Port Talbot Town 0-4 Trefelin BGC: Trefelin sweep aside youthful Steelmen
Port Talbot Town 0-4 Trefelin BGC in the JD Cymru South at Victoria Road on the 24th July 2021. Credit: Kara Thomas/YCPD
Damon Thomas scored twice as Trefelin BGC ran out 4-0 victors against a youthful Port Talbot side in the Port Talbot derby.
Thomas opened the scoring from the spot late in the second half before goals from Scott Tomlinson and Joe Clarke put the game out of PTT’s reach.
Thomas capped off a fine performance by scoring his second of the afternoon in the final minutes of the game.
The four-goal win sees Trefelin leapfrog Ammonford into top spot in the Cymru South after the first weekend of fixtures.
Port Talbot got the action underway and enjoyed an energetic start as their youthful side tried to show what they were capable of early on.
In charge of the Steelmen was Paul Barrow, the father of former defender Scott Barrow, who had penned an emotional message to the young squad.
The line-up included his younger brother Jake Barrow, who at 18-years-old, made his debut, playing in a team with an average age of 20.3.
But after the opening minutes, the more experienced Trefelin were able to assert themselves.
For all their early pressure the visitors were limited to shots from distance which did little to test James Harris in the PTT goal.
Ceri Williams then struck the most testing shot goalwards midway through the first half. Goalkeeper Harris could only turn the ball back towards the Trefelin attackers, but the ball struck the arm of Thomas as he tried to turn the rebound on goal.
Port Talbot had a great chance to open the scoring after a mistake on the left allowed Manny Maloney to close in on goal.
He looked destined to score before a great piece of defending from Joseph Jones who slid in to block the 17-year-old’s shot.
After more than half an hour of action, the visitors were awarded a penalty for a foul on Scott Tomlinson. Star of the first half Thomas stepped forward and fired the ball into the bottom left corner to give Trefelin a deserved lead.
Trefelin were almost able to double their advantage minutes later as Jamie Latham was given too much space in the box and beat the PTT defenders before firing at goal from close range, but Harris produced a fantastic save.
Minutes into the second half Trefelin doubled their lead. Port Talbot could only half-clear the ball which allowed it to fall to Scott Tomlison who caught the ball sweetly leaving Harris with no chance.
Whilst he couldn’t do anything about the second Harris did brilliantly to deny Trefelin another goal. On two occasions he fantastically saved attempts from Thomas who was searching for his second goal of the afternoon.
The second of those two saves were a brilliant close-range stop with his feet as the ball looked destined for the back of the net.
The visitors though were awarded a second penalty ten minutes from time when Ryan Griffiths was brought down in the box. Substitute Joe Clarke stepped forward and chipped the ball down the middle, catching Harris.
With two minutes to go Thomas finally got his second of the game when he beat Harris from close range to ensure a winning start to life in the second tier.
Port Talbot Town: James Harris, Thomas Evans, Joshua Floyd, Bless Kim Nzunga Kimpiatu, Bailey Embling-Jones. Jake Barrow, Manny Maloney (Chishimba Chiesa, 72), Jenson Cory, Daryl Hughes, Lewis Robinson, Ronan Whalley (Cameron Jones, 43)
Yellow Cards: Lewis Robinson 22, Joshua Floyd 80’
Trefelin BGC: Christopher Curtis, Thomas Krauze, Sean Hanbury, Michael Waters, Joseph Jones, Jamie Latham, Scott Tomlison, Ryan Griffiths, Ceri Williams, Damon Thomas, Chris Jones (Joe Clarke, 60)
Goals: Damon Thomas (PEN) 35’, 88’, Scott Tomlison 49’, Joe Clarke (PEN) 80’
