AIRBUS UK BROUGHTON 1

BALA TOWN 2

A DOUBLE from Chris Venables helped Bala Town begin their league campaign in the best possible fashion.

The 2019/20 season began for the Lakesiders on Friday evening at Broughton as they took on newly promoted outfit Airbus in the JD Cymru League.

As expected, the game started at full pace with both sides testing in the opening minutes.

Former Lakesider Jordan Evans saw his spectacular effort fizzle over the crossbar, while down the other end, Lassana Mendes pulled a strike wide of the post.

Town dominated the opening 45 minutes.

Lee Molyneux saw an initial effort saved by Roberts prior to Venables sending the follow-up chance wide of the left post, with Molyneux again in the mix minutes later as his edge of the box strike went inches wide.

Bala were mounting their pressure with Andy Burns making a brilliant break on the wing and picking out Mendes, but his header was denied by the goalkeeper with Town looking a threat during each attack.

Midway through the half and Town were awarded a penalty.

Roberts fouled Robles in the area and the referee pointed straight to the spot.

Chris Venables stepped up to confidently nestle the ball into the net to give the Lakesiders the lead on 24 minutes.

Bala continued to threaten, with Robles and Steve Leslie looking dangerous on the counter attack, with Molyneux and Robles putting further efforts wide of the target.

Down the other end, Josh Tibbetts was called into action when he saved Andy Owens' strike in a rare Airbus chance.

Before the interval, Molyneux almost added a second when his daisycutter rattled the base of the post following a fantastic passage of play.

Turning to injury time and a second goal was scored.

A corner was flicked on by Anthony Stephens and it pounced on by Venables, who beat the offside trap and buried the ball into the net.

The second half was a completely different affair, with Airbus putting on the pressure and making things difficult for the Lakesiders.

Goalkeeper Tibbetts was forced into action as he tipped over a goalbound effort over the crossbar only minutes into the half.

The Wingmakers halved their deficit on 58 minutes when Curtis Strong unleashed a rocket of a strike into the top right corner of the net from the edge of the area.

Airbus were playing some good football, with Bala having to defend strongly to deny their hosts a leveller, with Tibbetts making three exeptional stops to deny them.

Town had the ball in the net through Robles in the final 10 minutes, but this was ruled out for offside as Bala had to dig deep to keep Airbus’ threat at bay.