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)