TT No.39: Dean McClean -Wed 29th August 2007. Cymru Alliance: Denbigh Town v Llandyrnog United; Res: 4-0; Admission: £3; 40pp programme: £1; Att: c150; FGIF Match Rating: 2*
Six years after dropping out of the Cymru Alliance, to the Welsh Alliance, Denbigh Town have once again appeared on the radar, and made a welcome return the league. Being only 90 miles from home, my travelling companion and I, both declared it was a short enough distance to be visited on a week night, with the added bonus of an early kick-off, meaning a return at a reasonable hour.
Central Park is easily reached via the main A55/A525 roads. On reaching the cross-roads in Denbigh, turn left onto the Ruthin Road, and immediately right onto Park Road, where you will see the entrance to the ground car park on your left. Beware though, as parking is very limited and despite arriving around forty minutes before kick-off, the car park was almost full!
Entering the ground via the newly painted red gates, two club officials cheerfully accept your £3 entrance fee, along with a £1 for the superb colour and glossy 40 page programme. Packed full with fixtures, results, tables, pen-pics of the visitors, messages from the chairman and secretary, along with colour photos, it also contained the unusual sight (for a football programme) of a sudoku and concise crossword. Another bonus was the low number of adverts inside the programme, with the editor preferring to list the club's vast array of sponsors on the back page, and all in colour might I add.
As you enter the ground, the excellent tea bar is straight infront of you and two hungry 'hoppers couldn't possibly fail to call in. Still half an hour to kick-off and the tea bar was fully open, serving tea, coffee, together with delicious pies, pasties and sausage rolls. The service too was swift and friendly.
As well as the tea bar, the building includes the changing rooms for players and officials and toilets for the public. Directly ahead of you towards the corner of the ground, is the club's stand. A rather basic affair, with seating provided by wooden panels covering the concrete terracing, still, it is well looked after and more than does its intended jobs, whilst the club's name painted red on the back is a nice touch. The remainder of the ground is open and hard standing is available on all four sides. On the edge of the town, the ground retains an almost rural feel, surrounded by fields and trees with a backdrop of the nearby hills to the north providing a stunning vista.
The local derby and fine weather helped swell the crowd to around 150. On an immaculate playing surface, the hopes of a free flowing contest were high. Sadly, we were all treated to dour first 45 minutes of few goal scoring opportunities and countless free-kicks. Thankfully the second period was far more entertaining, if a little one sided, as the home side dominated the majority of the period, scoring four goals without reply. And really it could have been a lot worse for the visitors were it not for some wasteful finishing by Denbigh.
All in all, a terrific second half to round off a superb evening out in north Wales.
Lovely ground; wonderful programme; great tea bar...what more do you want?
Highly recommended!
contributed on 30/08/07