REDS HAND OUT EARLY PRESENT
LLANELLI TOWN.................1 BALA TOWN..........................7
DESPITE it being the season of goodwill, Llanelli Town took the meaning a little too literally by allowing their opponents the freedom of the park throughout, leading to seven giftwrapped goals.
To describe the Reds’ defending as akin to schoolboys would be doing youngsters a disservice as yet another calamitous display led to further humiliation, a scenario which has become all too prevalent this season.
The Reds have now shipped 61 goals in 18 matches, with a deficit of 43, and unless the squad is strengthened in the new year relegation is almost a certainty, with all the consequences associated with it.
The latest debacle took only 46 seconds to start when the Lakesiders were gifted their opener courtesy of a wayward clearance by Reds keeper Oliver Davies. It only found a visiting player, who turned provider for Steven Tames to slot home the gift.
Worse was to follow with a further two goals in five minutes: a cross into the middle was deflected by Joe Clarke into his own net on eight minutes, while Chris Venables arrived at the far post unmarked to power home his header after 13 minutes.
Three down before 15 minutes had elapsed, it was obvious the home side were in for another difficult afternoon. And they almost conceded another when a short corner between Henry Jones and Tames culminated in the ball being played into the path of Nathan Burke, whose shot flashed fractionally wide.
The visitors were running the show, with their opponents struggling to make any impact, but out of the blue, and with about their only strike on target, the Reds pulled a goal back when Chris Jones, some 30 yards out, decided there was nothing to lose and unleashed a superb shot which left Ashley Morris in the Bala goal grasping at thin air as it rocketed past him.
This unexpected success only served to spur on the visitors and they were quickly back on the offensive, with Jones being denied by the fingertips of Davies.
Without any further mishaps prior to the break, the Reds were just about clinging on, but the second period proved to be a replica of the first, with the visitors well on top, and two further attempts by Jones were thwarted by Davies and then Kurtis March.
The Lakesiders were looking threatening every time they pushed forward, and it came as little surprise when they extended the lead on 57 minutes through Tames, who was given acres of space courtesy of some woeful defending, as he sprinted through the middle and slotted his finish past the helpless Davies.
Eight minutes later, Ian Sheridan got in on the act with a glancing header which looped over the Reds keeper, while Tames completed his treble in the 68th minute when he was again sent clear before coolly finishing.
With a six-goal lead, the visitors surprisingly left it another 18 minutes before heaping more misery on their hosts, with Tames completing a memorable afternoon by getting his fourth when he met a ball driven low by Venables to the far post and find the bottom corner.
The final whistle by referee Dean John came as a welcome relief to the Reds. And with two vital games on the horizon against near-neighbours Carmarthen Town at home on Boxing Day and away on New Year’s Day, they will certainly have to up their game if they have any hope of securing some much-needed points.
Kick-off for the home fixture is at noon, while the return is scheduled for a 5.30pm start as it is being shown live on S4C.