Gwent County League Division Three - Caldicot Castle 0 Blackrock Rovers 4

BLACKROCK Rovers found a ‘Rich’ vein of form to give their new management team of Richard Regulski and Richard Beach a winning start.

The match, which had been scheduled a week earlier, finally kicked off at 4pm under floodlights on the 3G pitch at Caldicot Leisure Centre and was the only match to survive the weather.

Regulski, 23 and known to his teammates as ‘Regs’ volunteered to take the reins when Paul Lovell decided to step down.

“We held a team meeting when Paul told us,” he said. “The feeling was that I should take over, assisted by Richard Beach who volunteered to help.

“Football has been my passion from an early age and I’ve always wanted to take a crack at being a manager and this is a great opportunity.”

A former player with Undy, Castle and Rovers, Regulski says he will still play if necessary but would prefer to stick to the sidelines.

“I can analyse a match and make decisions more easily on the sidelines than while I’m playing,” he added.

Meanwhile, Beach, who took a refereeing course during last summer and has been officiating this season and playing whenever possible, said the result was especially rewarding following a tough week for the club.

“Most pleasing was the team spirit after a tough week for the club off the pitch,” he said.

“With a change of manager and then losing Ben Smith who has signed for Caldicot Town, the spirit could have been low, but it wasn’t.

“We played really well and it was personally pleasing to score against my former club.

“I’ll help ease Regs into the managing side but I’m still hoping to ref from time to time. I’ll just have to see how it goes.”

Rovers’ other goals were scored by Steve Wilson (2) and Gareth Taylor.

Caldicot Castle manager Alex Hart conceded that the match was won by four ‘fantastic’ goals, but added that steps should be taken to avoid the fixture chaos at the end of the season.

“The bad weather is going to mean the inevitable fixture chaos at the end of the season,” he said.

“When the chance came to play Castle on the 3G, we were, and are, willing to do all we can to play.

“One day, people in charge of amateur football will realise that it should be played between March and November but until that day comes, teams will do what they can.

“The game wasn’t like the usual derby game. Whether that was anything to do with the 3G pitch I am not sure but I thought the game was played in a good spirit for a change.”

“I thought the first half was pretty even but we failed to deal with one ball and their striker punished us,” he said.

“In fact, all four of their goals were fantastic strikes.

“We were very disappointed with the result and our performance. We never really started after the break and when we went 2-0 down, our heads dropped – a common theme this season.

“Five minutes later, the game finished for us because they scored another two and although I think the scoreline flattered them a little bit, I take nothing away from Rovers. They were the better team and deserved the three points.

“Their willingness to pull the trigger whenever opportunities arose, highlighted a confident team.

“I wish them the very best for the rest of the season and if we meet them again next season, I hope we can get our revenge.”

The win took Rovers to fifth place in Division Three of the Gwent County League, eight points behind leaders Wattsville who won 3-1 at home to Rockfield Rovers and have a game in hand.