Friendly fire downs Evans FRIENDLY

GARW ............................. 0 PENCOED ATHLETIC ... 1

THIS pre-season clash at Pencoed College was cut short owing to Garw centre-back Kristian Evans suffering a serious knee injury, writes Tony Poole.

It formed a real body blow for the Blandy boys, as former Penybont star Evans is rated a top blocker on the circuit.

He was injured in the 75th minute and will see a physiotherapist tomorrow (Thursday) to determine the extent of the damage.

Both Pencoed chief Mark Powell and counterpart Ryan Blanche fielded strong teams though big guns were absent in both camps.

The Blandy boys had much the better of the opening session with tricky winger Lewis James clipping the woodwork while a penalty was also fluffed. But Pencoed goalkeeper Aaron Jones – the former Penybont and Cornelly Utd star – wasn’t provided with much work.

However, Pencoed boss Powell plus Craig Hopkins and Brian Lamont let their charges have both barrels during the break. And it seemed to work, as the Felindre Road boys gradually began to fire the shots. They got behind the Garw defence but the finishing left a lot to be desired.

The issue was settled on the hour when Sam Brown unleashed a 25-metre shot that bulged the top corner of the net.

Garw then made strenuous attempts to pull back the goal, but failed to do so ahead of the gameending injury to Evans.

Pencoed visit FC Cwmaman on Saturday in a friendly ahead of Swansea University at Pencoed College on Tuesday.

The season gets underway on August 12 away to Mumbles Rangers in the FAW Trophy while Garw host Port Tennant Colts in the same competition.