BALA TOWN 1

ACCRINGTON STANLEY 0

A TERRIFIC weekend win was claimed by Bala Town in their friendly meeting with Football League opponents.

The Lakesiders returned to Maes Tegid on Saturday afternoon as they welcomed League One outfit Accrington Stanley.

John Coleman named a strong Stanley side, with a mixture of first team players and trialists, but it was the Lakesiders who impressed.

Bala came flying out of the blocks and they had a fantastic first half, with some of the best football they have played for quite a few months.

It was Mike Hayes who had the first chance of the game as he pulled a shot wide.

Town were playing with a very high tempo, which saw them take full control of the game.

A corner by Henry Jones came back out to him and his powerful low shot hit the base of the post, while the follow-up was cleared by an under pressure Stanley backline.

Bala’s pressure eventually paid off when Mike Hayes spotted Savin off his line.

The striker lobbed the goalkeeper from around 20 yards out to give the Lakesiders a thoroughly deserved lead.

The high intensity carried on, with Bala continuing to cause problems and they looking very strong at the back, keeping Stanley’s new signing Bishop quiet.

A rare Stanley chance saw a free kick taken from the halfway line being sent over the crossbar towards the end of the half.

Jones and Trialist C almost added a second when they forced a mistake in the backline, but Hayes couldn’t make a clean connection from the loose ball.

As Bala continued to press, Andy Burns was brought down in the box, but his penalty claims were waved away, before Savin made a fantastic reaction save to deny Lee Molyneux.

Before the interval, a brilliant move by Bala should have resulted in a second goal, however Kieran Smith’s teasing cross was narrowly missed by a diving Hayes.

The second half saw Stanley come more into the game.

Both teams rotated their squads, but Bala still impressed with their quick breaks and solid defensive set-up.

The away side had a couple of opportunities to get back on level terms, but these chances both went wide.

At the other end, a stunning cross from Andy Burns picked out Henry Jones and Mike Hayes, but neither was able to get a touch.

As the match reached its closing stages, there were golden chances for both teams.

Academy graduate Sion Sullivan set up Trialist E, whose cross found Chris Venables, but it crept centimetres wide.

Down the other end, Bala’s trialist keeper made a solid save to keep the clean sheet intact.

It was an extremely impressive performance by the Lakesiders, who looked confident, comfortable and worked incredibly hard against their League One opponents.