SOCCER CHAMPS SUFFER EARLY SETBACK
REIGNING LTC Mobility Carmarthenshire League champions Trallwm suffered an early setback in the defence of their title.
They were beaten 2-1 at Bwlch Rangers in the opening game of the Premier division season.
It shouldn’t come as too much of a shock as Bwlch are one of the strongest teams in the top flight.
On balance, it was a deserved three points for Bwlch, for whom Shane Price and Ethen Scougall found the back of the net.
A goal from Chris Brown wasn’t quite enough to save Trallwm in a high-quality encounter.
Also off to a winning start are Loughor Rovers, who collected maximum points in a 2-0 win at Killay.
Loughor were missing a number of key players, but on target were Luke Norman and Dan Stevens, who was stepping up from the reserves.
Pengelli United defied the odds in defeating neighbours Gorseinon Athletic 3-0 in their away clash.
It was a stunning result for Pengelli, who took command through goals from Luke Rees, Jamie Evans and Craig Jones.
Trostre Sports were in action at Burry Port and came away with a 4-2 win after taking an early lead through Curtis Williams.
Although the visitors let the advantage slip after conceding a penalty five minutes before the break, Trostre came back out to dominate the second half.
With the home defence coming under heavy pressure, it came as no surprise to see Trostre regain the lead through Rhys Griffiths, who went on to score his second in the 80th minute. Sandwiched in between was a penalty converted by Luke Jones.
Carmarthen Stars made ground advantage count against Pontlliw, winning an entertaining game 4-2.
Most of the pressure was applied by the Stars, who made it count with goals from Sion Howells, Adrian Hazelby, Scott Thomas and striker Sam Wilson.
The visitors played their part and were rewarded with goals from Adam Scott and Andrew Shaw.
Evans & Williams proved too strong for visiting Pontarddulais Town in winning 4-2.
Evans & Williams got off to the best possible start, taking the lead within a couple of minutes through Morgan Meloni. And they dominated the first period with further goals via Chris Bowen and Jared Peake.
Pontarddulais hit back to make it 3-2, but Meloni responded by netting his second of the game to secure the points for Evans & Williams.
In the only other game played in the Premier division, a goal by Jamie Jenkins was enough to earn Seaside a 1-0 win at CK Swiss Valley.
Although Saturday saw the first ball kicked in the Premier division, the season was launched 24 hours earlier when Bancffosfelen hosted FC Carmarthen in a division one clash.
The game ended in a comfortable 3-0 win for FC Carmarthen, for whom Rhodri Noakes broke the deadlock in the 19th minute.
Tom Walters doubled the lead in the 70th minute, before Luca Dragone scored number three in the 79th minute.
Having beaten Loughor Rovers 5-2 in the final to lift the Krislyn Summer Cup, Tumble United were confident of at least a point from the trip to Dafen. But it was not to be, and after getting the better of the midfield exchanges Dafen won 2-0 thanks to goals from Rhys Winnett and Sam Evans.
There were hat-tricks for both Chris Hyde and Fen Wilson to help Llandovery Town defeat Llandeilo Town 7-1 on their ground in a onesided derby. Also on target for Llandovery was Tom Hyde.
Chris Hyde was also in the thick of the action with three assists, while Chris Challenger made his mark with a couple of assists.
There was a solid performance from Kidwelly Town, with Liam Martin scoring twice in the excellent 3-1 win at Llangennech. Shane Miller grabbed the third goal.
In division two, a hat-trick from Josh Martin helped Carmarthen United to a 5-1 win at CP Suburbs.
Despite striking inside the first five minutes through Martin, the visitors couldn’t add to that until they scored four goals in the space of eight minutes soon after the break.
Martin made it 2-0 in the 56th minute and completed his hat-trick in the 64th minute, while Rob Maynard scored in the 58th and 60th minutes.
KRUF are a much-improved team these days, which is why Drefach will be delighted with three points from their 3-1 home win.
Star of the show with two goals for Drefach was Ryan Skinner, and there was a goal for Chris Amos.
All five games in reserve division one ended in away wins.
A goal from Stephen Greene was enough to secure a 1-0 win for Evans & Williams Reserves against Seaside Reserves, and Loughor Rovers Reserves will have been delighted with their 2-1 win at Pengelli United Reserves. Luke Roberts and Ciaran Morgan scored for Loughor.
In another tight contest, goals from Mark Davies, Charlie Weston and Hans Singh guided Dafen Reserves to a 3-2 win against Trallwm Reserves.
There was a terrific finish to the reserve division two game between Loughor Rovers A and visiting Drefach Reserves, which finished 2-2.
Trailing 2-0 with just five minutes left, Loughor A rescued a point with goals from James Lawrence and Joe Frohwein.
It was also honours even between Kidwelly Town Reserves and visiting Johnstown Reserves, which ended 1-1. Daniel Fitzpatrick rescued a point for Kidwelly.
Looking ahead to Saturday, the big game in the Premier division is the one between Bwlch Rangers and visiting Trostre Sports.
Defending champions travel to Carmarthen Stars. Trallwm