MATCH REPORT: AFC Llwydcoed 6-0 West End

AFC Llwydcoed started 2017 with a bang after hitting West End for 6 at the Welfare ground on Saturday.

The game started in a scrappy and frenetic fashion, but to their credit the home side looked to play football and always looked threatening with the visiting goalkeeper Ross Greenwood certainly the busier of the two, making a number of crucial saves to deny the home side the lead. The visitors rarely threatened the Llwydcoed goal and despite getting into a number of good crossing positions, any danger was snuffed out by the home defence.

The home side continued to dominate play and the simple yet effective passing of Ollie Roberts combined with the dangerous crosses of Jonathan Mason kept the visitors on the back foot.

The breakthrough came just after the 30 minute mark when a superb though ball from Shay Friel found home striker Ricky Carter who rounded the advancing goalkeeper and tapped the ball into an empty net. The goal was the catalyst Llwydcoed needed and Greenwood was again called into action to deny Carter his second of the game a minute later.

The home faithful didn’t have to wait long for their side to double the lead when Andrew Ellis was upended in the penalty area in the 38th minute. Following the award of the penalty, the visiting number 7 was dismissed for violent conduct and Carter kept his composure to score his second of the game. With the visitors reduced to 10 men Llwydcoed continued to press forward and Carter completed a 14 minute hat trick on the stroke of half-time, rising unchallenged to head home from an inch perfect Ollie Roberts corner.

The second half began in a similar vein to that of the first and a flurry of bookings followed as tensions rose culminating in another red card mid-way through the second half for home player Shay Friel, again for violent conduct.

To their credit the visitors tried to claw their way back into the game but wasted a number of good set piece opportunities before their fate was sealed in the 70th minute when Mason latched onto a defence splitting pass from full-back Jon Marczak and rounded the keeper to slide the ball home from an acute angle.

Both sides made changes as the second half wore on and it was Llwydcoed substitute Ioan Evans who provided the assist for Roberts to cap a wonderful display with a goal of his own in the 89th minute to make it 5-0. As the light dimmed and the game drifted into injury time, the excellent Mason swept home his second of the game and Llwydcoed’s 6th to give the scoreline a somewhat one-sided look.