27/08/03: Neath 0 - 6 Ton Pentre

THE Rhondda Bulldogs spectacular display of football overwhelmed a poor Neath defence, as Ton Pentre devoured their Welsh League rivals by scoring six goals.

Before the match had kicked off the P.A. announcer reminded Ton Pentre that they had lost three times to Neath last season. The Rhondda Bulldogs made sure they reaped revenge even when they were reduced to ten men.

Ton Pentre took a quick lead through Carl Thomas who slotted the ball to the left of Neath goalie, Wyn Walters. Andrew Hughes was the player who assisted Thomas to turn and shoot for 1-0 after eight minutes.

Mark Hanford had an opportunity to level things for the home side as he stood unmarked on the edge of the Ton box. His effort though went over the crossbar for a corner.

Eight minutes after the first goal came Ton's second. Kerry Harding skipped past the Neath defence to deliver a strong low pass into the Neath box. Craig Morgan ran onto the loose ball to strike a superb shot that left Walters helpless.

During the next twenty minutes of play Ton Pentre's Dean Morris picked up two yellow cards resulting in a dismissal. He received his marching orders after the referee fell culprit to the play acting of Jonathan Reed who fell to the floor after soft contact from Morris.

This appeared to be a way back into the match for Neath; however, Ton Pentre went on to score two more goals before half time.

Poor defensive play from Neath saw Hughes and Harding combine their skills for the latter to find Alyn Jones on the edge of the box. Jones fired a brilliant shot into the net to give Ton a 3-0 cushion.

Jones scored again in the 42nd minute when he ran the ball from the halfway line on the left wing. With a few skips and turns over and around attempted tackles, he found himself clear in the Neath box with the scoring of Ton's fourth goal the easiest part of his solo play.

Neath did little to put Ton under pressure in the second half as the Rhondda Bulldogs went further into the lead after 54 minutes. Thomas scored his second of the match with an excellently placed header into the goal.

After fouling Hughes Neath's Richard Colwill was shown a yellow card in the 62nd minute. He picked up a second yellow card ten minutes later after pulling Shaun Fackrell's shirt as he tried to attack the Neath midfield.

Lee Tapper, Tom Billings and Ian Sheperd replaced Jason Roberts, Carl Thomas and Craig Morgan for the Rhondda Bulldogs during the remainder of play.

Tapper was the first to make his presence felt when his 35 yard effort rocked the goal post after Jones had switched play to stretch the Neath defence.

Billings was the player to finish the evenings scoring though as he tapped in the sixth goal from five yards out after Fackrell's run into the box provided the player with the chance.

Ton Pentre looked fit and hungry for the win and deserved this 6-0 result to tally 12 goals in two games. The unfortunate dismissal of Dean Morris will be a blow to Ton as the player will now face a ban in the near future.

Ton Pentre: Jon Howe; Mike Jones; Jason Roberts (Lee Tapper, 76mins); Neil Davies; Dean Morris; Andrew Hughes; Craig Morgan (Ian Sheperd, 66mins); Shaun Fackrell; Carl Thomas (Tom Billings, 76mins); Alyn Jones; Kerry Harding.

Match Report by Robert Dowling.