Penybont returned to winning ways as they claimed a 2-0 win over the Cefn Druid at The Rock.
A first half penalty from Kane Owen and a curler from Mael Davies sealed the points for the boys from Bridgend.
Druids came into the game looking to capitalise on their first win of the season and made one change to the side that won in Caernarfon. Injured Ben Barrett was replaced by Steff Edwards.
Rhys Griffiths made four changes to the side that lost 4-0 at home to TNS. Nathan Wood and Kostya Georgievsky were suspended following red cards against the Saints, whereas Sam Snaith and Lewis Clutton dropped to the bench. In their places came Ashley Evans, Benjamin Ahmun, Matthew Harris and Connor Davies.
Penybont started on the front foot, winning two early corners but failed to threaten the Druids goal. Skipper Kane Owen seemed to be the main conduit at right full-back while Ahmun threw his weight around upfront.
Niall Flint was fortunate to stay out of the referee’s notebook on seven minutes when his high boot connected with the face of Ashley Evans. A free kick was awarded but the referee deemed that sufficient punishment.
The first chance of the game came on 11 minutes as Druids’ Iwan Cartwright fired a thirty yard free kick just wide of the left hand post.
Clear cut chances were at a premium in an evenly contested midfield battle. Both sides saw equal amounts of possession and territory without really creating anything in the final third.
Sam Phillips squandered perhaps Druids best chance of the game ten minutes before the break. Totally unmarked, his header cruised over the crossbar when he had time and space to pick his spot.
The opening goal came when Benjamin Ahmun hit the deck as goalkeeper Dawid Szczepanik came flying out his goal. Kane Owen, who scored the winner last time these two met, stepped up to send the Wrexham loanee the wrong way and give his side the lead.
Manager Bruno Lopes was shown a yellow card shortly after for remonstrating with the referee over the decision to award the spot kick.
As the half drew to a close, Druids at times were a bit too casual trying to play it out from the back and often gave the ball away in dangerous areas. Penybont were unable to capitalise and just the one goal separated the sides at the break.
The second half began with three quick fire Penybont corners which the Druids’ defence was equal to.
Eight minutes into the half, Mael Davies scored a contender for Goal of the Month. Lewis Harling teed him up to curl it into the top corner from the edge of the box.
Lopes responded with a double substitution, sending of Harry Brazel and Charley Edge in the place of Aaron Simpson and Niall Flint.
Minutes after coming on Brazel was involved in a tussle with Ashley Evans that spilled over into a bit of a melee. The referee appeared to be reaching for a red card before showing both men a yellow.
On the hour, Ian Traylor came on to make his Penybont debut following his move from Merthyr. He almost made an immediate impact, setting up Ahmun, who rattled the post.
The game proceeded much as the first half had, a physical battle in the middle of the park without many chances to show for it. At times tempers seemed to flare and it looked likely someone would end up seeing red but level heads prevailed with only a couple of yellows shown.
Dalton fired over from a tight angle on 84 and two minutes later Charley Edge couldn’t keep his half volley from Sam Phillips’ headed pass down.
As the full-time whistle blew, Druids will be heartened by defeats to Flint and Newtown. Penybont makes it four wins in their last five games to keep in touch with the top four.
Cefn Druids: Dawid Szczepanik, Naim Arsan, Josh Green, Aaron Simpson (Harry Brazel 56), Jamie Reed (Jonathan Taylor, 74), Alex Darlington, Sam Phillips, Niall Flint (Charlie Edge, 57), Iwan Cartwright, Jacob Wise, Steff Edwards.
Yellow Cards: Steffan Edwards 38′
Penybont: Ashley Morris, Kane Owen, Ashley Evans, Dan Jefferies (Billy Borge, 69), Mael Davies, Lewis Harling, Ben Ahmun (Sam Snaith, 78), Oliver Dalton, Matthew Harris, (Ian Traylor, 61), Connor Davies, Ismail Yakubu.
Goals:
Yellow Cards: Ben Ahmun 14, Ashley Evans 61, Ian Traylor 80′
See how Penybont won at The Rock by reading through our live blog:
(Featured Image: Lewis Mitchell)
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