With the final round of fixtures taking place in the group stages of the Adran Trophy this weekend, it was the Adran Premier that was the star attraction.
There were important fixtures at both ends of the table on Sunday, with great goals and great defending across all four matches.
We start this week’s roundup at the USW Sports Park. Last week, Cardiff City thumped Pontypridd United 5-0 in the FAW Cup, and you could forgive Dragons fans for feeling a sense of unease heading into this one. But, under the lights, Ponty became the first team to take any points from a match against the Bluebirds, as they drew 1-1.
It was a competitive first half, with both sides showing good attacking intent. Towards the end of the half, City opened the scoring, and in spectacular fashion. Meg Bowen fired the ball in off the underside of the crossbar from range, a strike that any footballer would be proud of.
The introduction of Wales U17s captain Liv Francis injected life into Ponty in the second half, as they pushed for an equaliser, and they were rewarded in second half stoppage time. Renee Day rose the highest from an Anais Trinci corner and powered a header into the back of the net. City stay top, while Ponty strengthen their grip on fourth place.
The two teams chasing Ponty down for fourth spot met at Jenner Park on Sunday, as Barry Town United and TNS went to battle, with the visitors coming away with a 3-2 win. There was no doubting who the star of the show was, TNS’ Emily Ridge. She scored her first in the 13th minute after a good cross from Chantelle Teare, before scoring her second 20 minutes later after a good delivery from Caitlin Chapman, who became the league’s top assister in the process.
In the first game of the Sean Wharton era, Barry were facing an uphill battle. However, they showed some true grit and determination and got themselves back into the game. Seven minutes from the break, Lauren Harris scored a free kick, which seemed to deflect off a TNS defender as it went in, and just after the hour mark, Manon Pearce poked the ball home to restore parity.
But it was Ridge who would have the last laugh, as she completed her hat-trick seven minutes from time. Another dangerous delivery into the box, this time from Helen Evans, gave Ridge an easy tap in, as TNS took all three points, in what was Andy Williams’ last game in charge, as he takes on a role with a WSL club.
The bottom two teams met at Park Avenue, with Aberystwyth Town claiming their second win of the season, as they downed Abergavenny Town 4-1. It was a competitive first half, with Aberystwyth perhaps having more possession and chances, and they rewarded before the half hour mark, as Shaunna Chambers produced a remarkable header from Emily Thomas’ cross.
The Seasiders continued their good first half form and scored early in the second half, Gwenllian Jones flicking the ball in from another Thomas delivery. The Pennies did reduce the deficit down to one three minutes after the second Aberystwyth goal, Alana Murphy firing in.
But this Aberystwyth side have shown a real sign of resilience in recent weeks, and they went on to get two goals in the final ten minutes to seal a 4-1 victory. Firstly, Aber’s top scorer Libby Isaac scored after a pass from Thomas, who recorded a hat-trick of assists, before Gwenllian Jones got her second of the game. There’s now a seven-point gap between Aberystwyth in seventh and Abergavenny, who remained rooted to the bottom of the table.
The final game in our roundup takes us to Cyncoed, as the top two from last season, Cardiff Met and Swansea City, produced a 1-1 draw. Both goals came in the space of three first half minutes. Sophie Hancocks scored straight from a corner for the Archers before Nieve Jenkins headed in from a Stacey John-Davies cross.
The game was tight with neither side creating many clear-cut chances, and when they did, goalkeepers Amelia Forkings and Claire Skinner were in top form to thwart any attacker. With the Bluebirds drawing, a draw for these two keeps alive their hopes of a title challenge. Next week, however, there is a titanic clash between first place Cardiff City and second place Cardiff Met. The Swans will be ready to capitalise if neither side can find a winner.
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