Baglan Dragons FC vs Cwmbran Celtic

Match Report

Matchday Programme

CELTIC SNATCH DEFEAT FROM THE JAWS OF VICTORY!

We travelled to Baglan with a bit of a depleted side. Centre Back, Callum Hodges, was still not fit to return. His partner at the back, Jordan Meaney, was suspended and midfielder, Mario van Dieren was unavailable. Club skipper, Andrew Larcombe, was still not fit enough to start the game but was included on the bench.

The lads started a bit tentatively allowing Baglan to take control of the early stages and they took advantage of this when Tom Davies latched on to a long ball from ‘keeper Mathew Stanton and easily fired past Iwan Hooper. We gradually got a foothold in the game and equalised when the ball fell kindly to Kian Bodenham in the box, following a free kick from Isaac Powell, and he hammered it into the roof of the net. We then took control of the game and took the lead after 42 minutes. Tom Meachen did well on the left to find space to hit a low ball across goal where Alex Bonthron latched on to it and struck a firm left foot shot past Stanton.

Celtic then comfortably played out the rest of the half to go in with a goal advantage.

HALF TIME: BAGLAN DRAGONS 1 CELTIC 2

We couldn’t have started the second period better as, within a couple of minutes, Jordan Clarke rose brilliantly at the far post to head home a cross from the left to put us 3-1 up.

At this stage of the game, we looked in total control so what happened after that was the stuff of nightmares! Helped by what can only (politely!) be described as some inept defending, Baglan dragged themselves back into the game with two goals in the space of 5 minutes from Tom Davies and Lewis Holmes to bring the scores level. Worse was to follow ten minutes later when Jordan Evans evaded a couple of half-hearted tackles on the edge of the penalty area to break through and glide the ball past the advancing Hooper into the corner of the net.

The lads looked thoroughly dejected, but our defenders had only themselves to blame for what had happened.

To be fair to the team, they did raise their game in the last ten minutes and came close to finding an equalising goal on a couple of occasions. However, it was not to be and we ended up losing all three points in a game we could and should have won.

FINAL SCORE: BAGLAN DRAGONS 4 CELTIC 3

MOM: TOM MEECHAN