YOU CAN’T BEAT A BIT OF BULLY!
LLANTWIT FARDRE 0 PONTYCLUN 1
Pontyclun made the short journey up the A473 to take on local rivals Llantwit Fardre in a South Wales Alliance League fixture.
The visitors got proceedings underway on a warm and sunny late summer’s evening kicking towards the shops end of the ground. Even so it was the home team who enjoyed the better of the early exchanges and in the second minute a corner on the right saw an unmarked Llantwit player connect with the ball but he could only send his header over the bar.
Three minutes later Llantwit had another chance to open the scoring when a good break down the left saw the ball being crossed into the Pontyclun penalty area where an unmarked Llantwit player seven yards out flashed a header wide of the goal.
Pontyclun had to wait until the 7th minute for their first real opportunity of the match. Good work by Tom Tweedy saw him feed Chris Bullock twelve yards from goal. The Pontyclun centre-forward steadied himself before lashing a crisp shot which thudded against the angle of post and crossbar before rebounding to Tom Tweedy who was unable to capitalise on the opportunity.
A minute later Pontyclun again came close to opening the scoring. The ball was played into the Llantwit area to Jamie Williams who took the ball around a home defender but could only send his effort just wide.
Play was flowing from end to end at this stage of the proceedings and shortly afterwards Pontyclun again came close to taking the lead. Good work by Jamie Williams resulted in him feeding Chris Bullock in the Llantwit area. The latter player’s effort was blocked by the home goalkeeper before bouncing out high in the air to James Gronow. However, the Pontyclun player was unable to get enough power on his header and the home goalkeeper was able to recover and gather the ball safely.
With so much early activity it was perhaps not surprising that the game entered a quieter period with chances being very much at a premium for both sides although Pontyclun managed to retain the lion’s share of possession.
The next significant effort did not occur until the 41st minute when Llantwit were awarded a penalty after Lewis Miller was adjudged to have impeded a Llantwit player as he tried to advance on goal after the ball had been played into the Pontyclun area. However, the Clun were given a reprieve after the Llantwit penalty taker could only send his low effort wide of James Billington’s right hand post. This proved to be the last significant action of the half and the interval arrived with the score goalless.
The opening third of the second half followed a similar pattern to that of the latter part of the first period with very little in the way of opportunities being created by either side. On the hour mark Pontyclun did manage to carve out an opening when Chris Bullock put James Gronow away on the right. The Pontyclun player managed to get his cross into the Llantwit area. Chris Bullock rose to meet the cross but unfortunately he was unable to get any power behind his effort and the ball went wide.
Five minutes later good work on the right by Kieran Lawrence saw him find Chris Bullock who played a neat interchange with Tom Tweedy whose effort was deflected over the bar for an ultimately fruitless corner.
Pontyclun were enjoying the better of the possession at this point and Aled Davies also came close to opening the scoring when his firm, low effort from the edge of the Llantwit area flew just wide of the post. With manager Barry Quinn sensing that all three points were very much for the taking, in the 70th minute he replaced James Gronow with Joel Woodington.
Five minutes later this change paid off as Pontyclun took the lead. A corner on the right was played into the Llantwit area. After the home keeper fumbled the ball it broke to Chris Bullock who gratefully headed it into the net from close range.
Pontyclun were now the dominant team at this stage and both Jamie Williams and Tom Tweedy both came close to doubling their lead. Similarly in the 85th minute the dangerous Joel Woodington forced the Llantwit goalkeeper to scramble his close range effort around the bar for a corner.
The visitors were very much a beaten team at this point as solid Pontyclun defending ensured that James Billington had little to do as the home side ran out of ideas as the minutes ticked by and the final whistle sounded with Pontyclun worthy winners by a goal to nil – their first league victory of the season.