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CARMARTHEN FOOTBALL TABLES & FIXTURES


Welsh League Division 2 P W D L GD Pts 14 10 4 0 +33 34


Llanelli Town


Briton Ferry Llans 16 9 4 3 +8 31 AFC Porth


Pontypridd Town


Cwmamman United 13 7 3 3 +12 24 Aberdare Town Ammanford Croesyceiliog


Abergavenny Town 13 6 1 6 0 AFC Llwydcoed


15 7 3 5 +9 24 14 6 2 6 +4 20 17 6 2 9 -9


Pontardawe Town 15 5 3 7 -5 Aberbargoed Buds 13 4 3 6 -4 Dinas Powys Garden Village West End


14 5 0 9 -9 15 4 2 9 -4


Newport City 15 6 1 8 -7


13 4 1 8 -18 10 16 2 1 13 -44 4


Carmarthenshire League Premier Division P W D L GD Pts


Evans & Williams 12 10 0 2 +32 30 Loughor Seaside Bwlch


Trostre Sports Penllergaer


Carmarthen Stars 11 6 1 4 +13 19 Dafen


Pengelli United Tumble United Pontlliw


Pwll Athletic Penyfan


Gorseinon


Ammanford Llandeilo


Burry Port


Felinfoel Ponthenri


13 5 2 6 -11 17 12 3 3 6 -15 12 10 2 5 3 -3


10 2 3 5 -16 9 13 2 2 9 -24 8 7 1 3 3 -4


11 1 2 8 -20 5 13 1 1 11 -42 4


Carmarthenshire League - Division 1 P W D L GD Pts 13 9 1 3 +18 28 12 8 2 2 +21 26


Loughor Rovers Res 12 7 1 4 +1 22 Pontarddulais Town 12 6 2 4 +17 20 Trallwm


Johnstown United 11 5 3 3 +5 18 Killay


10 6 0 4 +3 18 13 5 2 6 -4


Garden Village Abergwili Caerbryn


Camford Sports C K Swiss Valley Pwll Reserves


8 5 1 2 +3 16 11 5 1 5 -11 16 13 3 0 10 -21 9 11 2 0 9 -28 6 14 1 1 12 -41 1


Carmarthenshire League - Division 2 P W D L GD Pts 14 14 0 0 +66 41


Seaside Reserves 17 12 2 3 +50 38 Drefach


Pontlliw Reserves 15 7 4 4 +4 25 Kidwelly


16 8 4 4 +18 28 14 7 2 5 +20 23


Pengelli United Res 15 6 3 6 +1 21 Pembrey


Johnstown Utd Res 15 6 2 7 -8 Johnstown Llandovery Llangennech


Bwlch Reserves Llansteffan


14 6 3 5 +5 21 13 6 2 5 +8 20 16 5 3 8 +2 18


20


13 5 2 6 +1 17 14 3 3 8 -18 12 14 2 0 12 -54 6 16 1 0 15 -95 3


Carmarthenshire Football results for Saturday, January 14


Nathaniel Car Sales League Cup Quarter Final


Llanelli Town 2-0 Abergavenny Town


Welsh League Division 2 Ammanford 0-1 Croesyceiliog


Carmarthenshire League - Senior Cup Round 3


Bwlch 3-2 Penyfan Round 4


Pengelli United 1-4 Evans & Williams Carmarthenshire League - Premier Division


Dafen 1-4 Carmarthen Stars Loughor 8-0 Pontlliw Seaside 7-0 Penllergaer


Trostre Sports 7-0 Gorseinon


Carmarthenshire League - Division 1 Ammanford 1-4 Felinfoel Burry Port 1-0 Abergwili


Garden Village 2-2 Johnstown United Loughor Rovers Res 2-6 Trallwm Pontarddulais Town 5-0 Caerbryn


Carmarthenshire League - Division 2 C K Swiss Valley 3-1 Johnstown Johnstown United Res 4-3 Llangennech Kidwelly 8-0 Bwlch Reserves Llandovery 1-2 Drefach Pembrey 4-1 Pengelli United Res Pontlliw Reserves 1-5 Seaside Reserves Pwll Reserves 3-1 Llansteffan


Carmarthenshire League - Challenge Cup - Round 2 Killay 4-1 Ponthenri


17


10 6 1 3 +24 19 14 6 1 7 +13 19


6 11


9 8 1 0 +36 25 12 7 4 1 +24 25 12 7 3 2 +21 24 11 8 0 3 +9 24


20 19 19 18 15 15 14


12 9 1 2 +22 28 15 7 5 3 +12 26


THE HERALD FRIDAY JANUARY 20 2017


Follow us on Twitter @Llanelliherald


Old Gold seal top six place Cefn Druids Carmarthen Town


0 0


CARMARTHEN went into the


final game of the Welsh Premier League first-phase programme on Saturday (Jan 14), knowing that a draw against Cefn would secure a much coveted top six finish. A place in the top six would


guarantee both participation in the end of season play-offs for a UEFA place and safety from any prospect of relegation. They achieved exactly that result,


deservedly, with an outstanding display of competitive, high-energy football to which every player, demonstrating extreme fitness levels and an immense work ethic, contributed. The Old Gold made their intentions


clear from the start as they repeatedly swarmed forward with a series of piercing raids that kept the home defence under intense pressure but, with the Druids managing to survive several goalmouth skirmishes, no clear scoring chances emerged. It was only after five minutes


that the hosts were able to release that pressure when Steve Blenkinsop broke quickly forward to reach Town’s penalty area where he squared the ball to Stuart Cook but Kieran Lewis, with a crucial goalmouth clearance, promptly eliminated any goal threat. From that point, the game became


more open and flowing as the play switched briskly from end to end – yet neither of the defences appeared


particularly troubled and scoring opportunities remained a rarity. However, on 11 minutes, Cefn


went close when Cook won the ball on the edge of the penalty area and struck a crisp shot which took a deflection, forcing keeper Lee Idzi to react smartly to turn the ball around the post with a diving save. Generally, the Old Gold’s defence,


even though missing key regular centre-back Dave Vincent through suspension, performed impressively with commitment and discipline – and this continued throughout the game. A key feature of their resistance was


the uncompromising central pairing of Lee Surman and Dwaine Bailey, both formidable in the tackle and dominant in the air, while alongside them Dan Sheehan and Craig Hanford offered invaluable support. Behind that back four, the highly experienced Idzi, as ever, looked generally untroubled and secure. Also, significantly, patrolling


the space ahead of them, Ceri Morgan was producing a masterful defensive midfield display; with boundless energy and spirit, he was continually chasing and confronting the opposition and dismantling their attacks with well-judged tackling, strong aerial challenges and timely interceptions. Still, the Druids posed an


occasional threat and in the 28th minute, a corner from Corey Roper into the packed goalmouth found Blenkinsop who saw his close-range


header deflected just over the bar. Moments later, Nathan Peate


released a long-range strike that Idzi punched clear with a superb flying save. Town, however, were continuing


to enjoy a decent amount of possession and, often through the industry and vision of midfielders Lewis and Declan Carroll, they were increasingly stretching the Cefn defence utilising the pace and movement of frontmen Kyle Bassett, Liam Thomas and Mark Jones - each of whom worked tirelessly to keep their opponents fully engaged up until the final whistle. On 35 minutes, Thomas played


a short pass through to Jones who moved forward to the edge of the penalty area then released a smart angled drive that clipped a defender, defeated keeper Michael Jones and slid just beyond the post. From the resultant corner, Lewis


sent the ball deep to the far post where Mark Jones saw his close- range header resisted by the keeper to concede another corner-kick. This time, Bassett’s delivery


found Thomas as he emerged from the packed goalmouth, only to direct his glancing header wide of the target. Carmarthen then went close to


scoring twice in the closing stages of the first-half. On 45 minutes, Bassett’s right-wing cross into the penalty area was cleared but the ball went straight to Sheehan, who produced a rasping 30 yard effort that flew narrowly


outside the post. Moments later, Bassett, from


the right touchline, lifted an inviting cross into the goalmouth only for Jones, under pressure from a defender, to direct his header marginally too high. After the interval, the earlier


end-to-end pattern of play continued yet far fewer notable chances arose as the defences again performed with increasing resilience. On 53 minutes, Cook surged


forward to the corner of the penalty area then fired the ball across the face of the goal but beyond the far post. An immediate counter-attack by


the Old Gold finished with Carroll, from the left wing, sending a neat pass across to Jones, who turned sharply past his marker and hit a promising close-range drive that was diverted just outside the post by another defender. Then, after 62 minutes, Naim


Arsan, from the right touchline, lifted an intended cross deep to the far post where Idzi, alert to the danger of the ball drifting into the net, adjusted quickly and stretched high to palm it over the bar. From then on, the game slipped,


fairly uneventfully, towards a goal- less draw which the Druids seemed unable to prevent but with which Town were ecstatically content as the immediate post-match celebrations amongst squad members and team management staff on the field clearly demonstrated.


Impressive Killay surge into the semi-finals Killay Ponthenri


4 1


AFTER winning the last two league


games at home to Garden Village and Abergwili, Killay turned their attention to the Challenge Cup (a competition for all the sides in Carmarthenshire Division One) and faced a home quarter final against a mid-table Ponthenri side. Killay were missing several


regulars and not feeling particularly confident in the build-up to the game, but they rose to the challenge with an excellent performance and recorded a convincing win over a physical Ponthenri outfit. Killay were organised in defence, battled hard in midfield and took


Fixtures for Saturday, January 21 Welsh League - Division 2


Cwmamman United v Aberbargoed Buds Garden Village v Ammanford Llanelli Town v AFC Porth


Carmarthenshire League - Premier Division


Carmarthen Stars v Pwll Athletic Evans & Williams v Loughor Penllergaer v Gorseinon Penyfan v Dafen


Pontlliw v Pengelli United Seaside v Tumble United Trostre Sports v Bwlch


Carmarthenshire League - Division 1


their chances clinically to deserve the victory. The match was played on a bright


January day in cold conditions but the forecast snowfall in the Swansea area on Thursday/Friday (Jan 12/13) hadn't materialised and the pitch was reasonable for this time of the year. The opening stages of the match


were competitive as both teams battled to get the upper hand and both sides had spells of pressure, with perhaps Ponthenri having the best of the possession and territory. Killay looked dangerous on the


break with pace up front, causing the Ponthenri defence problems. The first goal arrived on 16 minutes when attacking midfielder Ben Lynch found


Ammanford v Abergwili Caerbryn v Camford Sports Felinfoel v Pontarddulais Town Killay v Ponthenri


Llandeilo v Johnstown United Loughor Rovers Res v Burry Port Trallwm v Garden Village


Carmarthenshire League - Darch Cup - Round 2


Drefach v Pontlliw Reserves Llandovery v C K Swiss Valley Pengelli United Res v Llangennech


Carmarthenshire League - Morris Cup - Round 2


KRUF v Penyfan Reserves


space behind the Ponthenri defence, staying strong to shrug off a tackle and keeping his composure to fire home past the keeper. This setback caused a strong


response from Ponthenri and they dominated possession and territory in the middle of the half but found the Killay defence stubborn and couldn't create any clear chances aside from some scrambles in the box. Killay manager Adam O'Brien had


opted to play Gareth Hammond as a holding midfielder and he provided a good shield for Harry James and Adam O'Brien at centre half for Killay. Towards the end of the half, the


game swung back towards Killay, with winger Tom Cole and striker Carl Window both going close with chances that they had done well to create. Killay scored a second goal on 44 minutes when right back Sam Croot crossed and Ben Lynch headed past the keeper for his second of the match. It was a great time to score and Killay were the happier side at the half time interval. The second half started again with


Ponthenri on the attack and Killay holding firm though the referee waved away a loud appeal for a penalty from the Ponthenri players and supporters. The moment of the match arrived


after 50 minutes when striker Carl Window found himself 35 yards out from goal and let fly of a rocket of a shot into the top corner that gave the Ponthenri keeper (or any keeper) zero chance of stopping it. It was a fantastic goal and put Killay 3-0 up after 50 minutes.


Ponthenri again pressed Killay


in the second half but couldn't find a way through and new keeper Scott Waddell looked composed on his first appearance in goals. Killay broke away on 70 minutes and striker Carl Window was fouled by the Ponthenri keeper who was possibly the last man but the referee opted against sending him off and issued a yellow card instead.


Ponthenri did pull a goal back on


78 minutes when a long looping shot from distance crept in on the underside of the bar and made the score 3-1. Killay were awarded a penalty


on 82 minutes and Ben Lynch made no mistake to fire home for his hat- trick. No more incidents followed and the referee blew for full time to send Killay into the semi-finals. This result has sent Killay into the


semi-final of the cup and they will play either Pontardulais Town or Felinfoel in the semi-final.


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