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AFAN LIDO 2 - 0 TON PENTRE
MacWhirter Welsh Football League Division One
Saturday 12th January 2008
Ton Pentre missed their chance to go to the top of Welsh League Division One when they succumbed to two Afan Lido goals that were both scored by debutantes at the Marstons Stadium in Aberavon.
The score doesn’t really reflect Ton Pentre’s performance as they dominated possession for large portions of this match, but it was their lack of accuracy when in front of goal that let them down. The Rhondda Bulldogs knew it wasn’t to be their day when they also had a penalty appeal turned down by the referee following a blatant handball, however, in the referee’s defence he was unsighted.
Afan Lido had several lucky escapes in the first half leaving Ton bewildered as to how they were not in the lead. In the 17th minute Mattie Davies sent a flowing pass through the centre of defence for Jonathan Kift to run onto. He got away from the defence but squandered his chance when the striker thought he had heard a call from inside the penalty area. Instead of shooting he squared the ball across the box and with no-one there the Lido defence were able to easily clear the ball into safety.
Five minutes later a free kick taken by Andrew Hughes was met in the box by Davies whose volleyed shot unfortunately dipped over Leon Cosker’s crossbar.
As the half hour mark approached Ryan Shugar gained possession out on the right and looked to send a cross into the box but the ball was sent too deep and it almost lobbed Cosker had he not tipped the ball over the crossbar.
Moments later Kift did well to hold up the ball deep inside the Lido half. His pass to Dale Price allowed the dynamo midfield player to cross into the box. Davies connected with a header but his shot sneaked wide of the post.
Having survived several scares Afan Lido attacked and scored in the 37th minute following a defensive blunder by Ton Pentre. The Bulldogs were unable to deal with a long ball forward that saw goalkeeper Marty Ellacott and defender Scott Hayward collide allowing Steve Davies to cross into Ian Jones. Ellacott had managed to get back on his goal line and produced a marvellous save to deny Jones but the ball fell to the feet of former Goytre United player Michael Waters who made no mistake in finding the back of the net.
A bad start to the second half by Ton Pentre allowed Afan Lido to increase their lead in the 51st minute following some intense pressure. A free kick on the halfway line was launched forward into the box by Dan Williams with the ball finding Steve Cox who lifted it over Ellacott for a lovely lobbed effort.
It was always going to be tough for Ton to get back into this game but they tried their best by bombarding the Lido defence with constant attacks.
Ton were dealt a huge blow on 74 minutes when during one of these attacks a defender blatantly handled the ball in the box but due to the player having his back to the referee, the official had no option but to turn down the penalty appeals.
With five minutes of the match remaining the ball was cleared off the Lido line twice following a corner kick and the resulting goalmouth scramble much to Ton’s dismay.
With Ton pushing everyone forward Lido came close with a counter attack but Ellacott pulled off a fabulous save to deny Ian Jones what looked like a certain goal.
Although they lost it was not a poor performance by the Bulldogs but they will certainly look to have more accuracy in front of goal when they welcome Bridgend Town to Ynys Park on Saturday 19th January 2008 at 2pm.
Team: 1.Marty Ellacott; 2.Richard Carter (16.Kristian Orchard 82); 3.Gareth Mouncher (17.Lee Matthews 58); 4.Ryan Morgan; 5.Scott Hayward; 6.Andrew Hughes (Captain); 7.Ryan Shugar; 8.Dale Price; 9.Mattie Davies; 10.Jonathan Kift; 11.Nicky Jones (12.Alyn Jones 58).
Subs not used: 14.Dane Williams & 15.Scott Jones.
Goals: None.
Booked: None.
Match report by Ton Pentre AFC Press
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