Carno 1-3 Llanfair United: Llanfair shoot up to third in smart win
In the Ardal Leagues North East, the local derby between Carno and Llanfair United saw the visitors take the bragging rights in an exciting fixture at Ty Bridd Field.
The visitors had the perfect start to what was a relevantly quiet first half at Ty Bridd Field. Paul Griffiths set up Max McLaughlin allowing Nyasha Mwamuka to cooly slot into the bottom left corner from 12 yards out to take the lead after seven minutes of play.
Carno’s Joe Morris broke clear on goal and forced a save out of Danny Foulkes in the hosts first opportunity on goal minutes after the opener.
Llanfair were seeing plenty of the ball with McLaughlin involved in plenty of the action as he half volleyed the ball over from the edge of the area from a corner which he and Jamie McVeagh earned following a brilliant passage of play.
Carno had the ball in the net midway through the half after a direct freekick from the left wing swung into the top right corner but they were denied of their leveller as a foul was given on United shotstopper Foulkes.
Five minutes prior to the interval, Llanfair doubled their advantage. Mwamuka danced into the area but was tumbled which saw the referee point to the spot. Paul Griffiths stepped up but saw his penalty parried away by Jake Baker in the Carno net but Griffiths took advantage of the loose ball to tuck in the rebound.
With a minute left to play, Carno had an excellent chance to half the deficit as Adam Biggs delivered a superb ball into the box but no red shirts were able to capitalise on the effort which only needed to be turned into the net.
The second half saw the hosts burst out of the dressing room as they began strongly looking to get back into the game. Sean Wild had two successive excellent crosses into the area which were hacked away before Biggs also saw his shot cleared.
The 47th minute saw Carno add to the scoresheet. After a sustained spell of pressure, a cross from the left was met by Oli Lewis who netted from close range to make it 1-2.
Play opened up after Carno scored with play going back and forth with both clubs looking to add to their tallies. Jamie McVeagh went through one on one with Foulkes but was denied by a strong save by Baker whilst down to the other end a 20 yard strike by Wild flew narrowly wide of the far upright.
Ger Jones did well on the left to pick out Lewis but he fired over for the home side before a cross from the right arrived to Biggs but Foulkes acrobatically blocked his effort on the goalline.
An action packed minute saw Orbell’s ball arriving to Biggs who headed straight into the keeper’s arms which then led to a Llanfair counter-attack that saw McLaughlin set-up by McVeagh to make it 3-1 to the visitors.
It should’ve been 4 in the 76th minute when Mwamuka’s pass saw McLaughlin skip past his marked but he lacked composure and drove the ball over the woodwork.
Llanfair had ridden out Carno’s storm as McLaughlin rattled the post before substitute Toby Roberts blasted over the bar after Mwamuka’s quick break.
Carno continued to be a threat regardless of the scoreline and almost got their second of the day when a freekick on the edge of the D was tipped brilliantly around the post by Foulkes in the closing stages.
A solid result for Llanfair who came up against a Carno side who caused plenty of problems for them throughout the afternoon.
Carno: 1. Jake Baker, 2. Sean Wild, 3. Kieran Beaton, 4. Ioan Humphreys, 5. John Thomas, 6. Cal Breese (14. Tyler McCarthy 71’), 7. Jack Orbell, 8. Oli Lewis (15. Liam Andrew 71’), 9. Ger Jones, 10. Adam Andrew Biggs, 11. Joe Richard Morris (12. Ben Phillips 75’).
Goal: Oli Lewis 47’.
Llanfair United: 1. Danny Foulkes, 2. Owain Jones, 3. Thomas Gregory, 4. Owain James, 5. Matthew Spencer, 6. Jake Brown, 7. Jamie McVeagh, 8. Ben Jones, 9. Max McLaughlin, 10. Paul Griffiths (14. Toby Roberts 85’), 11. Nyasha Mwamuka
Yellow: 5. Matthew Spencer 38’.
Goals: 11. Nyasha Mwamuka 8’, 10. Paul Griffiths (penalty) 44’, 9. Max McLaughlin 70’.
