DENBIGH TOWN 3

BANGOR CITY 2

RHYS Llwyd is likely to gain a frosty reception the next time the Sgorio cameras cover Bangor City!

Sgorio producer Llwyd bagged the decisive goal on Friday evening as Denbigh Town stunned the Citizens in their Huws Gray Alliance clash.

The Central Park side memorably claimed their first win of the season with a thrilling 3-2 success.

City stood at the top of the table ahead of kick-off, with Denbigh languishing towards the foot of the standings.

However, it was the hosts who enjoyed the better start.

Within five minutes, recent loan acquisition Alfons Fosu-Mensah had a chance.

Using his strength to see off a defender, he shot into the arms of the City keeper Chris Mullock.

Other chances came for Town as they seemed to catch a nervous looking City team in the opening minutes.

So, it came as no real surprise when Denbigh took the lead after 10 minutes.

When the ball played into the City area, it found its way to Sam Jones, who slotted home a well-struck shot from 10 yards.

Understandably, this sent the Denbigh crowd into raptures and it could have been 2-0 just a minute later.

Some great play between Mark Roberts and Fosu-Mensah set up the latter for a shot, which was well saved by Mullock.

Two minutes later and Fosu-Mensah was the creator as his cross found Sam Downey, whose shot hit the post with Mullock beaten.

After this blitz, City did start to come more into the game and they started to enjoy more possession.

However, Curtis Langton, Miles Todd and Tony Davies were proving to be a solid back three and City’s attempts at keeper Craig Vernon were limited.

Denbigh management duo Dewi Llion and Matty Jones had done their homework on Bangor’s threat from set pieces and they had organised the defence to combat any aerial threats.

There was further joy for Denbigh on 25 minutes when they went 2-0 up.

Sam Jones' corner found its way to Mark Roberts and with a great glancing header, he found the back of the net.

Understandably, Bangor came back strongly.

Referee Alex Livesey awarded the visitors a penalty for hand ball, despite vehement home protests that a Bangor player had handled the ball during the build-up.

The penalty was converted by Tom Fields and it was game on again.

The protests resulted in Town captain Tony Davies receiving a yellow card.

Bangor wre on top as the half developed, with Denbigh entrenched in their own half for long spells.

The best chance fell to Les Davies, whose header from eight yards out went just over.

A stern team talk by Bangor manager Craig Harrison saw City come out for the second half in determined fashion.

They equalised five minutes after the restart.

A great shot from Jacob Farleigh left home number one Craig Vernon with no chance.

Bangor continued to press and minutes later, Vernon made an excellent save from Phil Baker’s shot, tipping the ball over at the expense of a corner.

While the pressure was building, Denbigh’s defence stood strong in the face of the onslaught.

Town were still having their moments at the other end, with Fosu-Mensah proving to be an asset in holding the ball up until midfielders Lewis Sirrell, Scott McHarrie and Sam Downey joined up with play.

It was as a result of this type of play that Denbigh got their third goal after 58 minutes.

This time it was Rhys Llwyd who got the goal with a well-struck shot giving Mullock no chance.

All of Denbigh’s players now put in a shift as they saw the possible prize of three points.

Sam Cartwright could have grabbed a fourth for Denbigh when he raced on to a ball from Fosu-Mensah, only for keeper Mullock to dive at his feet to thwart him.

After four minutes of injury time, the final whistle confirmed an astonishing win for Denbigh, which will set them up nicely for the battles ahead.