DE CYMRU ONE

LLAN & CAERPHILLY .. 1 BRIDGEND A ................. 3

BRIDGEND A remain on the shirt-tails of leaders Whitchurch C after ringing in the New Year with a meritorious win away to Llan & Caerphilly.

With eight wins and three draws from 12 league outings, Bridgend remain in touch with Whitchurch C, who hold a seven-point advantage from one more completed game.

Moving the ball around in convincing fashion, it didn’t come as a great surprise when the Ravens got their noses in front.

A meandering run from Andrew Jones led to Nicholas Anthony slotting home their opening goal.

What, however, was surprising was a home equaliser that came right out of the blue and stemmed from a short corner.

But that failed to dampen Bridgend spirit, and they came again with playmaker Andrew Jones once more in the vanguard.

The midfield ace rounded off another piece of fine individualism with an equally splendid finish to set up a 2-1-interval scoreline.

But the Ravens were well aware that a slender one-goal lead was unlikely to be enough to claim all three points.

With that in mind, they were relieved when Michael Hodges rounded off a sizzling team move to make it 3-1.

Though the Ravens created chances to enhance the lead, they failed to do so.

But they also possessed a solid defence, resulting in them closing out a comfortable victory.

They will now look to improve their promotion prospects on Saturday at home to Gwent A.

Meanwhile, in the lower divisions, Bridgend B crashed to an 8-2 defeat at Whitchurch D in De Cymru Two.

They host Llan & Caerphilly A this Saturday.

And in De Cymru Three, Bridgend C gained a 4-1 home victory over Gwent B.

This was a rare victory for Bridgend C – just a third in 12 league starts – but it held out hope that they can soon move off the bottom of the table.

On Saturday, Bridgend C are away to their Penarth counterparts.