Football: Derby rivals Rhyl FC and Prestatyn serve up a treat

Dec 31 2008 by Dave Jones, Denbigh Visitor

RHYL 7 PRESTATYN TOWN 2

WELSH PREMIER LEAGUE

DESPITE his elation at winning Saturday’s derby by a resounding 7-2 margin Rhyl’s senior coach Allan Bickerstaff was also keen to heap praise on the opposition.

Bickerstaff believes the final scoreline did not do justice to the efforts of his former club Prestatyn who were effectively out of the contest following the controversial 24th minute dismissal of goalkeeper Jon Dunt with the score at 1-0 to the Lilywhites.

By half time Rhyl were 5-0 to the good, but the 10-man Seasiders rallied to share the second period 2-2 and give themselves hope for tomorrow’s return clash at Bastion Road.

“While I felt we had a good first half I was disappointed to concede two goals in the second, but credit to Prestatyn they kept playing and playing and did ever so well in the end,” said Bickerstaff. “Prestatyn have done extremely well to get where they are and full credit to Neil Gibson and Laurie McGuinness for carrying their footballing beliefs all along the way.”

Bickerstaff agreed that Dunt’s red card affected the scoreline and is under no illusions that the New Year’s Day rematch will be as straightforward.

“I thought the lad was a bit unlucky and I doubt it will be 7-2 at Prestatyn,” he said. “I’d just be happy to take three points.”

Bickerstaff was almost as pleased with the fantastic attendance of 2,126 as he was with the result: “It’s great for the community. There were youngsters here that will aspire to play for Rhyl and Prestatyn based on what they’ve seen,” he said.

Prestatyn player-boss Neil Gibson also felt the sending off of his goalkeeper had a bearing on the outcome.

“I’m not too sure it was a red card offence, their striker seemed to be going away from goal when he went down, but I don’t want to say too much. It certainly affected the game, but I was disappointed with the way we played in the first half,” he said.

“Too many players went into their shells, showed Rhyl far too much respect and played as if they couldn’t compete with them. I was more pleased with our second half performance which gave me some positives ahead of Thursday.”

With Rhyl top of the league and Prestatyn without an away win, the first 20 minutes certainly went according to the script as the Lilywhites totally dominated.

In the 10th minute Josh Johnson outpaced Jack Lewis down the right, Prestatyn captain Russ Jones got a weak connection on his cross and Jamie Reed lashed home a right foot curler from 15 yards.

Town were beginning to find their feet when Johnson played a ball over the top of the defence, Carl Owen left Dave Hayes in his wake and went down under challenge from Dunt.

Referee Mark Petch awarded a penalty and harshly sent Dunt for an early bath. Gibson took over between the sticks but was powerless to stop Matthew Williams’ spot-kick.

A minute later a dreadful mistake from Bevan Humphreys allowed Johnson a clear run on goal and the Trinidad and Tobago international finished clinically for 3-0.

Two goals from Gareth Owen made it five by the break, the first a skilful chip over Gibson when he looked offside and the second a back post finish from a low Reed centre.

Rhyl remained on top at the start of the second period, Johnson chipping wide following a poor clearance by Gibson who then did better to deny the ex-Wrexham man with his legs.

Home skipper George Horan headed over from point blank range before Gibson decided to return to the midfield, sacrificed Adie Hoyle, and handed the keeper’s gloves to substitute Andy Davies.

The moves worked well as it was another 26 minutes before Rhyl scored again, Chris Roberts, Gareth Owen and Johnson involved in neat build-up before Reed headed home the latter’s cross.

Within a minute, however, Prestatyn opened their account when the determined Ian Griffiths played a one-two with substitute Jon Fisher-Cooke and let fly with a 20-yard drive Lee Kendall should have stopped.

Soon after a superb Davies save denied Reed his hat-trick, but Rhyl made it seven when Paul O’Neill bundled home a Mark Connolly cross with his chest.

Still Prestatyn came forward, Fisher-Cooke unlucky to have a penalty claim turned down before a dynamic run from young sub Karl Murray was thwarted by an O’Neill foul.

Griffiths’ free-kick was well saved by Kendall but Steve Harris snapped up the rebound to end the afternoon on a high note for the Seasiders.

RHYL: Kendall, Stones, C Roberts, Horan, Strong, D Williams, G Owen, Reed, C Owen (Connolly 66), M Williams (O’Neill 66), Johnson (Heenan 86).

PRESTATYN: Dunt, Jones, Lewis, Humphreys, Hayes, Hoyle (A Davies 56), Harris, Gibson (Murray 79), Griffiths, Parker, Evans (Fisher-Cooke 68).

Rhyl entertain Caernarfon Town in the WPL this Saturday (2.30pm).

COMMENT BY VISITOR SPORTS EDITOR DAVE JONES

FORGET the final scoreline for a moment – Saturday’s Denbighshire coast derby was a magnificent occasion for local football.

To cram 2,126 – the third highest attendance in Welsh Premier history – into Belle Vue says a lot about the pulling power of both clubs.

Apart from the 2,741 they attracted for the title decider against TNS in 2003/04, Rhyl had not drawn anywhere near that amount of supporters for a Welsh Premier League game before.

While the vast majority of the crowd were Lilywhites followers, there were a good few hundred inside the ground from Prestatyn too, and they were a tremendous credit to their club.

Trailing 5-0 at half time, the Seasiders’ travelling army could easily have been silenced or even gone home, but they stayed till the bitter end, never letting their enthusiasm drop, and were rewarded with two well-deserved goals which they celebrated like last minute cup final winners.

The banter between the two sets of fans was great, none of the spite which has tarnished other local derbies in recent years.

The country has been down-trodden by the credit crunch, job losses and Kerry Katona TV ads, but on Saturday at Belle Vue there were big smiles on so many faces.

Now let’s hope for another massive turnout at Bastion Road on New Year’s Day (weather pemitting) and a closer game.

If Prestatyn can carry the spirit they showed in the second half into tomorrow’s return encounter then they must have a chance of picking up a point at least.

Unbeaten at Bastion Road in the league, the Seasiders face the ultimate test with the visit of the league leaders who will no doubt want to spoil the party.

As I write this, it looks unlikely Prestatyn keeper Jon Dunt will feature with initial hopes that the referee might reverse Saturday’s red card decision now seemingly dead in the water.

I certainly agreed with the decision to give a penalty, but thought the sending off was a step too far.

While I think Dunt’s dismissal had a bearing on the final score, I do believe Rhyl were well on their way to winning the match before he went off and would have done so comfortably.

However, with home advantage, and maybe a little more belief on the back of their second half display on Saturday, I think Prestatyn will make the rematch much closer.

Here’s to another cracker, an occasion where again football is truly the winner and hopefully the cold snap won’t scupper the fixture.

Happy New Year to all.