TON PENTRE remain unbeaten this season but UWIC Inter Cardiff certainly made it tricky for the Rhonnda club as they fought back hard to draw level in the first half after the Bulldogs, sponsored by ROC, had taken charge with a 2-0 lead.

The Rhondda Bulldogs took kick off and pounced straight into action as Andrew Hughes provided a through pass for Carl Thomas to latch onto and confidently score from. The goal clocked in at around 15 seconds.

On the wide open pitch at the Cyn Coed campus a blustery wind made playing conditions slightly awkward. A good example of this was when Shaun Fackerel received a short ball from a free kick and decided to send it over the top of the UWIC backline. The wind caught the ball and took it beyond the defence and nearly out of the hands of UWIC keeper, Nick Volenik. The goalie managed to get a more secure grip on the ball to prevent a blunder.

UWIC began to find themselves more and more in the game and Ton were forced to soak up the pressure. However, against the run of play Ton took a 2-0 lead when Lee Brown squared the ball to Carl Thomas on the edge of the ‘D’. Thomas took his shot well but Brown was injured in the process and was replaced by Lyndon Williams a few minutes later.

Before Brown’s exit though, UWIC pulled a goal back through former Bulldog Tom Billings, although Jon Howe made a good attempt to save he was unable to stop the force of the header.

UWIC drew level five minutes before half time with another Billings goal after the referee awarded a penalty to the home side that resulted in Ton manager Kevin Richards being sent from the dugout and into the stand for his protest.

Two minutes into the second half Kristian Orchard crossed into the box where Williams struck the ball low into the goal to give Ton a 3-2 lead.

Although Ton held out for the win, UWIC piled the pressure on but as a result of some good defending and a little misfortune, were unable to find their way to the back of the net.

Ton Pentre face tough opposition at Ynys Park on Saturday 25th September when newly promoted Skewen Athletic are the visitors. The Division Two champions were unbeaten up until last Saturday when they fell to a 1-0 defeat against AFC Llwydcoed at home. Kick off for this match is at 3pm.

Match Facts

Line-up:

1. Jonathan HOWE
2. Lee TAPPER
3. Neil DAVIES
4. Ian DAVIES
5. 5. Nathan PRYGODZICZ
6. Andrew HUGHES (capt.)
7. Shaun FACKEREL
8. Andrew SEBURN
9. Carl THOMAS
10. Lee BROWN
11. Kristian Orchard

Substitutes: 12. Scott HAYWARD (Kristian Orchard, 51 mins); 14. Geraint PITT (Ian Davies, 82 mins); 15. Lyndon WILLIAMS (Lee Brown, 36 mins).

Goals: Carl Thomas (1 min, 26 mins.); Lyndon Williams (47 mins).

Yellow Cards: Andrew Hughes (42 mins); Nathan Prygodzicz (56 mins); Andrew Seburn (62 mins); Carl Thomas (75 mins).

Match report by Rob Dowling