Pontypridd Town 1 Llanelli 2

Two goals to the good after fifteen minutes and dominating play, the visitors appeared to be in for a relatively comfortable afternoon at Ynysangharad Park, but as the game developed, the Dragons fought back and hauled themselves into the contest prior to the break courtesy of a superb strike from Matthew Flynn, and proved to be a far greater threat in the second period.

Showing just one change from the starting line-up which had accounted for Panteg in the League Cup with Liam Samuel replacing Jak Shannon, the Reds were quickly into their stride and almost snatched a very early lead when a short corner between Richard Lewis and Samuel culminated in the former crossing to Luke Jones in the area, and his header rebounded off a post with goalkeeper Ryan Griffiths beaten.

This proved to be just a respite, as on five minutes they did go ahead following a clearance upfield through the middle which led to Bruno Forkuoh giving chase, and he held off the attentions of a couple of defenders before guiding the ball beyond Griffiths. Buoyed by this early breakthrough, the visitors enjoyed by far the greater possession, forcing their opponents on to the back foot and created numerous chances with Steve Berry electing to play in Jones who was in an offside position when he might have taken on the shot himself.

However, the lead was increased in the 15th minutes following a surging run up the right flank by Samuel led to his ball into the middle being met by Robert Thomas whose finish deflected off Griffiths and a post before nestling in the net. A Berry free kick flew just over the Pontypridd bar, while Griffiths got down well to smother another set piece by Samuel on the line. Little had been seen of the home side as an attacking force, but seven minutes from the break they stunned their opponents by halving the deficit. There seemed to be little danger when a crossfield ball arrived at the feet of Flynn, but he unleashed a great strike which rattled the underside of the bar before cannoning past keeper Craig Richards to set up an interesting second period.

The Dragoons were far more assertive than they had been in the first half, although they could well have found themselves further in arrears as Jones shot against Griffiths when Samuel sent him clear, and a Lewis free kick driven low into the goalmouth was only parried by the keeper and ran loose, but a last ditch clearance from Lewis Bansal relieved the danger. Another Berry set-piece led to Griffiths keeping it out at full stretch, while Lewis also went close with an attempt which flew just past its intended target.

When the Dragons countered, Mark Napieralla scrambled the ball out of the goalmouth following a driven cross into the danger area, while the Reds were under pressure to clear their lines on a number of occasions without any real damage being inflicted by their opponents. Ross Jones came on as a Reds replacement for Declan John and was almost immediately involved in the action with a burst into the box which saw him go down under a challenge, but referee Martin New was unmoved. At the other end, Richards did well to keep out with some difficulty a well struck volley by Tomas Rutherford, before his counterpart in the home goal came to the rescue by blocking a Matthew Hughes effort when Napieralla set up the chance.

The match ended with a hard-earned win for the Reds another welcome three points, and they now face a visit from Rhoose to Stebonheath next Saturday – the only side to have taken points off them to date – and with both boasting unbeaten records, this should prove to be a cracker. Kick off is at the now earlier time of 2 p.m.

PONTYPRIDD TOWN; Griffiths; Leon Bansal; Escott; Thomas; Thompson; Lewis Bansal; Rutherford ©; Flynn (Coleman, 81); Varden (Hill, 81); Passmore; Gullick (Carew, 81);

Subs. not used; Iheanacho; Blake.

LLANELLI TOWN; Richards; Napieralla; Lewis; Berry; Powell; Bevan ©; Samuel (Shannon, 90+1); Thomas; L. Jones (Hughes, 71); John (R. Jones, 79); Forkuoh;

Subs. not used; Martin; Scammell (GK).

SCORERS; Pontypridd Town – Flynn, 38. Llanelli Town – Forkuoh, 5; Thomas, 15.

YELLOW CARDS; Pontypridd Town – Lewis Bansal; Rutherford; Leon Bansal. Llanelli Town – Thomas.

REFEREE; Martin New (Llantwit Major).