HILL OVERCOMES BUCKLEY RESISTANCE TO SECURE DRAW IN FLINTSHIRE DERBY

FFLINT TOWN UNITED 1 V BUCKLEY TOWN 1
HUWS GRAY CYMRU ALLIANCE 14 FEBRUARY 2015----2.30PM--CAE Y CASTELL

A free flowing move on 90 minutes saw John Hill convert a sweet cross from Joe Davies, right on cue,  to earn Fflint a well deserved draw.  It was a lovely free flowing move that belied much of the previous 89 minutes in this battling Flintshire derby and following the home sides manager Timmy Williams picking up the manager of the month for January the defeat that normally follows these awards so nearly did here, however this would have been an injustice though for his teams efforts.

THE CONCRETE TOWER BLOCKS OF FLINT

The day started a good few hours earlier once again with a trip to North Wales and our friends at Arriva trains once again supplied a train with no on board display or announcements being made.  Mind you the highlight was the refreshment trolly man who on each sweep of the carriages always added a little 'funny' to his speech, the last one just before arrival at Flint was 'soft drinks, hard drinks'! 
Anybody who has departed at or glimpsed the town of Flint from the train station will probably know Flint as the town with the three concrete 1970's tower blocks that command the town centre skyline.  Well generally that about sums it up there is a shopping street and the Holywell Road by the station, which has one of the warmest ticket booking halls I have come across.  Sadly Flint looks like many of the other North Wales coastal towns in need of some loving care but there are some hidden gems, the footplate monument by the station although this seems to be hidden away from prominent view, Flint Castle featuring many a battle with the English and of course just over the way Fflint Town Utd FC.

FLINT CASTLE FINE VIEWS OVER THE DEE

The castle is an interesting half an hour with some superb views over the Dee Estuary looking over to the Wirral and back further inland to Connahs Quay.
As a side line to this blog on Fflint my interest in Welsh football took me to taking a look at this weekends odds in The Corbett Sports Welsh Premier League, well having popped into the local branch of the leagues sponsoring bookmakers it always amazes me that they never feature the league on their fixed odds coupons.  Whether there is some licensing requirement I don't know but you would think they would be proud of their association.

FINE VIEW-FFLINT TOWN UTD FC

Upon leaving the castle over the tourist car park is the Fflint Town Utd Social Club which introduces you to a small road that takes you past the Fflint rugby ground to Cae Y Castell the home of our target for todays blog.  Entry is via a modern turnstile block and first impressions are of a tidy business like ground, to the left is the main stand nicely adorned in black and white tip up seats.  Also housed in this area is the snack bar from which I managed to sample a bacon cob [for research purposes of course-mind you cob still throws people out].  Moving round the ground their is plenty of space behind the hard standing in the the corner is a small astro mini football pitch.

THE MAIN STAND AT CAE Y CASTELL

Uncovered behind the goal that backs onto the Dee and then on the far side to our entry two new atocst stands which look smart and a TV gantry between both.  The highlight in the base of the TV gantry is a lengthy pub style booth seat for a comfortable view of proceedings.  The top goal with the town behind it is uncovered except for one small old style atcost stand which mysteriously is situated behind the corner flag.

SMART NEW ATCOST STANDS WITH TV GANTRY

Like all football grounds security is of the upmost and the whole of the ground is surrounded by concrete block fencing which is topped off with roating spiked security fencing.  It seems to do its job though as the ground looks good and is kept very tidy, a credit to the club.
In search of the teams I discover a lovely little directors room under the stand and after obtaining the names and numbers locate a superb picture on the wall showing the clubs former ground at Hollywell Rd before re location in 1993.  The other notable point is that the club has an audible and well operated public address system with half times from WPL and Cymru Alliance, well done!


GOOD PA ANNOUNCERS A MUST AT FOOTBALL

FFLINT MANAGER TIMMY WILLIAMS

Its always a mystery to if Flint should have two 'f's' or as at the station 'Y Flint' and if the football club has enough suffixes in Town and then United as well! 
So to the game and as usual its a 2.30pm start in Wales, well I say 2.30 it was 2.35 with the officials only coming out to warm up at 2.25-Fflint were out on the pitch before the officials went back in at 2.28.  Its a minor but with the referee not arriving until 1.45 and one linesman turning out in still muddy boots it doesn't create a good impression.  That said Mr Roszkowski had a good game and was courteous and passed the time of day with people during the afternoon.  It proably had something to do with my train departing Flint station at 4.31 that had me clock watching!
For any late comers it looked for a long time as if they would have missed the only goal of the game when Buckley Town took the lead after 4 minutes when Sean Killgannon turned in Corey Smith's cross.
Fflint were struggling to put any cohesive move together and for the remainder of the half Buckley seemed happy to sit back and defend in number with an admirably work rate although it didn't make for a flowing game.
The second period saw the home side noticeably up the tempo but Buckley were still happy to work hard and get number behind the ball to frustrate Fflint.  Typically in these cases it was the defenders who broke on a few occasions and nearly extended their lead if it was not for Elliott Powell.
With 15 minutes to go Shaun Beck got in a superb header which visitors keeper Ben Jones pushed over with excellent reflexes.
Both sides benches had been enthusiastic and encouraging although the Buckley bench looked to be increasingly over stepping the mark and on 78 minutes following a 'chat' just a minute earlier Wrexham referee Roszkowski had heard enough from Buckley manager Tommy Taylor who was dismissed from the dug outs.

THAT WAY PLEASE

By this time any neutral was probably willing on Fflint after their efforts in this game and with the clock starting to veer into injury time the best move of the game saw Davies supply a cross for John Hill to fire home convincingly from close range.  Scenes of joy followed as Hill came to celebrate with the 'bench' and fellow players an supporters exhaled a sigh of relief.  With a new gusto Fflint stormed forward but could not find a winner and the Flintshire derby ended with a point a piece.
As previously mentioned it is a tight schedule for the train back but the Arriva services, thanks only two carriages, was made and we were on our way away from North Wales again.
A functional visit to a tidy ground with a nice new stand, a steady little programme and if you fancy a ground close to the town, station and with a tourist interest this may be the 'hop' for you.
A tough game sensibly refereed with an enthusiastic crowd of around 120 in attendance.

ITS STILL THAT WAY!