Cwmbran 3 Caersws 2
By Webmaster/Rheolwr y Wefan
March 20 2003
Cwmbran battled back from 0-2 down, to record an important victory over visitors Caersws. The result leapfrogs Cwmbran into what could be the last place for a Premier Cup spot.
The visitors took the lead after 13-minutes, through an own goal from Chris WATKINS. A scramble in the penalty area caused Richard Carter to hack the ball into his own player, the ball rebounding past a helpless Marty Ellacott in the Cwmbran goal. 0-1.
Caersws extended their lead on 39, with a wonderful strike from Andrew DAVIES. The ball fell to him on the corner of the penalty area, and he hit a superb volley that looped over Ellacott, again not giving him a chance to save. 0-2.
Cwmbran looked dead and buried by this stage, with Andrew Mulliner not being forced into any serious action of note.
That all changed in the 3rd minute of first half injury time, with WATKINS scoring at the right end. An excellent shot from the edge of the area flying into the bottom left hand corner of Mulliner's goal. It was an unexpected bonus, and a few Caersws heads dropped. Colin Reynolds lost his head completely, and wanted to fight the world when he trudged off the pitch, players and officials from both sides having to restrain him.
Caersws brought on Craig Richards at half time, and quite an eventful half he had, more of him to come.
Cwmbran eventually broke their resistance on 78, with WATKINS scoring an equaliser. A cross field ball behind the defence was not dealt with, Caersws waiting for the linesman to raise his flag for offside, and Watkins rounded Mulliner to prod into an empty net. I half expected the linesman to put his flag up as he'd had a shocker all night. No sign of it though, and Cwmbran were level. 2-2.
Cwmbran pushed forward for a winner, and in the 82nd minute half time Caersws substitute Craig RICHARDS provided it.
A long throw from substitute Lee O'Connor caused confusion in the area, and Richards inexplicably bundled the ball into his own net, with no Cwmbran player anywhere near him. 3-2.
Richards' miserable night was compounded just over a minute later, when he was red carded for a professional foul on Mark Dunn.
Mr Hames from Aberdare managed to find nearly 6-minutes of injury time for Cwmbran to endure, but they held on for the crucial victory. It was an excellent result, especially after finding themselves 0-2 down going into injury time of the first half.
Final Score : 3-2
0-1 Chris Watkins (og) 13
0-2 Andrew Davies 39
1-2 Chris Watkins 45
2-2 Chris Watkins 78
3-2 Craig Richards (og) 82
Attendance : 131
Report by Mark Smith, taken from LOW Topica List