2.30pm 31 July 2021
North Wales Coast East League, Division One
Llysfaen 3 Henllan 1 (att 50)
I've been to lots of sloping and undulating pitches over the years but I don't think I've been anywhere quite like Llysfaen's aptly-named Banana Pitch. It seems to slope in various directions at once, and no matter where players are on the field they're always running either uphill or downhill.
It's uniqueness must provide a home advantage to Llysfaen, but chances to play football at this level, home or away, have been severely limited in Wales over the last 18 months or so.
The new North Wales Coast East League, part of the fourth and fifth tiers of the new-look Welsh pyramid, was due to launch last season. Covid cancelled 2020/21 and so it finally began earlier this month, a year late.
Henllan had lost all their opening fixtures so I expected Llysfaen to win this with ease. They got all three points, but it was a tough afternoon and on this showing Henllan are unlikely to stay near the foot of the table for long.
The home side went ahead after about 25 minutes but a defensive lapse allowed the visitors to get level before half time. Henllan had the better the opening exchanges in the second half, but with 15 minutes left a looping header put Llysfaen back in front.
They were hanging on to their lead as the match moved into a surprisingly lengthy period of stoppage time, but made the game safe with a third goal on the break in the final seconds.
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