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Ton Pentre went home with the three points after a wonderful performance by captain Marty Ellacott in the Bulldog's goal. He made four crucial saves in the first half, one of which from a penalty, to keep Ton in the game.
The playing surface was in good condition and the home side had a strong wind at their backs in the first half. However it was the Rhondda side that started the stronger, with the opening shots from Price and Rees. Then in the 10th minute Pontardawe started to get better possession and the game was evenly balanced.
 In the 22nd minute a flowing move by the Rhondda Bulldogs saw Pontardawe clear the ball off the goal line. the move started when Dale Price played in Lee Mathews, who in turn squared the ball to Tony Rees, he got around the keeper and hit a good shot towards the net, however there were enough Pontardawe cover on the line to clear the ball. 2 minutes later Tons’ Jamie Bradford fired wide of the upright.
In the 25th minute Marty Ellacott kept the Merlin Sponsored Rhondda Bulldogs in the game. A poor clearance from the Ton defence allowed Davies to get the ball and hit a powerful shot goal wards, Ellacott pulled off a wonderful save on the line and parried the ball out, the ball was played back in and Hayward handled the ball in the area tryomg to clear. The referee gave a penalty and showed Hayward a yellow card. Darren Griffiths placed the ball on the spot and hit a low drive just inside Ellacott’s right hand post, he was at full stretch and got both hands to the ball to save and push it away from the line, he then collected the ball at the second attempt with Griffiths following up his attempt. After this Ellacott pulled off another 2 great saves as the Ton defence was a unusually shaky.
It was not all Pontardawe Ton also had chances to score when Conaty broke through and Jones made Snell in the home side goal pull of a couple of good saves. The game could have been 3-3 at half time however good goal keeping from Ellacott and Snell kept the game 0-0 at half time.
The second half saw a different Ton side! The defence settled quickly and the visitors controlled the game in the second period. Prominent throughout was Jamie Bradford who with Shugar, Price and Conaty taking the game to Pontardawe. On the hour Ton’s manager Richards made two substitutions, Blatchford and last weeks cup hero Orchard replaced Rees and Jones up front. This change of tactic was the turning point with the two big substitutes pressurising the home defence in the air and their speed and endeavour closing down the home side, forcing them deeper into their half. This period had Shugar and Price going close.
 The break through came in the 70th minute when Price and Blatchford combined to play in Bradford, he beat the defender and got his low shot on target, the keeper got down and half stopped the ball, there was enough power in the shot for the ball to go over his body and roll agonisingly over the line to give Ton the lead and the eventual winner.
From the goal it was then a professional display by an improving Rhondda side, in the 85th Minute Doherty replaced Mathews. Ton defended from the front, keeping the ball in the home sides final third with Orchard and Blatchford chasing everything down. Bradford was everywhere and had another half chance before the end. With 5 minutes of stoppage time played the referee blew his whistle to end the game.
This was a great team performance and a hard won 3 points for Ton, not many teams will go to Pontardawe and win. The performance in the second half demonstrated that the GUS sponsored side are capable of pushing hard for the title this year if they can play to their full potential.
The Welsh Cup third round draw has paired Ton with current holders, Rhyl, at Ynys Park on the 4th November. Already billed as the tie of the round, S4C will be at the game screening the fourth round draw live from the Ton Pentre Social Club for their Pel-Droed programme.
Ton Pentre: 1. Marty Ellacott; 2. Mark Crutch; 3. Scott Hayward; 4. Dale Price; 5. Gareth Picknell; 6. Jamie Bradford (1); 7. Ryan Shugar; 8. Steve Conaty; 9. Tony Rees (Blatchford); 10. Lee Mathews (Mathew Doherty); 11. Alyn Jones (Orchard)
Subs: 12. Mathew Doherty; 14. Jamie Blatchford; 15. Kristian Orchard
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