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FOR the second time this season Ton Pentre and Pontypridd Town fought out a goal-less stalemate with both teams’ quality cancelling each other out.
In front of a good crowd at Ynys Park both teams battled to find a break through but neither were able to find the back of the net despite some very good chances falling to both teams.
This was a must win game for Ton Pentre and the draw realistically rules the Bulldogs out of the title race. The result also saw Pontypridd slip into second place as Neath Athletic’s 7-0 win over Barry Town allowed them to regain the top spot.
The Rhondda Bulldogs had their chances to score in this game and one of the best opportunities arose in the 25th minute of play when following a good passage of football Ryan Shugar passed the ball through to Andy Mainwaring in space. The Ton forward twisted and took a quick shot at goal but the ball edged past the left-hand post.
Despite having a considerable amount of the possession in the first half Pontypridd were unable to create any clear-cut chances, however, the second half did provide a few scares for Ton Pentre.
Just 6 minutes of the second half had been played when a cross-field pass was sent to a Pontypridd player on the far side of the Ton box. The player connected with the ball but sent it over Marty Ellacott’s crossbar much to Ton’s relief.
A 63rd minute pass from Dale Price to Jamie Michaels allowed the latter to cross the ball for Mainwaring who, with the outside of his boot, guided the ball towards goal but saw it loop over the cross bar.
Ton Pentre survived another scare in the 72nd minute when Pontypridd crossed a low ball from the right but they didn’t have anyone positioned to connect with it at the far post and the ball rolled away for a goal kick.
Five minutes later Price was presented with the best chance of the game to score. The player was judged to be onside when the ball was played through into his path, despite the calls for offside from the Pontypridd defence. Price had two options open to him, either shoot or square the ball for Kristian Orchard who was making a run on the other side of the box. Price appeared to be caught in two minds and when he did shoot the ball deflected wide for a corner instead of ending up in the back of the net.
With time running out Price was involved in a move once again as he played a through ball for Dwayne Mardenborough who looked to place a shot past the Pontypridd goalkeeper but was thwarted by a brave save from which the goalkeeper was injured and had to receive treatment.
In injury time Chris Summers should have secured all three points for Pontypridd as he found himself unchallenged in the box with only Marty Ellacott to beat. However, Ellacott got just enough on the ball at Summers feet to send the striker wide and hit his shot into the side netting.
The Rhondda Bulldogs visit Croesyceiliog for their next match on Saturday 31 March at 2.30pm. Following that Ton play host to Dinas Powys on Wednesday 4 April at 7.30pm.
An Extraordinary General Meeting has been arranged for Thursday 5th April in the Ton Pentre AFC Clubhouse at 7.30pm where the future of Ton Pentre will be discussed in an open forum.
Ton Pentre: 1. Marty Ellacott (Captain); 2. Mark Crutch; 3. Alyn Jones; 4. Paul Evans; 5. Scott Hayward; 6. Lee Matthews; 7. Ryan Shugar; 8. Jamie Bradford; 9. Jamie Michaels; 10. Dale Price; 11. Andy Mainwaring
Subs: 12. 12. Ryan Jenkins (Mainwaring, 66); 14. Dwayne Mardenborough (Jones, 78); 15. Kristian Orchard (Bradford, 73)
Goals: None
Cautions: None
Red Cards: None
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