TWO late goals saved Caldicot Town Ladies FC in a friendly on Sunday, writes Bob Cypher.

There was extra interest as their opponents Briton Ferry were relegated from the Premier League at the end of last season, and replaced by promoted Caldicot.

In a fairly even first half, a defensive mix-up saw Briton Ferry take the lead and although Town enjoyed the greater share of the action following the goal, they were unable to equalise.

The second half saw a change in the home side’s formation with defender Shauna Pentney encouraged to get forward whenever possible.

Strong, tall and good in the air, Pentney’s appearance in the penalty area saw a few shaky moments in the visitors’ defence.

But Town were dealt another blow when the visitors doubled their advantage from close range.

With 10 minutes to go and following a sustained period of pressure, Ashleigh Harris reduced the arrears with a fierce shot from 25 yards.

Urged on by their teammates, Alana Murphy, Emily Bayliss and Harris probed the visitors’ defence to no avail until Sarah Sprintall hammered the equaliser from the edge of the area.

Manager Luke Harris admitted there were a few negative aspects to the game but vowed to correct them before the next friendly at Cwmbran Celtic tomorrow.

“It was a good test against a young Briton ferry side that was full of energy,” he said after the game.

“In the first half they pressed the ball very well and put us under a lot of pressure, but after the break we relaxed and started to play our game and keep possession and create chances.

“We showed great character to score two goals in the last 10 minutes.

“There were a lot of positives to take and a few negatives that we will work on in training.”