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The Rhondda derby match between Cambrian & Clydach and Ton Pentre was an incredibly competitive and entertaining affair that ended with the host team being reduced to ten men in the second half when Cambrian’s Steven Turner was dismissed for violent conduct.
The Rhondda Bulldogs suffered a huge blow the day before this important match when club captain Ryan Morgan, decided to transfer to Division One rivals Bridgend Town. This left a gaping hole in the Ton defence that was admirably filled by the young Jamie Thomas, who turned in an excellent performance along with Matthew Hearne, Tom Davies and Adam Lewis as they coped well with Cambrian’s dangerous presence up front.
Ton started very well and although the Bulldogs were getting in behind their opponents defence they were unable to create that killer chance. Fraser Williams came close in the 18th minute when he ran into the box from the left and attempted to chip Paul Bees who had rushed from his line to meet him. The Cambrian keeper pulled off a great save when he managed to get his fingertips to the ball and bring it under control.
Following this Cambrian started to inflict some pressure on the Bulldogs and in the 24th minute their defence was breached and a goal scoring chance appeared imminent, however, a superb last ditch sliding tackle by Matthew Hearne thwarted this attempt and Ton were able to get the ball away from goal.
It was Ton Pentre who took the lead in this match when five minutes into the second half they went on the attack after surviving a scare in defence following a Cambrian free kick. Chris Jones was in possession of the ball and with a defender to beat he dummied a move to go on the outside of the player and instead cut inside, which opened up the space for him to shoot and score a cracking goal.
Cambrian equalised in the 55th minute after the Referee had awarded them a free kick deep inside the Ton half following a foul on Michael Jones. The ball was powerfully hit toward goal and Bulldogs keeper Leighton James was beaten to his left.
This was turning into an exciting match as Cambrian’s celebrations were short lived as Ton Pentre regained the lead in the 56th minute when Jones supplied the pass to Williams allowing him a run into the box. The winger applied a wonderful touch to the ball that sent it into the back of the net.
Ten minutes later Cambrian thought they had equalised again, when from a corner the ball was sent to back post, where following a touch, James was unable to get anywhere near it. The ball hit the bar and post before rebounding out into the populated box but Cambrian conceded a foul.
This foul lead to an incident between Steven Turner and Lloyd Toghill, who was the fouled player on the ground. The Referee had a good view of the incident and took no hesitation in sending the Cambrian defender off.
Although a man down, Cambrian were still dangerous going forward and Ton’s defence had to keep its concentration. In the 83rd minute Hearne came to Ton’s rescue once again as he cleared the ball off the line following another Cambrian corner.
Following this the Bulldogs comfortably held out for a terrific win over their local rivals. Overall Ton probably deserved the win and should be very happy with their team performance.
Ton’s next match is an away fixture at Dinas Powys on Saturday, 6th March. Kick off for this game is at 2.30pm.
Ton Pentre: 1. Leighton James, 2. Adam Lewis (Captain), 3. Matthew Hearne, 4. Jamie Thomas, 5. Tom Davies, 6. Leon Young, 7. Wayne Antionazzi (90mins), 8. Liam Hutchinson, 9. Chris Jones, 10. Lloyd Toghill, 11. Fraser Williams (72mins).
Substitutes: 12. Clavin Mclaggon, 14. Caio Iwan (90mins), 15. Phil Clarke (72mins), 16. Andrew Hughes, 17. Richard Jeffries.
Goals: C.Jones 50; Williams 56
Booked: Hutchinson 41; Thomas 63; Davies 74; Toghill 90+1
Referee: Kris Hames (Aberdare)
Match report © Ton Pentre AFC Press
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