Prestatyn rue missed chances as they fall to Denbigh
Prestatyn Town squandered a first half lead on Tuesday evening as they fell to a 2-1 defeat away at Denbigh Town, writes Prestatyn’s Ryan Unsworth.
A home loss to Ruthin earlier in the week piled added pressure onto this fixture, but Prestatyn came out with the right attitude, taking the game to the hosts by attacking in numbers right from the get-go.
The first big chance came when Ian Griffiths’ first touch took him away from the defender in the box. The striker looked up before flashing the ball across goal for Matty Griffiths, who’d made a darting run towards the back post. A sliding Denbigh defender managed to cut out the cross.
Having carried the ball out from the back, James Hay continued his run down the left side and demanded it back off Nathanial Hulme. The big centre back spotted Jack Hoult arriving late into the box and swung the ball in his direction. Hoult wasn’t able to get the connection, but Alex Jones was there to pick up the pieces by driving into the box and forcing a save.
The scoring was finally opened on 29 minutes. Some quick passing between the forwards around the edge of the opposition’s penalty area saw Alex Jones receive the ball. The captain’s first touch beat two Denbigh defenders and put him clean through on goal, he opened up his body and fired past the goalkeeper into the bottom right corner to give his side a deserved lead.
The Seasiders continued to commit players forward. The hosts broke down the right hand side five minutes later, and their wide man floated a speculative cross towards the far post. With some pressure on the goalkeeper, Ciran Jones took it upon himself to win the ball. Some pinball ensued and it eventually fell to the feet of Sam Downey – who slotted the ball underneath Christian Wright to level the scoreline.
A couple of minutes before the break, Jack Hoult found himself one-on-one with a chance to restore Prestatyn’s lead. The forward dispossessed a Denbigh defender in a very dangerous area and attempted an audacious chip, but the ball bounced agonisingly wide.
Prestatyn came out for the second half looking for goals. Chris Bennett broke down the right almost immediately, and found Matty Griffiths at the back post. In acres of space, the striker brought it down and fired low but the goalkeeper got down well to smother the shot.
Denbigh grew into the game slowly, and in the 55th minute they took the lead for the first time when a cross was met by Mark Roberts who headed into the roof of the net.
Despite their best efforts, the Seasiders couldn’t find an equaliser, the best chance falling to Matty Griffiths when he was slipped in after some good combination play between Steven Douasse and Jones. Griffiths did well to get into a scoring position, but his shot only rustled the side netting after he looked sure to score.
The chances were there but in the end Prestatyn were punished for their missed opportunities and Denbigh secured a valuable three points.
FEATURED IMAGE: John Pickles
