Cardiff Met Uni edge past Aberystwyth Town on Cymru Premier opening weekend
Aberystwyth Town could not find an equaliser after Cardiff Met Uni went down to ten (Pic by Harry Ware)
Cardiff Met claimed victory on the opening weekend of the Cymru Premier season, as they beat Aberystwyth Town 1-0 despite going down to ten men.
It was a relatively quiet first quarter of the game at Park Avenue. Lewis Rees had the first effort for Met but his shot was dragged wide of the mark on the edge of the area.
Mark Cadwallader had an early chance but his strike also went wide, as both sides defended well in the opening stages of the game.
However, it was Cardiff Met who took the lead through Eliot Evans in the 33rd minute of the game in Ceredigion.
A good run down the right by Rees allowed the forward to put in a low cross near the byline, finding Evans who fired home from close range to give the Archers the advantage at the break.
Cadwallader had to come off just before halftime for Aberystwyth, after picking up a hip injury before the break. New signing Eric Yahaya came on in his place.
Aber had a good chance before the break. John Owen found space in the area to volley at goal but his effort went over the bar.
The Seasiders had their best chance of the game in the 55th minute. A Jack Thorn free-kick from halfway inside the Cardiff Met half was tipped brilliantly onto the post by Met goalkeeper Alex Lang to deny Aber an equaliser.
Dave Jones kept the Seasiders in the game after a superb save down to his right, after a close-range effort from Met’s Sam Jones.
Goalscorer Evans received back-to-back yellow cards in a key moment in the game. His first was for kicking the ball away, before a high challenge ended in a red card, meaning the Archers would play the last 15 minutes of the game with ten men.
Despite the dismissal, Met would see the rest of the game out to claim all three points.
Cardiff Met University manager Ryan Jenkins told Cymru Sport after the game: “It’s always a challenge coming up to Aberystwyth, they always make the game very difficult for you.
“When you’re looking for a result on the first day of the season, all you can ask for is three points and that’s what we got today.”
Aberystwyth Town boss Anthony Williams to Cymru Sport: “We’ve got to be more clinical.
“We’ve had a lot of chances in that game. We need to make this place a fortress. This is where we need to pick up as many points as possible.”
Aberystwyth Town XI: D. Jones, Walsh, Woollam, Bradford, H. Owen, Thorn, I. Lewis, Cadwallader (Yahaya 37), J. Owen (Davies 64), Taylor (Darlington 64), Kirkman.
Yellow Cards: H. Owen 56
Cardiff Met Uni XI: Lang, McCarthy, E. Lewis, Price, E. Evans, Kabongo, Rees (Roberts 90+6), H. Owen, J. Evans, S. Jones, Vincent.
Goalscorers: Evans 33
Yellow Cards: J. Evans 70, E. Evans 73, Rees 83
Red Cards: E. Evans 75
Attendance: 401
