Great touch, great finish
With the 2-1 defeat against Penybont still very fresh in the minds of the players, there was a perfect response to that disappointment when, in the fifth minute, Sion Bradley, opened the scoring.
Fed by fellow fluent Welsh speaker, Leo Smith, the current JD Cymru Premier player of the season gave Joel Torrance no chance, as he beat the ‘keeper to break the deadlock.
Ryan Astles was on the TNS TV/Radio commentary team and he described it as ‘ great touch, great finish’.
The next goal was going to be crucial
As we so often say when covering the game on the aforementioned broadcasting platforms, if there is a second goal in the game then it’s going to be a massive one.
On this occasion, either The New Saints enjoy a comfortable lead, or it’s game on because the Lakesiders have equalised.
Just seven minutes on from the opener, it was a case of the latter, when Christian Norton found the back of the net.
Full credit goes to Bala Town, who didn’t crumble when conceding early, in fact, as we went on to witness, they ended up winning the encounter in dramatic fashion.
Three minutes to go and the lead is restored
Coming on as a substitute in the 79th minute, as part of a double-change from Craig Harrison, eight minutes later Dan Williams found the back of the net, to put the reigning JD Cymru Premier champions firmly in the driving seat.
It was another quality finish and on this occasion, the assist came from Jake Canavan, who himself had an excellent game.
Since joining the club from Burnley, the Liverpool-born midfielder has continued to impress, and a big factor in the equation of his development is that he’s only just left the teenage years behind.
A dramatic end to the game
There was a double-dose of histrionics right at the end but unfortunately, for The New Saints, it was the visitors who were enjoying the extreme emotions.
If, as a supporter of The New Saints, you thought it was bad when Alex Downes scored in 90+2, it got worse six minutes later, when Hussein Mehasseb scored a dramatic winner.
It’s a reminder, as we all know these days, that football is more than just a game of ninety minutes.
Back-to-back defeats
Combined with the 2-1 scoreline last Friday, the 3-2 reversal against the Lakesiders is the first time since 2019 that we have been beaten back-to-back in the JD Cymru Premier.
Losing at home to 1-0 to Barry Town United on September 28, six days later it was the same score as we stuttered at the Oval against Caernarfon Town.
Back to the present though, and it will be a statistic that will not only hurt the staff and players, but will also motivate them to halt the run.
The analysis will be conducted, lessons learned and the focus will now be on Friday’s visit to Latham Park, when we take on Scott Ruscoe’s Newtown AFC.
Lead image courtesy of Andrew Donnison/F28.Online
