Merthyr Tydfil 1 Clevedon Town 2
Martyrdom(ination) for The Seasiders at last, who, after four previous goal-less and pointless league visits to Merthyr, finally came away from South Wales with a well deserved 2-1 victory to move up to 9th place in the league.
With Steve Cook injured and Mike Symons on the bench, Phil Bater started with Craig Davidge out wide and Mitchell Page up front in a 4-5-1 formation. On a damp drizzly night at Penydarren Park, Merthyr had the better of the opening exchanges with Danny Greaves pushing a shot round the post for a corner. But from the 10th minute onwards Clevedon Town took the game to The Martyrs, terrifying them with the pace of Leek, Davidge and Bassett and the strength of Page. Many chances were created as Town kept Merthyr pinned in their own half, and dominated in midfield from where man of the match Kris Leek made many powerful runs. On 19 minutes a Leek dribble from the centre circle ended with a shot well saved by Ashley Morris. 4 minutes later Leek released Kyle Bassett, who shot from the edge of the box just wide of the post. On 35 minutes Bassett nut-megged a defender to reach the goal line, but his finish was weak. On 39 minutes Clevedon won successive corners, and from the second of these, taken by Leek, Mitchell Page rose at the back of the area to power in a strong header down into the goal.
There was still time before the break for The Seasiders to increase their lead – Kris Leek’s attempted lob going just too high, Mike Green’s rasping drive from the edge of the box going straight to Morris, and, in injury time, Leek released Craig Davidge who beat his full back, cut into the area on the right and squared the ball across the goal line where Page at the back post managed to miss a simple tap-in. Nonetheless it was a great first half performance by The Seasiders who went in to the break 1-0 up.
At the start of the second half the drizzle turned to proper rain, and Merthyr came out with a stronger resolve. After a couple of long-range shots from Christian Sylvester and Kris Leek were both saved by Morris, Merthyr then had a 15 minute period of dominance, during which time Clevedon defended stoutly. However, on 56 minutes, after a dribble by The Martyrs No 7 won a corner, Merthyr equalised when the resultant corner was converted by a strong header from Andrew Thomas in almost identical fashion to Clevedon’s opener. Merthyr continued to push The Seasiders back and had a shot by their No 11 well saved by Danny Greaves after the ball had eluded Josh Brigham. Danny Haines was booked during this period, and from another corner The Martyrs went close again when a bicycle kick was saved just under his bar by Greavsie.
Having weathered the storm, The Seasiders started to get back into the game and took the lead again in the 62nd minute when a weak snap-shot from Chris Sylvester at the edge of the box deceived Morris and crept just inside his post. 6 minutes later Sylvester was substituted by debutante Kevin Davies, who helped firm up the defence, despite being booked soon after for kicking the ball away. Merthyr then went close with a free kick just outside the box, which The Seasiders fans were happy to see fly over the bar. Clevedon created one final chance when Bassett set Leek free in the area, but a good tackle denied him. There was just time for Mike Green to be booked for dissent, Mike Symons to replace Craig Davidge, and one last harmless foray from Merthyr before the referee blew the final whistle to confirm a superb 2-1 victory for The Seasiders.
Gallery
Team Sheet
| No: | Name: | Sub: | Goal: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Greaves | ||
| 2 | Brigham | ||
| 3 | Haines | ||
| 4 | Sylvester | 1 | |
| 5 | Hendy | ||
| 6 | Scott (Capt) | ||
| 7 | Leek | ||
| 8 | Green | ||
| 9 | Page | 1 | |
| 10 | Davidge | ||
| 11 | Bassett | ||
| 12 | Symons | 10 | |
| 14 | Bater | ||
| 15 | Toppar | ||
| 16 | O'Connor | ||
| 17 | Davies | 4 | |
| Own Goal | - |
Match Details
| Date: | 15/10/07 |
|---|---|
| Competition: | British Gas Business Premier League |
| Opponents: | Merthyr Tydfil |
| Venue: | Penydarren Park Merthyr Tydfil Mid Glamorgan CF47 8RF |
| Half Time: | 1 - 0 |
| Full Time: | 2 - 1 |
| Attendance: | 279 |
| Match Report: | Dave Wright |
| Photographs: | Tony Merrett |
| Notes: |
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Downloads
| Appearances & Goal Scorers | Word Document |
|---|---|
| Team Sheet Matrix | Excel Document |