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A devastating second half performance saw Ton Pentre add three goals to their late first half strike to comfortably beat Gwent outfit Caerleon under the floodlights at Ynys Park.
Caerleon’s defence was well organised during the first half of this MacWhirter Welsh League Division one fixture as they stood up well to Ton’s testing efforts to find a break through.
The visitors rarely had an opportunity to threaten the Rhondda Bulldogs but they did manage to get the ball in the back of the net in the 28th minute when Richard Snook connected with a free kick into the box. However, the goal was ruled offside by the Assistant Referee and Caerleon soon found themselves a goal down.
On 38 minutes Chris Jones gained possession of the ball from a Phil Clarke free kick sent into the penalty area from the right. As a result of his hard work to hold the defence off he supplied a pass to Andrew Hughes who gave the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead from close range.
Within 40 seconds of the second half Ton were 2-0 up after a wonderful passage of play. Sam Baker and Chris Jones linked well with a one-two movement that opened up space for Baker to strike from outside of the box. His shot whistled into the back of the net as Scott James stood helpless on his goal line.
Ton Pentre decided to rest Baker after 58 minutes when the former Port Talbot striker made way for Caio Iwan in a straight swap up front. Iwan was soon in the thick of the action when he scored his first goal for the Bulldogs since joining from Bangor City in the 67th minute.
As Alyn Jones ran onto a through ball deep inside the Caerleon half of the pitch, his immediate reaction was to look for support. He found it in Chris Jones and squared a first time ball to the young Bulldogs striker. Chris Jones struck the ball with a solid strike but Caerleon’s Scott James did well to block the shot although unfortunately for him and his team the ball broke free to Iwan on the follow-up. With a gaping goalmouth in front of him Iwan made no mistake and made it 3-0.
Iwan nearly grabbed a second moments later as Caerleon were caught in possession high up the field. Iwan was released free at goal and as James narrowed the angle he elected to try and dink it over the keeper. It was probably the correct decision but James hadn’t fully committed himself and was able to get enough of a touch on the ball to stop it from beating him.
With the luxury of a three goal advantage the Rhondda Bulldogs made two more substitutions with Player Manager Andrew Hughes leaving the pitch for Dominic Broad and Rhys Owen replacing Club Captain Ryan Morgan.
Caerleon almost grabbed themselves a consolation goal when in the 78th minute a shot from just inside the Ton box hit the underneath of the cross bar before ricocheting off the post. The Caerleon players gasped in disbelief as the Bulldogs cleared the ball up the field.
Ton Pentre completed the goal scoring three minutes from full-time when a Phil Clarke back heel in defence stopped the ball from going out of play for a throw-in at the same time as taking it away from a Caerleon attacker. This allowed the ball to be played forward from defence as the Bulldogs counter attacked. Leon Young had made a fantastic run from the heart of midfield to get hold of possession before cutting into the box where he set-up a strike for Dominic Broad who confidently slotted the ball into the net for a comprehensive victory.
Next match: Away to Caldicot Town on Saturday 24th October at 2.30pm.
Ton Pentre: 1. Leighton James; 2. Jordan Branch; 3. Phil Clarke; 4. Adam Lewis; 5. Ryan Morgan (Captain); 6. Gavin Rodgers; 7. Andrew Hughes; 8. Leon Young; 9. Sam Baker; 10. Chris Jones; 11. Alyn Jones
Substitutes: 12. Jamie Thomas; 14. Caio Iwan (for 9 on 58mins); 15. Rhys Owen (for 5 on 73mins); 16. Dominic Broad (for 7 on 73 mins); 17. Richard Jeffries
Goals: Hughes 38; Baker 45; Iwan 67; Broad 87
Booked: Owen 81
Referee: Richard Harrington (Aberdare)
Match report © Ton Pentre AFC Press
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