Carmarthen Town 3 Cefn Druids 1
CARMARTHEN boosted their chances of an end-of-season UEFA qualifying play-off place, with a crucial victory against Cefn Druids. In what was generally a dismal and attritional encounter, they were rescued by two late goals which stemmed from the dazzling skills of winger Kyle Bassett.
Town made a positive start, immediately putting pressure on the visitors’ defence and they were close to taking an early lead, when in the 2nd minute, Cortez Belle’s astute pass set Bassett free down the right flank and after bursting into the penalty area he drove the ball across the face of the goal only to see Cefn defender Joe Culshaw clear it safely behind to deny Chris Ham a simple tap-in chance.
Yet that initial promise faded rapidly as a lengthy period of decidedly scrappy football ensued with neither side seemingly possessing sufficient flair and creativity to produce any realistic goal threat in the face of stubborn opposition defending.
This finally ended on 25 minutes when Lewis Harling received the ball just wide of the penalty area and he played it quickly across to Ham, who from 20 yards fired it into the side netting. But after a further spell of pressure the hosts were rewarded in the 32nd minute when Bassett sent a corner-kick deep into the goalmouth to reach Ham, who hit a crisp shot that clipped the post before crossing the line for his first goal in the Old G old colours.
Stung by that setback Cefn responded instantly. Moses Barnett raced down the left wing before driving the ball into the packed goalmouth and while it was partially cleared, it went straight to Culshaw whose fierce 18 yard effort struck the foot of the post – and despite the presence of several defenders, Derek Taylor reacted quickest and from close range he slotted the ball past ‘keeper Lee Idzi.
At last, with both sides having tasted success, the pace of the game increased noticeably although there was still no evident improvement in terms of goalmouth activity. The only further goal threat in the first-half arose in the 41st minute when Luke Cummings launched a long cross deep into the penalty area where Belle headed the ball back to Bassett who saw his stunning 10 yard volley superbly turned around the post by ‘keeper Louis Gray.
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