Morgan, who then bizarrely grabbed hold of the Flint skipper’s leg as he continued to fight for the ball. Josh Jones, who had recently been introduced into the action stepped up and blasted the ball past Absalom.
Met were denied a late consolation when Walsh’s long range piledriver was well kept out by Flint.
A tremendous result from the Silkmen which they will look to build on next week, when they face their first trip to south Wales of the season, when they travel to Llanelli for a 12-30pm kick off.
Report by Nigel Sheen. Photos by Geoff Quinn
Line Ups:
Flint Town United – J. Flint, A. Mudimu (J. Jones 76), I. Lee, S. Fofana, H. Owen (c), J. Thorn, J. Phillips, B. Hughes, E. Reeves (K. Imariagbe 87), B. Wynne, D. Stephenson. Unused Subs – D. Szczepaniak (GK), M. Burke, D. Davies, Cm. Ferguson, Cl. Ferguson
Cardiff Met – K. Absalom, M. Chubb (G. Morgan 34), J. Edwards, L. Walsh, B. Soady, R. Reynolds (H. John 87), CJ Craven (c), D. Kabongo (R. Lonergan 87), L. Rees (E. Evans 78), S. Jones (J. Williams 78), F. Mwandwe. Unused Subs – S. Seager (GK), J. Morris
Flint MOM – Elliott Reeves (was a real nuisance for the Met defence all game and produced a fine solo goal)
