It was another exciting weekend of action in the Ardal South East with drama unfolding both at the top and bottom of the division.
Fourth-placed Caldicot Town were expected to pick up a comfortable three points against basement side Abertillery Excelsiors before their match at Jubilee Way this weekend.
Caldicot’s restart has been difficult with postponements the last two weeks so they would have been itching to get back into action but early on in the game the signs of rustiness were there and the Excelsiors took a lead after 12 minutes through Dafydd Phillips.
The Excelsiors defended resolutely but with 23 minutes left on the clock, their resolve was broken when substitute Ben Burns equalised for the home side.
Caldicot’s tails were now up and they could smell victory five minutes later that smell grew even stronger when Ben Smith grabbed his 10th league goal of the season to put the hosts in front.
Rooted at the bottom of the table and conceding two quick goals in succession it hits you hard, but the Excelsiors were not beaten. They showed remarkable character to keep fighting and six minutes after going behind, Captain Luke James equalised, making it 2-2 with 12 minutes to play.
Both sides pushed for the win but it was looking like a good point for the Excelsiors and two points dropped for Caldicot. That was until the 93rd minute when James lined a free kick on the edge of the box and smashed it home to give the Excelsiors their first win in nine matches.
The Excelsiors remain bottom but are now only two points away from safety meanwhile the defeat for Caldicot sees them drop down to fifth but they have games in hand over third and fourth however they now sit six points off the top two.
Trethomas Bluebirds have pushed into fourth after a victory in a cracking game on Friday night against Newport City. Newport had no answer to Gareth Tedstone who scored his second hat trick of the week and his fourth this season. Tedstone gave the hosts the lead on the 16th minute before doubling that advantage on the 58th minute.
Newport City were back in the game when Dean Clifford scored from the spot but with 13 minutes left on the clock Tedstone secured the match ball and three points with his hat trick. The hosts didnt give in and ensured a nervy final few minutes for the home side when Bless Kimpiatu scored but Trethomas held on for the 3-2 win. Trethomas now sit fourth, five points behind second-placed Abergavenny Town but Newport City remain in seventh.
Goytre headed into the weekend in top spot and comfortably held onto that as they recorded a straightforward 3-0 win at home over Monmouth Town.
Warren Archer made the most of a well-worked set-piece after 13 minutes to head the hosts into the lead before Chris Ham made it 2-0 after 27 minutes. The goal took Ham back to the top of the scoring charts with 23 in 16 games. Michael Murphy sealed the comprehensive win on 73 minutes.
Goytre sit level with Abergavenny town at the top but have three games in hand. The Kingfishers have now lost their last three games meaning second place looks a stretch for them, they sit 14 points behind Abergavenny, albeit with three games in hand.
Abergavenny maintained their push for the title against a spirited Croesyceiliog. The form of both couldn’t have been any different heading into the game with Abergavenny winning their last three without conceding whilst Croesyceiliog have lost their last 3 without scoring. However, Croesyceiliog ripped the form book up early on and took a surprise lead after 22 minutes through Ryan Saunders.
The lead wasn’t to last long though and Abergavenny equalised through Ben Watkins four minutes later. With it all to play for in the second half Abergavenny came out of the blocks sharp and Joseph Ogugua put them into the lead after 49 minutes and they held that lead for the rest of the game to gain a well earnt three points. Abergavenny sit level on points with Goytre but have played three games more whilst Croesyceiliog remain in 10th.
There was a six-pointer at Tredegar Leisure Centre where Tredegar Town were hosting Rhayader. The game proved to be a very tight affair and it took 67 minutes to break the deadlock where the home side took a lead through Arran Elias. Rhayader pinned them back quickly with Bradley Goodwin equalising on 73 minutes but Tredegar had the chance to restore their lead from the spot and Ian Pettit made no mistake.
Rhayader’s hopes of getting back into the game were dealt a heavy blow on the 81st minute when James Thompson was sent off and Tredegar held on for a very important three points. The win lifts Tredegar into 11th place and five points above the drop zone whilst Rhayader sits 15th two points from safety.
Another side who are in a relegation battle are Panteg and they were blown away by a rampant Treowen Stars. Mark Powell gave the hosts the lead after 16 minutes but Panteg restored parity on the half-hour mark with Ashley Jayne getting his third goal in four games. Craig Mcdonnell put the hosts back in front and from there on Panteg imploded.
A red card to Luke Hughes just before halftime gave them a mountain to climb in the second half and after one minute of the half, that mountain became a lot bigger when Liam Shaw made the score 3-1. Panteg’s hopes were over after 62 minutes when they were reduced to nine men with Macauley James receiving his marching orders and then Liam Shaw got his second five minutes from time to record a good win for the home side. Treowen remain in sixth place after the win and Panteg remain in 13th, two points off the bottom but with all three sides below them having games in hand.
Aberbargoed Buds have had a change in fortunes in recent weeks with two wins out of two but they were facing a resilient Llandrindod Wells who have picked up two good draws in their last two outings. The game had very little between the 2two sides but it was Llandrindods captain, Shaun Nicholls, who made the difference by giving the visitors the lead on the hour mark. The visitor’s keeper James Barker kept a clean sheet last week on his debut and he kept another this week with the visitors gaining a good 1-0 win. The defeat leaves the buds sitting 12th in the table, three points above the drop zone whilst Llandrindod remain in ninth.
There was one postponement in the league with Chepstow Town’s visit of Abertillery Bluebirds postponed at the eleventh hour due to travel issues.
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