Kingfishers hold on after spot of bother

Gwent Premier League Premier Division

Monmouth Town 3 Sifil 2

THE Kingfishers held on to take all three points against Sifil on Saturday, securing a hard-fought 3-2 win at the Monmouth Sports Ground, despite conceding two goals from penalties.

In a match that saw three spot kicks awarded between the two sides, it was the hosts who got revenge on the team that had knocked them out of the cup earlier this season.

It was a good start for the home side, with chances coming thick and fast, but no one able to find a way past goalkeeper Phillip Handley.

Sifil then found some momentum and changed the flow of the game, creating more opportunities and chances inside the Town half.

But the opener came from Monmouth’s Robbie Atkinson after a great bit of skill out wide, Dan Macdonald providing the assist before the striker cut inside and placed his shot inside the near post to give his side the advantage.

Despite both sides looking promising going forward, the first half ended with the Kingfishers holding a 1-0 advantage over the Newport visitors.

But seven minutes into the second period, the Kingfishers extended their lead when the referee awarded the hosts a penalty and Macdonald converted for 2-0.

Ten minutes later and the official was whistling for another penalty, this time for the visitors, which Jack Williams converted for 2-1.

The Kingfishers re-established their two-goal advantage in the 77th minute when Jack Meredith headed in Monmouth’s third goal.

Macdonald’s corner was delivered perfectly into the box for Meredith to hit the target and restore a much-needed cushion for the hosts.

But three minutes from the end of time, referee Phillip Bates saw another alleged infringement in the Kingfishers box, and pointed to the spot for the third time, with Williams completing his brace after sending keeper Jack Harris the wrong way.

That was followed by a lengthy and nervy period of added time, but the Kingfishers finally emerged victorious to move up to fourth in the Gwent Premier League table with their 11th win of the season.

After the match, coach Mark Morris said, “I thought we played really well in the first half, especially with a few changes for us as well.

“We controlled the game for large parts of the first half, we moved the ball really quickly and Robbie scored a really good goal and we had performances all across the park in the first half.

“The second half was a real battle. Lots of strange decisions to be fair, not just for us but for both teams, which made it really difficult to manage the game... 3-2 is a little bit tighter than we’d like but we were good enough in those final moments to seal the win.”

Elsewhere, the reserves suffered a 4-0 loss away to Sudbrook CC FC in East Gwent Division One after a red card saw them play the whole of the second half with 10 men and their coach ordered out of the dug out.

And Monmouth’s Women narrowly lost 1-0 away to AFC Penrhiwceiber in their South Wales Women’s and Girls; League Division 4 fixture.

This Saturday, the Kingfishers return to cup action as they face Usk Town away in a local derby in the quarter-finals of the Gwent Premier League County Motors Challenge Cup.

The 2nds face Undy 3rds at home in East Gwent One league action.

The following day, the women's side travel to Abertillery Bluebirds, while the Youth host Llanyrafon Junior U18s at the Monmouth Sports Ground.