Draw leaves Penybont to rue two dropped points
NATHANIEL CARS WELSH LEAGUE DIVISION ONE CAERAU ELY ................. 1 PENYBONT .................... 1
THIS has to go down as two points dropped by Penybont against relegationthreatened Caerau Ely at Cwrt-yr-Ala, writes Tony Poole.
Considering the Cardiff side came into the game with just one win and a draw against their name, they were massive outsiders to get anything out of this showdown in the Welsh capital.
For Penybont this was an incredible fourth draw from five starts in 2018, and their performance was a massive let down.
Their showing was a drab as this cold midwinter day and they couldn’t entirely blame the playing surface.
Considering how much rain has fallen in recent weeks, it manfully stood up to demands.
The Bridgend super club got off to a dream start, taking the lead after just three minutes, and many expected a Bont goal fest.
With player-manager Rhys Griffiths back from a three-match ban, he knocked the ball down for top scorer Marcus Griffiths to sweep home a ninth goal of the season.
The next 10 minutes belonged entirely to the visitors, but it soon became obvious that in front of goal they were off colour.
This encouraged the home side and in the 15th minute Ibraimi Sani flashed a shot just wide of goal.
However, the game was fast turning into an untidy midfield confrontation with final balls into the box going haywire.
A mixture of youth and experience was now serving Caerau Ely well, that said Cullen Kinsella had the ball in the back of the net only for referee Dan Richardson to rule it out for offside.
The Marcus Griffiths strike separated the sides at the changeover, but on the restart Bont lost Kinsella to a foot injury.
He was replaced by Timothy Georgievsky and this dovetailed with Caerau Ely starting to find pockets of space.
It ultimately allowed them to salvage a point with a right-wing cross reaching Sani, who gave goalie Rhys Wilson no chance.
It led to Bont ringing the changes – Ben Symons and Thomas Davies coming on – and they went gung-ho for a winner.
And it a last throw of the dice player-manager Griffiths went up top with little in the way of impact.
In the final move of a poor Bont day, he aimed for goal without it providing home fans with a heart-stopping moment.
Those who went above the call of duty were Kane Owen, Tyler Roche and Ioan Emanuel, but Bont will have to buck up their ideas to get anything from an- other struggling side this Saturday.
The Kymco Stadium visitors are Ton Pentre, who incredibly occupy bottom spot, and are without a win in 18 league starts.
It wasn’t so long ago that the Bulldogs were brand leaders, and they would snap your hands off to get the points.