Croesyceiliog 7 Pontypridd Town 0

Croesyceiliog ran riot as they put seven goals past their relegation rivals at a wet Woodland Road.
Both sides came into the game knowing three points were vital in their quest to stay up and it was the home side who deservedly came out the victors.Croesy welcomed back Mike Dewar,Ross Bristow and Mark Jones to the fold and these players are going to have a important part to play in the battle to beat the drop.
Croesy nearly opened the scoring after just six minutes,Chris Watkins found Jamie Jenkins whose shot from the edge of the area was tipped over by Pontypridd keeper Chris Golton as the ball looked to be headed for the top corner.Croesy did not have to wait long to take the lead though as just two minutes later they were ahead,Daniel Clouth found Mark Morris on the left and he applied a fine finish as he steered the ball past Golton and into the back of the net.Croesy had a goal rightly disallowed for offside on fourteen minutes despite Mike Dewar firing home from Watkins pass,Dewar was clearly in a offside position.Chris Watkins was involved with the second goal after seventeen minutes,Daniel Clare found Watkins on the right and he cut the ball back to the edge of the area and Clouth advanced onto the ball to give Golton no chance with a excellent finish.As much as Croesy were in control and looked dangerous every time they went forward Pontypridd did have their rare moments of threatening to get themselves back in the game,Pontypridd best two chances came within a four minute spell in the first half,firstly after half an hour Cyron Williams headed wide from David Avery's corner when he probably should of tested John Bailey in the Croesy goal,then four minutes later Bailey denied Wayne Antoniazzi with his feet following a good turn and shot from eighteen yards out and from the rebound Rasul Abdul saw his overhead kick go harmlessly wide.Croesy finished the game as a contest five minutes before the break when they went three-nil up,Morris latched onto the ball in the area on the left and seemed to be going nowhere but I think everyone in the ground could see that Williams coming across was going to upend Morris and give away a penalty and sure enough he did and the referee had no option but point to the spot from which despite Golton getting a hand to the ball Watkins converted.After the break nothing really happened for the first part,the rain was falling and the pitch did start to get a number of puddles on but for the Pontypridd manager to try and get the game called off showed nothing but desperation on his part, then Croesy ran riot as they scored four goals in a eighteen minute spell and in truth they could of hit double figures in the end.Mark Morris got his second and Croesy's fourth on sixty-eight minutes,sub Jones found fellow sub Dan Jenkins whose shot squirmed under Golton's body but got stuck in the mud less than a yard out and Morris reacted quickest to slid in and put the ball over the line.Jamie Jenkins scored two in as many minutes as he added Croesy fifth and sixth goals,his first came after seventy-eight minutes when he headed home Watkins corner from the right,then two minutes later Dan Jenkins found Jones who cut inside the area before passing to Jamie Jenkins who scored at the second attempt after his initial shot got stuck in the mud near the goal.Dan Clouth became the third Croesy player of the afternoon to grab a brace when he completed the scoring four minutes from time after the initial danger seemed to have passed,Matthew Phillips did not clear the danger probably and Clouth made no mistake in firing past Golton.
Croesy moved seven points clear of the relegation zone with this victory and while Maesteg Park do have three games in hand the pressure in now on them to win them games,while Croesy know that there is still hard work ahead but with Taffs Well and Maesteg Park the next two teams to visit Woodland Road they will see these games as crucial in their efforts to stay up,and while Pontypridd are not relegated yet it's going to be a amazing effort for them to stay up as they are now nine points behind Croesy and they only have eight games remaining.

Croesy: Bailey,Watkins,Brown,Bristow,Clare,Clouth,McGrath (Wilmott 28),J.Jenkins,Osbourne(D.Jenkins 64),Dewar(Jones 56),Morris.

Croesyceiliog 1 Pontardawe Town 3

Jamie Jenkins second half strike proved to be mere consolation as the visitors took all three points back home with them.
Croesy came into the game on the back of beating bottom side Garw last week,but like so many weeks lately late withdrawals meant they were without the experienced players they could do with at this crucial part of the season.While Pontardawe with this victory virtually banished any thoughts they may of had of relegation,Pontardawe were a completely different side compared to the side that Croesy played in the other league fixture between the two sides this season as they have strengthened their side with players from a higher level.While I am not one to normally blame the officials for any defeat,the officials in this game were in my personal view very poor,if any of the players from either side had such a bad performance i am pretty sure they wouldn't be taking to the field this coming weekend.
cross from the left was headed into his own net by a visiting defender however the assistant referee flagged for offside with no one near the player who scored a own goal,so how can the goal have been disallowed well no one knows as the referee gave two different versions firstly Pontardawe took the lead through a Andrew Fairbairn free kick from thirty yards out which beat John Bailey in the Croesy goal and went in via the underside of the crossbar,Andrew is one of those who have apparently came from a higher level as he was playing at Neath earlier in the season and although you could see he was the main player that most things went through for Pontardawe,he could also count himself lucky to have remained on the pitch during the second half for a number of infringements. After Pontardawe had taken the lead the main talking point of the whole game arose,Croesy thought they were level within a matter of minutes Nicky McGrath'sMcGrath was offside (which he never was offside) then as the ball was crossed there was a Croesy player close enough to be offside when the ball was headed in (who? and doesn't the new rule/law mean that you have to touch the ball to be in a offside position?) so basically they made a mistake in a decision in which Croesy would have been level and could of gone on from this is a important game.Croesy feel two behind shortly before the break when Andrew Stokes was allowed time in the area to put the ball past Bailey.Croesy pulled a goal back from Jenkins thirty yard free kick as the ball went in at the near post with the keeper seemingly unsighted behind his wall,this seemed to have gave Croesy some momentum and chances came and went before they were caught out by a sucker punch goal on the counter attack near the end by sub Johnny Owen.
So this Saturday's home game against second bottom Pontypridd Town becomes massive as Croesy look to gain all three points and hopefully to help the youngsters a bit, the more experienced players may be available.

Croesyceiliog 5 Garw 1

Zac Osbourne's first half hat-trick and his first in senior football gave Croesy three vital points against bottom of the table Garw.
Croesy came into the game knowing that three points had to be won in their quest for survival against a team that had collected only four points all season but give credit where it is due as Garw manage to put out a side each week,and there is not many teams in their position that could do so especially with the heavy defeats they have suffered and as a team they don't stop working for each other.Croesy were never much on the front foot throughout and had chances to take the lead prior to going in front on nineteen minutes,Jamie Jenkins swung in a corner from the left which was met by Osbourne unmarked inside the six yard box and he powered his header home.Jenkins nearly added a second three minutes late when after Chris Watkins free kick was blocked by the wall he ball feel to Jenkins who chipped the ball just over the bar with the visiting keeper just watching on.Croesy took a two goal lead on twenty five minutes Jenkins involved yet again as his long ball found Ricky Coffe who in space turned inside the area and his shot was tapped in from close range by Osbourne.Croesy were by now in total control on a pitch that was getting heavier and heavier and nearly extended their advantage as Gareth Wilmott's shot from sixteen yards out was turned away via the post by the Garw keeper.Croesy were three goals in front six minutes before the break initially Paul Brown's effort was saved by the keepers legs before being cleared for a corner and from the resulting Jenkins corner Osbourne was on hand to complete his hat trick.Garw pulled a goal back within a minute poor defending allowed Arfon Morris to advance into the area before sliding the ball past John Bailey in the home goal.Any chance of a comeback for Garw was quickly put to one side at the start of the second half when on fifty one minutes when Jenkins free kick found Nicky McGrath at the far post and he cleverly chipped the ball back for Watkins to put Croesy four-one up.Croesy completed the scoring through Watkins on fifty eight minutes,a attempted clearance hit Osbourne and the ball fell straight to Watkins who calmly slotted past the Garw keeper.Croesy did have further chances to score but they will be happy to settle for a victory that puts them level on points with Pontardawe Town(the next team to visit Woodland Road on Sat 22/3) and pull four points clear of Maesteg Park though Croesy have played two games more than both of these teams.

Croesyceiliog:Bailey,Morris,J.Jenkins (Holman 67), Brown,Clare,Wilmott (D.Jenkins 77),Coffe,Clouth,Osbourne (Mason 61),Watkins,McGrath.

Ton Pentre 6 Croesyceiliog 1

Croesyceiliog produced their worst forty-five minute display of the season as they were thrashed away to the league leaders Ton Pentre.
Although there is a big gap in the league between the two sides it seemed Croesy may have came into the game with a bit of confidence gained with the way they performed against Bryntirion in midweek,however all hope of getting anything was quickly dashed as they were five nil down after just thirty-eight minutes.Although matters weren't helped with a number of players unavailable and the weather conditions were awful,the way Croesy defended in the first period was nothing short of dreadful and at one stage it seemed that the hosts could score at anytime they liked.
Ton Pentre have a very good chance of winning the league but have not applied to step up to the premier division while Croesy are very much involved in a relegation fight and the hosts wasted no time in taking a quick lead as they were two up within thirteen minutes following goals from Alun Jones and Ryan Sugar,and even though it took them another twenty five minutes to extend their lead,in truth apart from good goalkeeper by John Bailey and some poor finishing they could of added to their goal tally sooner.Ton Pentre then scored two goals within eight minutes,firstly on twenty eight minutes then on thirty six minutes both through Andy Pearson.Croesy conceded a fifth seven minutes before the break when John Kift gave Bailey no chance.Croesy had a rare shot on the stroke of half time but Ricky Coffe dragged his shot wide after good play by Chris Watkins and Lee Mason.As usually happens when a team is so far adrift they seem to have the better of the second half and this was the case in this game as chances came and went for Croesy,but they got their reward for not giving up and a much better second half showing,on sixty one minutes when Watkins was upended in the penalty area and Dan Jenkins stepped up to slot home.Both teams had a number of chances to score but it was Ton Pentre who completed the scoring three minutes before the end when Jones netted his second.
However if there was ever a time to have such a bad display perhaps in reflection it is away to the league leaders rather than the games ahead against the fellow strugglers,as the next few games are probably going to shape the remainder of the season for Croesy.

Croesyceiliog 0 Bryntirion Athletic 2

Croesy fell at the semi-final stage of the league cup at Taff's Well on wednesday evening.Despite a bright start and a lot of hard work a goal conceded in each half proved to be there undoing but the team can be proud of the effort they put in.

Full Report to follow along with the match report from Saturday's trip to Ton Pentre