SEASIDE NARROW GAP ON LEADERS

THE first LTC Mobility Carmarthenshire League programme of the year was badly affected by the weather and only a handful of games survived.

In the one game played in the Premier division, second-placed Seaside moved to within a point of leaders Pontlliw and retained their unbeaten record with a comfortable 4-0 win at home to Felinfoel.

After netting 10 goals in three previous home games, Seaside added another four helped by a couple from striker Ben Honeybun. Also on target were Joel Andrews and Tray Jenkins.

There was also only one game played in division one. That saw Caerbryn move into second place – two points behind and with a game in hand on leaders Camford Sports – following a 5-0 victory at Drefach.

Striker Oliver Dymond was again on form with a hat-trick, and there were also goals for Lewis Rees and Matthew Howell.

The influential Rees was also involved in three assists, and it was 3-0 at half-time.

In division two, title-chasing Pontarddulais Town Reserves kicked off the year on a high with a deserved 4-2 win against visiting Llansteffan.

Goals in the opening 20 minutes by Cameron Davies and Cai Richards gave Pontarddulais the advantage. Dominic Abramo scored a third in the 54th minute, before Shaun Harris secured the points in time added on.

Postponed because of waterlogged grounds were both ties in the third round of the Senior Cup, plus the second-round clash between Ferryside and Llandovery Town.

Not a game was played in the reserve divisions.

Only one game survived the wet weather in the Macron West Wales Premier League, the Clydach v Evans & Williams contest in the Swansea Valley.

Clydach have now won four of their last five league games and moved up to second place thanks to their 3-1 win.

They started the day in fourth spot, hosting second-placed Evans & Williams after a late pitch inspection by referee Daniel Richardson.

Clydach started brightly. They took an eighth-minute lead when Tom Owen curled in a direct free-kick past Jac Lewis in the Albies goal.

Fifteen minutes later it was 2-0. Gareth Howard threaded a fine ball through to Daniel Rees, who was fouled in the penalty area and picked himself up to slot home the spotkick.

And after just 28 minutes it was 3-0 to Clydach when Owen fed Rees to power home from outside the penalty box for his eighth league goal of the campaign.

Torrential rain just before halftime also saw the Llanelli visitors come back into the game. They won a penalty which saw WWPL top scorer Luke Jones’s spot-kick superbly saved by Dean Morgan in the Clydach goal.

The Albies did get a goal back seven minutes before half-time when Bruno Forkuoh netted, but they were unable to get a second as Clydach ran out deserved 3-1 winners to continue an excellent Tier Four debut season.

Just four points now separate the top five clubs. This Saturday, Clydach are away to CK Swiss Valley.

At the other end of the table, the bottom two sides clash at Coedbach Park where Pontarddulais Town host a West End side who won the corresponding game 5-2 at Pryderi Park in October, their last league win.

Llanelli-based Sanshirokwai Judo Club has made a successful return. After being closed for almost two and a half years due to the pandemic and refurbishment works, four Sanshirokwai competitors participated in the Welsh National Championships in Cardiff and gained stunning successes. The club won five gold medals and one silver. Tiaan Sparrow won gold in the juniors -81kg category, Jonathan Jones claimed gold in the men’s -100kg category, Tasha Mathias bagged silver in the senior women’s -70kg category and gold in the veterans’ -70kg category. Her sister Stephanie Mullock won gold in both the senior women’s -78kg and veterans’ -78kg categories. As a result, all four have secured places in the Welsh national squad. A club spokesperson said: “Considering the substantial time off these athletes have had due to the pandemic and club refurbishment, their impressive result truly is an incredible feat and a result of their hard work and dedication, with competitors training hard multiple times a week.” All train at the Sanshirokwai dojo in Old Castle Road, Llanelli.

Three of Taf Running and Orienteering’s promising juniors had their first experience of indoor athletics when they ran in the under-13 girls’ 1500m at the Welsh Athletics Junior Open at Cardiff. This incorporated the West Wales Championships, and Manon Phillips and Maisie Foster brought home silver and bronze medals respectively. Phillips, aged 10 and running in her first track competition, finished third overall in a time of five minutes 37 seconds, ahead of Foster in fourth with 5.56. Mabli King, like Phillips competing with girls up to two years older, finished sixth in 6.08.