CENTRAL B

CEFN CRIBWR .............. 5 BANWEN ...................... 10

THE CEFN match was one of the few games played in horrendous conditions throughout the County Borough.

The easiest thing would have been to call the game off, but all credit to Cefn for persevering, only to come unstuck on the day.

The game was well handled by the referee who had to concentrate to the maximum to see who actually had the ball in their possession throughout, with low cloud and persistent drizzle making visibility less than a few metres at most.

Cefn started well enough, hammering away at the visitors; defence, parking on their line for almost half an hour without scoring. Scrum half Lee Rogers came closest for Cefn having crossed the line, but an excellent cover tackle saw the ball dislodged out of his hands. This gave Banwen a massive amount of confidence having weathered cylinders, and ultimately they were relieved to exit Bryn with maximum points.

The pitch survived an 11th-hour inspection and following a recent shock defeat at Croeserw, they were determined to avoid an action-replay situation.

They, however, made a determined start with Joe McCarthy hitting the woodwork and Dan Burt shooting just wide of the moved from the South Wales Alliance WJ Owen Cup and fined £350.

However, during a recent club committee meeting instead of taking a grin-and-bear-it stance, they opted to pay £50 and appeal their case to the South Wales Football Association (SWFA).

While it’s unlikely that the SWFA will overturn the nine-point deduction and removal from the WJ Owen Cup, they might take a more lenient view regarding the monetary fine. the storm to break away and score a converted try at the opposite end of the field, to lead 7-0 at halftime.

Both sides exchanged penalties in the second half, and persistent Cefn were rewarded a driveover try by impressive No 8 Scott Kelly to get within five points.

Then some loose kicking by both sides saw both sides set up attacks, with nothing at the end of them.

Then, suddenly in the dying seconds, Cefn almost snatched the game with a fine break and chip target.

And with young guns Ben Collins and Sam Hogben firing shots out wide, they were in complete command.

It was only a question of time before they went ahead, and the breaking point came when Burt released top scorer Joe McCarthy to get a 14th goal of the campaign.

The lead was promptly doubled when Matt Lav-

In a domino effect at Lock’s Lane, secretary Martyn Morgan offered his resignation – but it was rejected.

The episode was triggered by Adam Jones requesting a transfer back to the Seasiders in mid-October, and he reappeared for Porthcawl Town during a 6-0 home league win over AFC Butetown on October 28.

He figured a further three times – including a 5-0 WJ Owen Cup win over AFC Bargoed – be- through by centre and skipper Owen Davies, only to be foiled by the shortest of margins and the dead ball line.

Even though Cefn went down 10-5 to a Banwen side and a colossal defensive performance by their front five in particular, well marshalled by their scrum half there were still some good performances for Cefn. Impressive Scott Kelly was well supported by his hard working brother Lewis in the powerhouse alongside the excellent Matt Dyer. Jamie Fry had another good game at prop as did co- erty combined with Zak Furness, resulting in onsong James Brown netting for a fourth time this winter.

During the second period, Bryn couldn’t hold a candle to birthday boy William Owen at the back while Evan Jones also had a stormer.

But significantly Porthcawl failed to score during a run of the mill second half, and this must be a cause of concern for the fore a transfer-form error became apparent, leading to the Seasiders getting into hot water.

It now remains to be seen what transpires with the SWFA appeal.

On the playing front, last Saturday’s intended league fixture with Cogan Coronation followed the trend, and was called off owing to the wet set of the ground in the Barry suburbs.

This Saturday Porthcawl Town host noisy neighbours Cornelly United in prop Ashley Hickey with some barnstorming runs. Hooker Richard Hicks, selected to tour Australia with the Wales Deaf team was in the thick of the action throughout, and stalwart Jeff Jones made an immediate impact when he entered the fray, but it was all too little, too late.

Even though this was not a game for the backs in the conditions, winger Dai James stood out.

Injury ravaged Cefn have a fortnight to regroup with players such talented centre Ryan Lovett expected to make a comeback. FC Porthcawl management team.

However, a sixth win from 10 outings lifted the Green Machine into third place, but binoculars are required to sight runaway leaders Cwmavon.

And the Development Team gained a 3-2 win over Afan Lido – one of many teams that have benefited from the influence of football visionary Jon McCarthy. an eagerly anticipated return league derby.

Hopefully, this Lock’s Lane clash will provide more entertainment than the Meadow Street meeting back in August.

There was little to write home about until the 83rd minute when Matthew Davies headed Cornelly in front.

But within a minute, Porthcawl top scorer Jorge Crofts curled in a crafty free kick to place the final touch on the 1-1 scoreline.

TWO young footballers from Bridgend County have been selected in a Wales U16/17 squad, writes Tony Poole.

Goalkeeper Jack Davies (Llangeinor) and midfield anchor man Jack Teisar (Pencoed) are down to be involved in forthcoming matches involving Scotland and Spain.

It’s the third occasion for the Llangeinor club to produce a young Welsh football international, as previously Daniel Jeffries and Joshua Thomas had won favour with the selectors.