Monmouth Town 2- 1 Cambrian & Clydach

A 77th minute penalty from Dan MacDonald sealed a vital win for Monmouth Town, talking the important  scalp of current Welsh league Champions Cambrian in a no-nonsense game in the swamps of Chippenham and put their league title campaign firmly back on track.

The Kingfishers went into the game still trying to find the form that had made their debut season in Division One so exciting but the pitch, cutting up badly even in the warm up, was always going to stunt both sides playing any form of attractive football to go with their shared status as top division high flyers.

Indeed, Cambrian arrived second in the table hoping to continue their own good form having recovered from a shaky start to the season as defending champions but missing some key players here while Town were at full strength.

The early exchanges seemed to illustrate the point as the Kingfishers immediately took the game to visitors and caused real problems early on culminating in a goal for Nick Harrhy with just over five minutes on the clock.

For the next 20 minutes or so Cambrian struggled to get firm foothold in the game although they looked more aggressive in the tackle as the Kingfishers tried too hard to play on a pitch that was more suited to the oval ball game.

Sam Palmer did get through on goal but his weak shot was comfortably saved and Ford had a searing run ended by his own refusal to shoot with his weaker left foot and as the half wore on Cambrian steadied themselves and looked to have mastered the conditions better – or at least realised that short passing moves would prove to be folly.

That didn't stop ace striker Jason Bertorelli, for a few seasons the scourge of Welsh League defences as he picked up a pass 30 yards out, made ground to his left before striking a beauty with the outside of his right foot.

The 70 or so spectators, 50 of whom had paid for the privilege, could only share admiration as the ball curled and dipped in the far corner of Blackburn's goal.

For the next five minutes or so it looked like the champions would take some stopping as Bertorelli charged and barged and looked menacing.

The momentum was cut short as the Cambrian right back was red carded after his send yellow card offence, impeding Macdonald's forward run just five minutes after taking a lump or two out of Ford.

The red card put the game back in the balance. The second half was an entirely different affair with Cambrian looking to soak up pressure and hit on the break.

Tactically correct but hard to execute as quick breaks would increasingly flounder on a resolute midfield of Laurie and Alderdice having a great game, and some much more composed defending by Guy and Evans.

The Kingfishers, sponsored by WyeMedia, were showing a maturity in possession that has been hard to come by of late and continued to probe and show patience in their build ups.

Cambrian kept their half of the bargain by not giving any quarter and looked very solid in the face of conceding possession.

Ford did have a couple of attempts and his baby brother Ashley also went on  a marauding run which ended with a tame shot high and wide but Town kept plugging away and eventually got their rewards as Ford the younger edged into the area and drew the rash tackle that was spelled 'penalty'.

The referee waved away Cambrian protests, allowing MacDonald to send the visiting stickman the wrong way with this spot kick.

The game still ebbed and flowed for the remaining time with Compton introduced for Sam Palmer and Chris Hyde making his home debut in a competent cameo and there was still time for a rush of blood from left back Dan Spence, who bizarrely opted for a full blooded tackle in the away penalty area that earned him a straight red card for violent conduct and three Saturday afternoon shifts at Waitrose.

Town however were able to comfortably see out the remainder of the game and claim the points.

The Town reserve team went down again in a see-saw game at Cwmbran Celitc.

Jack Jones and Craig Lewis got the goals in a 3-2 reverse while Town's Under 19s also went down 2-1 at Risca United.

This Saturday Town, whose after-match catering is supplied by Raduni Restaurant and match day away travel by Sam Hale, are at Gwent rivals Caerleon, kick off 2pm.

The following Saturday (2nd March) they are back at home  and are looking for match day and match ball sponsors.

Anyone interested in helping the title campaign is asked to call Lee on 07967 479484.