What the managers said: Christian Edwards and Rhys Griffiths
Christian Edwards and Rhys Griffiths gave their thoughts after Penybont stole a point with a late equaliser at Cyncoed campus.
Kostya Georgievsky’s dramatic finish saved his side from heading home empty-handed, as the substitute was on hand to tap home from close range in injury time.
Will Evans grabbed his fifth goal of the season to put the Archers ahead, but another late goal cost the hosts two points on the night.
With Griffiths undoubtedly the happier of the two managers, he praised the belief his squad showed as they continued to battle throughout the game.
Throwing himself on for the latter stages of the second period, the Bont boss played a pivotal role in keeping the pressure on the Archers.
And despite his own self-criticisms, Griffiths knows exactly what he brings to his side when they need him.
“I’m injury-prone, I’m immobile, I’m slow, but I’ll still win a header,” Griffiths said.
“There’ll be some games this season where I’m on the side and we’re trailing but I’ll look at it and say I can’t do anything for us today.
“The way the game was with the weather, penning them in, it worked today but other days it won’t.
“The first half alone warranted a point, we came out at half-time thinking that with the elements, there’s no way we’re not going to win the second-half.
“We kept going and I’m just pleased for all of the boys because they’ve been magnificent in the way they’ve stuck together and kept believing more than anything.
“Sometimes results go against you and belief starts to go, where the reality is we’ve done well in most games apart from Bala.
“I’ve got a lot of respect for Met, they’re all fit boys and they’re athletic and the are all a good size and it’s difficult to play your football around them.
“They press really well, and we were trying to play football at times and we just couldn’t.
“We had to go a little bit more direct and see if we could nick a few more set-pieces and that’s what we did and one paid off at the end.”
In the other dugout, it was a night marred in disappointment after another sloppy error cost the Archers three points from a winning position.
It is the third time this season that Christian Edward’s side have conceded late into injury time, and the Archers boss was heavily disappointed with how his side performed in the final moments of the game.
“If it was a league where the team that throws the most points away in ninety-plus minutes, we’d be Cymru Premier champions,” Edwards said.
“Once is unlucky, twice is a coincidence and the third time is just people not listening.
“I’m disappointed because today I don’t know if Penybont had a shot in the second-half, whilst they put us under pressure, we had four or five attempts at goal in the second period against a really strong wind and I thought we would go on to win.
“The pleasing thing for me is that they’re coachable things, we haven’t been picked off, we haven’t been played off the park at all this season and that’s pleasing.
“Unfortunately, now it’s six draws and four wins with two defeats but really it is points dropped where I don’t think in all honesty they were in the game.
“I think if you look at minus thirty seconds you win that game. It was the same with TNS where we’d win the game and at Connah’s Quay, you take thirty seconds away and we draw there.
“Our performances haven’t been bad, it’s just that we are conceding sloppy goals at key times and in the 94th minute we should be sealing it, that’s just individuals doing their jobs.
“It’s difficult at times because the rest of the lads have to suffer.”
