Llanhilleth hit for six
LLANHILLETH Athletic looked to bounce back after a midweek reverse at the hands of local rivals Cwm against Fairfield United but were on the end of six-goal defeat at the Park.
The scoreline though doesn’t tell the whole story, as Athletic were without regular goalkeeper Nicky Townsend, who had been sent off in injurytime against Cwm, defenders Ieaun James, Josh Withers and Lloyd Hurn were all out injured, while midfielders Matthew Fisher, Jonny Dalton and Joel Greenough, who also played against the Ebbw Vale outfit, were also out of first team action.
With so many players missing, manager Chris Townsend gave starting debuts to Ethan Pitt, Ryan Harris and goalkeeper Dwayne Evans adding to an already fresh-faced team.
Pitt and opposite wing Robbie Davies caused the visitors problems early doors, running at their defence at every opportunity and Pitt brought the best out of United custodian Mark Randell, who made a smart near-post save to keep the scores level.
Fairfield came to the Park with a 100% record and it was no surprise when midfielder Alun Scammel picked up a loose ball in the penalty area and fired home to open the scoring.
To add insult to injury, the hosts then lost striker Craig Price suffering from the effects of a challenge of a fruitless penalty appeal, Jonny Lawrence his replacement.
Leigh Williams capital- ised on a defensive lapse to extend the visitors lead, but as they looked to go in two-up at the break, a home corner was sliced by a defender leaving Randell to tip over in acrobatic fashion for the save of the match and keep his goal intact.
As much as Llanhilleth tried to get back into the game, they came up against some resolute defending and a keeper in inspired form denying Lawrence twice and striker Nathan Thomas, who had previously scored four goals in the opening three games of the season.
Two further goals from a David Jenkins penalty and a Christopher Stokes header sealed the points, before the home side lost Thomas and went down to 10 men for the last 20 minutes having used both substitutes.
Two further goals from Williams to bag his hattrick put a final seal on the result and continue United’s great start to the season.
Llanhilleth manager Chris Townsend said: “I couldn’t be prouder of them youngsters out there today, every one of them played magnificently and despite the result I’m happy with everyone’s effort and commitment.”