Well, after what felt like a lifetime, the weekend finally saw the return of competitive football action as Halkyn & Flint Mountain welcomed Castell Alun Colts to Pant Newydd on the opening day of the new 2021/22 season. There had been many changes since our last fixture 511 days ago, with Mountain manager Rob Marshall fielding six players making their competitive debuts for the club.

The Mountain were on the offensive from the start and it took just four minutes to take the lead. Pete Martin rose high from a corner, but his headed effort was wide of the mark. However, new Mountain captain Phil Lloyd kept the ball in play, before crossing to Aled Reece, who was able to turn the ball home from close range. It could've been two shortly afterwards, as Sam Jones latched onto a diagonal ball forward, only to see his lofted shot over the Colts goalkeeper hit the bar.

At the back, a couple of incidents had gone unpunished and Mountain goalkeeper Danny Stanton was called in action, making a couple of really good saves, before The Colts levelled midway through the half. After losing the ball in our own half, Colts got forward and despite chances to clear the ball, they were not taken as Colts struck back. As the half drew on, Castell Alun saw themselves reduced to ten men. After scything down Paul Williams, the Castell Alun striker got up and pushed his head into Pete Martin, with the referee showing him a straight red card.

The second half also started with Mountain quickly grabbing a second goal to retake the lead. After working the ball forward well, Mountain found themselves on the edge of the Colts penalty area. Paul Williams laid the ball into the path of Owen Davies, who fired past the goalkeeper. Despite being a man down, Castell Alun did not quit and were rewarded with a second equaliser with half an hour to play. After the ball was again lost in the Mountain half, the Colts winger raced through on goal, past an offside player, rounding Stanton and tapping into the net. Mountain appealed for an offside but the goal stood.

This goal led the visitors to sit back and protect the level scoreline, as Mountain started to pile on the pressure. Pete Martin was unlucky not to score as he saw a header hit the Colts post, before Sam Jones and brought down, only for his penalty appeals to be turned away. With the clock deep into injury time, Paul Williams won the ball back from Castell Alun, exchanging passes and getting into the box, before firing past the Colts goalkeeper to restore the Mountain lead right at the death and securing an opening three points at home.

Next up, Mountain make the short journey down to the Coast Road to take on Greenfield on Tuesday evening, who recently joined the league after the league restructures throughout Wales, as we aim to make it two wins in a week.

#VivaLaMountain