SOUTH Wales Senior League Division One

Sully Sports 3 - Grange Albion 0

The top two teams in the South Wales Senior League met at Swanbridge where nobody would have predicted the outcome.

The game will unfortunately be remembered for some very poor behaviour from the top of the League visitors. With the game only five minutes old a two footed tackle on the Sully keeper Kieron Sharratt left him with blood covering his shirt from a gash to the head. The immediate reaction saw the referee showing a red card and after a long treatment keeper Sharratt was able to carry on.

Sully were not at all affected and tried to play their normal possession football but could not break down a determined Grange backline who defended deep and broke quickly to keep the Sully defence alert and keeper Sharratt defied the aerial attacks that Albion tried as they worked to boss the game.

Sports were getting plenty of chances but were denied by experienced keeper Wadsworth who got in the way of everything. An overlapping Wes Lamb move was clearly stopped by the tough tackling midfielder who conceded the foul but was shown a red card for his action on pitch. The Grange players pleaded his innocence, but the referee did his job and the Albion were down to nine players.

Alex Long had damaged his ankle again and was replaced by Conner Mcinery who is also fighting to regain fitness after a long layoff; Sports were again thwarted in further efforts by a now very defensive nine men with the league’s top scorer a lone attacker.

The breakthrough came when Taylor Harding beat two players and squared for Dan Lawlor to beat the keeper at the near post. The half time whistle saw Albion retire to the dressing room for an extended break and when they eventually returned with the slope advantage they started pumping the ball into the Sully box only to see Sharratt and his defenders in no mood to give them a sniff of a chance.

The Albion players visibly tiring were going down regularly in a bid to waste time as the dark crept in but after a couple of desperate goalmouth clearances a corner followed and the ball was not cleared and Tony Storer drove the second into the net.

More petty fouls followed but the visitors had no answers and after Harding again caused havoc Andrew Townsend got involved in the attack and beat two players to hit a glorious cross shot pass the keeper for the third.

The whistle came soon enough for the league leaders who chose a strange ploy from the start which did not work and football was the winner. This was probably not to the visitors’ satisfaction but this win takes Sully to the top of the league with Brecon the visitors to Swanbridge this weekend. With Long out injured the team will have to be ready for a tough game.

Team: Sharratt, Lamb, Hopkins, Storer, Jones, Harding, Townsend, Long, Lewis, Lawlor and Rees.

Subs: McInery, R Brown and M Brown