CAMBRIAN & CLYDACH 1 LLANELLI TOWN 0
DESPITE going down to yet another defeat courtesy of an 88th minute goal, the Reds can take heart from the overall effort shown by the players newly recruited from the Carmarthenshire league who all played their part in a gutsy performance which, with a little more luck, could well have earned them all three points.
Two of the three signings from Seaside were named in the starting line-up, Callum Thomas and Jack Watkins, while the other, Jamie Jenkins, along with Rob Owens from Calsonic and Lenny Evans from Dafen were on the bench, although all three featured in the latter stages of the game.
Also making welcome returns after lengthy injury lay-offs, were Jordan Davies and Ross Jones, who brought some much needed stability in midfield and showed they had lost little of their previous skills.
A dismal afternoon in the Rhondda with frequent rain showers and an artificial surface which has seen better days, perhaps was not the ideal introduction for the visitors` new faces, but they all coped well, and given a few more matches to adapt to their new environment, they all look useful additions to the squad.
The hosts, in the early stages, appeared to be given too much leeway going forward, with Liam Edwards twice going close to opening their account, and their opponents were being forced on to the back foot.
However, they survived this initial threat and began to exert some pressure themselves on the home goal, with Liam Samuel having hit shot on the turn safely dealt with by goalkeeper Cameron Clarke.
The Reds goal then survived a close call when a ball hoisted long downfield found the head of Sam Jones, whose finish was marginally off target with Kai Rees off his line.
Rees was called into action to gather a free kick driven low into the goalmouth by Leon Jacks, before the visitors had a golden opportunity of taking the lead with the award of a penalty on 27 minutes following a foul on Nathan Logan in the box by Kyle Jones.
Samuel stepped up to take the kick, but it was a poor effort, lacking both pace and direction, and was kept out with some ease by Clarke.
Heads might have dropped following this disappointment, but to their credit the Reds continued to search for a breakthrough, and went agonisingly close to doing so when a shot by Logan beat Clarke before rebounding off the inside of the far post and into the grateful hands of the keeper.
When he hosts countered, Corey Shepherd blasted over the top from the edge of the box, while Callum Thomas brought off a saving block to deny Cameron Keetch after a surging run from his own half had afforded him the chance.
Still scoreless at the break, the visitors again came close to opening their account early in the second half when a run by Samuel culminated with a delivery into the goalmouth which was met by Kyle Copp, but somehow, from point blank range, Clarke managed to keep it out, more by luck than judgement.
At the other end, Rees was called into action to turn around a near post effort by Keetch, while a Reds attack saw Logan have his finish diverted for a corner, which when taken fell to Davies, but he lofted his shot high over the goal.
The visitors` goal then survived a close call when a slick move involving Jacks and Andre Griffiths led to the latter delivering a ball low across the face of the net, and Liam Reed was fractionally away from making contact.
The Reds then made a couple of changes, with Evans and Owens replacing the tiring Davies and Chris Thomas respectively on 73 minutes, with Jenkins coming on for Logan five minutes later.
With time running out, it appeared as if the game would end scoreless, before a situation arose which went against the visitors and ultimately cost them the dearly.
When a ball was hoisted high into their box, both Rees and Lee Bevan rose to deal with it, colliding heavily and ending up on the ground and needing treatment, but when the game was restarted, possession of the ball was given to the home side with Bevan still waiting to come back on to the field, and they took full advantage by sending a diagonal pass into the path of Keetch who rifled his finish into the bottom corner with just two minutes of normal time remaining.
This was a bitter pill to swallow for the Reds who had certainly played well enough to have earned at least a share of the points, but at the moment they are not having the rub of the green, and will be hoping that they can turn matters around with the visit of STM Sports to Stebonheath which supporters are asked to note will be on Friday evening, kick off 7.30 p.m. and not Saturday, as previously announced.
CAMBRIAN & CLYDACH; Clarke; Griffiths; Keetch; Coles; K. Jones; Strinati (Davies, 79); Reed (Thomas, 65); Shepherd ©; S. Jones; Edwards (Bradley, 80); Jacks;
Subs. not used; Owen; Grahame.
LLANELLI TOWN; Rees; Callum Thomas; Brown; Watkins; Chris Thomas (Owens, 73); Bevan ©; Copp; Jones; J. Davies (Evans, 73); Samuel; Logan (Jenkins, 78);
Sub. not used; G. Davies.
SCORER; Cambrian & Clydach; Keetch, 88.
YELLOW CARDS; Cambrian & Clydach; K. Jones; Edwards; Strinati.
Llanelli Town; Brown; Bevan; Chris Thomas; J. Davies; Watkins; Copp;
REFEREE; Gavin Townsend.
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