A Stalemate At Park Hall – The New Saints FC 0-0 Bala Town

Match Report

Substitutions: Draper for Ebbe (65), Cieslewicz for Holland (81), Byrne for Edwards (85).

First-half

With the other five JD Welsh Premier League games taking place on Saturday, the fixture provided an opportunity for both sides to gain valuable points in the race for the title.

Attacking the car park end, the visitors won an early corner that Paul Harrison punched from off the line with seconds on the clock.

The New Saints’ first assault on goal came in the 8^th minute when good work down the left saw Jon Routledge find Dean Ebbe, who saw his attempt go just wide.

Another corner to the visitors eight minutes on resulted in appeals for a penalty, but the referee, Kevin Parry, kept his whistle away from his lips as TNS cleared.

As we approached the halfway stage of the first half, Aeron Edwards found his way into the box but his shot was parried by the man in orange, Ashley Morris.

With the half ebbing away, a free-kick from the left saw Chris Marriott find the head of Blaine Hudson. His misdirected header away from goal fell kindly to Danny Redmond but his powerful shot went just wide.

Half-Time 0-0

Less than two minutes into the second period, a perfectly-timed run from Jamie Mullan saw the winger through on goal, only for his chip to be pushed away by Morris.

Signalling TNS’ intent, shortly afterwards it was Redmond who went close for the league leaders, as they looked to break the deadlock.

However, The Lakesiders should have scored when Steven Tames blasted over from close range, as the game remained goalless with 55 minutes gone.

Minutes later, following a foul on Redmond down TNS’ left, a Marriott free-kick was met by Ebbe only for his header to go wide.

Passing the two-thirds stage of the game, Edwards went close for the reigning champions as his shot was just over.

As the game wore on the frustrations grew, as the deadlock remained unbroken. Although chances were created, some determined defending from the visitors kept the game goalless.

Redmond unleashed a shot that was just over as the 90 minutes came to an end.

With four minutes of added time, Morris pulled off a superb save to deny substitute, Adrian  Cieslewicz.

The final score of 0-0 ensured that even though points were dropped, the run of unbeaten games and clean sheets (both 5) in the league continues.

Final Score: 0-0