29th November 2014 - Welsh Cup Round 3
Anticipation was at fever pitch prior to this Welsh Cup match between
two Flintshire rivals, with the match getting the deserved attention and
build-up in the local media. In fact the promotion and local excitement of the
cup fixture started as soon as the draw was made as it was set to be a clash
between two Flintshire teams who were having fantastic starts to the season.
Buckley Town had begun the season in impressive (if surprising considering the
pre-season predictions) form by sitting high in the top half of the Cymru
Alliance table and staying undefeated at Globe Way all season so far. Holywell
Town were having an even better season by being 10 points clear in the Welsh
Alliance Division 1 table looking like certainties for promotion, whilst also
winning all their cup games up to this point ensuring The Wellmen still
maintained a 100% record in all competitions in the 2014-15 season. With this
ferocious local battle between two inform teams, it would be intriguing to see
who would come out victorious and which record would come to a screeching halt:
Buckley’s home record or Holywell’s 100% winning record.
In the newspapers both managers were cranking up the pressure by saying
the opposing team were the favourites going into the match. On paper Buckley
could have been considered favourites due to their higher position in the Welsh
football pyramid, playing the second tier Cymru Alliance whilst Holywell Town
applied their trade in the Welsh Alliance Division 1, a league below. However
Holywell had reached the Welsh Cup semi-finals in a historic cup run last
season and defeated a number of higher-league placed opposition along the way
before they were finally vanquished by Welsh Premier League team Aberystwyth
Town. This season they were dominating their league and had defeated another
Flintshire-based Cymru Alliance team in Mold Alexandra in the previous round
(my report of the game can be found here). Therefore it was tough to predict which
team would come out victorious, especially as the old football cliché of “form
books can be thrown out of the window” can be used to describe such a derby cup
match.
As you can imagine, I was looking forward to this derby match as much as
a kid looks forward to Christmas Day, especially as it meant a short away trip
to Buckley. There was added spice in this fixture this time around, as opposed
to the previous derby cup game against Mold, as I work with Buckley’s manager
Tom Taylor. As soon as the draw came out, the banter began in the office and a
small gentlemen’s wager was agreed upon with Tom betting Buckley would win,
whilst I backed a Holywell victory (of course), So with the ‘massive’ amount of
£20 riding on the result, I was super keen for Holywell to come out on top in
this encounter!
Having been warned prior to the weekend that parking at Buckley’s ground
might be problematic, I decided to make the journey up to Globe Way earlier
than initially planned. Heading up there didn’t take too long even though I had
to stop in Flint to pick up regular groundhopping accomplice Greg. There’s a
number of ways to get to their ground but the easiest I found was to take the
turnoff for the St. David’s Hotel in Ewlow, follow the roundabout around until
the sign for Buckley and follow that road. Then a mile up the road, there’s a
sign for an industrial estate on the left and you take that left turn. The
ground should be on your right about half a mile up from the junction perched
like a church on a hill. Even though I had arrived there in plenty of time
(about 45 minutes before the big kick-off), the ground’s car park was predictably
full and supporters were already parking along the road. Even though it was
acceptable to park along the side of the road if the car park is full, I
decided to venture back down the road and park my car in the public car park
for the nearby Etna Country Park. The reasoning behind this was there was less risk of
passing car clipping my side mirrors (this had happened the previous week
outside my house which I was not best pleased about), the car park was empty
which was a bonus, and it was only a 5 minute walk from the entrance to the
ground.
When we finally got to the turnstile, there were already a steady stream of
supporters filtering into the ground with a majority of them with Holywell
scarves or coats on. It seemed like the Wellmen fans were out in force for this
grudge game!! Anyway entry into the ground was the standard Welsh price of just
£5, with the accompanying programme costing an additional pound.
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| The programme from the game |
Globe Way is developing into an impressive venue after having some major
investment the past few years and we were both pleasantly surprised with the
standard of the ground so far. As per standard for Welsh league clubs, the main
stand runs alongside one side of the pitch although it does not run the entire
length of the pitch and covered about two-thirds of it. There were portakabins
next to the stand although I am unsure what they were used for as they were not
open. On the other side of the pitch, opposite the main stand, is another
smaller stand which is placed in the nearest half of the pitch to the entrance.
The rest of the side is standing room only with the dugouts situated on this
side of the pitch also. There is only standing room at either end of the pitch
with the players coming onto the pitch from the end nearest the turnstile. This
is because the changing room complex is perched on a hill above the pitch. In
this building are public toilets as well as a snack bar for hungry supporters.
In one of the corners, higher upon the hill is the clubhouse which sold
alcoholic drinks to the punters. What was additionally impressive was that the
clubhouse had a decked veranda which overlooked the pitch, so it was possible
to watch the game whilst supping on a few pints. Surely there are no better ways
of watching Welsh Cup football (or any football for that matter) than on a
clubhouse veranda drinking a few ales??
As it is quickly becoming a pre-match ritual for me, I decided to get
some yfed a fwyd prior to the game to
see how reasonable the prices were and how decent the food was. The regular snack
options were available at the food bar so you wouldn’t be disappointed if you
like the usual football grub. I went for a hotdog (£2) and a cup of tea (£1)
which came to a grand total of £3 outlay. The hotdog was a proper size and
reasonable for the price, and the same could be said with the cup of tea. All
in all, I was very content with the snacks as the hotdog tasted good and the
cup was a good sized amount. It gets a thumbs up from me!!
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| Original position in the small stand |
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| Holywell warming up prior to kick off |
Once food was consumed, we decided to take our place with a group of
Holywell fans who had congregated by the small stand by the dugouts. As
everyone was sitting on the front row of the stand, we decided to sit nearer
the back of it and soon found out why everyone was sitting on the front row. I
found the seats to be too narrow with very little leg room, and not ideal to
sit through 45 minutes let alone 90 minutes worth of football. Considering my
dodgy knee was already aching with pain after a couple of minutes, an
alternative viewing position was required. Therefore we moved from the stand
and walked further down the pitch to stand by the away team’s dugout. Other
supporters came up with the same conclusion and stood along the same side,
whilst the vocal ‘Holywell Ultras’ were all grouped together behind the goal
Holywell would be attacking towards in the first half. The path behind the
dugouts was quite muddy and some people had trouble walking through it – it
wouldn’t be ideal if anyone disabled or had mobility problems wanted to get
past. Perhaps Buckley could sort something out there in the future by removing
the mud or tarmacking that section to make it easier for people to get past
behind the dugouts before someone slips and suffers a potential injury.
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| A better position to watch the first half action |
For the match, Buckley were in their home kit of red & white striped
shirts, black short and red socks, whilst Holywell were in their away kit of
white shirts and shorts with black socks. It would be the Wellmen who would get
the first chance of the game as Sam Jones crossed a dangerous ball into the
penalty box only for John Leonard to shoot just wide of the post. It was
unlucky for Greg as he had drawn out the 2nd minute in the first
goal sweepstake raffle that Buckley were doing this afternoon (I had drawn out
the 86th minute which I was hoping would not win as my nerves would
not be able to handle that). The Bucks then had their first chance of the game
when Lee Reynolds fired a shot wide of Holywell ‘keeper Mike Platt’s goal. It
would prove to be end-to-end stuff in the first quarter of an hour with both
teams having chances through set piece plays. From an indirect free kick, the
mercurial Sam Jones put another accurate cross into the heart of the danger
area, this time being met by Matty Harvey who rose above all to head the ball
goalwards, but Buckley’s goalie Ben Jones (who would be the focal point of all of the Holywell Ultras’ chants throughout
the half) was equal to the shot and gathered up the ball well. Buckley then had
the best chance of the match so far to take the lead when another free kick was
floated into the Holywell penalty box and managed to find Lee Davey. However
his effort was more than matched by Mike Platt who managed to successfully stop
the ball from hitting the back of the net. In my opinion at this point of the
game, Buckley were just edging the battle in midfield and had slightly more
possession than Holywell.
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| The main stand at Globe Way |
This would change as the defining point of the match took place about 15
minutes into the first half when the home side were reduced to 10 men.
Buckley’s Lee Reynolds was adjudged to have kicked out at Holywell’s John
Leonard in an off the ball incident after a slightly clumsy Leonard tackle (a
bit like Beckham in 1998). Like Arsene Wenger “I did not see the incident” due
to my position on the pitch and players blocking my view of the tackle and supposed
reaction, so I can’t confirm what had happened. The instant reaction from both
sets of players and management was enough to justify that something major had
occurred. After some consultation with his assistant, referee Gwynne Vaughan
decided the reaction was worthy of a red card and sent Reynolds off meaning
Buckley had to play for about 75 minutes with a man disadvantage. The decision
enraged Buckley’s manager Tom Taylor who launched a fierce verbal tirade at the
officials! Referee Vaughan had to walk over to the Bucks’ manager to defuse the
heated situation and calm him down. Taylor can consider himself lucky the
referee did not take a stricter stance against his protests by making him join Reynolds
by being ordered off the pitch also.
Rather than letting their heads drop, the sending off galvanised the
resolve of the Buckley team as they put extra effort to ensure the man
disadvantage was as limited as possible by taking the game to the visitors.
They almost got their reward when former Holywell Town player, Danny Sullivan,
managed to get free from the Holywell defence and exploit the space by getting
a shot on target. However the impressive Mike Platt was on hand yet again to
keep the scoreline level by saving Sullivan’s effort. Not long after Holywell
had their best chance of the half when Phil Lloyd tried to latch onto a chipped
through ball ahead of the onrushing Ben Jones. Lloyd managed to control the
ball by heading it over Jones’ head leaving the ‘keeper stranded in no-man’s
land and scrambling back towards goal. With the goal gaping Lloyd angled
himself to launch a placed shot which would have resulted in a sure-fire
opening goal. Just as Lloyd was about the pull the trigger, he was challenged
by Buckley’s Jack Jones whose pinpoint accurate sliding tackle ensured the
danger was averted by taking the ball off Lloyd’s foot and putting it out for a
corner. An unbelievable last ditch tackle which got all of the ball and none of
the man, which would have been a certain penalty had he clipped the attacker.
It was worthy of any Sky Sports/BBC pundit analysis – fantastic
defending!!! From the resulting corner,
Matty Roberts crossed the ball to Matty Harvey who managed to get his head on
another cross but this time could only put his effort over the crossbar.
With the first half coming to a conclusion, and with neither team taking
full command the game due to sloppy play in the middle third of the pitch, it
would be the visitors who would strike first and finally taking advantage of
their extra man on the pitch. Holywell’s captain Sam Jones, who would be
instrumental in a majority of the Holywell chances during the afternoon,
managed to beat the challenge of a Buckley defender and whip a curling cross
into the penalty box. The key cross was met by the industrious midfielder Tony
Roebuck, who had acres of space and managed to flick the ball with his head
beyond Jones’ reach to give the Wellmen a 1-0 lead. It would be a hammer blow
to the home side who were looking to go into the break on equal terms despite
playing most of the half with 10 men and having great goal scoring
opportunities of their own. As the official blew for half time, it would be
Holywell who held the score and man advantage much to the delight of the
travelling (and vocal) Wellmen support and the chagrin of the Buckley
management.
During the half-time period, we decided to change our viewing position
from beside the away dugout, which was prone to stray balls being fired in our
direction, to a safer place in the main stand to get a wider view of the pitch
and avoiding potential hits to the cranium. Therefore we headed to the back row
to get the best scope of the pitch. The seats in the main stand were much more
comfortable than the smaller stand had been prior to kick-off and had plenty of
leg room for 6 foot odd Greg and me with my dodgy knee. Naturally the majority
of the home support were gathered in the covered main stand although even here
it seemed as if they were outnumbered by the Holywell fans. The Wellmen fans
were certainly more vocal than the Bucks fans that were there, plus a lot more
Holywell scarves were on show compared to any Buckley paraphernalia.
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| New seating position in the main stand for the second half |
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| Getting ready for the second half |
The second half began as the first half ended with both teams trying to
dominate the midfield but failing to do so due to sloppy passing and giving
possession away too cheaply in the middle third. Despite their man advantage,
Buckley were not showing any weaknesses and were equal to Holywell in effort
and commitment, whilst putting in some big challenges – some less acceptable to
the official than others. The first half-chance of the second half fell to
Holywell when Matty Harvey tried to put another through ball in for John
Leonard, who would have been through on goal had the pass been a little less
weightier and not gone beyond Leonard’s reach. It was at that point that the
momentum and ball possession started to swing in Buckley’s favour as they
became increasingly urgent to find an equaliser whilst Holywell were happy to
defend, sit back and hit them on the counter attack. As a result, Buckley had a
couple of chances to score, both falling to Adam Eden. Firstly through a free
kick which Holywell ‘keeper Platt gathered routinely, and then a through ball
which Eden nearly scored from. Eden latched onto the critical pass, managed to ride the
challenge of John Leonard and took his chance which unluckily for him was
brilliantly saved by the impressive Platt, before it was cleared to safety. It could have been argued that had Eden had gone down under the challenge instead of staying on his feet, it could have been a penalty. Have a look for yourself in the highlights from the Buckley website:
Even though Buckley were seeing more of the ball, their sloppy passing
ensured Holywell managed to break out and threaten a second goal. An attempted
overhead kick from Phil Lloyd on a loose ball in the box was adjudged to be too
dangerous for the referee’s liking after he collided with the onrushing Jack
Jones, and was cautioned for his foul play whilst Jones had to go off for some
treatment because of the collision. The captain Sam Jones again became heavily
involved in his sides chances to score as the forward crafted another good
chance to double their lead. He received a threaded through ball from Tom
McElmeel (who was imperious all day in the centre) which put Jones clear on
goal. Unfortunately for the captain his shot was blocked by his namesake in the
Buckley goal.
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| Free kick for Buckley chasing for an equaliser |
As the game went into the closing stages, the hosts cranked up the
pressure on the visitors’ defensive capabilities even more as they were
becoming more desperate to find a way back into a game, which was starting to slowly
slip away from them. Adam Eden had another chance to make himself a hero
but just couldn’t find the net as he rushed his shot to put his effort wide.
Tom Taylor made full use of his substitutes to refresh his side who were
starting to flagging in energy trying to cover the extra ground. Substitute
Phil Molyneux almost became “super-sub” as he chased onto a through ball but
before he could get his effort on target, Matty Harvey managed to put a last
ditch tackle in to clear the ball to safety and another Bucks chance went
begging much to the delight of the visiting supporters.
Holywell kept catching Buckley on the counter-attack on occasions as the
Bucks pushed further forward looking for the sort after goal. Another through
ball by Sam Jones put Tom McElmeel through but yet another fantastic defensive
tackle from the Bucks defence stamped out any danger before Paul Williams
nearly had a chance to kill the game off as a contest. Williams broke clear
from the home defence and darted into the box from the right-hand side but his
shot was palmed away by Ben Jones for a Holywell corner. From the resulting
corner, Holywell came agonisingly close yet again when the colossal Harvey soar
above everyone once more but this time saw his bullet header cannon off the
crossbar. Buckley could have, and perhaps should have taken it to extra time
but Eden (who was a constant threat for the Holywell defence making threatening runs at the defence) was having an unlucky day in front of goal as yet another shot was saved
by his nemesis for the afternoon, Mike Platt. Right at the end Danny Sullivan
could have inflicted pain on his former team-mates and take the game into extra
time. Much to the agony of the home fans, and relief of the visiting supporters
(who no doubt had bitten all their nails off by this point) he could only place
his effort wide of the goal!
After a few minutes of injury time and the game slowly fizzling out due
to both teams giving everything, the referee Gwynne Vaughan blew his whistle
for full time followed by a huge roar from the Holywell players, management and
supporters. Holywell Town had booked their place in the fourth round of the
Welsh Cup again and another Cymru Alliance “scalp” was claimed by the Wellmen,
plus a bonus of £2500 prize money. The Wellmen successfully applied the through
ball all afternoon and defended strongly away from home especially during the
Buckley possession surge late on. Plus it was great to see another amazing turn
out of Wellmen fans making the trip away to support the team – at least 125
plus Holywell supporters were in the crowd!! Buckley can feel aggrieved by the
sending off as it ultimately changed the game and made it an uphill struggle
for them for the rest of the game. Despite this, they worked hard to keep it an
equal contest and never let their effort levels drop even when they went a goal
down, and had plenty of possession and chances to get back into the game
especially deep in the second half. Had they had taken their chances more
efficiently and not given away possession so frequently in the midfield, they could
have gotten the equaliser and put more pressure on the visitors. They certainly did not play like a side who had a man disadvantage anyway!!
Overall I really enjoyed the short trip up to Buckley and I was very
impressed with how much Globe Way has been developed, and also how well the
team played against Holywell. A great venue for watching football especially if
you are making full use of the clubhouse veranda! Just a shame from my point of
view there was not a club shop or area which sold club memorabilia as I would
have loved a Buckley Town mug or fridge magnet to add to the collection! Haha!
Still though I am £20 up in winnings which makes the day even sweeter
for me…. ;)
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