Gwent County League Division 2 Mathern FC 0 Mardy 0

MATHERN FC manager Colin Jeffery admitted he was mystified after seeing his players dominate Mardy for the vast majority of the match but only gain a point.

Winless Mardy arrived with a -18 goal difference and the feeling among the Mathern faithful was that a goal feast would make it a lot worse. However poor finishing, last-ditch defending plus a pinch of luck meant that Mathern were unable to break the visitors down.

Mardy were unable to muster an on-target shot all match and Mathern keeper Jacob Tyson was virtually a spectator during the second half. Too often, especially in the first period, promising moves broke down because of poor passes either over-hit or under-hit and as Mathern unlocked the Mardy defence time after time, it seemed only a matter of time before the floodgates would be breached and a cricket score seemed on the cards.

But with a tall keeper and centre-back, Mathern’s crosses were easily cleared and Mardy gained confidence from the missed opportunities.

That confidence was boosted sky high when Mathern wasted a chance to take the lead from the penalty spot and despite a number of good chances to break the deadlock, Mardy held out to gain their second point of the season and remain rooted to the bottom of the division.

“It was another disappointing result,” admitted Jeffery.

“With 85 per cent possession, we could not find a way through their defence.

“We started well again and put pressure on their goal for most of the game.

“Even after we missed the penalty we had the ball cleared off the line several times with chances being created until the end.”

However, Jeffery was keen to talk about the positives, highlighting the contribution of Alex Watson who made his debut at right back.

“Alex was outstanding, showing the quality of the youth we have at the club.”