REDS HIT NINE IN EURO WARM UP!

MERTHYR TOWN 1 LLANELLI 9

 

The Reds second pre-season friendly turned into an avalanche of goals as they comprehensively demolished their Western League opponents who were playing the first game at their Penydarren Park ground after a season’s absence.

 

Probably even more pleasing than the final outcome was the seamless introduction into the side of the close season signings, Lloyd Grist, Lee Surman and Chad Bond, who blended in well with the more familiar Reds names, and the team has a stronger look in depth to it, particularly as Rhys Griffiths, Craig Moses and Chris Llewellyn did not figure in the workout.

It took the visitors a while to settle down in the opening stages with Merthyr looking the more menacing, and Ashley Morris was called into early action turning around a shot by Ryan Prosser, before Chris Thomas, Craig Williams and Jordan Follows went close at the other end.

However, it was the hosts who got the initial breakthrough on twelve minutes when some slack marking gave Ian Taylor the opportunity to shoot past Morris.

The lead was short lived as within a minute the Reds levelled matters following some great play by Jason Bowen whose mazy run into the box ended with him passing to Jordan Follows who then beat goalkeeper Joe Perry at his near post.

Morris then did well to keep out a well struck attempt from Garry Shephard, but it was the visitors who edged ahead after 16 minutes following a flowing move which ended with a cross being met by Williams to hammer past Perry.

They were denied another success when a goal bound header by Thomas inadvertently rebounded off Follows on the line and out.

They were luckier a minute from the break when the lead was extended following a throw out by Morris which was seized upon by Williams and who made inroads into the Merthyr half before beating Perry with a well struck finish.

Six minutes after the restart, Williams turned provider when his cross into the middle was headed home by Bond, but who then missed an even easier chance, directing another header over the bar from ten yards from a Thomas delivery.

Chris Venables and Chris Holloway came on as replacements for Ashley Evans and Antonio Corbisiero, and with his first touch Venables got the Reds fifth, smashing home a loose ball in the box following a Follows cross on 61 minutes.

With the Reds rampant and the home side being run ragged, they struck again four minutes later with Follows on this occasion finishing off when a ball was played into his path by Thomas, before more changes were made to the side, with James Secker, Adam Orme and Ross Jones on for Williams, Bond and Bowen.

Within a couple of minutes of his introduction, Orme got on the scoresheet chasing a through ball before finding the net in the 67th minute, and three minutes later the goal flow continued with Secker on this occasion meeting a pass from Follows before beating Perry.

This heralded even more changes to the line-up for the Reds, with Tyrone Davies, Steve Jenkins, Martyn Giles and Andy Legg replacing Follows, Thomas, Stuart Jones and Surman, but it took a good save by Morris to turn over a rare shot on target by Merthyr when Dan Richard tried his luck.

This was just a brief respite, as in the second minute of stoppage time Orme got his second and the Reds ninth, seeing his shot deflect off a home player before looping over the helpless Perry to seal an emphatic win.