Holywell Town 1-1 Cefn Druids

The Wellmen welcomed 3rd place Cefn Druids to Halkyn Road, with both sides looking for the victory with Druids wanting to keep the pressure on Caernarfon Town at the top of the League and ourselves looking to keep the pressure on the teams above us in the top 5.
The game started brightly with Cefn Druids getting the first chance of the game, captain Dan Forbes having a shot hit the side netting but a few minutes later, the Wellmen were ahead. A great goal by Brady McGilloway saw him control the ball well, before unleashing a great volley which gave the keeper no chance to give the Wellmen the lead.

Cefn Druids looked to bounce back from the goal and from a corner, Robbie James turn and shot went wide of Mike Platt’s post. Druids then tried to split the Wellmen’s defence with a ball over the top, with Forbes chasing, saw him clash with the on rushing Platt who cleared the danger with no real threat from Forbes.

Town then had a chance to increase their lead. A good ball from midfield saw Connor Littler through on goal, he ran on before shooting but Louis Mackin got down well to save, and Littler’s follow up shot was blocked by a defender and went out for a corner. From the resulting corner, Tony Roebuck had a glancing header which flew wide of the Druids goal! Shortly after, Town had another chance as once again, Littler broke clear and ran on towards the goal, but again Mackin was out to save well and Graeme Williams saw his shot from the rebound go wide of the target. Town went in ahead at the break, courtesy of McGilloway’s goal, and it was all still to play for in the second half.

The second half was a few minutes old when the first real chance fell to Druids, as Hesp’s cross into the box clipped the cross bar and went out for a goal kick. A few minutes later, a great run by Paul D Williams, saw him turn past a defender and crossed the ball into the centre, but the ball was too high for Littler to get good contact on and the ball skimmed off the top of his head behind him to safety.
Druids then went really close to grabbing an equaliser with Substitute Naim Arsam and Forbes again seeing their shots blocked, then minutes later, Druids went close again as Forbes watched as his header was palmed away brilliantly by Platt, but it fell kindly to Adam Hesp whos shot was cleared off the line by Ross Ankers before being cleared to safety by Jonathon Jones. That was a let off for the Wellmen and it made the home side raise their game. Ankers then went on a run, playing a neat one two woth Graeme Williams before crossing goalwards, but the ball was cleared with Littler inches away from connecting. Town were forced into a change with Ankers picking up a knock, and Town came close to getting the killer second goal, with Graeme Williams in the thick of the action during a mad goalmouth scramble before play was stopped by referee Andy Harms.

Druids then won a corner and Mike Platt gathered the ball at the second attempt, before Platt again was called into action saving well from Naim Arsam, then Mark Winslade’s snap shot flew over the bar. The away team were now pressing for the equaliser, and a good ball through the Town defence by Matty Holt saw Platt save at the feet of Arsam. With the minutes ticking by, Town had a great chance to seal it. A ball out from midfield to Brady McGilloway saw him run down the line and beat his marker, before putting a great cross over in the path of Graeme Williams, but his shot flew over the bar.

With minutes remaining on the clock, an incident in the dug outs saw the referee having to have a word with those involved, and after it had all calmed down, from teh resulting throw in, a ball over the top from distance saw Forbes break clear and he was able to chip the ball over the oncoming Platt into an empty net for the equaliser.

Deep into injury time, goalscorer Forbes nearly scored his second of the match, but his shot came back out off the post, much to the relief of the Wellmen, as it would have been cruel to concede two late goals. The referee blew for full time and both sides picked up a point, and Town will have a chance to get back to winning ways on Wednesday as Llanfair United make the journey up to Halkyn Road.