Adroddiadau Mawrth 01 / March 01 Reports..............

CARMARTHEN TOWN 1 ABERYSTWYTH TOWN 1

 

A good second half display brought Carmarthen Town a well deserved draw in this well contested LOW match played in front of 600 spectators at Richmond Park tonight.

 

A superbly taken 29th. minute goal by Glyndwr Hughes gave the visitors a well earned half time lead. Hughes' overhead kick in front of goal from a Gavin O'Toole cross will certainly be the leading contender for Goal Of The Season this year.

 

The game started on a high note when Chris Summers for Carmarthen saw his shot well saved by keeper Jason Mathews in the third minute. At the other end Robert Fitzgerald was also forced to make a brilliant stop from a Hughes header at point blank range

 

The first half clearly belonged to Aberystwyth and they could quite easily have held a greater advantage at the break. They controlled the game for long periods and were faster to the ball and more creative. Fitzgerald made a great save from Mardenbrough following good work by Nigel Nicholls down the left and Tony Smith came close for Aber when he completely wrong footed his marker but his powerful shot was well stopped by Fitzgerald .

 

Town came to terms with the game in the second half and it was Mathews who was the busiest of the keepers. He was well beaten on 53 minutes when he failed to gather a Wayne Jones free kick and Neil O'Brian rose above the defence to head the ball into the net.

 

Former Manchester United mid fielder Wayne Evans began to control matters in mid field with some precision passing and the Aberyswyth defence found themselves under pressure. Town had some good chances but Aber's defence managed to keep the Carmarthen strikers at bay by packing the defence and breaking quickly.

 

A very entertaining match but the usual derby atmosphere was somewhat lacking. Most probably as this was the sixth time this season that these two well matched sides have met. The score was a fair reflection of the game and its honours even for the season in both the League and Premier cup competitions.

 

Crowd 592.

 

Referee : Paul Thomas.

 

Carmarthen : Fitzgerald, McPhee, Jones, Thomas, O'Brien,, Barnhouse, Summers, Evans, Nicholls, Chapple, Meredith. Subs: Parker, Evans, Davies

 

Aberystwyth : Matthews, Hammond, Finley, O'Toole, Pope, Lewis, Hughes, Nicholls, Evans, Mardenbrough, Smith. Subs : Allen, Gornall, Thomas.

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RHYL 2 CARMARTHEN TOWN 1

 

A disappointing first half display by Town left them with too much to do to claw back a 2-0 half-time deficit.  A tremendous improvement in Town's play in the second half nearly gained them a share of the spoils but despite Neil O’Brien’s goal and subsequent incessant pressure it was not to be.

 

A plus factor for Town was the introduction of former Manchester United midfield player and Llandysul product Wayne Evans as a second half substitute and the former Welsh schoolboy international made an immediate impression with some immaculate passing which posed problems for the home defence.

 

There were immediate signs that Town’s was to be difficult when after three minutes striker Chris Summers was upended heavily in the box but FIFA referee Brian Bevan adjudged that no foul had been committed and the home goal survived.

 

Town were outpaced by an extremely efficient Rhyl outfit in the first half with left winger Chris Sharratt being particularly impressive.  After withstanding some pressure Carmarthen's defence finally cracked in the 11th minute.  John Stannard on the left wing was given space and his powerful shot from 20 yards took a slight deflection off O’Brien and the ball flew into the top of the net giving goalkeeper Richard Morgan little chance.

 

At the other end on a rare raid on the home goal Dylan McPhee had his shot brilliantly saved by Rhyl keeper David Williams before another fine move by Rhyl up the left wing saw Sharratt firing at an oblique angle through a crowded goalmouth to find the net which cannoned in off the far upright past the startled Morgan.

 

The second half saw a transformation in the pattern of play with Town now dominating proceedings but still failing to break down a well-marshalled defence.

 

As soon as Evans came on he produced a superb defence splitting pass to find Carmarthen’s Ryan Nicholls but the striker failed to take advantage of the opportunity.  Continuous pressure however at last brought Town their reward when Wayne Jones’ free kick from the by-line was headed home by O’Brien but with the Rhyl defence now at full stretch the equaliser would not come and Town had to make the long journey home without gaining any reward although they still remain in third place in the League of Wales table.

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CARMARTHEN TOWN 2 AFAN LIDO 0

 

Town moved to within one point of second-place Cwmbran Town on Tuesday evening in a match where Chris Summers scored his fifth goal in five games since joining from Merthyr.

Both sides contributed greatly to what was an eventful and entertaining game played in atrocious conditions.

Town's Dean Rossiter had a thunderous shot parried over the bar by Brian Thomas in the opening minutes but the visitors quickly came to terms with the conditions and took the game to the hosts.

Lido came close with a header on 15 minutes and ten minutes later Andrew Davies, who was influential all night, broke through the middle but put his shot wide.

The away team were having the better of the first half - and with players finding it difficult to keep on their feet and the ball sticking in the mud, it was a credit to both sides that any football was played at all.

In the 43rd minute a Wayne Jones free kick from out on the right was deflected off a Lido player and fell to Ryan Nicholls. Nicholls fed Summers who slotted home from close range.

Town got their act together after the break. On the hour Nicholls had a good shot on goal and five minutes later Thomas in the Lido goal brought off another great save to deny Nicholls once again.

Lido went looking for the equaliser and enjoyed a period of domination midway through the second half. Davies and Pearson both had good attempts on goal and on 78 minutes Town cleared off their own line to deny Lido once again.

In the last ten minutes Town came back into the game and exerted pressure on the Lido defence. On the stroke of time a Chris Summers shot was parried by Thomas and the ball fell to Chapple who made the game safe for the hosts.

Given the conditions it was an excellent game refereed with some commonsense by Neil Morgan. Having failed to capitalise on periods of possession, Lido will be disappointed they didn't get something from the clash.

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CARMARTHEN TOWN 1 PORT TALBOT ATHLETIC 1

 

An evenly contested game tonight at Richmond Park with the final score a fair reflection of the proceedings. The first half was controlled by Port Talbot who seemed to have that extra yard of pace but in the second half Carmarthen Town came back into the game to even things up.

 After Richard Morgan had saved well from Kevin Bartley on 24 minutes by narrowing the angle as Bartley burst through on goal deflecting his shot wide. Port Talbot took the lead in the 31 minute when Andrew Mumford's free kick from the edge of the penalty  area was only parried at the foot of the post by Morgan and Bartley was on hand to drive home the rebound.

 With Mumford dictating matters in midfield it was Port Talbot that held the initiative and were worthy of their half time lead.

 The second half saw Town step up a gear and pressurise the Port Talbot goal.  Mumford who had been so influential in the first half seemed to drift out of the game. Wayne Jones had a great run down the left and gave Ryan Nicholls a good ball but his header flashed wide of the Port Talbot goal.

 Chapel was being well policed by Kevin Chapman and Scantalbury was being protected by a well-organised defence with new signing David Brain standing out. After continuous pressure Town gained the equaliser in the 57 minute when Siôn Meredith's square ball into the box found Chris Summers who hit the ball into the top of the net over the advancing Scantlebury.

 Play remained quite even with both sides looking for the winner. Kevin Bartley was influential throughout the game for Port Talbot and Town were unlucky not to have a penalty when the ball struck Brain's hand in the box on 77 minutes. 

 The game finished on a bizarre note as the referee Richards added an unbelievable 16 minutes of injury time. During this time a little frustration crept into the game on both sides and Rossiter was sent off for a second bookable offence. The final whistle eventually blew giving Port Talbot a valuable point to take them seven points clear of Llanelli with a game in hand. Town will reflect on a first half when they really never got into the game.

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