Bont will have to wait
Narrow defeat against the champions... but now Griffiths’ men face lockdown
PENYBONT will have to wait for the Bridgend County lockdown to end before they can chase a first J D Cymru Premiership win of the season, writes Tony Poole.
Bont were due to host Bala Town on Sunday and visit Cardiff Metropolitan University a week tonight (Wednesday), but both games are now off.
Having opened the campaign with back-to-back draws, both 1-1, against Caernarfon Town and Aberystwyth Town, the Bridgend side went down to a slender 1-0 defeat last Sunday against defending champions Connah’s Quay Nomads at the Deeside Stadium.
In the run up to the game, Nomads hit the headlines when three of their players tested positive for COVID-19 while another had to self-isolate ahead of facing Dinamo Tibilisi in an UEFA Europa League tie at the Racecourse Ground in Wrexham.
A late penalty led to Nomads exiting Europe, 1-0, but comments from boss Andy Morrison, suggesting he had turned a blind eye and field unwell players, brought possible claims of bringing the game into disrepute.
But there were few signs of the Dinamo Tibilisi fallout, as the champions immediately went hammer and tongs at the Bridgend side’s defence.
They dominated the first half an hour and though Bont were solid at the back, it came as no real surprise when Nomads got what was the winner.
In the 31st minute, Kris Owens took aim from the edge of the penalty area, and his shot had the beating of Ashley Morris in the Bont goal.
The only real chance that the visitors created came during time added on to the first half when a Nathan Wood free kick cannoned into the wall.
Manager Rhys Griffiths obviously chose the right words at half time, as there was more conviction in the Bont play on the resumption.
It led to them mounting some telling blows via a long-range Mael Davies effort, and a Wood shot that home goalkeeper Lewis Brass just clutched.
The first substitution of the afternoon arrived on the hour when 40-year-old Bont boss Griffiths replaced fellow striker Sam Snaith.
And a changing of the guard was also noticeable in possession, as Wood went through on goal only to be denied by a top brass save from Brass.
However, Nomads heeded the warning signals and from a 75th-minute corner, Craig Curran rattled the woodwork.
During the closing stages, it was Nomads who piled on the pressure and from a corner, captain Priestley Farquharson almost doubled the lead.
But during six minutes of added on time neither goal came under threat.
Though losing for a first time this term, the big Bont positive was the way they rolled up their sleeves to go close against one of the best teams in the league.