Race to league glory hots up (From Free Press Series)

Race to league glory hots up

A dry, sunny afternoon provided us with a full programme of league matches. Current Division One leaders Crickhowell kept up their winning ways and their nine point lead over second placed team Govilon.

Crickhowell won 3-1 at home to Lower New Inn. Craig Bennett put Crickhowell 1-0 up, followed by a Matthew Stevens goal. In the second half Craig Bennett scored his second goal of the match. Lower New Inn pulled a late goal back courtesy of a Craig Thomas own goal. Lower New Inn drops to tenth. Man of the match for Crickhowell was Craig Thomas and for Lower New Inn Scott Redwood.

Govilon, in second place, beat the home side 3-1. All Govilon goals were scored in the first half by Luke Ewers (2) and Dean Morgan. Danial Bevan scored the Usk Town goal. Man of the match for Usk Town was Danial Bevan and for Govilon was Andrew Spiers. Usk Town holds eleventh position.

Pontypool Town held Gilwern & District to a 0-0 draw. Gilwern & District stays in third position and Pontypool Town hold twelfth. Man of the match was Steve Williams.

Panteg had a 2-2 home draw with Blaenavon Blues who led 1-0 at half time from a Marcus Williams goal. In the second half Panteg scored two goals through Lee Williams and David Colhoun. In the last fifteen minutes Allan Scammells added to the Blues' first half goal. Man of the match for Panteg was Jon Owen and for Blaenavon Allan Scammells. Blaenavon Blues hold sixth position, Panteg are fourteenth.

Clydach Wasps gained a 3-1 home win over visitors Cwmffrwdoer. A shot by Owain York was enough to give Cwmffrwdoer a 1-0 half time lead but second half goals by Lee Brown, Damian Evans and Simon Tippings secured a win for the Wasps. Man of the match for the Wasps was Kyle Cheshire and for Cwmffrwdoer was Owain York. Cwmffrwdoer holds eighth position and Clydach Wasps ninth.

Tranch celebrated a 2-1 away win over Goytre. David Jennings scored in the first half to give Tranch a 1-0 half time lead. He scored a second goal in the second half. Chris Perry scored for Goytre. Tranch hold fourth position and Goytre are thirteenth. Man of the match for Goytre was Richard Minor. Man of the match for Tranch was David Jennings.

Llanarth cruised to a 8-1 home win over visitors Mardy. Paul 'Spooner' Rennie hit a hat-trick in the 23, 25 and 30 minutes. Michael Sage pulled a goal back for Mardy in the 33 minute and Neville Harris scored Llanarth's fourth. Five minutes later Llanarth went 5-1 in front, followed by Neville Harris scoring his second. Jonathan Roberts completed the rout with two goals in the 77 and 80 minutes. Man of the match for Llanarth was Ian MacKinlay and, for Mardy, Michael Sage. Llanarth holds fifth position and Mardy are in seventh position.

Prescoed still leads Division Two with a six point advantage over Race. Prescoed got back to winning ways with a 5-1 win over Aber Thursdays. Goal scorers for Prescoed were a Grant Watkins hat-trick, Michael Smith and Andrew Walters. Keiron James scored a consolation goal for Thursdays. John Parry was Prescoed's man of the match and Daryl Jones was man of the match for Thursdays.

Gilwern B won 3-1 away to Sebastopol. Goal scorers for Gilwern B were Robby Warner, Mark Wakeley and Jayde Kelly. The Sebastopol goal was scored by Sam Davies. Man of the Match for Sebastopol was Alex Hughes and for Gilwern was Mark Wakeley. Gilwern B holds ninth position and Sebastopol are in tenth. Stand in referee was Rob Whittington.

A thriller of a game is reported from the New Inn vs Crickhowell B match. Firstly New Inn went into a 2-0 lead but Crickhowell pulled it back to 2-2 at half time. In the second half Crickhowell went into a 4-3 winning lead, but New Inn snatched the win with two goals scored in the last five minutes. Goal scorers for New Inn were an Ian Evans hat-trick, Jeff Tozer and Wayne Wright. Goal scorers for Crickhowell B were Jonny Webb (2), John Jones and Allan Jones. Man of the match for New Inn was Ian Evans and for Crickhowell B was Jonny Webb. Crickhowell B holds third position and New Inn holds fifth.

Fairfield Utd lost 2-0 at home to PILCS. Alex Lewis gave PILCS a 1-0 lead with a goal scored from the penalty spot on the 70 minute. Ian Jarvis put PILCS 2-0 up with a goal scored from a header. Man of the match for Fairfield was Gareth Jones, man of the match for PILCS was Phil Perry. PILCS holds seventh position and Fairfield eighth.

Highest score of the day was Race's 9-0 win over Mardy B. Goal scorers for Race Utd were Hywell May (4), Chris Bartlett (3), Craig Russell and Mike Williams. Man of the match for Race was Chris Bartlett and for Mardy B was Matthew Phillips. Race Utd holds second position, Mardy B are in twelfth position.

Results Saturday, December 11

Division One

Goytre 1 v Tranch 2

Llanarth 8 v Mardy 1

Usk Town 1 v Govilon 3

Gilwern & District 0 v Pontypool Town 0

Crickhowell 3 v Cwmffrwdoer 1

Panteg 2 v Blaenavon Blues 2

Division Two

Pandy 5 v Usk Town B 1

Mardy B P v PILCS P

New Inn 5 v Crickhowell B 4

Fairfield Utd P v Llanarth B P

Sebastopol 1 v Gilwern & District B 3

Aber Thursdays 1 v Prescoed 5

Fairfield Utd 0 v PILCS 2

Race 9 v Mardy B 0

Fixtures Saturday, December 18

Division One

Gilwern & District v Mardy

Pontypool Town v Goytre

Lower New Inn v Govilon

Tranch v Llanarth

Cwmffrwdoer v Blaenavon Blues

Usk Town v Crickhowell

Clydach Wasps v Panteg

Division Two

Pontypool Town B v Usk Town B

Llanarth B v Gilwern & District B

Sebastopol v Aber Thursdays

New Inn v Fairfield Utd

Crickhowell B v Mardy B

Race v Pandy

PILCS V Prescoed (to be played at Prescoed).