Gwent County League Division Three - Sudbrook CC 1 Caldicot Castle 2, Blackrock Rovers 3 Rockfield Rovers 0

THERE was derby delight and despair in equal measure as four local clubs battled for points in the Gwent County League last weekend.

Sudbrook CC saw their 1-0 lead turned into a 2-1 deficit in the dying minutes of their home match against Caldicot Castle while Rockfield Rovers fell to three second-half goals at Blackrock Rovers.

Sudbrook CC manager Daryl Cann saw his men pay dearly for missed chances.

“We squandered a ridiculous amount of chances before and after Pavel Vavra gave us the lead on 20 minutes,” he said.

“We should have been two or three up in the first half and it might have been five or six by the end but, in the 89th minute they made us pay.

“To be fair, Castle never stopped battling and they won it with the last kick of the game!”

Castle manager Alex Hart was unable to attend the match but team skipper Craig McCluskey was delighted by his men’s dramatic finish.

“We missed our own chances but Sudbrook wasted a lot of chances to kill it off,” he said.

“We stuck at it and with only 11 players available, Rick Woodland equalised with a calm finish and then a long goal-kick from our keeper Dave Hayward dropped over the top and I managed to beat their keeper Craig Brimble to toe the ball into the far corner.

“It was a really great team performance. We were very solid in defence and I knew if we kept our shape we would create chances.”

Meanwhile, a five-minute hailstorm and a strong, swirling wind were the lowlights of the first 45 minutes at Portskewett.

But the home side used the conditions to their advantage after the break to extend their unbeaten run to eight games and moving into third place in the table.

“It was a much better second half performance,” Blackrock manager Richard Regulski said later.

“We only had a couple of chances in the first half but we also restricted Rockfield who had the advantage of the wind and the hailstorm,” he added.

Blackrock broke through soon after half time when Chris Wilson’s cross zipped off the wet surface to make it 1-0 and doubled their lead through Jamie Green’s header.

Blackrock were almost made to pay for missed chances as Rockfield made it 2-1 through Greg Tynan but Nesbitt secured the three points with a 25-yard strike.

Despite the victory, Regulski is hoping injuries to keeper Jason Szmaglik, Connor Bryant and Wilson clear up for the visit to Sudbrook tonight (Wednesday 30th March).

”We are unsure of the severity of the injuries but all three are optimistic that they would be available for the next two matches, Sudbrook in midweek and fifth-placed Nantyglo on Saturday. The players are all in confident mood.”

Meanwhile,