Aberystwyth and Rhyl fight for survival

Welsh Premier League ever-presents Aberystwyth Town face off against Rhyl this Friday atPark Avenue, in a huge game in the fight against relegation.

Rhyl must take something from the game to take their hopes of avoiding the drop into the final weekend of the season, while for the black and greens three points will mean beating the drop after a challenging season.

Aberystwyth travel to Newtown in the final weekend of the season, while Rhyl host Llandudno, so arguably the home side’s best chance of survival is to wrap it up this weekend.   The importance of the game is clear for all to see, with S4C’s Sgorio programme set to screen the match live through their Facebook page.

Rhyl’s come from behind victory over Airbus UK last Sunday sent the Wingmakers down and meant the Lilywhites have their destiny in their own hands.

Aberystwyth looked doomed to the drop as they struggled to pick up wins, with a February win over Airbus UK their sole win in 2017 until last Sunday’s 2-0 win at Llandudno.

Manager Wayne Jones, now assisted by Tony Pennock, hasn’t hidden the importance of this fixture.  Speaking to Y Clwb Pel-Droed, Jones said, “Aberystwyth Town is a big club for Welsh football and the people behind the scenes here work incredibly hard to make it that way.  It’s a well run club with good facilities and a good academy. It’s vital for the club to stay in the Welsh Premier League.”

Jones added that one of the keys to success against Llandudno was cutting out errors. He said, “I felt we were the fitter team on Sunday and that helped, but the important thing was cutting out silly mistakes that have been costing us goals.  That has been a problem all season.”

Talking about the game on Friday, Jones said, “We’ve been over the roles and responsibilities ahead of the game. We’ve watched Rhyl and we know what to expect. It’ll be a tough game. We’re going to meet early on Friday, we’ll recap on the strategy and hopefully that’ll stand us in good stead.”

Tony Pennock’s arrival as assistant manager seemed to pay instant dividends with the win against Llandudno. Jones spoke of his arrival and said, “He’s come in and adapted well. He’s watched what we’ve been trying to do and he’s been positive. He wants the players to know they are good enough and he tells them that. He’s supported me in decision-making and is an excellent coach.”

But Jones’ final message was very clear. “We’re going out there to win on Friday night and to guarantee safety.”

Aberystwyth Town v Rhyl is played on Good Friday (14 April) with a 7.45pm ko.  The match will be screened live on the Sgorio Facebook page.

(Featured Image: Aberystwyth Town Football Club)