LLANRHAEADR 4

LLANDYRNOG 1

IT was certainly fitting that Llanrhaeadr secured their 10th Shield to conclude the Summer League campaign.

Robert Emlyn Jones was the captain of the only Llanrhaeadr team to secure a league and Shield double back in 1955.

Mr Jones passed away prior to the start of the 2018 campaign and Llanrhaeadr paid special tribute by seeing off Llandyrnog on Friday night to lift the Tony Evans Memorial Shield.

This is the 10th time that Llanrhaeadr have won the competition, however it is their first Shield success since 2001.

Llandyrnog made the better start and they could have taken the lead inside the first minute, however Luke Humphreys' strike went straight at opposition keeper Kevin Evans.

It took Llanrhaeadr 11 minutes to get their noses in front.

A mistake at the back from Llandyrnog gave their opponents the chance to forge an opportunity and this resulted in Elis Vaughan finding the back of the net.

Llandyrnog attempted to respond to this setback and Josh Jones had an effort blocked at the expense of a corner, while David Clayton's free kick from 35 yards was pushed over the crossbar by Kevin Evans.

Llanrhaeadr had one hand on the Shield when they doubled their advantage 13 minutes shy of the interval.

Good work from Tom Roberts set up man of the match Osian Davies, who netted a fine effort from 20 yards.

It was effectively game over when Llanrhaeadr added their third goal just past the hour mark.

Tom Roberts was once again the creator and he cut in from the right to set Rhys Hughes up for the easiest of tap-ins.

A further Llanrhaeadr goal arrived with a dozen minutes left to play.

Rhys Rowlands' effort was saved by Llandyrnog number one Danny Jones, with Tom Roberts in the right place to net from the rebound.

Llandyrnog certainly played their part in an entertaining final and they managed to grab a deserved consolation with three minutes remaining.

From Alun Davies' pinpoint free kick, Craig Jones headed home.