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Ton Pentre 0-1 Ento Aberaman
MacWhirter Welsh Football League Division One
Wednesday 12th November 2008
Former Ton Pentre player, Mattie Davies, came off the bench for Ento Aberaman to score a second half winner to take the Cynon Valley club above the Rhondda Bulldogs in Welsh League Division One.
This match was a tight affair as neither team really dominated the opening proceedings, however, the first real opportunity to score was created by Ton Pentre in the 24th minute of play.
After Chris Jones had worked his way up the right, he crossed into the Ento Aberaman box where Andrew Hughes knocked the ball down Captain Ryan Shugar. From his position on the penalty spot the Ton midfielder attempted to strike high into the goal due to a congested box. Shugar put a little too much under the ball and it edged over Neil Collins’s crossbar.
The Rhondda Bulldogs came even closer on the half hour when constant pressure nearly saw Ento Aberaman break. Alyn Jones was looking dangerous when he took the ball down the left flank. With a defender making a tackle to block his route into the box, Jones got the ball back to Phil Clarke in support. From his wide angle on the left he curled a shot on target but his effort was superbly tipped over the bar by Collins.
From the corner Alyn Jones saw his shot cleared off line and the ball fell at Mark Crutch’s feet. The Ton defender was positioned 12-yards away from goal and had time to bring the ball under control and cue it up for a strike. As he struck his shot the Aberaman defenders demonstrated good awareness as they charged the ball down.
A 39th minute free kick provided Ento Aberaman with their best chance of the half when from around 25-yards out from goal Layton Maxwell, a former Liverpool player, hit a whizzing shot at Keiron Blackburn. Fortunately for the Ton goalkeeper the ball never dipped and its continuous upward trajectory meant that the half time score read 0-0.
Andrew Pearson nearly gave Ton the lead at the beginning of the second half when Maxwell lost possession of the ball for Ento Aberaman in midfield. Shugar was the player who had stolen the ball from his feet and he sent a wonderful through pass for Pearson to run onto inside the box. Pearson correctly elected to take a first time shot with defenders coming from all angles and it nearly paid off with Collins looking beaten. Fortunately for the visitors the shot went into the side netting.
Just after the hour mark Ento Aberaman brought on the prolific Mattie Davies, who throughout the seasons has popped up to thwart Ton time and time again. And he did so in this match too as he made an immediate impact on the game.
Ento Aberaman won a 66th minute corner and the ball was sent to the back post where Davies was poised to head the Cynon Valley team into the lead.
Ton were quick to try and find a way back into this match but Ento Aberaman’s resolute defending blocked them at every attack.
With Ton piling forward there was always going to be the danger of a counter attack and the inevitable happened in the 77th minute when Geraint Passmore looked odds on to score after breaking completely free, however, Blackburn pulled off a super save to deny Ento Aberaman a second goal.
With the win Ento Aberaman’s title challenge is back on track while Ton must take heart from a vastly improved performance when compared to recent showings. Although a draw seemed a fairer result the introduction of Mattie Davies was the deciding factor in this entertaining Welsh League fixture.
Match report © Ton Pentre AFC Press
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