WELSH LEAGUE DIVISION 2
LLANELLI TOWN .......... 2 ABERDARE TOWN ........ 0
A PIECE of Lee Trundle magic and a misplaced pass proved the difference in a match which produced a feast of good football and left a crowd in excess of 300 well satisfied with the afternoon’s entertainment.
The result sees Llanelli remain undefeated and heading the table after 14 rounds of matches whilst Aberdare hang on to the coat tails of the promotion tussle with a seven-point gap between them and the final promotion place.
It was clear from the start that Aberdare had set up in defensive mode hoping to catch the hosts on the break and this is how the first half shaped up.
It was 10 minutes in before Aberdare produced their first attack with good play between Rob Blatchford and Ross Daniels setting up leading scorer Elliot Morris whose firm 15-yard shot agonisingly hit the upright.
Minutes later Warren Jones, who was certainly to provide a captain’s performance on the day, brought home keeper Morris into action and shortly after provided a superb 30-yard pass to Blatchford who looped over from the edge of the box.
John Phillips and Luke Jones were busy in mid- field and at this stage the back line of Tom Billings, Jack Howe, Jason Henley and Josh Powell were restricting the Llanelli forwards to long shots and it was until the 35th minute that Aberdare keeper Clint Forbes was called into serious action with a brilliant save from a Trundle effort which produced applause from all sections of the crowd.
With half-time approaching Trundle was not to be further denied and a series of “keepy-uppies” saw him swivel and fire past the flailing arms of Forbes for a spectacular finish.
The second half was only a minute old when Ross Daniels was tackled as he bore down on goal and the relieving clearance found a Llanelli forward from whom Forbes made a quite incredible save bringing the crowd to their feet yet again.
But Aberdare had suffered a big blow as Daniels was forced to leave the pitch, his ankle having taken the brunt of the goal-denying tackle.
The industrious Luke Jones was yellow carded as Llanelli took advantage of the disruption to the line-up and Forbes then produced, over a 15-minute spell, a suite of stunning saves, one from Sam Williams that will live long in the memory.
So much so, that local pundits after the game were to give the accolade to Clint Forbes of having produced one of the best goalkeeping displays seen at Stebonheath Park over the years.
However, he was helpless to deny the onrushing ex-Aberystwyth debutant Joe Clark from sealing matters following a misplaced crossfield pass which allowed him space one on one with a clinical finish.
Aberdare continued to battle and Tom Mouncher and the non-stop Warren Jones went close with late efforts.
This weekend sees the polar opposite with a home fixture against bottom of the table Newport City who will arrive at Aberaman Park for a 2pm kick-off bouyed by the narrowest of defeats against in-form West Wales outfit Cwmamman United.