Penybont 0-2 Newtown: Williams and Mwandwe fire Newtown to second spot

Newtown picked up three vital points on the road at Penybont, thanks to goals from Craig Williams and Lifumpa Mwandwe either side of half-time.

Penybont manager Rhys Griffiths decided to make two changes from the side that lost 5-0 to Bala on the weekend, including selecting himself in the heart of defence. Newtown meanwhile welcomed centre-back Kieran Mills-Evans back to the matchday squad for the first time since December.

The opening ten minutes saw both sides restricted to some scrappy half-chances before Newtown came millimetres away from taking the lead, through dangerman Lifumpa Mwandwe. Nick Rushton got into a crossing position and his cross then found Mwandwe unmarked in the box, and the forward saw his volley cannon back off the crossbar. The rebound fell to Craig Williams, whose shot was blocked by the defence and was then cleared.

After that chance for the away side, Penybont seemed to wake up. Newly capped Wales C midfielder Lewis Harling unleashed an effort which curled over the bar after some great work by Kai Whitmore. Ten minutes from the half-time whistle, captain Kane Owen played a tantalising cross into the box, but none of the three Penybont players in the box could make a connection with it.

Whilst both sides had spells of dominance in the first half, it was the visitors who finally got the first goal 40 minutes in, thanks to a superb strike from captain Craig Williams. Mwandwe again caused trouble for Penybont’s defenders, and was dragged down by Borge outside of the box. Williams stepped up and fired a perfect effort to the top left corner, just out of Morris’ reach.

Penybont did have one last chance to level the scores before the half-time whistle, but the ball fell to him at an awkward angle and he failed to get a clear connection from point blank range.

Cymru Premier – Fixtures and Results – 2021/2022 season

#Ten minutes into the second half, the first chance fell to Newtown, when Rushton had a header at the far post, but the angle was too tight to get it goalward. Down the other end, a superb pass by Kai Whitmore, who had been Penybont’s star player, found Dan Jefferies in the box, but the defender failed to make a clean enough connection to pose any threat to Dave Jones’ goal.

With sixty minutes on the clock, Newtown doubled their advantage thanks to the magic of Lifumpa Mwandwe. The forward received a long ball from Aaron Williams and showed great footwork to make space for himself to shoot, despite pressure from Owen and Jefferies, and firing it home past Morris.

Despite the two-goal deficit, Penybont continued pressing for a goal of their own to get them back in the game. Dave Jones responded well to a testing shot from Nathan Wood, before substitute Keane Watts headed over after another superb cross by Kane Owen.

Dave Jones was called into action again in the final ten minutes, but he did superbly well to parry a free-kick by Kane Owen, who rather unexpectedly went for goal from a tight angle.

Penybont carried on pushing for a consolation goal deep into stoppage time, but they failed to find the key to unlock Newtown’s defence.

Penybont now find themselves without a win in three games, whilst Newtown have now picked up three wins in a row. The defeat has all but ended Penybont’s chances of securing an European spot through the league, as Rhys Griffiths’ side find themselves seven points behind third-placed Bala. Newtown meanwhile look set for a shootout with Bala for the all-important second spot, with both sides facing each other in a mouth-watering clash next Friday.

Line-ups

Penybont: (3-5-2) Ashley Morris; Dan Jefferies, Rhys Griffiths (Keane Watts 58′), Billy Borge; Ryan Reynolds, Lewis Harling, Lewis Clutton (Kostya Georgievksy 45+2′), Kai Whitmore (Tom Tweedy 83′), Kane Owen (C); Nathan Wood, Sam Snaith

Unused substitutes: Tye Williams, Liam Walsh, Ben Ahmun, Coby Rogers

Yellow cards: Lewis Harling 28′, Billy Borge 40′, Kai Whitmore 59′, Kane Owen 63′, Sam Snaith 90+2′

Newtown: (3-5-2) Dave Jones; Brett Taylor, Shane Sutton, Ryan Sears; Craig Williams, Jake Walker, Nicky Rushton, George Hughes, Naim Arsan (James Davies 81′); Lifumpa Mwandwe (Zeli Ismail 90′), Aaron Williams

Unused substitutes: Max Williams, Kieran Mills-Evans, Dylan Downs, Rhys Hesden, Ben Guest

Goals: Craig Williams 41′, Lifumpa Mwandwe 61′

Yellow cards: Brett Taylor 23′, Naim Arsan 28′

(Featured Image: Lewis Mitchell)