Panteg 0 Llanelli Town 2

Having become the only side to date to have deprived the Reds of maximum points by drawing at Stebonheath when the sides met the previous Saturday, the hosts were well and truly put in their place in the rematch and could well have gone down to a far heavier defeat but for the heroics of keeper Dan Wise.

He pulled off a string of important saves, although he was extremely fortunate not to have been dismissed after 23 minutes for bringing down Bruno Forkuoh in the box when the visiting player got past him and was denied a clear goal-scoring opportunity. Referee Graham Lewis however decided the offence was worthy of only a yellow card but did award a penalty, but Richard Lewis who had scored from the spot in the first meeting, this time drove his kick wide, only to make amends later in the half by opening the Reds` account.

The visitors did not have the best of preparation on their journey to the Cwmbran Stadium where the game was played, as a serious accident on the M4 delayed the team coach, with the kick off being delayed by twenty minutes or so. The visitors` bench included another new face with Anthony Owens joining from Haverfordwest County, and the on-route disruption did not seem to have any undue effect as they were quickly out of the blocks and continued in a high maintenance vein throughout the contest.

Lewis drove a free kick just off target after Forkuoh had been fouled just outside the area, and when Robert Thomas nipped in ahead of Wise to deny him access to the ball, it took a saving clearance by a home defender to lash it over his own bar to relieve the danger. Jon Williams did well to block a fiercely struck attempt by Thomas when Forkuoh set up the chance, while Lewis again was fractionally wide with another set-piece.

Forkuoh was causing the Panteg defence all sorts of problems, and when he played in Mark Napieralla his finish flashed high across the face of the home goal. Then came the penalty incident which Lewis was unable to make count, but despite this setback the visitors continued to bombard their opponents goal, with Wise keeping out a Thomas shot, and when the rebound was driven back in, he turned it around for a corner. When this came across courtesy of Lewis, it was met by the head of Lee Bevan, but again Wise was able to deny the Reds` captain.

Matthew Hughes drove an attempt across the Panteg box and just wide of the far post, while Wise excelled himself further with probably his best save, somehow pushing clear a close range effort by Thomas when he met a driven ball from Forkuoh. Despite their overall superiority it seemed as if the Reds were not destined to score, but a minute from the interval Lewis atoned for his earlier gaffe, collecting a pass from Forkuoh before turning sharply and despatching a well struck ground shot past Wise.

After completely dominating the first period, the visitors continued in the same vein after the restart, with Forkuoh going close after being picked out by a great crossfield ball by Napieralla, while Wise got down to push clear a Steve Berry strike, and Bevan headed narrowly wide of the near post from a Declan John corner. The relentless pressure eventually paid off when the Reds got their second goal in the 64th minute, with Thomas seizing on a long clearance from Lewis before rounding the oncoming figure of the keeper and finding the net just inside the far upright

With the contest virtually won, the visitors introduced their new recruits, with Owens replacing Hughes and Spanish player, Bartdome Bauza, making his debut in place of John, and despite their limited time on the field, they displayed some nice touches which bodes well for the future.

A well earned three points which keeps the visitors at the head of the league table with a lead of twelve points over their nearest rivals Ammanford, who are on a great unbeaten run of twelve matches.

When the two teams meet at the Recreation Ground on Saturday, 14 th February, it should turn out to be a cracker.

In the meantime the Reds travel to meet Cardiff Corinthians next Saturday at Radyr, kick off 2 p.m.

PANTEG; D. Wise; R. Williams; Dunne (Roberts, 76); Gabbidon; J. Williams; M. James (Cartwright, 65); Taylor; T. Wise ©; Butcher; Hicks (White, 65); Dyke.

LLANELLI TOWN; Richards; Napieralla; Lewis; Berry; Powell; Bevan ©; Forkuoh (Williams, 89); R. Jones; Thomas; John (Bauza, 83); Hughes (Owens, 79);

Subs. not used; Shannon; Wilson.

SCORERS; Llanelli Town – Lewis, 44; Thomas, 64.

YELLOW CARDS; Panteg – D. Wise; R. Williams; Hicks. Llanelli Town – Thomas; Bevan.

REFEREE; Graham Lewis (Monmouth).