After finally returning to action last weekend, Halkyn & Flint Mountain welcomed Penyffordd Lions to our old stomping ground of Northop Hall in our second friendly of this COVID-19 impacted season. Manager Rob Marshall made several changes for this game, bringing in Damon Griffiths, Lucas Cruz, Aled Reece, Jord Beck, Sean Williams and Mark Foster to the starting line up, whilst Pete Martin and Sam Parry made the subs' bench. The Mountain were also forced into a last minute change in goal, with Assistant Manager Dean Hughes deputising between the posts.

The Mountain started the game in quick fashion and it didn't take long for the scoring to open. Mark Foster broke forward down the right. He used his pace to get to the byline ahead of his marker before pulling the ball back to Phil Lloyd, who swivelled and hit a low shot that found the bottom corner. It should have been two quickly afterwards, but Sam Parry, on as a sub, somehow headed over the ball from a yard out. It was two, however, in the 23rd minute. The ball was moved forward with some neat interplay involving several Mountain players, before being worked out to Lucas Cruz on the left. Cruz crossed into the box, where Mark Foster chested down the ball. He then found himself a yard from his marker before smashing the ball into the top corner.

The domination continued into the second half and Mountain had a third goal shortly into the half. Again, it was Foster and Lloyd who combined. Down the right, Foster crossed towards the front post, where Lloyd arrived and headed the ball past the stranded goalkeeper. Just four minutes later, It was four. Mark Foster was again involved, this time bursting into the box before being scythed down, with the referee pointing to the spot. Phil Lloyd stepped up and confidently stroked the ball past the 'keeper to complete his hat-trick.

The pressure was kept up and Mountain found themselves with another penalty after Phil Lloyd was brought down by the Penyffordd goalkeeper after he had knocked the ball past him. On this occasion, Sean Williams took the responsibilities, despite a record of missing vital spot kicks. He stepped up, but hit his penalty high and wide for yet another miss. Just a couple of minutes later, it was five. A cross from Lucas Cruz looked to be too long, but Phil Lloyd did well to retrieve it. He turned back towards goal, shifting the ball past a defender before curling a low shot into the bottom corner, taking a deflection along the way for his fourth of the game.

Pete Martin was almost certain to half scored from a couple of yards out, but his shot somehow went over the bar. It was left to Aled Reece to complete the scoring for the Mountain. Picking up the ball on the edge of the Penyffordd area, he skilfully evaded three defenders before firing low into the bottom corner. With five minutes to go, Penyffordd had a consolation goal from the spot, after Sam Parry tripped his man in the box.

Next up, Halkyn & Flint Mountain will face off against CPD Sychdyn in their third friendly whilst we await the return of competitive fixtures for this season.

#VivaLaMountain