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Ton Pentre lacked desire in their game against relegation battling Bettws after Richard Ready gave the visitors hope of Division One survival at Ynys Park with a second half winner.
The Rhondda Bulldogs failed to find the fluidity that they demonstrated in their previous match against Barry Town and lacked creativity when going forward. Most concerning was that the players didn’t appear to be concerned about this and were void of any kind of urgency on the pitch.
The only positive aspect that the Bulldogs produced was their defensive display, which despite the conceded goal, turned in a fairly positive performance. Even more so considering that the defence lost linchpin Tom Davies to injury inside the first ten minutes of the match.
Bettws didn’t play particularly well either but they dug in and were relatively untroubled by the Bulldogs as Mark Elliott had very little to do in between the goal posts as their fantastic win hauled them out of the relegation zone.
The Bulldogs did manage a dash of good football in first half when Lloyd Toghill skilfully dribbled the ball through midfield avoiding several Bettws challenges to steal possession. As he gained ground inside the Bettws half, Toghill picked a splendid through pass that presented a goal scoring chance to Wayne Antionazzi, but the Bulldogs winger watched his shot get blocked by Elliott before going behind for a corner.
Early in the second half Jamie Thomas saw his header go over the bar and Alyn Jones’ lobbed effort did exactly the same as the Bulldogs failed to get their rare chances on target.
To his credit, Fraser Williams attempted to force matters when he gained possession of the ball on the left side of midfield before he cut his run inside. From 25-yards he struck a shot that went just wide of the left post.
Moments later however, after Ton lost the ball in midfield, Bettws caught the Bulldogs on the back foot when Ready seeped through the middle of the defence to place the ball into net.
With time running out Ton could have grabbed an equaliser from a Liam Hutchinson corner but when Andrew Hughes met the ball in the six-yard box he was underneath it and was unable to direct it anywhere other than over the crossbar.
Next for the Bulldogs is a tough trip to promotion chasing Afan Lido on Saturday, 10th April at 2.30pm.
Ton Pentre: 1. Leighton James, 2. Adam Lewis, 3. Fraser Williams, 4. Jamie Thomas, 5. Tom Davies (9mins), 6. Leon Young, 7. Wayne Antionazzi (60mins), 8. Liam Hutchinson, 9. Chris Jones, 10. Lloyd Toghill (71mins), 11. Alyn Jones (Captain).
Substitutions: 12. Calvin Mclaggon (60mins), 14. Phil Clarke (9mins), 15. Andrew Hughes (71mins).
Goals: None
Bookings: None
Referee: Kim Fisher (Cardiff)
Match report © Ton Pentre AFC Press
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