Football: Llanfairpwll FC still looking for elusive first home win

Oct 29 2008 By Dave Jones

LLANFAIRPWLL 1 GUILSFIELD 1

CYMRU ALLIANCE LEAGUE

A FIRST victory at their new Maes Eilian base still eludes Llanfairpwll after they were held by resilient Guilsfield on Saturday.

Last season, when they played at Y Gors, Llanfair were always a sure banker for a postponement when heavy rain fell, but things have changed at their new ground with Darren Moore’s men the only Cymru Alliance club on Anglesey to play at home at the weekend as games at Holyhead and Llangefni were called off.

Taking on renowned Welsh Cup giant killers Guilsfield, a team strangely inconsistent in the league, the Ynys Môn hosts rode their luck a bit in the first half when they were indebted to keeper Ben Heald, who pulled off three top class saves, and they survived a strong shout for a penalty by the visitors.

"We played quite well considering the conditions," said manager Moore.

"Both teams seemed to play better playing against the wind which was strange. We created enough chances to have won but, to be fair, so did they.

"Having limited them to just one goal it was disappointing not to take the three points, but a draw was the fair result over the 90 minutes."

Playing with a strong wind at their backs in the opening stanza, the islanders struggled to get their usual passing game going, the ball more often than not overhit and drifting out of play.

They did create one decent chance, leading scorer Richard Owen heading just wide from a good position.

Facing the elements they were a much more potent attacking force and took the lead on 66 minutes, Owen latching on to a poor clearance and crossing to David Lee Jones to finish from close range.

And they seemed to be heading towards a precious three points until the heavens opened with lashing rain driven by the wind in the last 20 minutes.

That helped Guilsfield no end and they were back on level terms with eight minutes to go, Dan Graham dispatching a header that found the back of the net off the underside of the bar.

It was simply a case of holding on to what they had for Llanfair after that and, despite a few hairy moments, they managed just that.

This Saturday Llanfair face a tough assignment at Mold Alexandra, newly- promoted to the Cymru Alliance this season and currently lying sixth in the table.