Llanelli Town 6 Cardiff Grange Harlequins 0

0
460

A superb team performance by the home side tore their opponents to shreds, and had it not been for the heroics of Gareth Nott in the visitors` goal, the final tally would have reached double figures.

As it was, a brace apiece for Richard Lewis and Liam Samuel and contributions by Bruno Forkuoh and Jak Shannon made for a comprehensive win, one which elevates the Reds to second in the table behind early pacesetters, Lliswerry.

The Quins had no answer to the flowing football of the hosts, with Samuel in particular causing them all sorts of problems with his incisive runs and pace, and he had gone close in the opening stages prior to laying on the first goal on 18 minutes with a brilliant ball which played in Lewis who finished coolly, sidestepping Nott before finding the vacant net.

Nine minutes later when Ryan Shugars dwelt too long on the ball in the Quins` box he had it whipped away from him by Samuel whose strike nestled in the bottom corner.

Nott brought off a great save at full stretch to divert around the upright an effort by Samuel which was destined for the top corner following a superb build-up, but he was beaten again six minutes from the break following a Steve Stone short corner to Samuel who in turn laid it into the path of Lewis, and he made no mistake with his well directed finish.

Just after this, Lewis pulled up in full flight with appeared to be a hamstring problem, and the Reds will be hoping it will be a short term lay-off as he has become a key player.

The visitors did make a better fist of things in the second period, having more possession without ever posing a significant threat on the home goal, and in fact went further behind after 57 minutes with Samuel getting his second, latching on to a long clearance over the Quins` rearguard by keeper Craig Richards before showing a clean pair of heels leaving defenders trailing in his wake before rounding a helpless Nott to slot home.

Two minutes later, Samuel turned provider, crossing into the middle where Forkuoh was positioned to guide the ball past the keeper from close range.

Samuel then clipped the bar with a curling effort and forced Nott into another good stop to keep out a well directed free kick.

Seven minutes from time the Reds notched up their sixth after Nott had managed to divert clear an initial attempt on target, but it was met by Shannon who drilled it low back into the net.

The Quins` keeper did well again to deny Samuel from another set piece, and just before the final whistle the striker could well have notched his hat trick from arguably the easiest chance of the contest, but blasted high over the goal.

Nobody will begrudge him this solitary lapse as he was outstanding throughout, as were the rest of the Reds side who are gelling nicely into a strong, competent outfit.

LLANELLI TOWN; Richards; Napriella; Lewis (Bonnell, 43); R. Jones; Bevan ©; Evans (Jenkins, 78); Samuel; Shannon; L. Jones; Stone; Forkuoh (Hughes, 71);

Subs. not used; Powell; Davies.

CARDIFF GRANGE HARLEQUINS; Nott; Shugars; Essa; Burns; Richards ©; Coll (Maxwell, 46); Java (Rodrigues, 72); Beddis; Scotto (Rai, 81); Ahmed; Dunne;

Subs. not used; Akhtar; Islam.

SCORERS; Llanelli Town – Lewis; 18, 39; Samuel; 27, 57; Forkuoh, 59; Shannon, 83.

YELLOW CARDS; Llanelli Town – Stone.

Cardiff Grange Harlequins – Essa; Richards.

REFEREE; Matthew Hughes (Skewen).

ATTENDANCE; 89.


Help keep news FREE for our readers

Supporting your local community newspaper/online news outlet is crucial now more than ever. If you believe in independent journalism, then consider making a valuable contribution by making a one-time or monthly donation. We operate in rural areas where providing unbiased news can be challenging. Read More About Supporting The West Wales Chronicle