Cwm battle hard but are beaten in a thriller

CWMAMMAN United suffered a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Ynysygerwn in Ardal League South West.

On a bitterly cold evening, spectators at the Llandarcy Academy of Sport were treated to a thrilling encounter that ebbed and flowed throughout.

With Ynys looking for points to move to the top of the table and Cwm needing points to move away from the bottom six, it was always likely to be well contested – and Cwm made the perfect start when a long ball over the defence saw Calem Rees speed away and slot past goalkeeper Luke Jones to open the scoring.

Cwm kept the pressure on and Sion Dafydd Williams and Keiran Richards both went close.

Ynys began to settle, playing the ball confidently from the back, and Dan Lewis levelled when he created space with a sharp turn and crashed his shot home.

The remainder of the half saw the patient style of Ynys creating a number of half-chances, while Cwm possessed their own threats courtesy of Charlie Davies, Harrison Thomas and Cory Saunders.

The second half saw Ynys enjoy a lot more possession but defenders Callum Dougal, Grant Rees and Ronan Templeton worked hard to repel attacks. But in the 54th minute Ynysygerwn’s Nathan Davies was tripped as he turned in the box and he calmly put the penalty away to give his side the lead.

Cwm pushed to get back in the game quickly and equalised in the 59th minute when Sion Dafydd Williams managed to squeeze a shot in at the far post.

But it didn’t stay like that for long. A corner was headed downwards in the Cwm penalty area, and as the defence hesitated Lewis tapped the ball into the net for his second goal – and what proved to be the winner.

Kai Rees had to make a couple of strong saves and Cwm rang the changes from their bench with Kyle Ashford creating problems. But despite putting pressure on in the final 10 minutes, they couldn’t find a leveller.

This Saturday Cwmamman face another tough match as they travel to fourth-placed Penrhiwceiber Rangers (2.30pm).

Garden Village, who are bottom of the table with just two points from 12 games, host mid-table Cefn Cribwr. But all matches are likely to be in doubt unless the temperature rises in the coming days.