Celtic Ready For Revenge

Cwmbran Celtic visit Ynys Park, looking for revenge on Saturday, 28th January at 2.00pm.

The Gwent Club were 3-1 up at half-time when the teams last met on 5th November but the Bulldogs bounced back to win the match 4-3.

Celtic are flying high in Welsh League Division One this season under the guidance of Gareth Morgan and are currently on a winning streak of four consecutive matches, which has seen them climb to second position in the table.

Meanwhile, Dean Morris’ men have drawn their last four League matches. However, the Bulldogs will be vying for a win on their return to Ynys Park for the first time since a League Cup match played on 11th November.

Whereas most of the team will pick itself, Morris has a selection headache when it comes to attack. Both Chris Colvin and Joe Leahy will be hopeful of starting following impressive displays off the bench against Barry Town last week but Dale Smith and Ross Fowler also gave solid displays.

If you’re unable to make it to Ynys Park for the match, you can keep up to date with the in play score here on www.tonpentreafc.com with our Live Score service from kick off.

FAW Launches Its Strategic Plan For Football In Wales

The Football Association of Wales has unveiled its Strategic Plan and vision for the future of Welsh football.

At St David’s Hotel in Cardiff Bay on Thursday 26th January, the audience heard from the Chief Executive of the FAW, Jonathan Ford, the First Minister, Carwyn Jones and the newly appointed National Team Manager, Chris Coleman.

Jonathan Ford said: “The Strategic Plan we are launching today is a manifestation of a lot of hard work from a lot of people.

“The message has been clear on the badge for years. Gorau Chwarae Cyd Chwarae. Best Play is Team Play. Our messages are clear; greater team work, better communication, a longer term perspective through evolution and winning more.”

He added: “Included in our vision of success is a Welsh way of playing and qualification for a major tournament. Also, a Premier League and domestic competitions that have a strong identity within the Welsh sporting psyche.

“It is also important to be progressive and promote a forward thinking, modern and high profile FAW.”

The FAW was delighted to receive the backing and endorsement of the First Minister, Carwyn Jones. An avid sports supporter, the First Minister reflected on the huge forward steps taken by the National team in the last eighteen months, the great success of Swansea City in the English Premier League and Cardiff City’s achievement in reaching the Carling Cup Final.

Chris Coleman, just a week into his role as National Team Manager, has given the Strategic Plan his full support and added that his role was “…more of a manager of Welsh football and not just of the National team.”

You can view the Strategic Plan and video by clicking on the link below.

FAW Strategic Plan

FAW Strategy Video

Bulldogs Poll

Please take time to answer our poll below as it will help us improve and develop our online services for Bulldogs fans.

We’d like to thank you in advance for taking part in this poll.

Stalemate At Jenner Park

Barry Town 0-0 Ton Pentre l MacWhirter Welsh League Division One
Saturday, 21st January 2012 l Jenner Park

Having lost 7-0 in their previous match with a freak League Cup defeat against UWIC, Ton Pentre manager Dean Morris will be pleased to have steadied the ship with this 0-0 draw at Jenner Park against old rivals Barry Town.

The clean sheet will also be welcomed by the Bulldogs manager, who at the start of the month lost central defender Dominic Dwyer to Bridgend Street of Division Three. As a result Jason Brewer was transferred into the club from Aberbargoed Buds as a replacement and the defender put in a very encouraging display at Jenner Park on his debut.

Morris has been busy in the Welsh League transfer market and also secured the signature of Christopher Colvin prior to the match with Barry Town. The entertaining striker scored 30 times for the Bulldogs last season and when he was introduced into the match from the bench he was able to produce some fantastic chances and nearly had the perfect fairy tale return.

From kick-off however, Barry Town were quick to impose themselves on Ton Pentre and were it not for Jonathan Howe the Bulldogs would have been behind.

The home team’s best chance came after 4 minutes when a Ton defender slipped whilst attempting to block the ball. This allowed a shot on target that Howe managed to push onto the post before reacting quickly to smother the ball ahead of the Barry players following up.

It took around 20 minutes for the Bulldogs to get a strong foothold in this match when Leon Young charged forward with the ball up the right. He could see Dale Smith in support and squared a pass to him on the edge of the box. The striker managed to dribble the ball through the defence but his shot was under pressure and he watched it go painstakingly over Dan Bradley’s crossbar.

Before half-time some superb defending from Adam Lewis helped to prevent a goal scoring chance for Barry when he tracked back with a striker before putting in a strong tackle inside the penalty area in order to put the ball out for a corner.

From the corner Howe blocked a header from Lewis Cosslett at the far post just when the Barry player looked as though he was going to score.

On the hour Barry were awarded a free kick on the edge of the Ton box and Cosslett curled the ball with his shot and Howe pulled off a good save by beating it away after appearing to see it late.

With 65 minutes played Morris made a double substitution when Smith and Ross Fowler were withdrawn for Joe Leahy and Christopher Colvin. The two players made an immediate impact helping the Bulldogs to finish the match strongly.

Leahy was the first to get involved when Richard Ingram released him into the box where he unleashed a powerful effort that forced Bradley to save well by tipping it over the bar at the top left-hand corner.

In the 83rd minute Colvin breezed past the Barry defence from a tight angle on the right. Just as he was about to square the ball to one of the Ton players in support the striker appeared to be pushed over but neither the referee nor his assistant would consider the calls for a penalty.

Moments later it appeared as though Ton’s pressure was going to be fruitless as a Barry player broke through on goal. Fortunately for the Rhondda club Ross Porter timed his tackle well and dispossessed his opponent of the ball.

In the final minute of regulation time the Bulldogs launched a ball forward into the Barry box forcing Bradley to punch away. However, he was unable to get much distance on the clearance which allowed Young to head the ball over him towards an unattended goal. Fortunately for the home team Young’s header went inches wide of the left post.

The action wasn’t over as Ton had two more chances to win the match during injury-time.

The first fell to Colvin who beat the Barry offside trap to run in one-on-one with the keeper. Bradley was quick to act and narrowed the angle but Colvin took his attempt early. With the faintest of touches he slipped the ball past the goalkeeper and waited for it to cross the goal line but somehow his effort rolled wide of the post leaving the striker with his head in his hands.

Shortly after Shane Brewer utilised the space in front of him to shoot from around 25-30 yards out from goal. It was a beautifully hit strike that was wonderfully saved by Bradley who palmed the ball over his bar to confirm the goalless draw.

Ton Pentre are in action at Ynys Park on Saturday, 28th January when Cwmbran Celtic are the visitors. The kick-off for this MacWhirter Welsh League Division One match is at 2.00pm.

Pre-match build-up can be found at www.tonpentreafc.com, www.facebook.com/tonpentreafc and www.twitter.com/tonpentrefc.

Ton Pentre: 1. Howe, 2. Young, 3. Ingram, 4. Lewis (Captain), 5. Porter, 6. J Brewer, 7. S Brewer, 8. T.Davies, 9. Fowler, 10. Smith, 11. Evans. Subs: 12. C.Davies (for 11 on 75′), 14. Colvin (for 10 on 66′), 15. Leahy (for 9 on 66′), 16. O Davies, 17. Tomlins.

Goals: None

Bookings: Evans 60′, T.Davies 78′, Leahy 83′.

Referee: Kim Fisher (Cardiff)

Live Score: Barry Town v Ton Pentre

When the game is in progress you’ll be able to see the latest score from the match below:

MacWhirter Welsh League Division One
Saturday, 21st January 2012
Kick-off: 2.00pm

Full-time:

Barry Town 0-0 Ton Pentre

Good first half with both teams creating chances.

Barry Town Manager Gavin Chesterfield sent to stands following touchline incident with Dean Morris just before half-time.

Full-time: Barry Town 0-0 Ton Pentre. Good second half from the Bulldogs who had plenty of chances to win the match.

Colvin Returns

Christopher Colvin-Owens is a Bulldog once again after the striker completed a transfer from South Wales Senior League outfit Penydarren BC ahead of the Welsh League Division One match at Barry Town on Saturday, 21st January.

Chris Colvin in action, who scored 30 goals for the Bulldogs last season.

The striker, whose 30 goals  helped Ton Pentre lift the Welsh League Division Two title last season, left Ynys Park at the start of the season due to work commitments.

Bulldogs fans will rejoice at the news of his return as Colvin’s pace and clinical finishing will be a threat to any team in the League.

Dean Morris’ squad now boasts strength and depth in the strikers department as Ross Fowler and Dale Smith have already proved themselves in front of goal in a Ton Pentre shirt and Joe Leahy recently joined from Merthyr Tydfil.

One Ton Pentre fan said of the transfer news: “This really is fantastic, he was very popular here at Ynys Park last season and he scored some wonderful goals. If he can score half of what he did last season we will all be happy”.

Colvin was very excited to have re-joined the Bulldogs stating on his twitter account that he was “…officially a Ton Pentre player” again. The striker has also stated that he is looking forward to “putting the great Bulldogs shirt back on”.

Old Rivals Set To Clash

Ton Pentre travel to Jenner Park on Saturday, 21st January for a MacWhirter Welsh League Division One match against old rivals Barry Town (Kick-off: 2.00pm).

Both sets of fans will be eager to spectate this encounter as it’s a highlight of the fixture calendar but the match is too close to call.

However, Barry Town will have to fancy their chances following Ton Pentre’s 7-0 drubbing in the Nathaniel Car Sales League Quarter-Final against Division Three outfit UWIC nearly a fortnight ago.

Bulldogs manager Dean Morris will be looking for a reaction to that humiliating defeat from his players when they come up against Barry Town.

He will welcome back Josh Evans, Shane Brewer and Geza Hajgato into his squad alongside new signings Owen Davies and Jason Brewer. Morris will also hope to welcome another significant signing into his squad prior to the match if the transfer is competed in time. We will bring you this news here on tonpentreafc.com as soon as it breaks.

Neither Ton Pentre or Barry Town had a League game last weekend as our original fixture had been brought forward leaving us a blank weekend and the seaside outfit had their match postponed due to weather conditions.

The Bulldogs however, did get a runout in with a very useful practice match against Merthyr Town at Penydarren Park played on Friday, 13th January.

The match finished 3-3 with the Martyrs equalising with the last kick of the game. Ton Pentre’s goals were scored by Shane Brewer, Dale Smith and Ross Fowler.

Our Live Score service will return for the Barry Town game, so if you’re unable to make it you can keep up to date with the latest from the match here on tonpentreafc.com.

For more news, interaction and pre-match build-up check out twitter and facebook.

Freak Result As Students Dump Ton Out Of Cup

UWIC 7-0 Ton Pentre l Nathaniel Car Sales League Cup Round Four
Saturday, 7th January 2012 l Cyncoed Campus

Ton Pentre were left humiliated after being dumped out of the Nathaniel Car Sales League Cup at the Quarter-Final stage against Division Three outfit UWIC, who scored seven goals past the Bulldogs without reply at their Cyncoed Campus ground to march into the Semi-Finals.

Ton Pentre took a skeleton team to Cardiff for the match with cup tied players, injuries and suspensions taking their toll on Dean Morris’ small squad. In addition to this the Bulldogs had not played since their 0-0 draw at Haverfordwest County back on 10th December and as a result were lacking sharpness.

However, the Bulldogs thought that they had enough experience and quality on the pitch to see them through this match but the Students proved them wrong to pull off an incredible shock with an emphatic 7-0 win.

A Club spokesperson said: “No-one was expecting such a heavy defeat and hopefully it’s a freak result. It’s now all about the players’ reaction in our next game, they will be determined for a positive result as their pride will be hurting after this loss.”

The 7-0 loss was Ton Pentre’s heaviest defeat in over a decade but the eventual outcome in this fixture looked an impossibility going on the first 20 minutes of the game as Ross Fowler, who started sharply, ran onto a long ball and dribbled it in behind a defender.

Fowler then released a 4th minute shot at goal that beat the goalkeeper but the ball clipped the top of the bar before bouncing out of play.

During the 12th minute Adam Lewis sent a great cross into the box that was met by new signing Joe Leahy. The former Merthyr Town striker headed an effort towards goal but the ball went just over the bar.

Another long ball three minutes later beat the UWIC defence again allowing Leahy another chance at the target. Unfortunately for the Bulldogs his shot went over the bar.

The Students broke the deadlock in the 20th minute when some lovely build-up play pulled Ton Pentre’s defence apart with a shot beating Howe low into the left corner of the net.

UWIC were now in the ascendency and a similar chance following a counter-attack nearly doubled their lead but a tame shot was saved by Howe.

In the 33rd minute UWIC went one-on-one with Howe but the Ton goalkeeper pulled off two super saves before Ross Porter was forced into blocking a shot on the line and then eventually clearing.

Three minutes before half-time UWIC netted their second goal following an initial save from Howe. The Students took the 2-0 lead into the break.

The Bulldogs nearly got a goal back early in the second half when good build-up play saw the ball find its way to Leahy. From the edge of the 18-yard box he curled a shot towards goal but although the keeper was beaten there was not enough bend in the effort and so it went wide.

Between the 52nd and 60th minute UWIC hit the back of the net a further three times to completely end Ton Pentre’s challenge in this Quarter-Final match.

The Bulldogs continued to search for a goal and when Dean Morris sent a diagonal ball forward Fowler was able to get on the end of it but sent his shot into the keeper’s hands.

UWIC made it 6-0 in the 75th minute before Ton Pentre’s Leon Young had his shot cleared off the line in a goal mouth scramble.

The Students completed the Bulldogs’ misery in the 88th minute when the home team scored their seventh of the match from 8-yards out leaving Howe with little chance of making a save.

The Bulldogs will now have to pick themselves up ahead of their next match in Welsh League Division One against Barry Town at Jenner Park on Saturday, 21st January at 2.00pm.

Ton Pentre: 1. Howe, 2. Lewis (Captain), 3. Ingram, 4. Morris, 5. Porter, 6. T.Davies, 7. Young, 8. C.Davies, 9. Fowler, 10. Leahy, 11. Tomlins. Subs: 12. Dowling, 14. McCarthy, 15. Rees, 16. Dwyer, 17. Smith.

Goals: None

Bookings: Young 34’, Fowler 40’, Morris 44’, C.Davies 71’

Referee: Mr D Adie (Caldicot)

League Cup Visit To The Students

Ton Pentre travel to MacWhirter Welsh League Division Three outfit UWIC in Round Four of the Nathaniel Car Sales League Cup on Saturday, 7th January (1.30pm) where the Students will be hoping to cause another upset.

In Round Three UWIC knocked out West End with a convincing 4-0 victory at their Cyncoed Campus ground and will be hoping to see off Ton Pentre’s challenge on Saturday.

The Bulldogs go into the match licking some wounds as there are injury concerns over several players in Dean Morris’ squad and midfielder Josh Evans is suspended.

Nathaniel Car Sales League Cup Round Four:

Abertillery Bluebirds v Bryntirion Athletic

Bridgend Street v Cambrian & Clydach

Pontardawe Town v Taffs Well

UWIC v Ton Pentre

Ton Pentre v Cardiff Corinthians Postponed

The Welsh League Division One match between Ton Pentre and Cardiff Corinthians scheduled for tonight (Wednesday, 4 January) has been postponed due to a waterlogged Ynys Park pitch.

Following an official inspection at 4.00pm this afternoon the pitch was deemed unplayable following the recent bad weather that we have been experiencing.

Before the recent bout of rain, the pitch at Ynys Park was already delicate with areas of the playing surface holding water, however Club officials were hopeful that it would drain away.

As a result of this postponement Ton Pentre’s next match will be at UWIC on Saturday, 7th January in the Nathaniel Car Sales League Cup Round Four. The game kicks of at 1.30pm.