Carmarthen Athletic 2nd’s XI 1
Clwb Cymric 2
ON SATURDAY (Oct 15), Carmarthen Athletic Seconds XI faced a tough challenge against Clwb Cymric in their efforts to keep hold of the top spot.
With dark clouds overhead threatening a very rainy afternoon, Carmarthen flew out of the gates, setting up camp inside the Cymric half.
Several sustained periods of possession and probing passes were rewarded with a short corner, but the final killer ball was lacking for Carmarthen and Cymric emerged unscathed.
Cymric then began to come into the game, utilising their athletic forwards and midfield to attack from deep, relying heavily on a strong dribbling game to attack the Carmarthen ‘D’.
This tactic paid dividends for Cymric, who won several short corners and very nearly got the goal were it not for some impressive keeping from Sophie Nix.
With Cymric very much on top, their pressure on the Carmarthen defence sustained long enough for them to sneak a goal during a very chaotic 10 minutes before the interval.
Carmarthen responded in the best way possible, with this conceded goal seeming to breathe new life into their attacking efforts. Some effective long passes from the backline ensured that the sub-less Cymric team had a lot of ground to cover, and Carmathen showed a lot of heart.
With less than five minutes remaining in the first half, Carmarthen seized an opportunity to equalise. A short corner play that drew attention away from the top of the ‘D’ managed to shift the ball towards forward Charlotte Harries, whose shot found the bottom left corner of the goal.
This goal was thoroughly deserved and ensured that Carmarthen had everything to play for in the second half. Half time arrived, and the score was 1-1. Game on.
The second half was a very tightly contested affair, with Carmarthen being guilty of not tracking back quickly enough on one or two occasions, and Cymric began to prioritise a lightning fast counter attack. Luckily, a dominant display from centre back Siriol Richards, who was voted Carmarthen’s Payer of the Game by both teams, ensured that the scores stayed level for much of the half.
A golden opportunity was snuffed out for Carmarthen when forward Beth Speke was denied a goal by some extremely brave goalkeeping, with the scramble defence of Cymric ensuring no follow up was available.
The momentum shifted away from Carmarthen in the worst way possible late in the game, with Beth Speke going down with an ankle injury. The game was paused as she received medical attention and was helped off the pitch. We all wish her a speedy recovery.
Cymric came out swinging after the stoppage, and some strong counter attacking and nice work on the far post gave them what would be the winning goal of the game. 2-1 down, with not much time left on the clock. Carmarthen fought valiantly until time expired, with a few last gasp attempts to equalise being defended well by a Cymric team that was happy enough to sit deep and protect their lead. A tough loss, but a gutsy display of heart from a young team that will surely learn from this experience.
Add Comment