Motaquote Welsh League Division One
20/12/03: Ton Pentre 5 - 0 Garw

OVERALL this was a very good Ton Pentre performance with both Carl Thomas and Andrew Hughes grabbing a brace of goals. The match also saw the return of Wayne Savage to Ynys Park via Dr Martens Premier League team Merthyr Tydfil and Welsh Premier outfit Port Talbot Town.

It took 27 minutes for the spark to ignite with Ton forcing Garw into scoring an own goal after several chances went begging.

The goal was the result of a Jason Roberts run up the field. When he attracted two players towards him it left Lee Tapper free out wide on the right. When Tapper received the ball he was able to cross into the box where a Garw defender unluckily connected with it and put it past Mark Elliot in goals.

The Rhondda Bulldogs scored again a minute later with a stunning freekick from Thomas after Savage was floored by a defender on the edge of the box.

It wasn't long to wait for the third goal as it came in next four minutes. Alyn Jones and Hughes linked in a delightful one-two on the right wing that saw the latter fling a lovely cross into the Garw box. Savage came close to scoring in the five yard box but it was Thomas who made sure of the goal by firing high into the back of the net as Garw looked helpless.

Action was also present at the start of the second period of play. After Hughes nearly scored for Ton Garw took the ball straight up the other end of the field where Gareth Hughes headed onto the post after connecting with a cross from the right.

Ton made it 4-0 in the 66th minute though with a deserved goal from Hughes. Jamie Michaels made an exceptional run down the wing and sent an equally exceptional cross into the box where he found the boot of the Ton captain.

The captain scored his second in the 78th minute that saw him link up once more with Jones. When Jones received the ball it allowed Hughes to run into space where he received the ball and made sure that the scoreline read 5-0 to Ton.

The Bulldogs could have scored quite a few more as Garw were pegged back in their half for the remainder of the game. However, Ton manager Kevin Richards and his team will be pleased with their Christmas present of three points and will look to take this form into the match against UWIC Inter Cardiff on Saturday December 27 (2.15pm). After their visit to the students the Bulldogs will next play home on January 3 against Neath with a 3pm kick off.

Ton Pentre: Jon Howe; Lee Tapper (Mark Evans, 70mins); Neil Davies; Mike Jones; Jason Roberts; Andrew Hughes; Jamie Michaels; Dean Morris (Shaun Fackerel, 74mins) ; Carl Thomas (Ian Shepherd, 67mins); Alyn Jones; Wayne Savage.

Match Report by Robert Dowling.