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Ton Pentre are into the second round of the Welsh Cup after defeating a battling Merthyr Saints at Ynys Park. Although there was only one goal in the game, the Merlin Sports Sponsored Rhondda Bulldogs were never in any danger. The experienced Marty Ellacott was made captain, with club captain Andrew Seburn still out with a knee injury.
Manager Kevin Richards was under pressure this week to get the win after the loss the previous week at Llangeinor and the result was exactly what the club and Richards needed. The game started with Ton taking the game to the “Saints” and pressing from the front with Alyn Jones and Tony Rees prominent. However, Ton were trying not to waste the possession and the ball was not being sent aimlessly forward, the backs were passing the ball across the field looking for gaps. The “saints” forwards were also working hard trying to force the Ton players to make mistakes.
The first 15 minutes saw Ton go forward without any chances being created, however Alyn Jones was looking sharp, then in the 15th minute he lost his strike partner Tony Rees to an injury. He was replaced by Rob Blatchford. Even though Ton did not look in any danger the ever improving Scott Hayward was putting in some strong tackles as the ball was launched forward.
Midway through the half Ton started to get the ball behind the “saints” defence, with Doherty shooting across the goal, with the keeper beaten. Shugar tried to get on the end of the ball and just failed. A few minutes later Mathews fired a terrific drive at the opposition goal, it was dipping quickly however it went over the bar.
Then there was a scare for Ton when a shot was hit by the visitors Jason Lewis, it looked a certain goal, Marty Ellacott had other ideas, he dived down to his left and pushed the ball against the post, and then parried away the follow up. This was a magnificent save that kept the game 0-0.
There was another attempt by Conaty on the 40th which again went across the face of the goal and past a despairing Alyn Jones who could not get to the ball. Two minutes later Conaty drove the ball goalwards and hit the crossbar, the ball dropped into the 6 yard area, where the ever alert Alyn Jones was there to score the eventual winning goal. This was Jones’ 6th goal in 7 games. Jones has also won the inaugural tonpentreafc.com player of the month and he is on fire at the moment and is a well justified.
The remainder of the half saw the home side push the visitors back into their penalty area, Ton did not want the half to end, the visitors were now hanging on and did so, going in at half time 1-0 down.
In the second half Merthyr Saints worked hard to try and get the equaliser, however the Ton defence marshalled by Marty Ellacott ensured their attacks came to nothing.
Ton again had another couple of shots across the goal with the keeper beaten the home side were unable to turn them in and this would make the game safe. On the 65th minutes former “Saints” player Jamie Bradford made his home debut for Ton, replacing Ryan Shugar. The 3rd substitute was used when injured Mathews was replaced by Phil Clarke.
In the last 15 minutes Ton put the ball into the net on 2 occasions, the “goals” were not given as the assistant referee deemed them to be offside. Jones and Price were the unlucky players. If these two decisions were questionable the 3rd was even more so. Dale Price picked up the ball in midfield and drove forward, he looked up and hit a fierce drive goal wards, the ball hit the crossbar and came down sharply, there was a big cheer by the Ton faithful behind the goal, again the same official did not allow the goal, as he believed the ball did not cross the line.
Then the referee played 8 minutes of stoppage time, no one seemed to know where that came from. However, Ton played the game out and kept the spirited “Saints” at bay.
After the result last week this was a professional performance by the GUS Properties sponsored Ton Pentre. They kept control of the game and also kept their heads when decisions went against them. The officials have a difficult job to do, however you can understand why players and fans get frustrated when mistakes are made and these could have been costly to the home side.
Next week Ton are back in League action, they play away at Dinas Powys 2:30 kick off. Let’s hope the Bulldogs get the 3 points and are still near the top of the table!
Ton Pentre: 1. Marty Ellacott; 2. Mark Crutch; 3. Mathew Doherty; 4. Scott Hayward; 5. Gareth Picknell; 6. Lee Mathews (Phil Clarke); 7. Ryan Shugar (Bradford); 8. Steve Conaty; 9. Tony Rees (Blatchford); 10. Dale Price; 11. Alyn Jones 1; Subs: 12. Phil Clarke; 14. Rob Blatchford; 15. Jamie Bradford
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