Cadoxton Barry FC: 1sts win but 2nds lose

THE good came from the outset of this South Wles Senior Soccer League clash when, for the entire 45 minutes of the first half, CB proceeded to take their hosts to task. And, had it not been for some wayward finishing, CB would have been out of sight by the half-time whistle. As it was, a three-goal lead should have been an adequate enough cushion.

The first goal saw Walsh feed Macinery out on the left wing, his cross eventually reaching Weekley to head home from near the six-yard line. It was a further 25 minutes, however, before CB's relentless bombardment bore any further fruit.

In the meantime CB 'keeper Harker had found himself in a one-on-one with a Stanleytown winger. But Harker guessed correctly to palm the shot away to safety.

Then it was the outstanding Walsh who scooped a high ball over the defence to find Lewis to play it on to Baker who screamed in a shot which almost burst the back of the net despite it striking a defender en route.

And it was barely 60 seconds later that the game began to look safe. It happened when a neat passing build up saw Lewis feed Curran who laid it off to Dawson to make it three - his shot also grazing a defender on its way in.

The bad came during the opening stages of the second half when all the silky skills displayed during the first seemed to disappear, allowing Stanleytown to take a firm grip on proceedings. And it was Harker who saved the day a number times during this period. It included one particular double save when, twice within the blinking of an eye, Stanleytown had looked favourites to reduce their deficit.

With CB defending from a deep line, Stanleytown came forward, passing in neat little triangles - one of these moves setting Eason up to reduce the arrears with a quality firm and low drive. This seemed to be a bit of a wake up call and CB began to play themselves out of the rut they had found themselves in. But even so, it was the home team that were to score what proved to be the final goal of the match.

Andrews found himself in the penalty box, under no pressure and with all the time in the world to clear. However, on the very uneven pitch, the ball took a wicked bounced to brush against his left arm. It could have happened to anyone. But up stepped Eason to dispatch the resultant spot kick with some style.

Fortunately, CB were now back in attacking mode so the danger of conceding two points was reduced somewhat. And this was where the ugly came into play as, seemingly frustrated by their inability to continue what had been a spirited comeback, Stanleytown were reduced to committing a string of fouls that saw four or five players booked.

In the end, it was the gritty performance displayed in the latter stages of the second half that made this a worthy away victory for CB - a victory that, with the games they have in hand, keeps them in the hunt for the third promotion spot in the Second Division.

Cadoxton Barry are on the road again next Saturday when they travel to Tremorfa to play St Albans; kick-off 2pm. Players and supporters are invited to meet up from 12 noon at Cadoxton Conservative Club.

CADOXTON BARRY 2NDS 1 PRO-COPY 4

LEAGUE leaders Pro-Copy arrived on the back of a 5-0 thrashing of Sully; CB came back after a three week break, and it showed. They had booked a Saturday off a week earlier, the Club having organised a Race-Night for the Friday.

This Saturday, they were certainly not at the races as Copy at times ran them ragged. The CB third team match fell victim to the weather, giving a chance to some of their younger players to test themselves in Division 1, or even go on the bench with the first team.

For some unaccountable reason, none of them turned up clamouring for a game; by contrast, veterans Tommy Taylor and Mike Bobbett were there to join managers-for-the-day Taffy and Frank on the bench - average age 53.

The average age of the Copy team was around 18 and the bookies made them odds-on favourites.

The bookies’ judgement began to look sound when, after only three minutes, Copy’s winger Ricky Stansome crossed and the resultant header rattled the cross-bar with the keeper looking on.

The opener was delayed for only a minute, Sansome sending in an inviting cross with the outside of his right foot, Josh Bryan making no mistake. CB woke up briefly, and Amos Geary had obviously been watching TV this week - his impersonation of Ibrahimovic was pretty impressive, forcing a fine save from the keeper.

Kieran Ashton was the next CB player to try his luck, the ball falling to him after a blocked free-kick. He screwed his shot wide and Copy’s Jamie Randall also failed miserably when allowed a clear shot. Copy were visibly faster and sharper, but CB had players like ’Blockhead’ and Charles Davies willing to shoot from distance (they could not get near the penalty area).

The keeper dealt comfortably with a couple of efforts, but, with half-time approaching, Davies levelled the scores from fully thirty yards. He got the chance when a corner was only partially cleared and he netted off the underside of the bar.

Copy had scored in the fourth minute of the first half and started the second half in like fashion. This goal, however, was not such a well-worked affair. A low drive from distance was fumbled by keeper Warner, and a grateful Jamie Randall nipped in to put Copy back in front. In the first half, CB had seemed to find it easy to find an opponent with their passes, a point remarked upon at half time. In the second half, they carried on as before, which made Copy’s task all the easier.

The third Copy goal came shortly after ‘Wurzel’ Bradley had seen a decent shot saved; a corner was half-cleared, and Jake Griffith tried his luck from 25 yards. His low shot passed through a whole group of players and into the corner of the net.

Next minute, ’Wurzel’ seemed certain to reduce the leeway. He broke free of a defender inside the box but try as he might, could not reach the ball to knock it past the keeper. With 25 minutes remaining, CB knew that the game was beyond them; indeed, they had no further shots on target, despite the promptings of subs Taylor and Bobbett.

Ricky Stansome claimed Copy’s fourth goal inside the final ten minutes, although a CB defender definitely had the last touch. Copy should have scored several more, but their shooting was erratic and Matthew Warner went some way towards redeeming himself with a couple of excellent saves.

CB were best served by centre -half ’Rocco’ Phillips, playing his first game as ex-manager, and Nathan , playing his first game for the second team.