Recap

GRESFORD ATH 0 – CBFC FIRST-TEAM 3

Sam Jones’ first half header set Bay on track before second half strikes from Robbie Parry and Cai Owen sealed the win in front a good Bay following.

Captain Tom McCready recovered from a back injury to start and in a bright opening opening he tried his luck with speculative long range effort which went over before a free-kick in  promising position also cleared the bar.

McCready had another opportunity with a free-kick from a similar position parried by keeper Robbie Williams.

A lapse in concentration by the Bay defence let in Mike Pritchard but with only Andy Coughlin to beat he dragged his effort wide of the post before Daniel Holland also missed a chance, firing over the crossbar.

But it was Bay who went ahead on 30 minutes through Sam Jones’ powerful header from Cai Owen’s cross.

Jones turned provider for Bay’s second goal after 68 minutes with his cross finding debutant Robbie Parry, who had only minutes earlier come off the bench, firing into the top corner of the net despite the best efforts of keeper Williams.

Cai Owen, who was full of running throughout the game, wrapped up an impressive win with a stunning strike 10 minutes from time from Parry’s pass.

Manager Craig Hogg commented: ““The performance was really, really good. Individually and collectively I was pleased with a lot of what I saw.

“Our men played like men tonight and I was really pleased for them.

“It was great to see Robbie (Parry), who hasn’t been training this week because he’s been away for a couple of days and we took a risk tonight in bringing him in.

“Sam Jones has been excellent for us in pre-season and he scored a great competitive first goal for us tonight.

“And there was Cai Owen’s strike at the end. Cai’s been with us for a while and the Covid affected season where he hasn’t played any football for us and he puts a performance in like that.”

The manager also revealed that skipper Tom McCready played through the pain barrier to complete the 90 minutes.

McCready had initially been a doubt after suffering a back injury early in last Saturday’s Nathaniel MG Cup loss at Holywell.

“Tom had a number of treatments this week with a personal physio to try and correct the issues he’s had with his back,” Hoggy said.

“There has been murmurings of a back injury for a couple of weeks now and we think that was the straw that broke the camel’s back if you like at Holywell last week.

“He played through the pain barrier. We planned to try and get him off after an hour and he’s played the 90 minutes and arguably the best player on the pitch.”

* TO SEE THE GOALS CLICK ON  Gresford Athletic 0-3 Colwyn Bay – YouTube 

Watch  Hoggy speaking after the game on https://youtu.be/fej2pjWMAjY