Pritchard Leads Penybont to Victory Over Colwyn Bay

Penybont’s perfect start to the Cymru Premier season survived a bruising night and a late onslaught, as they squeezed past Colwyn Bay 1-0 to climb to sixth.

The game looked to be unravelling almost before it had begun. Inside the opening 20 minutes, Penybont lost both of their high-profile summer arrivals, Jonathan Leko and Ryan Hill, to injury. Plans shredded, rhythm broken, the home side suddenly had to improvise.

They found their answer on the bench.

Owain Pritchard, thrown on earlier than anyone expected, delivered the decisive moment. When Colwyn Bay keeper Mark Halstead misjudged a routine situation, Pritchard reacted first, pouncing on the loose ball and stabbing home from close range to give Penybont the lead.

The goal changed the mood instantly. Penybont grew in confidence and almost killed the contest before half-time. Veteran forward Chris Venables, still a menace in the box, climbed highest and crashed a header against the crossbar with Halstead beaten.

Colwyn Bay refused to fold. After the break they pushed higher, asked questions, and forced Penybont back towards their own area. The pressure built, but each time the visitors thought they had found a way through, they ran into Daniel Higgs.

The young Penybont goalkeeper produced two key saves, first denying Callum Bratley and then turning away an effort from Ethan Roberts as Bay hunted an equaliser. Those moments underlined why he has quickly become trusted in Rhys Griffiths’ side.

The final minutes were anxious, Penybont pinned in and protecting what they had. But they did not crack. The whistle went, the clean sheet stayed intact, and with it their unbeaten start to the campaign.

Injuries to Leko and Hill will worry Griffiths, but the table tells its own story: Penybont are climbing, and they are doing it the hard way.