CLUN’S ST. GEORGE FOILS THE DRAGONS

PONTYCLUN 1 BAGLAN DRAGONS 1

High-flying Baglan Dragons were the visitors to a cloudy, but mild, Ivor Park on Saturday for a South Wales Alliance League Premier Division fixture.

Pontyclun got proceedings underway kicking towards the village end of the ground. With the visitors having slightly the better of the opening exchanges it was Baglan who had the first opportunity of the game in the 6th minute. However, James Billington in the Pontyclun goal was alert to the danger when he got down well to gather a low shot.

The opening third of the half was a very dour affair with much of the play being confined to midfield and very little in the way of chances were created by either side. In the 16th minute though Pontyclun had their first real opportunity of the match. Craig Williams gathered the ball down the left and advanced to around 10 yards from the by-line before putting in a cross towards Chris Bullock in the Baglan area. However, a visiting defender was alert to the danger and nipped in front of the Pontyclun centre-forward to put the ball out for a throw-in.

The ensuing throw-in was played to Jamie Williams and the Pontyclun forward lofted a deep cross into the Baglan area where Chris Bullock was on hand to open the scoring when he rose to glance the ball into the net at the far post from eight yards.

Eight minutes later Pontyclun came close to extending their lead when another cross into the area from the left by Jamie Williams again found Chris Bullock. However, this time the latter player could only send his downward header just wide of the far post.

The visitors were far from out of things and on the half-hour the Pontyclun goal had a narrow escape. The home defence failed to clear their lines in their own penalty area and the ball eventually broke to a Baglan player twelve yards from goal and his diagonal shot evaded the despairing dive of James Billington but, fortunately for Pontyclun, it shaved the far post before going wide.

As the final minutes of the half ticked by it was the visitors who were having more and more of the play but the Pontyclun defence held firm and the interval arrived with Pontyclun leading by a goal to nil.

The opening phases of the second period mirrored much of the first with very little being created by either side. The first real opportunity of the half fell to Pontyclun in the 55th minute when the visiting goalkeeper spilled a shot from the edge of the area. However, the onrushing Chris Darlington was unable to capitalise.

The visitors were far from out of things and in the 65th it took a superb last-ditch sliding tackle by Kieran Lawrence to deny a Baglan substitute a clear run on goal. As the half entered its final third it was the visitors who were piling on more and more pressure and in the 76th minute a Baglan snap shot from 12 yards flew just wide of the Pontyclun goal.

As Pontyclun fell back deeper and deeper to preserve their lead it was the visitors who looked increasingly likely to score the next goal. In the 84th minute a clever Baglan free-kick on the left-hand corner of the penalty area was well gathered by James Billington, much to the delight of the large crowd.

However, this relief proved to be short-lived as right on the stroke of normal time the visitors were rewarded for their pressure when they drew level when a low cross from the left was missed by several Pontyclun defenders and was gratefully turned into the net by a Baglan player from close range.

Deep into stoppage time Pontyclun had the chance to regain the lead when they were awarded a free-kick 35 yards from goal. The ball was played high into the Baglan area towards Chris Bullock. However, he could only direct his header straight at the Baglan keeper.

Pontyclun were nearly made to pay the ultimate price for this miss when a minute later the visitors were awarded a penalty. A Baglan attack eventually saw the ball played low into the Pontyclun area from the left. As Clun full-back Matthew Trigg and a Baglan forward moved towards the ball the Pontyclun player completely mis-timed his challenge and sent his opponent crashing to the ground, giving referee Steve Davies no alternative other than to point to the spot.

However, disaster was averted when James Billington rose to the occasion magnificently when he dived to his left to push away the firmly struck kick. This proved to be the last action of the game and the referee’s whistle sounded with the teams locked at a goal apiece, a result which, with Merthyr Saints not playing and Penydarren BGC involved in the South Wales Intermediate Cup, saw Pontyclun extend their lead at the top of the table to eight points.