Cann scores late winner as Ferry go top

A winner from Rob Cann in the last ten minutes was enough to secure all three points for Briton Ferry as they ran out 1-0 winners against a stubborn Pontardawe Town side.

In an evenly fought contest between the two sides in the West Wales Derby, it was Briton Ferry who prevailed, wining the goal by just the one goal.

The home side dominated most of the match and the the first sign of this is when Steve Davey broke into the box, pulling his shot wide, despite the miss it showed the attacking intent of Ferry.

Pontardawe had a chance of their own as Kyle Cockings managed to rob the ball off an Briton Ferry player, running down the touchline before his low cross was dealt with by the Briton Ferry defence.

Cann almost scored early on as a he controlled a pass well, to pull away a half volley but his shot dipped over the bar. Minutes later there was a goal line scramble with a handball appeal from Briton Ferry as Steve Hughes pulled away a clean shot, only for it to deflect out before Warren Hudson also had a shot at goal, but the Pontardawe defence stood firm.

Robert Shannon would go Ferry shot from distance and a shot from up the other end for Pontardawe Town and his low shot was blocked for a corner, in which the corner was dealt with.

With no real clear cut chances, Steve Hughes played an exquisite pass to Davey who had a shot from distance which Steven Reeve spilled but fortunately claimed it at the second time of asking. Reeve would assert his dominance though later on as Tom Da Silva would be given time and space to pull off a shot in which Reeve pulled off an acrobatic save to keep the score level.

The attacking prowess of Briton Ferry would continue and once again it would be Pontardawe to clear off the line to keep themselves in the game, with Luke Harris making a telling goal line clearance.

Both sides would go in with the score level, with Pontardawe content with how they conducted themselves in keeping the score level.

During the course of the second yellow half, there would be a card for striker Steve Cann, as well as Pontardawe’s Kieran Howells who was booked for a foul on Tom Da Silva.

A cross from Ryan Kostromin met the head of Ian Hillier, with Hillier’s header going agonisingly wide for the home side, as they searched for a winner.

The second half would have some life injected into it with a crazy moment of play, as Steve Hughes was played in after taking a good touch, there were cries for hand ball as he took control of the ball, but as he took it down, he was seemingly fouled in the box, but the appeals were waved away.

Sam Brown would create something for Pontardawe but his cross would only hit the side netting, as the away side adopted a counter-attacking approach towards the game.

As the game reached the final five minutes, there was a breakthrough in the form of Rob Cann who had patience to get his goal, as he was played in by substitute Gareth Jones with a low cross, initially having his shot blocked by a Pontardawe defender, but fortunately for him the ball fell straight to his feet and he tucked the ball in the back of the net, much to the delight of the fans, sparking scenes of jubilation as well as relief.

Cann was then replaced by Sam Barker minutes after scoring as Briton looked to close the game out. Christian Evans would go close for Pontardawe as they searched for an equaliser but his shot went wide.

The full time whistle blew and the crowd of 123 went home happy as Briton capitalised on Llanelli’s semi-final match tomorrow as the win put them to the pinnacle of Division Two.

(Featured Image: Jordan Jones)