Collins strike wins Eagles the points

Llanelli 0 Neath 1

A Matthew Collins strike on 43 minutes earned the visitors maximum points against opponents who created countless chances but failed to capitalise and paid the ultimate penalty, going down to their second home defeat of the season following that at the hands of The New Saints in early November.

A suspension involving Lee Surman saw Chris Thomas team up with captain Stuart Jones in central defence with Antonio Corbisiero slotting in at right back, but even with this disruption the Reds enjoyed the lions share of possession but too often the final ball was poor while wrong options were also taken.

Neath showed their defensive mettle with a sound display, with Matthew Rees particularly prominent before he was forced off with a head injury in the second half, keeping Rhys Griffiths on a tight rein and hardly allowing him a clear shot on goal.

However, opportunities fell to other Reds players, with Lloyd Grist and Chris Venables seeing their efforts blocked in the box when a cross from Jason Bowen was headed down by Craig Williams, while Williams himself drove a ball across goal and just beyond the far post.

Despite displaying good build up play, the hosts were finding it difficult to make the most of the numerous opportunities in the final third with Thomas blasting over when afforded a shooting chance, while Collins did well to shepherd the ball out for a corner following a quick home break.

Neath went close to opening the scoring with Lee Trundle directing his attempt just wide when Craig Hughes set up the chance, before Williams unleashed a low drive to the near post which goalkeeper Kerry Nicholas diverted for a corner.

Venables failed to control a Corbisiero delivery into the area which might have paid dividends, but five minutes from the break the visitors were reduced to ten men following a two footed lunge on Ashley Evans by Neath captain Paul Fowler leading to a red card by referee Huw Jones.

A corner by Williams led to Jones heading off target, before ironically three minutes later Neath forged ahead with Trundle displaying some of his legendary close control skills before slotting the ball into the path of Collins who finished off with a superb strike beyond Ashley Morris.

Stung by this setback, the Reds had a glorious chance to level matters before half time with Bowen finding himself on a one-to-one with Nicholas, but instead of shooting he elected to play in Venables who skied it wildly over.

The same scenario continued in the second half with the Reds having almost unlimited possession but failing to find the crucial ball to unlock the Neath defence, with Venables sending a flying header wide from a promising position after a Williams cross.

As the game entered its closing stages, the hosts threw caution to the winds introducing several strikers in an effort to claw back the deficit, with Craig Moses, Jordan Follows and Chris Llewellyn coming on, but even this ploy failed to achieve a breakthough and their opponents held on despite the numerical deficit to clinch the win, and with both The New Saints and Bangor City winning their respective matches, the Reds now find themselves in third place in the table going into 2012.

MATCH STATS.

LLANELLI; Morris; Corbisiero (Follows, 75); Thomas; Jones ©; Grist (Llewellyn, 82); Venables; Scott Evans (Moses, 60); Bowen; Ashley Evans; Griffiths; Williams; Subs. not used; Holloway; Bond; Houlihan.

NEATH; Nicholas; Cummings; Lewis; Edwards; Rees (Hillier, 77); Collins; Jones; Fowler ©; Hughes (Bowen, 69); Trundle;  Harris; Subs. not used; Morgan; Marsh; Preen; Jones; Whatley.

SCORER; Neath – Collins, 43.

YELLOW CARD; Llanelli – Thomas.

RED CARD; Neath – Fowler.

LLANELLI STAR MAN; Ashley Evans.

REFEREE; Mr. Huw Jones (Llanraeader-ym-Mochnant).

ATTENDANCE; 370.