Elliot Ford smashed a hat-trick as Monmouth Town kicked off their competitive season with a five-nil win over rivals Newport Civil Service in the Gwent Senior Cup last Saturday (4th August).

Strangely, the season opened with a cup fixture rather than the traditional league curtain raiser, but the Kingfishers were happy to finalise their preparations for the first division of the Welsh League with a visit to the third division side in Bettws, Newport.

The two sides have been arch rivals since their Gwent County days and Monmouth have always enjoyed the rivalry, although wins at the Shannon Close ground have often been very tight encounters.

The town travelled without Aaron Davies, Tom Maxted, Ross Kennedy and James Hughes, and Smith returned from his vacation but had to settle for a place on the bench as the squad now looks to have options both in defence and attack.

Former Newport County 'keeper Keiron Blackburn made his competitive debut in the Town goal as Ashley Ford, Jacob Guy, Dan Spence and Dean Palmer made up the back four.

The two centre midfield berths were handed to Alderdice and Rob Laurie while the attacking positions went to Sam Palmer and Elliot Ford on the flanks, Macdonald in the hole and Bowen given the number nine shirt.

The Kingfishers expected a tough, physical start, typical of their previous encounters but the Town were somewhat surprised as the Bettws-based side seemed happy to drop off and allow the Town possession.

The visiting side seemed happy with the ball at their feet as they knocked it around the park but too often tried forcing a final ball rather than waiting for openings.

Despite the Town looking by far the most comfortable, it was Civil who had a couple of chances to take the lead.  Numerous and often needless free kicks were conceded and dangerous deliveries caused the Town a headache at times.

The best chance fell to former Kingfisher Phil Tranter who, after Alderdice had lost possession, beat the offside trap to find himself one on one with Blackburn.  Fortunately, Tranter delayed slightly and Dan Spence was able to retreat and make a last ditch tackle.

For the full report, see this week's Beacon (8th August).

The Town, sponsored by WyeMedia, kick off their Welsh League First Division debut season away at recent champions Aberdare Town next Saturday (11th August), kick off 2.30pm.