Match Details
Date: Saturday 17 December 2016
Result: 4-3 (won)
Starting XI – Harry Thomas, Sean Jones, Paul Griffiths (c), Jamie Foulkes, Nathan Williams, Dion Gibbins, Andrew Jones, Craig Roberts, Nic Jones, Alex Williams, Oliver Davies
Substitutes – Kein Morris, Luke Williams, Jack Richards, Owain Parry
Goalscorer(s):
Andrew Jones (2)
Sean Jones (pen)
Oliver Davies
It was a local derby day at the Muga today and a big crowd was expected to welcome our high flying neighbours Chirk AAA. The visitors, who had previously beaten a depleted Albion team 7-1 earlier in the season, were strong favourites to win the game but as we all know.. anything can happen in a derby. From an Albion perspective, if there was a script to be written for this game then the way that it unfolded would have been the perfect one for the seven goal thriller that we were all treated to. It was a derby that had most things apart from a dismissal which is what no one wants to see.
As we all know league form goes completely out the window for a derby and in all fairness the Cefner’s started the game brightly taking the game to the visitors and setting the tempo. However, although it was against the run of play, it was the visitors who drew first blood when the ball was ricocheting about the area which eventually sat nicely for their player to fire home the opener. The lads responded well and pushed for the equaliser but Chirk always posed a threat going forward with former striker Nicky Williams in their ranks. The lads got their deserved equaliser when the much talked about Andrew Jones cut in from the left slotting home very coolly for such a young lad. HT 1-1.
The second half kicked off and it wasn’t long before the visitors restored their advantage when their player scored a header which was contested by the Albion player for a foul on the keeper. In truth, the lads didn’t start too brightly and were ‘still in the changing rooms’. Following the goal the team responded well and took the game back to Chirk who started the afternoon occupying third spot. It wasn’t long before the inform man of the moment Andrew Jones collected his second goal of the afternoon with a brilliantly taken effort from just inside the box. 2-2. Albion pushed for the next goal but back come Chirk and it was them who made it 2-3 when a clearance from an Albion player hit the back of an another Albion player and fell kindly to the Chirk player who made no mistake, quite unfortunate circumstances to be perfectly honest. It seemed that every deflection was bouncing to them. We couldn’t have asked for a better response from the lads and it was only five minutes before they were deservedly back on level terms. The referee pointed to the spot following a a blatant handball from the Chirk skipper and Sean Jones, who rarely missies from 12 yards coolly picked up the ball and slotted home in tense circumstances. At this point the game was end to end and in all fairness both sides were searching for the winner. However, it was the Albion, who had fought back from being down three times who provided the epic finale when to the delight of all the players, management and supporters leading scorer Oliver Davies smashed home the winner in the 90th minute. It was great to witness and clear to see what it meant to the every single player wearing that badge today.
Without doubt one of the finest results for our first team so far this season, they responded fantastically well to set the record straight following the disappoint result earlier in the season. The difference today was the battle, heart and desire that was shown by a group of players who are all good friends, drink together and all hail from the same village. You could see that their bodies were on the line for each other. A perfect way to end 2016, 3 massive points against your local rivals!
Thank you to Wayne Hughes of wash & glow for sponsoring the match ball.
