JUNCTIONS TROPHY BID HITS THE BUFFERS THANKS TO ABER'S TWIN DOUBLE STRIKE

LLANDUDNO JUNCTION 1 V ABERGAVENNY TOWN 4
FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION OF WALES TROPHY QUARTER FINAL 22 FEB 2015 2PM
@ THE FLYOVER ARRIVA GROUND

DAN JENKINS GIVES ABERGAVENNY THE LEAD IN THE FIRST MINUTE

[Check out the we all stand together Facebook page for some more pictures]
A double strike from Dan Jenkins and Craig Norman secured a FAW Trophy semi final spot for Gwent County side Abergavenny Town in a keenly contested affair at The Flyover the Arriva sponsored home of Llandudno Junction.
The end score line with two late goals was harsh on Llandudno Junction who had started to get a real foothold into the game in the second period before Town snatched the lead back and then went onto finish clinically to secure a 4-1 victory.

THE VIEWING GANTRY IS NOW OPEN

More on an exciting game shortly but once again a trip to North Wales meant an early start and having followed the home clubs twitter feed it was slightly worrying when leaving Manchester Piccadilly to see 'ground very wet following heavy overnight rain but match on'.  To many of the hopping fraternity who have turned up only to have games called off at the last minute this signalled a nervy continuation of the journey.  But with standbys at Conwy, Gap, Rhyl and Airbus I decided to complete the visit I had planned and looked forward to all week.  As the weather changed from sun to dark cloud and then back to sun again the train pulled into Llandudno Junction and my spirits were raised and with no more worrying tweets I departed from the station.

WHY USE FOUR WORDS WHEN YOU CAN USE SEVEN

 Now there is not a lot to 'Junction' as I could see except for some lovely hilly views and a town that seems to be surrounded by main roads and edged off by the proverbial big store with a 't', cinema and Mac D's. 

TO THE RIGHT THE LINE GOES TO LLANDUDNO AND THE ARRIVA GROUND,
TO THE LEFT CONWY AND BANGOR

I decided not to go to the latter as time was approaching 1230pm and I wanted to obtain a programme and do a few photos around the ground.
The Arriva sponsored ground is within five minutes of the station and the one recent element of my visits to Wales has been the proximity of the grounds to the transport hubs.
The ground is approached by a trackway that is sided by a play area and open field plus a training area.  Its quite an open feel to the ground but on approach to the entrance are two cabins in Arriva corporate colours which house a small sit down café are which was sampled for a drink and a few chocolate bars all looked quite nice in there. 

COME ON WE CAN KEEP THIS FENCE UP, LEAN

The second cabin is for the players and officials for changing in.  As you approach the second cabin the walkway splits into two with spectators channelled down the left hand side to a pay area that has a closed gate which is meticulously opened as every paying spectator enters.
Having arrived early I did a circuit before coming back to pay and too the right is a small toilet block.  As you turn up this first touchline the concrete walkway has a small drop away to a stream that runs along the back half way down are the two dug outs and situated between both a stand for around 50 people which appears to be closed after the game with a metal framework I guess to close it up when not in use. 

LEFT LEG IN LEFT LEG OUT

From the top side of the latter, home, dug out you get a commanding view of nearby Conwy Castle over the estuary.  The top goal is really in accessible to watch the game but behind the net we see the stream get closer to the pitch as we reach the far touchline.  The far side has hard standing its full length and behind it a meshed fence that backs onto a footpath accessed field.  It has to be said that disappointingly 4-5 people watched the game from the other side of the fence for the whole 90 minutes for free, good grief guys your home town team are in the FAW Trophy quarter finals and its just £3 come and support your club!

GROUND WITH A VIEW, CONWY CASTLE

As we come to back to the entrance there is a modern wooden stand running half of the distance behind this goal.
Abergavenny were now coming out to do what looked a professional warm up with over an hour to go to kick off, indeed some of the Llandudno lads were only just turning up and the referee's arrived just before 1pm which always seems late for an important game like this.  My arrival had been way too early with most of the spectators strolling along with it must be said added excitement at about 1.50pm.

FOUR MEN AND A DOG

The one thing that was obvious was the cracking condition of the pitch I had no doubts about the game when it was viewed on arrival I guess it may have suffered if there had been two more hours of rain but it looked and played superbly well, a credit to Junction.
Before looking at the game it was amazing within the early minutes of the game to meet Ian a fellow hopper from Buxton who was a widely travelled and knowledgeable footy fan, it never ceases to amaze me the people I meet at matches and where they have journey from to visit todays host club.
To the game and Llandudno Junctions eagerly anticipated tie looked to have fallen into disarray when after just one minute the visitors took the lead when Dan Jenkins coolly headed home a cross off the right and heads sunk in the home supporters. 

But gradually they started to get back in the game and it was all square on 20 minutes when Jamie Jones collected the ball wide on the right hand side of the penalty box and as the goal line took the angle to the narrowest of opportunities the number 3 unleashed an unstoppable shot that flew in at the far post.  Five minutes later Morgan hit one from 20 yards with the ball striking the bar and as it flew out Jenkins launched himself into a header that  amazingly also struck the bar.
Half time arrived with scores level and the home side had to do something to stem what looked an ever increasing confidence from the visitors.  Well the team talk at half time seemed to have worked the opening 20 minutes saw Llandudno Junction gain the upper hand in the game without scoring and of course the inevitable happened when Abergavenny took advantage of their chance on 65 minutes.

Jamie Laurent supplied a tempting corner off the left and rising high unmarked on the edge of the six yard box was Craig Norman who powered home the header.
Llandudno came back and in one move Abergavenny's Jac Evans headed an effort off the line and onto the bar with the ball angling away to safety with the home players claiming the ball had crossed the line.
Hope remained but then two late harsh goals saw Abergavenny over the line with a comfortable score line on 85 minutes Jenkins was alert to a defensive error and he swept the lose ball home for his second of the game.  Then two minutes later Jenkins grabbed his second when he drove past Gwydion Owen in the home goal to send the travelling fans into scenes of wild joy.

REFEREE TOM WILLIAMS HAS A QUICK SMILE

A few minutes later referee Tom Williams, assistant referee in the WPL, brought what had been a cracking game to an end.  Both teams were a credit to their leagues and put on a superb show its always a shame to see any team lose when they have put so much into the game.  A mention for the official, Tom Williams, who as a young referee officiated this game with a good common sense approach showing some good situation management.
With an hour to pass before the haul back to first change in Manchester it was time for some food from the superstore beginning with an 'A' and then onto the station to further improve my Welsh.  All the announcements were made in Welsh and then in English and it was good to further test my numbers! 

A NICE TOUCH ON DEPARTURE FROM THE ARRIVA, FLYOVER GROUND

The station has some smart little views from either end of the station platforms, Llandudno Junction is a funny station in that you cross the footbridge and drop to platforms 1,2 and 3and at the bottom of the stairs the ticket office is situated their not at the front of the station which is now home to Rogers taxis.  The station café was an inviting place for a warm drink and before long the two carriage, again!, Arriva train was whisking me away with some stunning views back down the coastline with the Great Orme standing proud in the distance.
Once again an enjoyable day out and I shall take an interest in both clubs progression Llandudno in their high flying second spot on the Welsh Alliance and Abergavenny unbeaten in the Gwent County League and of course now the semi final of the FAW Trophy
[Check out some more pictures at the we all stand together Facebook page, with thanks to Barry Dyke for his superb work on Fb]


AND FINALLY THE TRAIN STATION PICTURE RETURNS