Collins Screamer Was Little Consolation On Tough Night For Castle
Bishops Castle travelled to Llanfyllin on Tuesday hoping for three points and returned with six goals conceded, two crackers to celebrate, and what can only be described as a complicated relationship with defending corners.
Llanfyllin came flying out of the blocks and absolutely battered Castle in the first half, racing into a 5–0 lead. The most remarkable part was that four of those five goals came from exactly the same corner routine.
At this point, Castle’s defence must have been wondering whether Llanfyllin had discovered a glitch in the game. The corner went in, everyone knew what was coming, and yet somehow it kept working. Four times. Presumably the fifth attempt was only missed because Llanfyllin felt sorry for them.
One man who certainly couldn’t be blamed for the scoreline was Bishops Castle goalkeeper Joe McKay , who produced a string of saves throughout the afternoon to keep the damage from being even worse. McKay was eventually named willing Man of the Match — although after facing four goals from the same corner routine, he may have been wishing for a few more willing defenders in front of him!
Just when it looked like Castle might be heading into half-time wishing for the final whistle, Tom Edwards provided a much-needed lifeline with a strike just before the break to make it 5–1.
Whatever was said in the Castle dressing room at half-time seemed to work, because the visitors came out with considerably more purpose in the second half.
And then came the goal of the game.
Josh Collins picked up the ball and unleashed an absolute thunderbolt from around 30 yards, giving the Llanfyllin goalkeeper absolutely no chance. A goal worthy of winning any game — unfortunately, Castle had already left themselves with the small issue of being 5–1 down.
Castle pushed forward looking for a remarkable comeback, and for a few moments there was genuine hope of making things interesting.
Sadly, Llanfyllin had other ideas.
With Castle committing players forward in search of more goals, Llanfyllin broke quickly and punished them on the counter to make it 6–2.
From there, the game was effectively done. Llanfyllin took the points, while Castle will probably spend the journey home discussing two things: how to stop a 30-yard screamer and, more importantly, how to defend the same corner routine four times.
Despite the scoreline, Joe McKay’s performance between the sticks deserves plenty of credit. His saves kept Castle in the contest at various stages, and his willingness to keep going when things were going against him earned him the Man of the Match award.
In the end, Llanfyllin 6–2 Bishops Castle was a game of two very different halves — one dominated by Llanfyllin, and another where Castle at least gave themselves something to smile about.
The scoreline may not have been kind, but Collins’ rocket, Edwards’ strike and McKay’s efforts ensured Castle didn’t leave empty-handed in the entertainment department.
Goals
Tom Edwards sponsored by Pontesbury Tractors Ltd
Josh Collins sponsored by Ryder Partnership Ltd
Man of the Match
Joe McKay sponsored by Drovers Travel
#BCTFC
Originally posted on Facebook · Sunday 16 August 2026, 17:58 · View original →