Adroddiadau Rhagfyr 00 / December 00 Reports..............

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CARMARTHEN TOWN 1 CWMBRAN TOWN 0

With the mid field players on both sides dominated proceedings this long awaited Boxing Day contest did not live up to its pre-match billing . Dean Rossiter scored the only goal of the match in the 80^th. minute to give Carmarthen Town the points and send the large holiday crowd (606) home very cold but contented.

With most of the game being played in the middle of the park it gave the crowd little to enthuse over. Cwmbran's goalkeeper Gary Wager was tested early in the game (14') when he was forced to make a brilliant save from Carmarthen striker Ryan Nicholls who had cut in from the edge of the penalty area. Cwmbran's long ball tactics were not a problem for the home defence where Wyn Thomas had an outstanding game nullifying any threat from Cwmbran's dangerous strikers Mattie Davies and Chris Summers.

There was not a great deal between the sides but as half time approached Richard Parker was brought down in the box and Town appealed for a penalty. Referee Nigel Richards waved play on and Cwmbran could well have taken the lead as they broke up-field and in the goal mouth scramble that followed Chris Summers had a good chance but stabbed the ball wide. As it was there was no score at the interval.

At half time Carmarthen Town were forced to make a substitution. Shaun Chapple who had been having a good game was taken off injured and was replaced by Dylan McPhee.

The pattern of the game changed little in the second half. Despite some excellent build up play by both sides neither keeper was being troubled. Adam Moore and Jody Jenkins combined well for the Crows in a good move down the right hand side of the field but Mattie Davies wasted his chance in front of goal. On the hour Neil O'Brian got up to win a good ball for Richard Parker to blaze over when well placed.

Town were having the better of the game and it was appropriate that the best move of the match produced the only goal of the game.

A long ball from Wyn Thomas gave space to Craig Evans who, after some excellent work down the left hand side of the field, found Deryn Brace. Brace took the ball into the corner and drilled in a low cross that was met by the onrushing Dean Rossiter who hammered into the net giving Wager no chance.

Cwmbran threw everything into attack but the Town defence marshalled themselves well and even managed to break out from defence to threaten the Cwmbran goal. But it was Gary Wager in the dying moments of the game who denied Richard Parker once again with what was the last kick of the game.

Tomi Morgan was delighted with the way his team bounced back with a solid performance following the defeat by Haverfordwest. The three points move Town back into third position in the League.

Crowd 606

Carmarthen Town : Fitzgerald, Gavin Rees, D. Brace, W. Thomas, N. O'Brien, D. Barnhouse (c), C. Evans, D. Rossiter, R. Nicholls, S. Chapple, R. Parker. Subs : Siôn Meredith (Nicholls), D. McPhee (Chapple), P. Walker (W. Thomas).

Cwmbran Town : Wager, Carter, Wile, Jenkins, Blackie, Smothers, Wigg (c), Moore, M. Davies, Summers, Cottrell. Subs : Chiverton (Wile), Pattimore (Cottrel), Thomas.

Referee : N. A. Richards

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CARMARTHEN TOWN 0 HAVERFORDWEST COUNTY 4

A night to forget at Richmond Park tonight as Carmarthen Town slumped to a 4-0 defeat against Haverfordwest County. A performance by the County side that belied their position in the lower end of the table.

The Bluebirds were worthy of their win as they showed more commitment than Carmarthen in all aspects of the game. For Town it certainly was one game too many after a good performance against Aberystwyth on Tuesday evening.

To compound Carmarthen's night of misery goalkeeper Robert Fitzgerald and team captain David Barnhouse were both sent off following two yellow cards by Swansea referee Simon Jones who had displayed a degree of inconsistency throughout the match.

The Bluebird's first goal came in the 13 minute when Jamie Rickard did well to slot the ball well wide of Fitzgerald after good work on the left flank by Chris Miller who then put himself on the score sheet on the half hour when after a melee in the Town goalmouth produced an overhead kick to beat Fitzgerald.

On the stroke of half time, following a Town attack, Haverfordwest broke quickly from their own penalty area in a flowing move which was ended when Billy Timothy fired past Fitzgerald to give the Bluebirds a comfortable 3-0 lead at the break.

Then came Fitzgerald's sending off by Simon Jones in what can only be descried as a questionable decision.

Fitzgerald, who had been booked just before the break for dissent, was adjudged by Mr. Jones to have brought down Lee Jones in the penalty area.

Stand in Craig Evans did well to save Jones' penalty at the foot of the post.

Town's tale of woe was completed in the 79 minute. With the Carmarthen defence in disarray Chris Fry fired powerfully past Evans to give Haverfordwest their fourth victory of the season and three valuable points.

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BARRY TOWN 2 CARMARTHEN TOWN 0 -Saturday 2nd December 2000 - Dave Collins

Fast-improving Barry Town convincingly overcame a Carmarthen side of surprisingly limited ambition at Jenner Park with two well-deserved second-half goals.

But, in truth, neither of these sides should be too content with their day's work. In the case of Carmarthen, they came to frustrate and disrupt Barry's rhythm but failed even to do that, while Barry must address the question of how so many inviting balls into the box were not converted.

Carmarthen came as table-toppers but, on the day, never looked the part. Their ill-matched change strip, their urgent but often uncontrolled play, and their packed nine-man defence all suggested this was an off-day for the visitors, so often one of the League's most watchable sides.

Under the cosh from the kick-off, Carmarthen appeared to be having difficulty settling on a surface made difficult by a rainstorm during the opening minutes. A superb Lee Phillips tackle on their dangerman Ryan Nicholls prevented the visitors scoring from their first attack – and although Nicholls continued to show clever touches, the half was unquestionably Barry's territorially.

That they failed to score before the break says as much about their glaring lack of a central striker as it does about Carmarthen's committed defending. In fact, the Dragons' closest effort of the half was a 30-yard drive by Luke Staton which Fitzgerald tipped around his post.

The temperature of the game rose late in the half when Jon French lunged into a 50-50 ball with Deryn Brace, angering the Carmarthen bench. Boss Tomi Morgan unwisely protested too long and hard, and was banished from the dug-out by referee Lewis.

After the interval, Barry swiftly gained the advantage they had so long been threatening, but it was telling that it took two defenders to break the deadlock.

Gary Lloyd swung in a fine cross from the left which Andrew York headed firmly past Fitzgerald in the 49th minute. Lee Phillips saw a close range effort well blocked two minutes later and, instead of going for the killer goal, Barry then lapsed into one of their infuriating spells of playing keep-ball.

Consequently, it was almost 20 minutes before they made the game safe, breaking after a Carmarthen free-kick on the edge of their box. Jamie Jenkins' perfectly timed through-ball found Mike Flynn running through the Carmarthen back-line and he placed the ball under the advancing keeper.

If there was a suspicion of offside at the time, TV evidence later showed that Flynn was unquestionably on-side.

Carmarthen now had no way back and Barry continued to create pretty patterns and fine balls into the box – neither of which had any effect on the scoreline.

Barry Town: Kendall, Evans, Lloyd (McClean 87), Jenkins, York, Phillips, Brown, French, Moralee (Burke 72), Flynn, Staton

Carmarthen: Fitzgerald, Walker (S Williams 71), Brace, Rees, O'Brien, Barnhouse, Evans, Rossiter (McPhee 76), Nicholls, Chapple, Parker (Meredith 52)

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