Monmouth Town claimed another valuable three points in their quest for promotion with a hard fought victory over Caerau at the Sportsground last Saturday (15th January).
Playing on the smaller reserve team pitch, due to a fixture clash with the rugby, the Kingfishers knew they would be in for a physical encounter with the visitors also attempting to get themselves into the promotion places in the Welsh League third division.
Despite the smaller dimensions, the Town still found a way of creating space and play their pleasing-on-the-eye football with Sam McCoy and the returning Elliot Ford providing plenty of pace and purpose on both flanks.
It took just 11 minutes for the Town to take the lead when Gwent's leading scorer Matthew Bowen notched his 16th of the season, converting a sublime ball across the goal from Ashley Ford.
This was the first time the Kingfishers had scored first at home in six outings.
Just minutes later, a superb counter attack resulted in Elliot Ford picking out Jack Alderdice, who uncharacteristically fired over.
The visitors struggled to contain the tempo and movement of their hosts but did look dangerous themselves at times with direct long balls testing the Town's back four.
As tackles started to become more intense and tempers frayed, the visitors received a number of yellow cards as their frustration started to show.
Against the run of play the visitors from Maesteg levelled on 32 minutes with a counter attack of their own.
From a Town corner, a Kennedy header back into the danger area was cleared and the visitors broke to fire past Williams and restore parity.
After regrouping, the yellow shirts of Monmouth continued to look to play in the younger Ford, the hard working Bowen and the dangerous Ford who was giving another left back a torrid time.
Two minutes before the break, and the Kingfishers were ahead for the second time.
Alderdice picked the ball up on the edge of the area and slalomed through three defenders to fire the ball across the goal, where Ashley Ford had darted in to fire home.
With the town defending against a strong wind in the second period, the visitors made their intentions clear with an onslaught of long balls that piled pressure on the back four.
Despite starting in third place and leading the goal scoring charts, the Town have the second worst defensive record in the league, having conceded 37 goals in their previous 13 matches. Saturday was a different story.
Kennedy led his back four of Davies, Lewis and Dean Palmer superbly, heading and clearing at every opportunity and even looking to play out of defence when needed.
For 30 minutes Monmouth seemed intent to see the game out but still created plenty of chances without being too cavalier.
The usual leaky defence remained strong and held a firm line, resulting in Williams only really having to make one save down to his right.
Craig Lewis replaced McCoy on the left flank and can certainly be pleased with another good shift.
Ford, Smith, Lewis and Alderdice all had chances to make the game safe but miscued their attempts, setting up a tense finish.
As the clock ticked down to the final nine minutes, the visitors' centre half inexplicitly pushed Elliot Ford to the ground in the penalty area, despite the ball being a full 40 yards away from goal.
A yellow card and a penalty converted by the reliable Smith gave the Kingfishers a two goal lead and ensured the points were safe.
Elliot Ford got his rewards for his hard work when he fired home from close range after persistent work in the penalty area.
This was a different Town performance. One that proved they have the physical presence and mental toughness to add to their attractive style of play.
Next week, Town travel to Tredegar Town where they look to close the gap on the title-chasing duo just two points ahead of them.