Season 2007 / 2008

Final League Table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	GD	PTS
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16	Ynyshir Tonypandy Albion LlanbradachSocial AFC Whitchurch Lisvane/Llanishen Llwynypia Brecon Cadoxton AFC Caerphilly Cascade Tongwynlais AFC Butetown* STANLEYTOWN Caerphilly Town Hopkinstown Penrhiwfer	30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30	20 20 19 18 14 15 14 13 13 12 13 11 7 7 4 1	49 48 28 58 21 2 29 0 -11 7 -8 -16 -24 -25 -64 -94	64 64 63 60 52 50 45 43 43 42 41 33 27 26 16 8
	*Deducted 3 points

Results

.......Date..........

Competition

.................Home...........................

...................... Away ......................

18-Aug-07
25-Aug-07
1-Sep-07
4-Sep-07

8-Sep-07

11-Sep-07
29-Sep-07
6-Oct-07
13-Oct-07
20-Oct-07
27-Oct-07
3-Nov-07
10-Nov-07
24-Nov-07
15-Dec-07
22-Dec-07
29-Dec-07
12-Jan-08
26-Jan-08
2-Feb-08
9-Feb-08
16-Feb-08
23-Feb-08
15-Mar-08
22-Mar-08
29-Mar-08
5-Apr-08
12-Apr-08
15-Apr-08
22-Apr-08
26-Apr-08
3-May-08

League
League
League
League
League
League
Bruty Cup
SeniorCup

League
League
League
League
League
League
League
League
League
League
League
League
League
League
League
League
League
League
League
League
League
League
League
League

Brecon
STANLEYTOWN
Llanbradach Social
STANLEYTOWN
STANLEYTOWN
Ynyshir
STANLEYTOWN
AFC Porth
STANLEYTOWN
STANLEYTOWN
Tongwynlais
STANLEYTOWN
Cadoxton
STANLEYTOWN
Cascade
STANLEYTOWN
AFC Caerphilly
STANLEYTOWN
AFC Butetown
Caerphilly Town
STANLEYTOWN
Tonypandy Albion
STANLEYTOWN
AFC Whitchurch
STANLEYTOWN
Lisvane/Llanishen
Hopkinstown
STANLEYTOWN
STANLEYTOWN
Penrhiwfer
Llwynypia
STANLEYTOWN

STANLEYTOWN
Cascade
STANLEYTOWN
Ynyshir
AFC Caerphilly
STANLEYTOWN
Penrhiwfer
STANLEYTOWN
AFC Butetown
Caerphilly Town
STANLEYTOWN
Tonypandy Albion

STANLEYTOWN
Penrhiwfer
STANLEYTOWN
Llanbradach Social
STANLEYTOWN
AFC Whitchurch
STANLEYTOWN
STANLEYTOWN
Tongwynlais
STANLEYTOWN
Cadoxton
STANLEYTOWN
Llwynypia
STANLEYTOWN
STANLEYTOWN
Brecon
Hopkinstown
STANLEYTOWN
STANLEYTOWN
Lisvane/Llanishen

PLAYER DETAILS

NAME	Surname	Games Played	Goals	Average Rating	STAR MAN
Andrew	BURT	2	0	7.50
Anthony	PHILLIPS	18	13	7.32	4
Carl	WELLS	1	0	4.00
Ceri	JONES	1	0	6.00
Chris	HILL	7	7	6.67	2
Craig	WILLIAMS	13	1	6.34	1
Dale	PUGH	4	1	6.25	1
David	WITHERS	1	0	5.00
Dean	WHITE	5	0	5.25
Gareth	GRIFFITHS	20	1	6.21	1
Gareth	SMITH	8	0	7.00	1
Gareth	LEWIS	1	0	6.00
Gary	THOMAS	18	0	6.08	1
Ian	REED	28	0	6.56	2
Ian	L'HOMME	21	2	5.53	2
Jason	PRITCHARD	26	0	6.05
Jason	CARNELL	3	0	6.50
Jason	LOCK	4	0	7.75	1
Jeremy	MORGAN	28	0	6.27
John	WILLIAMS	27	4	5.88	2
John	DAVID	11	0	6.83
Karl J	WILLIAMS	23	4	6.68	2
Kelvin	OWEN	3	0	5.67	1
Lee	BOLDERSON	30	3	6.29
Leon	BLACK	12	0	5.70
Leon	ROBERTS	8	1	5.80
Marc	DANIELS	8	3	6.19
Matthew	SMITH	5	0	6.80	1
Nathan	WITHERS	2	0	5.50	1
Nathan	BRUFORD	1	1	7.00
Neil	GRIFFITHS	1	0	5.00
Nicky	REES	18	6	6.22	1
Paul	WILLIAMS	2	0	6.00
Ryan	JONES	6	1	5.11
Ryan	BARTLETT	3	1	5.33
Simon	LEACH	2	0	3.50	1
Stephen	THOMAS	15	1	6.13	2
Stephen	HARRIS	2	0	4.50
Tom	LEWIS	4	0	4.75
Tony	SMITH	2	0	6.50

MATCH REPORTS

_________________________Saturday 3rd May 2008________________________

STANLEYTOWN 2 - 5 LISVANE/LLANISHEN

Nicky Rees 39
attendance 17
Marc Daniels 86

Our final game of the season saw us entertain Lisvane/Llanishen and we had three changes from last weeks win over Llwynypia. Gary Thomas, Craig Williams and John Williams returned to the starting line-up in place of Karl Williams, Lee Bolderson and Anthony Phillips, with Nicky Rees moving back up front and Jeremy Morgan starting on the left wing.

We had the best of the opening chances when in the second minute a Morgan free kick found John David 6 yards out but he couldn’t keep his header down. Two minutes later Morgan had another chance when his long range effort went just over.

Lisvane/Llanishen first chance came in the 13th minute when they went through one on one with Ian Reed but he managed to pull off a good save.

Lisvane/Llanishen took the lead in the 18th minute with a penalty after Jason Pritchard handled inside the box. The penalty was calmly slotted past Reed to his left hand side.

5 minutes later we came close once again when Ryan Jones is long range effort beat the keeper but come crashing back off the bar.

In the 39th minute we drew level when a long ball from John David was latched onto by Nicky Rees who was one on one with the keeper and lifted the ball over his head from outside the box to make the score 1 – 1.

Just before half time we had a great chance to take the lead when the ball dropped to Jeremy Morgan at the back post but he couldn’t get enough power in his shot and it was a comfortable save for the keeper. Half Time 1 – 1

We got off to the worst possible start in the second half when within a minute we were 2 – 1 down when the ball was played through the middle and a shot from the edge of the area beat Reed in the corner.

In the 50th minute Lee Bolderson replaced Jeremy Morgan and almost had an instant impact when his corner in the 57th minute was headed over by John David.

Gareth Griffiths replaced the injured Craig Williams in the 62nd minute.

In the 65th minute Steve Thomas tried to repeat his goal heroics from last week but this time he couldn’t find the target. Thomas was then replaced by Marc Daniels in the 72nd minute.

In the 77th minute Lisvane/Llanishen increased their lead when a cross from the right to the edge of the area was hit hard and low and hit the post and went in given Reed no chance in goals. 3 minutes later Lisvane scored again and put the game out of our reach.

We did get a second goal with four minutes remaining when Jason Lock played in Daniels who lobbed the keeper from outside the box to give him his second goal in as many games.

Two minutes later Lisvane/Llanishen got a fifth when in similar fashion to Daniels is goal lobbed Reed from the edge of the area. Final Score 2 – 5

Team: I.Reed, G.Thomas, C.Williams(G.Griffiths), J.David, J.Pritchard, J.Williams, J.Lock, S.Thomas(M.Daniels), J.Morgan(L.Bolderson), R.Jones, N.Rees

The committee would like to thanks the players for their contribution this season and the presentation of the bottles of wine, which is gratefully appreciated.

Nominations are now being taken for Players Player of the Year,
Please e-mail your Nomination to stanleytownfc@fsmail.net or complete the comment box on the home page.

_________________________Saturday 26th April 2008________________________.

LLWYNYPIA 0 - 3 STANLEYTOWN

attendance 33
Steve Thomas 38
Anthony Phillips 75
Marc Daniels 87

After our mid week humiliation to Penrhiwfer we travelled to local rivals Llwynypia. We had five changes from Tuesday with Nicky Rees, John David, Jason Lock, Karl Williams and Ryan Jones included in the starting 11 in place of Gareth Griffiths, Gary Thomas, Craig Williams, John Williams and Ian L’Homme.

The early chances of the match fell to Llwynypia but without causing us any real problems, the first came in the 16th minute when a deep free kick was headed onto the bar from 18 yards. Two minutes later a corner was turned towards the goal but Karl Williams was there to clear the ball off the line.

Seven minutes before half time we took the lead when Lee Bolderson played a long ball through for Anthony Phillips to chase who caused problems between the keeper and defender and the ball fell kindly to Steve Thomas on the edge of the box who calmly slotted the ball over the keepers head and into the top corner to give us a 1 – 0 lead at half time.

The second half followed a similar pattern to the first with neither side really causing the other a great deal of trouble. The first chance fell to Ryan Jones when his ambitious effort went wide. Llwynypia’s best chance came in the 57th minute when a long shot went just over.

10 minutes later we had two chances in quick succession, first Jones played in Phillips whose shot went just over and then from the goal kick the ball fell at Phillips is feet but again his attempted lob went over.

With 15 minutes remaining we doubled our lead when Phillips dispossessed the defender just inside the Llwynypia half and carried the ball went one on one with the keeper and rounded him and slotted the ball into an empty net. John Williams replaced Karl Williams on 77 minutes.

A typical local derby saw Llwynypia reduced to 10 men when in the 81st minute their midfielder took a swing at Jeremy Morgan right in front of the referee.

With 6 minutes remaining Marc Daniels returned from injury to replace the hard working Ryan Jones.

We sealed all 3 points in the 87th minute when a Phillips cross was headed back across the goal by Thomas and nothing was going to stop Daniels driving the ball into the roof of the net from 6 yards. Final Score 0 – 3

Our final game of the season comes next week against Lisvane/Llanishen 2.00pm kick off.

Team: I.Reed, N.Rees, J.Davd, J.Morgan, J.Pritchard, L.Bolerson, S.Thomas, J.Lock, K.Williams(J.Williams), R.Jones(M.Daniels), A.Phillips

PLAYER RATINGS

Ian Reed 8
He had more shots on goal than the whole team did in the previous game. Take a bit off them kicks reedy. Didn’t really have a save to make, but what he did, he did well.
Positive: His rollercoaster season continues. Great game after the not so great game last time out.
Negative: Is he going to turn up for the last game and night out? If he does, hope he leaves those caps at home.

Nicky Rees 8
Relegated to the back four after letting the team down in midweek. Looked fairly solid, although timing of his challenges left a lot to be desired. That sunroof style hairdo is gonna do him no favours in benidorm tho, borrow one of reedy’s caps nic.
Positive: Could be playing out the remainder of his career at full back
Negative: Caught for a pint again, this time by jez rather than hobble.

Jason Pritchard 8
Did well to contain probably their best player. Put in some good challenges on a pacey winger and did what he could to wind him up, and then the winger took it out on jez.
Positive: Took the ‘you look like a scarecrow’ taunts in his stride.
Negative: He does look a bit like a scarecrow.

John David 8
Just the one dirty challenge from behind this game. Plenty of verbal abuse to the opposition centre half, and having banter with mole and magua back in the club. John loves a good barney.
Positive: Defence looked solid and kept opposing strikers quiet
Negative: Wants to mark even less than the other centre half!!!!

Jeremy Morgan 8
An assured display from the clubs best non marker never lost his man once mainly cos he never had a man. Turned up in what as to be the worst ever shirt seen on a stanleytown player and thats remebering Lhomme and pritchard have been seen in some wild gear!
Positve: Ditched the hair dresser car this week
Negative: Ditched the mr cool image with that shirt

Lee Bolderson 8 plus 1 from Dai = 9
Star man contender with a much improved performance. Great bit of dribbling early on, came looking for the ball and put in decent crosses. About time the boy wonder lived up to his name. Then, looking like Huckelberry Finn, he has a go at what the other boys are wearing – the cheek of it.
Positive: He wasn’t hot in those shorts and sandals.
Negative: He wasn;t cool in them either. When have denim shorts of any kind been a good look ????

Steve Thomas 10 – STAR MAN
Played away on his doorstep and scored. Again, hobble puts in an unbelievable performance and picks up the STAR MAN award for his efforts. Deserved top marks for his efforts this week, outstanding.
Positive: His girls were so proud when he tucked away that 25 yard strike into the roof of the net.
Negative: Will that goal prove to be like Halley’s comet?

Jason Lock 8
This boy is yet to have a poor game for the club. Lets hope we can get him to sign a new contract for next season. Strong in the challenge, and good engine.
Positive: He’s strong and tough and only the best is good enough.
Negative: The milky bars are not on locky.

Anthony Phillips 9
Another one who put in a cracking display. Held ball up well, and wants to be involved all the time. Took his goal superbly as he normally does. Must surely be Stanleytown golden dap winner, players player and player of the year???
Postiive: Has been talking favourably about signing for next year
Negative: Is he gonna want better terms than this season?

Ryan Jones 8
A change up front with Dai opting for the physical presence of Ryan ahead of the pace and unselfish running of nicky rees. Ryan did well, holding the ball up and linking play. His touch and control have always been there and never in doubt.
Positive: Was effective as a striker alongside anthony
Negative: Never going to run the channels

Karl Williams 8
Showed some sublime skill on the left flank, often leaving his marker for dead. Nice to see him back for his first start in a while.
Positive: Best skills in the team
Negative: Not allowed out after last game of the season

John Williams 8
The little fella battled hard as usual, doing the job of the two centre halves in the process.
Positive: Think all those times I thought he was hungove, he wasn’t as he is always a little dazed.
Negative: No Lonsdale daps allowed in Cardiff, and definitely no white socks,

Marc Daniels 9
Showed great determination. There was nothing on this earth that was gonna stop him getting to that ball to score.
Positive: Great for danno to cap his return from injury with a goal.
Negative: Looked a bit funny the way he finished it.

Leon Black
Tantastic showing from young Leon. Has he got the same post round as hobble. I thought spray tans were for girls tho?
Was only outtanned by the opposing centre half.

_________________________Tuesday 22nd April 2008________________________

PENRHIWFER 4 - 2 STANLEYTOWN

attendance 18
Anthony Phillips 56
Ryan Jones 85

A PENRHIWFER SIDE THAT WERE BETTER THAN US PICKED UP THEIR FIRST LEAGUE WIN IN THREE YEARS. WHAT MORE CAN YOU SAY?

Team: I.Reed(S.Leach), G.Thomas, G.Griffiths, C.Williams(R.Jones), J.Pritchard, L.Bolderson, S.Thomas, J.Morgan, J.Williams, A.Phillips, I.L'Homme

PLAYER RATINGS

Ian Reed 0
One of those games to forget. He was a bit hesitant on times. Subbed. Nothing more to say.

Gary Thomas 0
Defence were shaky tonight. Gary was part of that. Didn’t help when he rifled home that cross for an own goal, setting the trend for the night,

Jason Pritchard 1
One of the few players to take anything away from the game. Contested plenty of headers and won every one.

Craig Williams 0
Not his usual imposing self. Boys had a laugh at that new mullet cut, and I think that was on his mind. Looked like Bill Ray Cyrus in his prime. Injured.

Gareth Griffiths 0
Not looking match fit. Was looking very slow when tracking their forwards. Hope he’s not that slow when he empties those coin boxes on tv’s.

John Williams 0
I know he’s a really quiet fella but was he actually there? Anonymous.

Steve Thomas 0
Mind seemed to be elsewhere. Was uninterested in the game.

Jeremy Morgan 0
Useless in midfield. Useless up front. Useless in defence. In that order.

Anthony Phillips 1
Battled throughout, took his goal superbly.

Lee Bolderson 0
Another one who had a quiet game. A very quiet game.

Ian L’Homme 0
Didn’t hold onto anything up front. Wasn’t the outlet he was meant to be.

Ryan Jones 0
Nice control as always. Neat finish.

Simon Leach 0
Not on for long.

Nicky Rees
Went to watch the scousers. Only better seats at Anfield were front row kop seats, the ones right by where John Arne Riise copied Gary to score an own goal.

STAR MAN is cancelled this week after such a dire performance.

_________________________Tuesday 15th April 2008________________________

STANLEYTOWN 0 - 0 HOPKINSTOWN

attendance 17

For the second time in ten days we played Hopkinstown in a totally contrasting game of that nine-goal thriller on April the 5th. We had just the one change to the starting 11 from Saturday’s defeat to Brecon with Leon Black returning to the starting line up in place of the missing Jason Lock.

Ian Reed was called into action early, when in the 5th minute a Hopkinstown shot from outside the box tested Reed but he saved well.

The best opening chance fell to us in the 13th minute when Anthony Phillips beat the defender and went one on one with the keeper but couldn’t get enough power in the shot and the goalkeeper saved.

8 minutes later we had another golden chance when Phillips is driven cross from the right, was met by the head of Jeremy Morgan, but from 6 yards he headed over.

Our next chance came in the 27th minute with a long-range effort from Craig Williams. Then 2 minutes later Hopkinstown had a long range shot saved by Reed.

We were to have one more great chance before half time when Jason Pritchard got onto the end of Nicky Rees is cross but from 6 yards he shot over.

Just before half time we had another two chances, first Craig Williams broke into the box and shot only for the keeper to save, and then Rees had a shot from just outside the area, which the Hopkinstown keeper once again kept out. Half Time 0 – 0

Ian L’Homme replaced John Williams on 59 minutes.

The second half became a scrappy affair taking 20 minutes for the first chance, which fell to Hopkinstown, a header that Reed comfortably saved.

A minute later we had the ball in the net when Phillips crossed for Rees who’s miss hit shot fell kindly to L’Homme coming in at the far post to put the ball in the net, only for it to be ruled out for offside.

Hopkinstown nearly stole the points in the 83rd minute when they went through one on one with Reed, but he brilliantly saved at the forwards feet. Final Score 0 – 0

Team: I.Reed, G.Thomas, C.Williams, J.Morgan, J.Pritchard, J.Williams(I.L’Homme), L.Bolderson, S.Thomas, L.Black, A.Phillips, N.Rees

PLAYER RATINGS

Ian Reed 8
Another good game from Reedy. Erratic up and down form seems to be continuing. Argued with Danno this time, went mental cos he said to play a goal kick short. Kept us in it getting a hand when up against a one on one.
Positive. Always tells Mrs Reed he loves her before he puts the phone down
Negative. Doesn’t always answer the phone.

Gary Thomas 7
Trying to prove me wrong by putting in as many overlapping runs that he can. Dependable as ever in the right back position, with defending as his priority.
Positive. He’s had the same jeans on, for four days now, he’s going to go to a disco in the middle of town.
Negative. Everyone’s dressing up, Gary’s dressing down.

Jason Pritchard 8
One of the best games I have seen him play. Nothing was gonna pass him today. Timed every challenge perfectly.
Positive. Took the ‘ginger’ taunts in his stride, like water off a ducks back.
Negative. If anyone had called him prosinecki, he would have lamped them.

Jeremy Morgan 5
Had a game to forget turned up in his wales rugby suit and tie looking the spit of martin williams (im no rugby fan so ill take lee's word for it)he was then ordered off pitch to change his silly socks how ironic hey! but his biggest nightmare was when he done his turtle impression wound his neck into shell and put a free header over bar from 2 yards out. only saving grace is he is still the 'best non marker in the club' jason is not far behind him mind!
Positive. Found another cat in gilfach
Negative. How long before owners ask for it back???

Craig Williams 9 – STAR MAN
Best player in defence, and also most dangerous in attack, which was a bit of a worry. Has been inspirational since being moved to centre half. Another good game from the big man. We need him to re-sign next year.
Positive. Based on recent performances, keeps opposition forwards in his pocket.
Negative. Based on his cons debt, he also keeps his cash in his pocket.

John Williams 6
He is the smallest target man we have ever had. Unlike Jez, he is willing to put his head in where it hurts. How can anyone be nasty to little john, he’s such a nice fella. Even I struggle for negatives for him.
Positive. Well brave for a little 7 stone fella.
Negative. Looks like he could burn even more than Jez and Nicky in Benidorm.

Lee Bolderson 6 (+1 as instructed by Dai) = 7
Still waiting to win a 50/50 challenge. Tip toed around the midfield as usual. Some nice passes but retained his can’t mark, won’t mark approach.
Positive. Have found a new look-alike for the boy wonder – Graeme Le Saux
Negative. Lets hope its just the looks he has in common with Graeme. ;-)

Steve Thomas 7
Recent Mr consistent does the business again. Almost hitting the form that won him player of the year in seasons gone by.
Positive. Leading the way with his base tan. He said all this good weather we have recently had is making him look so brown.
Negative. Don’t know where his post round is to be getting that good weather? Not got a round in Nairobi has he?

Anthony Phillips 6
Was carrying a knock and it showed. Not at his best and it showed. Still did ok but didn’t look as mobile and threatening as usual.
Positive. One average game wont affect his player of the year chances.
Negative. Has put in so many storming performances, we expect it from him every game now.
Nicky Rees 6
Played as main striker up front on his own. Despite his recent good scoring record, has to be considering a move upstairs for next season. Did ok with plenty of running, but it’s a slight concern when he looks more dangerous when out wide. Scuffed shot with goal at his mercy. Put in great cross to set up Pritchard.
Positive. Fed up with the taunts about Karen’s choice of clothes for him. Has become inspired by Gavin and Stacey, and will now only wear Rocha by John Rocha
Negative. Couldn’t understand why karen’s most played song on the ipod was ‘wind of change’ by scorpions. Watch soccer am mun Nic!

Leon Black 6
Gave us an outlet on the wing. Some trickery in the box, but didn’t really create as much as he is capable of. Can see the potential with his pace and skill.
Positive. Fast mover on the pitch.
Negative. Faster mover in the changing rooms once the showers come on. He is out of there in a flash.

Ian L’Homme 7
Been looking sharp when coming on at end of games.
Positive. Turned up looking like the man from C&A in fancy shirt and sweater.
Negative. Still had to borrow a pair of boots tho.

_________________________Saturday 12th April 2008________________________

STANLEYTOWN 1 - 3 BRECON

Anthony Phillips 89
attendance 14

For the first time since December 29th we had an unchanged team from last week’s victory over Hopkinstown to face Brecon as we looked to stretch our unbeaten run to four games.

We got off to the worst possible start when Brecon took the lead after just 2 minutes when the ball was past through the middle and went 1 on 1 and slotted the ball under Ian Reed.

Our first chance came in the 14th minute when Steve Thomas headed Anthony Phillips is corner just over. A minute later Phillips put Jason Lock through but his shot was well saved by the Brecon goalkeeper.

Five minutes before half time Brecon doubled their lead when they powered their way into the area and scooped the ball over the oncoming Reed. Half Time 0 – 2

The first chance of the second half fell to Brecon when a long range free kick was well saved by Reed. On 52 minutes Craig Williams had a long range effort saved.

5 minutes later Reed was called into action once again with another long range effort but he pulled off a good save. In the 63rd minute Brecon got the third when a long ball was only cleared to the edge of the area and a low driven shot found the bottom corner.

On 68 minutes Karl Williams, Leon Black and Ian L’Homme replaced Jason Pritchard, John Williams and Nicky Rees.

In the last twenty minutes we had a few more chances but nothing that really troubled the Brecon keeper with Phillips having a coupled of long range efforts and L’Homme shot across the floor was saved by the keeper.

We did manage to get a goal in the 89th minute when Reed’s long kick up field was excellently brought down by Phillips who the beat the defender and slotted the ball past the keeper to score his 6th goal in four games. Final Score 1 – 3

We were beaten today by a better side and must pick ourselves up for Tuesday’s big game with Hopkinstown at home 6.15pm kick off.

Team: I.Reed, G.Thomas, J.Morgan, C.Williams, J.Pritchard(K.Williams), L.Bolderson, S.Thomas, J.Lock, J.Williams(L.Black), A.Phillips, N.Rees(I.L’Homme)

PLAYER RATINGS

Ian Reed 7
No chance with any of the goals. Handling was superb throughout and distribution good. Sent our strikers running on several occasions.
Positive: Quality performance.
Negative: Come on Reedy, you can’t blame the wind. Last season it was the clouds.

Gary Thomas 6
Proved me wrong being pushing forward in the first half almost reaching the by-line. Twice. Sign of the times when much younger players are being replaced by our substitutes.
Positive: Poker form must have peaked after hitting a royal flush on Friday night.
Negative: Those two overlapping runs took it out of him.

Jason Pritchard 6
Said he was carrying a knock, but gave a half decent performance. Usual things from Pritchard.
Positive: Keeps getting jumped by his neighbours.
Negative: Went mental after being subbed.

Jeremy Morgan 6
Raphael as hit a sticky patch of late and is not playing at the level we know he is capable of playing never the less kept up his tag of leagues dirtiest player with another booking to his name for a over the top tackle!
Positive: the boys are looking smarter week by week back at the club (spotted at least 4 new tops this week)
Negative: went for the teenage mutant ninga turtle look but bottled out going to club and sloped off! want to know if lee was right when he told me 'jez got a red raphael head band in his car' well jez??? bounty growing every week on the catnappers head dick and dom still hot favourites to smash him first but there are a few wives and girlfriends worth an outside punt:)

Craig Williams 6
Did G’s presence on the side affect him. Didn’t play as well as he has in the last few games, but still did ok. Strong in the challenge.
Positive: Has done enough to confirm his position as centre half.
Negative: Struggled with mobile opposition forwards.

Lee Bolderson 5
(+1 that Dai makes me give him every week) = 6
Saw plenty of the ball, but often was taking it in full flight and struggled to keep under control. Positive: Has said he wants to take over player ratings for next season.
Negative: Had a bump on the head on the field, and almost spoiled his pretty boy looks.

John Williams 5
Didn’t see much of little John yesterday. Quiet game. Remember him putting in some decent clearances in first half tho.
Positive: He is coming to Benidorm.
Negative: What state is he going to get in?

Jason Lock 7 – STAR MAN
Doing really well in central midfield. Up against some good opponents yesterday so wasn’t at his best, but still did alright. Physical presence in midfield.
Positive: Nice to see someone not bothered about what is written on here for a change.
Negative: Either that or he’s not on the net?

Steve Thomas 6
Did well for middle of the game, not so good at the start an end. Got excited when Lisa turned up and flashed her gloves at him. Another half decent showing as a whole.
Positive: After another poker win on Friday, wondering what tattoo to have where next…..
Negative: Is gonna run out of skin to have tattooed at this rate.

Nicky Rees 5
Ran around a lot without really producing anything. Did ok I suppose bit didn’t score this weekend for the first time in ages. Could see his frustration when he tried to emulate Lhomme Alonso. Made a fool of himself in the process.
Positive: Will want to be back notching midweek.
Negative: Don’t half go through some eggs in his house.

Anthony Phillips 7
Often came deep looking for the ball. Scored a goal out of nothing, controlling a long ball from Reedy, beating a couple of players and firing past the keeper with left foot. Knows where the back of the net is.
Positive: Quality goal.
Negative: All round play not as good as of late.

Ian L’Homme 6
Did really well when he came on. Got into some good positions but couldn’t score.
Positive: More of an attacking force in 5 minutes he was on than Nicky was in previous 85.
Negative: Doesn’t really understand when you should and shouldn’t time waste. When we are 3- 1 down, its not really the time.

Leon Black 5
When chasing balls, seemed to be taking the long way around. Didn’t really have a lot of time to impose himself, and didn’t.
Positive: Goes to the same place on holidays as hobble. Tan is about the same….
Negative: He is like lightning. Not just on the pitch, but when those showers are turned on.

Karl Williams 5
Return from injury for Karl.
Positive: Nice to have him back.
Negative: Might struggle to dislodge the Hobble and Locky pairing.

Danno
Bronx Manhattan was back and proud. He pulled his cardigan open and puffed his chest in pride.

G
Came along to see if all the Frog hype was true. Bring your boots next week G.

_________________________Saturday 5th April 2008________________________

HOPKINSTOWN 4 - 5 STANLEYTOWN

attendance 18
Anthony Phillips (3) 14, 43, 65

Lee Bolderson 40

Nicky Rees 85

This week we travelled to fellow strugglers Hopkinstown for a nine-goal thriller and probably the longest game of football ever. We had one change from last weeks draw with Lisvane with Jason Lock replacing Ian L’Homme.

We took the lead in the 14th minute when a long kick up field dropped to Anthony Phillips 10 yards inside the Hopkinstown half, dribbled the ball beat 3 defenders and calmly slotted the ball past the goalkeeper from 6 yards out.

Hopkinstown nearly replied instantly when a minute later their striker went one on one with Ian Reed but he managed to pull off a good save. Our next chance came 5 minutes later when Phillips’s cross field ball found Lee Bolderson coming in from the right and his driven shot was well save by the Hopkinstown keeper.

On 28 minutes Hopkinstown drew level when an in swinging corner from the left was headed in from 6 yards.

We regained the lead 5 minutes before half time when a quick free kick by Phillips sent Bolderson through one on one and took his shot from outside the area and gave the keeper no chance.

3 Minutes later we went 3 – 1 up when Lock played Nicky Rees in down the left and his square ball found Phillips one from just inside the area side footed the ball into the corner of the net.

This was still time for one more goal before half time, and it went to the home side in bizarre fashion, when Reed misjudged a free kick from the half way line and the ball went over his head into the net. Half Time 2 – 3

2 minutes after the restart Phillips had a chance to grab his hat trick only to be denied on the line, he done well beat 2 defenders scrambled the ball past the keeper back heeled it towards the goal only for the defender to clear it off the line.

In the 58th minute Hopkinstown drew level when they were awarded a generous free kick on the edge of the area, which was taken quickly and caught us out to bring the score to 3 – 3.

We took the lead for the third time in the 65th minute when Phillips grabbed a well-deserved hat trick with a low driven free kick from inside the D after Rees was hacked down.

We increased our lead in the 85th minute when Nicky Rees grabbed his 5th goal of the season with a well worked goal when Bolderson played Lock in down the right hand side and his low cross to the far post was met by Rees who put the game beyond doubt.

2 minutes later Hopkinstown got a fourth when a shot from just inside the area crept in at the back post.

In the 89th minute Ian L’Homme and Leon Black replaced Nicky Rees and John Williams.

In injury time we had a great chance to extend our lead further when Steve Thomas put Lock through one on one but the keeper pulled off a great save to keep the score at 5 – 4.

After 12 minutes of injury time (even though there was no injuries in the game) the referee finally blew for full time and we picked up a vital and deserved 3 points. Next week we welcome Brecon for a 2.00pm kick off.

Team: I.Reed, G.Thomas, J.Morgan, C.Williams, J.Pritchard, L.Bolderson, S.Thomas, J.Lock, J.Williams(L.Black), N.Rees(I.L’Homme), A.Phillips

PLAYER RATINGS

Ian Reed 5
Not the best game he’s had. Beaten with two direct free kicks, one when he was lining his wall up, and one from 60 yards. Should have thrown one of his many caps on it. Had a lot of difficult balls to deal with to be fair.
Positive: Only one argument with team mates this week.
Negative: If you ask any keeper if he is happy after being beaten from 60 yards, they’ll say no. Ask Reedy next week……

Gary Thomas 5
Got stuck in as usual. Still a few years left in him yet despite what people say. Had a tough time against a half decent player, but Gary held his own. Used his rear end to great effect by making a barricade in front of our goal to block a series of shots.
Positive: Will be using his next poker winnings to buy ‘The View’ album.
Negative: Never gonna be putting in many overlapping runs at this stage of his career.

Jason Pritchard 5
Did ok and kept with it after having a nasty knock from the big centre forward. Wasn’t the best game for any of the back four, but most of the time he was solid enough. As you can expect, some great defensive headed clearances.
Positive: Strong in the air.
Negative: Weak on the ground.

Jeremy Morgan 5
This was not ginger toms best game by a long way, did not put in any tackles all game and distribution was awful even from dead balls, looked shaky throughout.
Positive: looked better on Saturday than he did at Wembley on Sunday with his creased jumper
Negative: found guilty of catnapping in gilfach

Craig Williams 6
The crazy frog was our best defender on the day. Like the rest of the back four, he struggled to cope with the big man up front. But 3 of the 4 goals were from set pieces so we shouldn’t be too hard.
Positive: Have finally found the right position for Frog.
Negative: Someone said G is scared to come back now he has heard how well Frog is playing. Come on G, we still love you.

Lee Bolderson 6
Not the superstar performance we know he can put it. Took his goal well, tucking the ball away at the near post. Finely tuned senses from the antil bullying campaigner.
Positive: Is willing to stand up for his rights and take an anti bullying stance.
Negative: There was no need to pick on Reedy, you sometimes have to admit it when you are wrong.

John Williams 6
He may only be seven stone, but for a little fella, he really goes for it, especially in the air. Battled well even after he had a kick in the head.
Positive: Ability to cope with boot to the face just backed up his ‘Macho’ image.
Negative: Increased the similarity with his football lookalikes after the kick in the face.

Jason Lock 8
Nice to see him again, returning after our away game. Was one of our better players on the day, and put in some hard work in central midfield. Strong in the air.
Positive: Looks like he could do a good job in the middle of the park on a regular basis.
Negative: He must have worn that white string vest for a dare??? I couldn’t have been the only one who saw it?

Steve Thomas 7
What can be said, he is having a new lease of life. 3 decent performances on the bounce. I’ve still yet to see him have a shot on target, let alone score a goal tho.
Positive: Couldn’t find his green and yellow t-shirt this week. Maybe he really did flog it to Frog?
Negative: Those smoking breaks are going to do his future health no good whatsover.

Nicky Rees 7
Worked well with Anthony up front, plenty of unselfish running. Took his goal well and his dummy runs created space for others. If I was a betting man, I would say we will never see those beige socks again.
Positive: Great volley to finish our fifth goal.
Negative: Karen went for an ‘operation desert storm’ look this week. Never has so much beige been seen on one man outside of Iraq. And adding ‘cargo’ pockets to those stay pressed trousers didn’t really work.

Anthony Phillips 9 – STAR MAN
Was pumped up from the outset and put in first class showing. Hat-trick was well deserved. Beat half their team before slotting home, then a neat finish for his second. Finished off with a direct free kick against possibly the worst organised defensive wall I have ever seen. And he set up our second goal for Boy Wonder.
Positive: Superb all around display. Again.
Negative: Question marks over whether he will sign for next season….?

Ian L’Homme 6
Came on late. Put in some crafty turns and was looking like he could have run the opposition defence ragged.
Positive: Looked sharp when he came on.
Negative: Was late cos he was cleaning that bloody car again.

Leon Black 5
Didn’t really have long enough to make an impact.
Positive: Didn’t get dirty enough to need a shower.
Negative: Doesn’t shower anyway.

Danno
Positive: Thank god he didn’t drown in that bath.
Negative: New daps for Don Danno this week, the catalogue man has been to Ferndale.

_________________________Saturday 29th March 2008________________________

LISVANE/LLANISHEN 2 - 2 STANLEYTOWN

attendance 8
Anthony Phillips 20

Ian L'Homme 90

This week we travelled to Lisvane/Llanishen in another vital game for us and again we only had the bare 11 to choose from. We had two changes from last weeks victory over Llwynypia with Jason Pritchard returning from suspension and Ian L’Homme returned, missing from last week was Jason Lock and Leon Black.

On a very difficult pitch a good game of football was never going to be on the cards, which suited us better. We had the best of the opening chances when in the 15th minute a corner from the right was headed onto the bar by John Williams.

However it was Lisvane/Llanishen who took the lead with a superb long range effort in the 20th minute that gave Ian Reed in goals no chance. 5 minutes later we were back on level terms when Anthony Phillips is in swinging corner from the left beat everyone and dropped in at the far post. Half Time 1 – 1
Lisvane/Llanishen came close to re-gaining the lead ten minutes into the second half when a driven cross from the right was headed just wide by our own Nicky Rees. 5 minutes later John Williams hit the woodwork once again when he broke down the left, went one on one with the keeper drove it low only to see his effort bounce back off the post.

With 20 minutes left the home side took the lead when a shot from just inside the area was out of Reed’s reach and ended up in the bottom corner.

With time fast running out for us tactical changes saw Craig Williams and Ncky Rees join the front line as we pushed for the equaliser. In injury time we got the goal when Steve Thomas played the ball through for Ian L’Homme, who may have just been offside, to run onto clear of the defence and one on one with the keeper and he calmly slotted the ball into the net to give us a hard fought, deserved point. Full Time 2 – 2

Team:I.Reed, G.Thomas, J.Morgan, C.Williams, J.Pritchard, N.Rees, L.Bolderson, S.Thomas, J.Williams, A.Phillips, I.L’Homme

PLAYER RATINGS

Ian Reed 8
On times he was amazing, pulled off a fantastic save when shot was bound for top corner. Other times, he was scary, calling for ball when he had no chance of getting it, and playing a one two with the post. All in all, we still love him even though we moan about his kicking. Saved almost everything, even the ones he didn’t need too. Unlucky not to get star man.
Positive – Makes anything difficult look easy.
Negative – Makes anything easy look difficult.

Gary Thomas 9 – STAR MAN
Playing the best football of his career at 46 and he puts it down to a good talking centre half. Playing against talented wide men, thankfully his marking was as a tight as his trousers were last week. Quality.
Positive – Told Mrs Thomas he wanted a new top for his birthday.
Negative – Mrs Thomas bought a 1985 Everton replica home shirt.

Jason Pritchard 7
Solid as usual at the back. Strong in the air, slow on the ground. Nice to have him back after his ban.
Positive – Looks like a mechanic, but at least he doesn’t go on about it like Lhomme.
Negative – Bit of confusion when Pritchard and Hobble didn’t talk to one another, almost causing us a goal.

Jeremy Morgan 8
Headed more balls in this game than in entire season to date. had amazing sixth sense and some how managed to get through game without a trace of mud on himself knowing the showers in the changing room were horrendous![red socks got to go go they clash with his hair]
Positive – does the weekly shop in asda on his own
Negative – cant be trusted to look after a cat yet alone a child

Craig Williams 8
If this man is not an automatic selection at centre half after the last 2 games, there is no justice. Superb throughout. Their forwards were meant to be pretty good and Frog had them both in his pockets. Unlucky not to get star man.
Positive – Very difficult to get past, but be honest, it’s a long way around.
Negative – Thought he had a bargain when he bought that t-shirt of hobble for £1.50.

Lee Bolderson 8
Won the battle of wills with Nicky over money talk, and put in a superb game in the middle of the park. Outnumbered in the centre midfield but played superb, mixing up crisp passes with strong challenges. Unlucky not to get star man.
Positive – Little John said he was off to a house party this week.
Negative – Off to a house party this week. If Jez has a clip off anyone, Lee is prime suspect.

Nicky Rees 7
Maybe put in his best effort of the season when playing out wide. Plenty of covering and Nicky said he enjoyed the opportunity to defend. Went very close with a powerful header, lucky for us it missed Reedy’s left hand upright. Didn’t really create much for a winger though.
Positive – Reckons he can get to Blackpool in three and half hours
Negative – Could be looking like Attillio Lombardo before he knows it

Steve Thomas 8
Second game that Hobble has delivered a top drawer performance. Has he had a new lease of life? If only he could limit those frequent cigarette breaks up the club, his fitness might improve. Lack of pace disguised in the mud to our advantage.
Positive – There is no way he is gonna burn when we go to Benidorm. His base tan is second to none.
Negative – Drastic action required on his barnet before he ends up looking like Phillip Schofield. You know who to seek hair dye advice from Hob!!!!

Anthony Phillips 6
Shocks all around the team when Anthony turns up in Cardiff. Was putting in another great game. Said he saw the keeper struggling, then took a shot from the corner and scored.
Positive – On times, this boy is unplayable. No-one can get near him. He looks quite strong too. And he beats up pervs.
Negative – Chances of Stanleytown holding on to him diminish every week.

Ian L’Homme 6
Welcome return for our journeyman forward. He can’t say he had many good touches, but made his last one count with a nicely taken equaliser. Must have been 5 yards offside though. Vintage Le coq sportif jacket had the Cardiff boys drooling.
Positive – Looked to be a calm finish for our equaliser. Astra still looking good despite no clean in last 2 weeks.
Negative – Shame he wasn’t as excited about running around up front as he is about the benidorm trip.

John Williams 6
Not his best or easiest game. Moved forward to left midfield after star man display at left fullback last week. Was being told conflicting things from different people and looked like he was trying to do them all. Did ok considering, and hit woodwork twice.
Positive – No complaints about the hotel. But Little John doesn’t even know where we are going.
Negative - Positional sense not the best.

Tom
Positive – Didn’t collect cons today.
Negative – Still uncertainty about whether the mane has been tamed.

Danno
Despite what he says, he hasn’t worn the ‘Bronx manhattan’ t-shirt since it was mentioned. Probably been relegated to under his Hutchings overalls.
Positive – Haircut was well overdue.
Negative – Not much left on top after the haircut.

Dai Withers
Positive – Great tactics today to pull out a result against the odds.
Negative – What did he mean when he said ‘keep up the constructive constructions’ at half time?

_________________________Saturday 22nd March 2008________________________.
.

STANLEYTOWN 2 - 0 LLWYNYPIA

Craig Williams 23
attendance 21
Anthony Phillips 90

This week we welcomed local rivals Llwynypia in a vital game for us. We had four changes from last weeks defeat to Whitchurch with Anthony Phillips, Leon Black, John Williams and Jason Lock starting in place of Simon Leach, Paul Williams, Karl Williams and Marc Daniels.

The first chance of the game fell to Llwynypia in the ninth minute when a long-range shot was tipped over by Ian Reed. 5 minutes later we had a great chance when a goal kick went straight to Anthony Phillips on the edge of the area but he couldn’t find the target with his effort.

In the 23rd minute we took the lead when Nicky Rees’s free kick from the left hand side found the unmarked Craig Williams 8 yards out to put us 1 – 0 up and give him his first goal for Stanleytown.

Llwynypia’s best chance came in the 36th minute when they broke down the left hand side put a low cross to the far post, but the Llwynypia striker couldn’t connect and the ball drifted wide. 5 minutes before half time an in swinging corner for Llwynypia was headed off the line by John Williams.

It took 10 minutes into the second half for the next chance when Jason Lock broke through the middle but his long shot went wide.

On the hour Llwynypia yet again caused us problems from a corner when a ball to the back post found an unmarked man and his header was turned away by Reed and John Williams.

In the 70th minute we had two great chances to increase our lead when first Anthony Phillips went one on one but the Llwynypia goalkeeper saved well at his feet. Then minutes later Rees played Phillips in once again who from the edge of the area this time beat the keeper but denied by the post.

We finally wrapped the game up in the 90th minute when Nicky Rees was brought down in the area to give us a penalty, up stepped Phillips and sent the keeper the wrong way and give us a deserved win and a vital 3 points. Final Score 2 – 0

Although we picked up 3 points we still dropped one place in the league to 3rd from bottom on goals scored. Next week we travel to Lisvane/Llanishen 2.00pm kick off.

Team: I.Reed, G.Thomas, J.Morgan, C.Williams, J.Williams, L.Bolderson, S.Thomas, J.Lock, L.Black, A.Phillips, N.Rees

PLAYER RATINGS
.

Ian Reed 8
Top drawer display from reedy. Got down low to make some significant stops. Deserved his clean sheet. And not one crossed word from him today, about time too.
Positive – lived up to his ‘best keeper in the league’ tag
Negative – those caps make him look like he drives one of those big USA trucks for a living

Gary Thomas 8
Some perfectly timed challenges in the first half. Most popular player on the pitch and will probably be hearing ‘Gary!, Gary!’ in his sleep. Kept his defensive position well, and played some crisp passes down the line.
Positive – Ferndale Chinese has another battering on the back of poker winnings from the boys. Hope you can live with your conscious and enjoyed it Gar.
Negative – Those snug fitting jeans might have been cool up Ferndale Imps in 1996, but come on Gar, get a pair of new G-Star Raw ones like Danno.

John Williams 9 – STAR MAN
Like a rock at the back. Carried forward the recent tradition of quality stanleytown left backs. It was embarrassing how easily he beat his man to the ball time after time. Decent in the air as usual, but added a strong tackling element to his game. Even left an opposing player hurt after one tackle. And great goal line clearance in first half.
Positive – One time hat-trick hero puts in a rock solid at the back. Has got full back written all over his game.
Negative – Succumbed to the Ferndale mafia at the death. And those Lonsdale white daps are not too clever.

Jeremy Morgan 8
Quality at the back, marshalling the defence well. Wore his steel toe caps in the first half and made some big clearances into the wind. Only made one tackle all game, which is about usual.
Positive – back to his rightful position at centre half. And one of only a few wise enough to wear those thermal tops. In the snow.
Negative – can’t book a hotel room to save his life

Craig Williams 9
Best performance for the club. Took his goal superbly with a great timed header. 100% effort into every challenge, and didn’t look in trouble all game.
Positive – Won every header and tackle that came his way
Negative – Expectations are well high after a game like that. Made it back with covering tackles all game, maybe he will make it back to the club one day…..

Jason Lock 8
Walked into the dressing room looking like the milky bar kid, then went out on the field and had a stormer. Was everywhere, and covered every bit of ground battling for every ball. Hope he turns up next week cos he was really good today.
Positive – Couldn’t complain about one bit of his game.
Negative – Rumours are that he can be a little unreliable when turning up

Lee Bolderson 7
Did well again, but wondering if sometimes he is thinking about that money. Nicky starts talking to him, and he looks confused and goes all to pot. Gave us an outlet on the right hand side and made some quality passes. Plenty of running.
Positive – thriving playing in front of gary thomas
Negative – why on earth would you go home early to watch highlights of last Wednesdays game? Or did little john get it wrong?

Steve Thomas 9
Conditions must have suited hobble today. It was either the cold, the rain, the sun, the wind or the snow. Hobble asked if we could play llwynypia every week, cos he had a stormer today. Some people were suggesting he should be star man, and he would probably have got it if he added the one missing thing to his game today – a shot on target.
Positive – He saw lisa turn up on the side and thought ‘if I put a good one in today, im on a promise tonight……’
Negative – Looks like a US prison gang member with all them tattoos. Or a black rapper. And that tan still can’t be from a week in fuerteventura???

Nicky Rees 8 – PLAY OF THE DAY
Led the line well and took up lots of good positions. Had a few good balls played through to him, but control in the poor conditions let him down. Ran after Reedy’s long balls, and clever bit of play to win penalty. But what on earth was that attempted half volley header???
Positive – after his recent fashion faux pas’, he took a prov out and sent Karen clothes shopping in asda. Has a new ‘George’ top to choose from for every remaining game.
Negative – Poor ol’ Karen now has to lay 3 sets of clothes out on his bed before each game so he has a choice.

Anthony Phillips 9
In first half was a total different class to everyone else on the field. Beat player after player and put in a quality all round performance. Performance only lacked a goal and that came in last minute with well taken penalty. Great in defence as well as attack.
Positive – superb as normal
Negative – could have had a hat-trick with a little luck. Lisvane away – will he turn up? The stats say no……….. :-(

Leon Black 7
Plenty of pace and drew a lot of fouls from opposition. Did well considering it was his first game back for a while. Tired towards the end.
Positive – Can be congratulated on his first 90 minutes for the club.
Negative – Didn’t hang around after the game for long enough to be congratulated.

Nathan
Positive – Raring to go on the side, but very tight game.
Negative – Hope he doesn’t use his dinner money for poker in school.

Tom
A big question to be asked of Tom on Saturday remains unanswered. Deforestation?
Positive – Best treasurer the club has ever had.
Negative – Late spot of that Euro could jeopardise his position as club chancellor.

Danno
Positive – Everyone is glad he’s still alive after another freak accident.
Negative – Too old to be jumping out of the back of vans.

_________________________Saturday 15th March 2008________________________

AFC WHITCHURCH 8 - 1 STANLEYTOWN

attendance 8
Nicky Rees 5

After our couple of weeks off due to the weather we travelled to Afc Whitchurch. We were struggling for a side with players missing through suspension and injury, which meant a return to the Stanleytown side for Simon Leach and a second start of the season for veteran defender Paul Williams.

We got off to a fantastic start when 5 minutes in we were 1 – 0 up when Lee Bolderson’s corner caused havoc in the Whitchurch area and Nicky Rees was there to slot the ball in from 6 yards.

Whitchurch first chance came after 13 minutes when a free kick from 25 yards out was well saved by Ian Reed and the follow up was driven into the side netting. 7 minutes later Whitchurch were level when they played some nice football down the right hand side and crossed to the far post where the striker was there unmarked to header into an empty net.

For the rest of the half not much else happened as the conditions were getting the better of both sides. With 8 minutes to go before the break Nathan Withers replaced the exhausted Simon Leach.

Just before half time both sides had a couple of chances when first Paul Williams’s long range free kick was saved by the Whitchurch keeper and then Marc Daniels went on a darting run beat a couple of defenders and the ball fell to Craig Williams just outside the box and his shot went narrowly wide. On the stroke of half time Whitchurch had a header from 8 yards go just over the bar.

The story of the second half was one we want to forget as Whitchurch put 7 goals past us. The first was a free kick that was put into the top corner on 58 minutes. Then 5 minutes later a long shot was spilled by Reed and the striker was there to give the hosts a 2 goal advantage.

We had a brief rest bite but on 75 minutes Whitchurch scored 3 goals in 3 minutes, the first was a corner to the back post that was headed in, then another cross to the back post was converted in the same way, and the 3rd came when the striker went 1 on 1 with Reed and slotted the ball under him.
With 8 minutes to go Whitchurch made it seven when our tired legs just couldn’t wait for the game to end. Tom Lewis then replaced the injured Karl Williams.

In the last minute Whitchurch made it eight when a low driven shot from outside the area took a few deflections and ended up in the net. Final Score 8 – 1

This is just a result we got to put behind us and focus on next week’s game against local rivals Llwynypia. We are at home 2.00pm kick off.

Team: I.Reed, G.Thomas, J.Morgan, P.Williams, S.Leach(N.Withers), L.Bolderson, K.Williams(T.Lewis), S.Thomas, C.Williams, M.Daniels, N.Rees

PLAYER RATINGS.

Ian Reed 6
Made some fine saves and handling was impeccable until he let one slip out of his hands to gift the third. Had plenty of practice during the game, but didn’t have much of a chance with the others to be fair.
Positive – did the business in first half when camera was right behind him
Negative – takes comments to heart, but what hobble said was a bit harsh.

Gary Thomas 6
A tough day for the veteran full back. Limited chances to get forward and was on back foot for most of the game. Some vital last ditch challenges but was largely anonymous for the last half dozen goals. Found it hard concentrate after laughing so much at Simon in first minute.
Positive – thank god that striped jumper was in the wash this week.
Negative – really does look like Nigel winterburn

Simon Leach 7 – SHARED STAR MAN & PLAY OF THE DAY
Looked like he was wearing his slippers when he went sprawling in first 30 seconds of the game. How could anyone take him seriously after that? Good effort to last the 30 odd minutes that he did. His defence will be that it was one all when he went off so you can’t argue with that.
Positive – he turned up
Negative – he turned up

Jeremy Morgan 6
Conditions didn’t suit and had his work cut out as the only moil defender out of the 4. Did reasonable for first hour, then went missing for last hour along with team-mates.
Positive – another booking free game
Negative – brown leather jacket is ruined after getting soaked.

Paul Williams 6
Needs to stop using the fact that he is 53 to defend his performances. Lucky not to be booked for heavy challenge and lucky not to give a penalty for handball in second half. Looked quite pally with the ref, so that helped. Considering he is 53, did really well. Made sure the opposition knew he was 53.
Positive – Can’t fault a 53 year old putting his body on the line for the club.
Negative – 53 and still wanted to take all the free kicks, goal kicks, throw ins, corners etc. Come on Mole, give the youngsters a chance.

Craig Williams 6
Strong performance again from Frog. Starting to put in some decent consistent displays. Plenty of strong tackling in difficult conditions. Showed he has a twinkle toes side of his game with a good half dozen drag backs on left hand flank in opening minutes.
Positive – looked to have the ball throughout the game
Negative – couldn’t do an awful lot with it when he got it, but same can be said for everyone else.

Karl Williams 6
Battled well for 90 minutes. Been superb lately and looking like player of the year contender. Its not all good though, cos off the field, we are seeing quite a lot of that retro everton top.
Positive – got his own individual style on and off the field
Negative – that retro look is not everyone’s cup of tea.

Steve Thomas 6
Another good game from hobble and this is not a wind up. You are never gonna get a box to box performance from him, but he did really well for the first hour, tackling, passing and everything. Like the rest of the team, found it really hard in the last half hour. No need for the cutting comments about reedy though. Come on hob.
Positive – officially retired that green and yellow t-shirt he had from turkey.
Negative – uncanny that he caused all that bother by buying 3 pints. Its usually hassle cos he doesn’t get them in.

Nicky Rees 6
Instinctive finish for first goal. Must be stanleytown all time leading scorer by now. Always tried to give an option up front and looked his old jet heeled self alongside a man who wears half his body weight in padding and protection. Had his first of many soakings for the day.
Positive – good decision not to go straight out after the game
Negative – what is that ace of diamonds rubbish?

Marc Daniels 6
Aggressive performance from Danno. One really good run, but that was downhill. Cant fault his enthusiasm. Seemed to get a little emotional when he heard about comment on his favourite 2 pound t-shirt.
Positive – always willing to put his hand in his pocket and buy a drink. What a nice man off the field
Negative – that body armour he puts on is just ridiculous.

Lee Bolderson 6
Got round the back a few times in the first half and put some decent balls into the box. Not as involved in the second half as he tired. Missed Little John.
Positive – great cross in first half
Negative – might be doing well in his accountancy course, but hasn’t a clue how to manage money. Doesn’t know whats his and what isn’t his.

Nathan Withers 7 – SHARED STAR MAN
Replaced an exhausted Simon after about half an hour. Skipped around the field for an hour and put in some brave headers especially in the second half. Effort cannot be faulted. Gave it his all.
Positive – he is a championship wining kickboxer
Negative – never gonna be a championship winning footballer

Tom Lewis 6
Had a good run out for the last 5 or 10 minutes. Bravely chased one long ball and got upended by the keeper.
Positive – unplayable at poker. You never know what he’s got.
Negative – doesn’t really win that many games

_________________________Saturday 23rd February 2008________________________

STANLEYTOWN 0 - 1 CADOXTON

attendance 11

This week we welcomed Cadoxton with 3 changes from last weeks goalless draw with Tonypandy, with John David and Tony Smith missing and Jeremy Morgan suspended, there were returns to the starting eleven for Marc Daniels, Steve Thomas and Craig Williams.

The first chance of the game fell to us when a cross from Jason Pritchard wasn’t gathered cleanly by the goalkeeper who dropped the ball at Craig Williams’s feet but he couldn’t get a shot away.

Our next chance came 12 minutes later when Steve Thomas’s long range effort went wide. A couple of minutes later Cadoxton had their first chance when an in swinging corner from the left was headed off the line by John Williams.

Despite the pressure Cadoxton were putting us under they very rarely troubled Ian Reed in goals with the majority of the shots missing the target. On half hour Karl Williams saw his long range effort go just wide.

Ten minutes before half time Karl Williams was involved once again when his cross found Anthony Phillips was shot was well saved by the goalkeeper.

5 minutes before half time Cadoxton had their best chance of the half when they broke clear from the half way line to go one on one with Reed only for Pritchard to make up the ground and put in a goal saving tackle.
Half Time 0 – 0

The second half followed a similar pattern to the first with Cadoxton playing the better football but for all their possession found it very difficult to break down our back four of Gary Thomas, Marc Daniels, Gareth Griffiths and Jason Pritchard.

The turning point of the game came in the 64th minute when for the second week running we were reduced to 10 men when Griffiths was shown a straight red card for violent conduct.

For the remainder of the game we dug in and restricted Cadoxton to very little and trying to catch them on the counter with the four in midfield of John Williams, Steve Thomas, Karl Williams and Lee Bolderson doing their bit to help out the defence and to support the front two.

With 14 minutes to go and for all our had work Cadoxton finally got the break through when they played the ball through the middle got a bit of good fortune and was able to slot the ball under Reed to give the visitors a 1 – 0 lead.

The game died out in the last ten minutes with neither side creating any chances. On 86 minutes Nicky Rees replaced Craig Williams.
Final Score 0 – 1

This wasn’t the best game but Cadoxton probably did deserve the 3 points as they were the better side, but for all their possession they very rarely troubled Reed with the majority of shots going harmlessly over. The difference was that when they had their chance they took it and grabbed all the points. Next week we travel to bottom of the table Penrhiwfer in a 2.00pm kick off in a game where we must take 3 points.

Team: I.Reed, G.Thomas, G.Griffiths, M.Daniels, J.Pritchard, L.Bolderson, K.Williams, S.Thomas, J.Williams, C.Williams(N.Rees), A.Phillips

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PLAYER RATINGS

Ian Reed 7
Did well again. Few balls came through with awkward bounces and he dealt with them well. In a world of his own when it comes to kicking the ball from hand.
Positive – best keeper in the league on his day.
negative – liable to go mental at any time for no apparent reason. Think it’s a keeper thing.

Gary Thomas 7
Another good vintage performance in defence. Contender for star man, but got turned for the goal. No chance of having star man and rating lowered after hitting flush on the river.
Positive – Defensive work. Spurs fan.
Negative – Could do more talking to the boy wonder in front of him.

Jason Pritchard 7
Looked to be having a good game from where I was standing. Broke through on left wing, had nose bleed and tried ambitious shot when square ball to Anthony was on.
Positive – couple of good interceptions.
Negative – not going to get any faster at his age.

Gareth Griffiths 6
Was looking quite comfortable, then had rush of blood and unloaded hatton style with blows to the body. No-one knows what triggered the rage, not even G.
Positive – Neil will always back him up.
Negative – By the time Neil got there, it was all over.

Marc Daniels 7
How did he last 90 minutes? He can barely walk nowadays. Continues to put his body on the line for stanleytown so fairplay. One nice run going forward but nothing came of it. Bumped his rating up by buying jez a pint.
Positive – No ‘bronx manhattan’ t-shirt this week.
Negative – Question over the Ferndale mafia being in shares at poker.

John Williams 6
A bit anonymous I thought, but others said he did loads of running. Traditional dick and dom roles reversed in the club with John on the coke.
Positive – he’s a nice quiet lad
Negative – likes a drink or ten on a Friday night.

Karl Williams 8 – STAR MAN
Was all over the pitch. Usual stepover magic for the crowd but could not create an opening. Anthony played him in and almost had a chance when he tried a trick to get past bobo balde, but got brushed aside.
Positive – looks like ‘Gennaro Ivan Gattuso’
Negative – cant play like him

Steve Thomas 5
Can tell he hasn’t played many games of late. A little off the pace and looked a bit sluggish. Some said that’s been his style for 20 years, but decide for yourself.
Positive – came alive to produce top form back in the club.
Negative – green and yellow t-shirt is having a battering

Anthony Phillips 8
Plenty of energy and another top display. Needs more support up front. Balls into his feet were often not good enough.
Positive – nice to see him back at the workies.
Negative – would be playing even better with a settled strike partner.

Craig Williams
Up front this week. Plenty of effort as usual. Not close enough to strike partner and tired on a sticky pitch.
Positive – held the ball up well.
Negative – can improve stamina after lay-off.

Lee Bolderson 5
Played a very attacking role and had fair share of decent ball. Unfortunately it was a day to remember for boy wonder as he did not put in one worthwhile cross.
Positive – doing well in his accountancy degree
Negative - crossing

Nicky Rees 5
Came on for last 10 minutes and ran around like a crazy fool. Knee seemed to hold up as he won one strong challenge. Can see him being moved ‘upstairs’ fairly soon.
Positive – Karan dressed him this week.
Negative – rumours are that he is a bullshitter.

Neil Griffiths 6
Showed great acceleration in attempt to get to scuffle, although came to no avail.
Positive – can put someone to sleep in between 5 to 10 seconds depending on what type of grip he gets.
Negative – it could be you he puts to sleep.

Antos 9 – PLAY OF THE DAY
Has the director of football pulled off a transfer coup to rival west ham with tevez and mascherano? New players needed, and has the withers charm worked its magic again?
Positive – withers last roll of the dice could save stanleytown from the land of no referees.
Negative – is signing going to be another weah cousin?

_________________________Saturday 16th February 2008________________________

TONYPANDY 0 - 0 STANLEYTOWN

attendance 19

This week we travelled to local rivals Tonypandy Albions with just the one change from last weeks victory with Craig Williams missing through injury meant a full debut for Tony Smith.

We started the brightest and had the best of the early chances when first in the 3rd minute Anthony Phillips went through down the right and lobbed the ball over the oncoming keeper only to see his effort go past the far post.

With 17 minutes gone Karl Williams had two chances in the space of a minute, when good work by Lee Bolderson down the right put a dangerous cross into the far post but Williams couldn’t quite get the right direction on the ball, and then as Pandy failed to clear Bolderson put another dangerous cross into Williams but his attempt went wide.

The 23rd minute saw Phillips strike a free kick only for the keeper to save. 2 minutes later Pandy had their first chance when a quick free kick caught us napping and they were through one on one with Ian Reed only for Reed to save well at the attacker’s feet.

On half hour the game took a turn for the worse when both sides were reduced to 10 men for violent conduct, Jason Pritchard being sent off for us.

After this Tonypandy went on top but couldn’t find that goal, with their main strikes coming from outside the box which were comfortably saved by Reed. 5 minutes before the break Pandy had two chances when first the went through one on one but couldn’t find the target and the shot drifted past the post, then a minute later a long range effort went just over the bar. Half Time 0 – 0

The second half started as the first ended but for all of Pandy’s pressure they didn’t have too many clear cut chances. Their best chance came on the hour when a corner from the right was met by the head of the Pandy attack from 6 yards out, only for Reed to pull off a magnificent save and tip the ball away for another corner.

A solid performance from defenders Gary Thomas, Gareth Griffiths, John David and stand in centre back John Williams meant that Tonypandy’s chances were few and far between.

We looked to catch Pandy on the counter attack and almost got our reward in the 65th minute when Karl Williams got down the left hand side and got a cross into Jeremy Morgan but his shot went wide.

In the 70th minute Tonypandy nearly took the lead when a deep free kick was volleyed goal-wards only to be denied by the post. Things got worse for us with 15 minutes left when John David picked up his second yellow card and we had to play the remainder of the game with 9 men.

With 8 minutes to go Ian L’Homme replaced Bolderson.

Despite Pandy having the extra man our boys dug in and kept Tonypandy at bay giving them no room and they hardly tested Reed in those final minutes. Final Score 0 – 0

This was a very good point for us that now see us undefeated in 3 games. If we can play like this in our remaining games, surely the points will come, starting with next weeks home game against Cadoxton, kick off 2.00pm

Team: I.Reed, G.Thomas, J.David, G.Griffiths, J.Pritchard, T.Smith, K.Williams, J.Morgan, J.Williams, A.Phillips, L.Bolderson(I.L’Homme)

PLAYER RATINGS

Ian Reed 9
In the running for star man but just fell short. Superb display, numerous stops for the camera. Kept us in game and didn’t put a foot wrong.
Positive – Spectacular shot stopping
Negative – Went mental at half time

Gary Thomas 8
Used all his years experience to cancel out flying winger. Solid and dependable and held his position well. Did one crazy overlapping run and got nowhere near the ball.
Positive – Positioning and tackling
Negative – Old legs

Jason Pritchard 6
Like a rock with his defensive heading. Good inside work to make room for right handed uppercut. Unfortunately it was right under the nose of the ref who enjoyed dishing a deserved red card.
Positive – Good footwork and fast hands
Negative – Right foot

John David 8
Unfairly booked and ended up picking up second yellow and resultant red. Strong at heart of defence while he was on. Some said recent match ratings and photographs have affected him……….
Positive – Strong tacking and heading and
Negative – Left foot

Gareth Griffiths 8
Back on form this week and worked hard to cancel out wave after wave of pandy attack. Did well in air and on ground. Went for a neutral colour after last weeks bold statement.
Positive – Colour choice
Negative – Just rentals t-shirt

Jeremy Morgan 7
Some said he was useless, others said he did great. Fouled a lot and picked up another booking. Strange choice to volley when a header was easier. Did well to last 90 minutes for more than one reason.
Positive – drafting skills
Negative – heading and poker

John Williams 9 – STAR MAN
Was doing well until he got moved to left back following early sending off. He did even better there, not losing a challenge for the rest of the game.
Positive – defensive work
Negative – nothing today

Karl Mole 8
Could have scored 2 in first five minutes. Covered lots of ground and looked fit despite not making training, Great play as usual in middle of park.
Positive – drag backs
Negative – acrylic navy jumper

Anthony Phillips 8
Led the line well and dropped deep when extra defensive work needed. Great display as usual.
Positive – attacking play, defensive play.
Negative – someone said his hair was a bit wild……and appearances back at the club.

Tony Smith 8
Solid at the back to help keep a clean sheet. Fitting in well.
Positive – Defensive work
Negative – Has a lot to live up to after G’s rave reviews.

Lee Bolderson 8
Another good performance for Lee. Started brightly putting in a superb couple of crosses. Did well up front with his running, particularly so with the limited supply of decent balls.
Positive – Off the ball running
Negative – Worse at tackling than jez

Ian L’Homme 7
Striking the ball well in the warm up. Came on to lead the line. Had half chance put could lob the keeper.
Positive – Keeps that Astra immaculate
Negative – The Astra

Danno
Happy to be putting his boots on. Looked cold on the side.
Positive – He’s a nice man off the field
Negative – He’s not a nice man on the field

Hobble
Positive - Good day to be supporting united.
Negative – Might not make double figures in appearances this season.

Nicky Rees
Positive – On a high with new car.
Negative – Stripes and camouflage don’t really go. And not a day to be a Liverpool fan. And poker.

_________________________Saturday 9th February 2008________________________

STANLEYTOWN 2 - 1 TONGWYNLAIS

Karl Williams 52
attendance 14
Gareth Griffiths 64

For the third game in row we played a team in the bottom third of the table with us and this week it was Tongwynlais. We had two changes from last weeks 2 – 2 draw with Gareth Griffiths returning and a first start of the season for veteran full back Gary Thomas, they replaced the injured Leon Roberts and the missing Leon Black.

We had the best chance of the opening 10 minutes when Anthony Phillips went through one on one knocked the ball past the keeper only for the post to deny him. 5 minutes later Tongwynlais had a chance from 6 yards but Ian Reed managed to pull off a good save.

On 18 minutes Tongwynlais took the lead when a ball over the top caused confusion between John David and Reed, who didn’t reach the ball cleanly and the Ton striker was there to put the ball into an empty net.

The next 20 minutes saw the game become a little scrappy with neither side really creating a chance. With 6 minutes before half time we upped the pace and started playing football and had three chances before the break.

First Phillips combined well with Karl Williams who’s shot was saved, then 2 minutes later Williams and Phillips combined again to play in Lee Bolderson in but again the keeper was up to the task, then Jeremy Morgan had a great chance one on one but couldn’t get his shot off in time before the keeper saved at his feet. Half Time 0 – 1

Seven minutes after the re-start we were back on level term when a cross from the left by John Williams caused confusion between defender and keeper and Karl Williams was there to put the ball home from 6 yards.

In the 64th minute we took the lead when a free kick from the half way line by Gareth Griffiths caused mayhem in the Tongwynlais penalty area and the ball went straight in to give Griffiths his first goal for Stanleytown.

10 minutes later we saw the best move of the match when Morgan sent Thomas down the right who then played in Bolderson whose pass found Phillips only for the goalkeeper to save and stop what would have been a great goal. Minutes later Phillips combined with Williams yet again to play in Bolderson who shot wide.

The last quarter of an hour saw Tongwynlais press for an equaliser but solid defensive performances from Thomas, David, Griffiths and Jason Pritchard kept the Tongwynlais attack at bay and restricted them to long range efforts that hardly troubled Reed in goals.

On 85 minutes Marc Daniels replaced Craig Williams.

Final Score 2 – 1

This was a hard fought and deserved 3 points and if this commitment and determination is shown in our remaining fixtures then surely the points needed for survival will come. Our next fixture is against local rivals and table toppers Tonypandy Albions on the running track Clydach, 2.00pm kick off.

Team: I.Reed, G.Thomas, G.Griffiths, J.David, J.Pritchard, J.Williams, L.Bolderson, K.Williams, J.Morgan, C.Williams(M.Daniels), A.Phillips

PLAYER RATINGS

Ian Reed 7
Confirmed his return to form with some great reflex stops. Kept us in the game in first half. Got involved with referee for a bit of banter. Some said he was to blame for their goal.

Gary Thomas 7
Experienced display from veteran full back. Solid at the back and deep into the second half was found overlapping on the right wing where he contributed to best move of the match.

Jason Pritchard 7
Did not miss a header all game. Distribution not up to much as normal, but general all round good game.

John David 8
Made all fifteen and a half stone count. Rose to challenge in second half and put in plenty of heavy challenges. Best game in ages. Was still on song in the workies.

Gareth Griffiths 7
Much improved from Gareth against forwards who are good in the air. Rattled home winner by scoring from own half and registering Stanleytown’s furthest out goal ever. Lhomme Alonso RIP. Sharm-el-Shiek tan clashed with that funny blue jumper though.

Jeremy Morgan 7
Tried to walk it in when should have tapped the ball home in first half and got outjumped by Warren from celebrity scissorhands. Made his ariel prowess count tho when winning flick on for equaliser and causing chaos in air for the winner. Unfairly booked.

John Williams 6
Little john can produce it when he stays in on a Friday night too. Did ok, but no goal magic this week.

Karl Williams 9 – STAR MAN
Midfield general display. Covered lots of ground, unlucky not to score in first half, but slammed home equaliser after the break. Plenty of drag backs to wow the home contingent, only time anyone got near him was a sly kick from John Jenkins in the workies.

Anthony Phillips 8
Rumour has is it that he will have a bad game one day. Still no sign cos he put in excellent display as usual. Only thing that let him down was that playboy badge on the back of his car.

Craig Williams 6
Started on the flank then pushed up front. Strong performance and getting back into it after a long absence.

Lee Bolderson 8
Looked a bit angry on times, even making sliding tackles. Continued with the good form of late to prove that the ‘boy wonder’ tag is deserved. Put in some great runs up and down the flank and was unlucky not to score.

Marc Daniels 6
AKA ‘Some’. Happy to be putting his boots on again, even if he has to pay £2 cons. Slowly building up his fitness. At this rate he will be starting a game again by 2010. Spurred on by Gary Thomas’ new lease of life.

Dodgy 0
Watched the rugby.

Nicky 0
Watched the rugby.

Lhomme 0
Watched the rugby.

Hobble 0
Watched the rugby.

_________________________Saturday 2nd February 2008________________________

CAERPHILLY TOWN 2 - 2 STANLEYTOWN

attendance 11
John Williams(2) 12, 37

This week we travelled to fellow strugglers Caerphilly Town with only a point between us. We had three changes from last weeks defeat with Gareth Griffiths, Nicky Rees and Ian L’Homme missing in come Anthony Phillips, John David and the return of Craig Williams.

The first half started brightly on a heavy pitch and the first chance fell to Caerphilly when in the 5th minute they went through 1 on 1 with Ian Reed but he managed to pull off a good save. Our first chance came 4 minutes later when Phillips saw his shot go narrowly over the bar.

On 12 minutes we took the lead when good build up play by Jason Pritchard and Phillips put John Williams through 1 on 1 and he calmly knocked the ball past the keeper to grab his second goal in as many games.

5 minutes later Caerphilly were back on level terms they attacked down the right, beat the defender and drilled the ball hard and low across Reed’s goal into the far corner to make the score 1 – 1.

A couple of minutes later John David played a lovely ball through to Phillips but his shot went wide. This game was going back and forth and 3 minutes later Caerphilly had a shot that went just wide.

We regained the lead 8 minutes before half time when a driven free kick by Phillips was saved and Karl Williams knocked the ball back towards the goal and from 2 inches out John Williams made sure the ball went in the net to grab his second goal of the game.

On the stroke of half time Caerphilly drew level when they simply played the ball through the middle caught us slacking and from 8 yards gave Reed no chance. Half Time 2 – 2

The second half wasn’t as entertaining as the first as the heavy pitch was beginning to tell for both sides. We were very solid in the back with the back four of Leon Roberts, Jeremy Morgan, John David and Jason Pritchard containing the Caerphilly attack and giving Reed very little to do.

In the 57th minute Steve Thomas replaced Leon Black to join Karl Williams in the centre of midfield and break up the play very well. 5 minutes later Gary Thomas replaced the injured Leon Roberts.

The first proper chance of the half came in the 69th minute when Gary Thomas was seemingly day dreaming and allowed the Caerphilly striker to have a free shot at goal only to be denied by a brilliant save from Reed.

The next five minutes Caerphilly were pushing for the winner and had two good chances when first a free kick from just outside the box was headed over by John David. Then 3 minutes later a shot from the edge of the area went just wide.

With 5 minutes to go the hard working Craig Williams was replaced by the returning Marc Daniels.

And within the five minutes he was on he had two great chances to win the game, first Phillips laid the ball back to Daniels who right footed shot was beaten away by the keeper. Then a minute later Daniels was through 1 on 1 with the keeper but he couldn’t get enough power on the shot and the ball rolled through to the keeper. Final Score 2 – 2

This was a definitely a hard fought point and we must take this into next weeks home game with Tongwynlais in a game we must win if we want to improve our chances of avoiding relegation. Kick off is at 2.00pm.

Team: I.Reed, L.Roberts(G.Thomas), J.David, J.Morgan, J.Pritchard, J.Williams, K.Williams, C.Williams(M.Daniels), L.Black(S.Thomas), L.Bolderson, A.Phillips

Training starts back up on Wednesday 6th February at Tylorstown Sports Centre 9pm – 10pm.

PLAYER RATINGS

Ian Reed 7
Relief all around the club to see him back to his usual self – Amazing saves kept us in it, cannot kick a ball for toffee and fumbling and scrambling with crosses. Was nice to have the real Reedy turn up.

Leon Roberts 5
Have now realised that Dodge has invented a new position that he plays in, its somewhere between full back and centre half apparently. Not so much full back that he has to go up and down and is against flying wingers, and not so much centre half where he has to mark, tackle or head a ball. Talks a great game though. Didn’t look fit and didn’t last game. He is the best poker player in squad.

Jason Pritchard 6
Not his usual self, which was a bonus. No sign of any loose passes and cant remember him being skinned. Sometimes looks as though a fresh pint of milk could turn quicker than him though.

Jeremy Morgan 7
Back to centre half. Took a little time to get settled, but was solid enough. Good distribution, often finding a good ball out of defence. Did John’s running as usual. And some of Pritchard’s. And some of Dodge’s.

John David 6
Not putting in the performances of last season. Some very solid challenges and clearing headers. Isolated instance of bullying in first half with a rapid choke hold and release. Injured boy wonder.

Karl Williams 6
Fairly quiet game from little mole. Keeps it simple and does it well. Difficult job in very heavy middle of the park. Covered a lot of ground. Outshone by Hobble when he came on.

John Williams 8
Was worried before the game because he couldn’t even remember where he went out on Friday night. Said he was seeing stars at times, but great effort and tucked away 2 goals. One piece of magic on the right flank in the second half that he can dine on for the rest of the season.

Craig Williams 5
First game in ages. Nice to see him return to the team. Did a reasonable job in middle of field but became less effective when moved out wide. Not really built to be an up and down winger is he?

Lee Bolderson 5
Probably had hardest job of all the players. It takes something special to fill boots of the injured Lhomme Alonso and the boy wonder unsurprisingly failed. Not close enough to strike partner Anthony and came looking for the ball. When we were pushing forward to score at the end, he took up position as sweeper, a bit odd for our centre forward.

Anthony Phillips 9
Now officially banned from receiving any more Star Man awards. Was best player on field by a country mile. Up against a lumper of a centre half, and held the ball up every time it was played to him. Brought players into the game and created our chances. Not enough support for him.

Leon Black 5
Kept up amazing record of not lasting 90 minutes. Has anyone told him a game lasts 2 halves of 45 minutes? Did well early on, but got visibly tired. Has plenty of ability and can beat a man.

Steve Thomas STAR MAN - 8
Vintage cameo performance from Hobble. Probably best 30 minutes I have ever seen from Steve. Must be knocking on the door for a start next week. Not a foul in sight, just loads of strong tackles to win the ball back and good crisp passing.

Gary Thomas 7
Some people looked shocked and worried when he had to play at right back. Strange, cos I didn’t think he could play in any other position. Did very well to contribute to holding on for draw in second half.

Marc Daniels 4
If he was a horse, he would have been shot about 3 or 4 seasons ago. Excellent determination but is now officially lame. Was nice to see him in his boots again, but its probably not worth him buying another pair. It’s rumoured that the Stanleytown contingent were heard saying that Marc’s failure to despatch 2 great chances is likely to be the single reason that confirms Stanleytown’s fate to Legea Rhonnda Un. And he will be held soley responsible if that happens. I still like him though.

Nicky Rees
Mr Stanleytown couldn’t make the starting line up and continue his goal run. Wonder goal at same venue earlier in the season was a distant memory. Will he ever play again?

_________________________Saturday 27th January 2008________________________

AFC BUTETOWN 5 - 4 STANLEYTOWN

attendance 40
Leon Roberts 19

Lee Bolderson 45

Nicky Rees 50

John Williams 68

After a week off due to the weather we travelled to fellow strugglers AFC Butetown. We had two changes from the defeat to Whitchurch with John David and Anthony Phillips replaced by the returning Karl Williams and Ian’L’Homme.

We didn’t have the best of starts and within 5 minutes we were 1 – 0 down when a ball straight down the middle went through Ian Reed in goals and the striker was there to tap into an empty net.

6 minutes later we were 2 – 0 down when a ball over the top found their striker only for our players to stop looking for offside and he took the ball and rounded Reed in goals and put the hosts 2 – 0 up.

Just as we were starting to find our feet Butetown got a third on 17 minutes when the striker pick the ball up just inside the half, beat two defenders and rounded the goalkeeper to complete his hat-trick.

2 minutes later we grabbed a goal back when a corner wasn’t cleared and Leon Roberts pick the ball up on the edge of the area beat the defenders and calmly slotted the ball past the goalkeeper.

The next chance took almost 15 minutes to come when Nicky Rees shot wide and then 5 minutes before half time Leon Black broke through only to see his shot come bouncing back off the post.

Just before the break Butetown had a chance to stretch their lead when they were through one on one but they shot wide. A minute later Rees had another long range effort but again it went just wide.

We did grab our second goal of the game on the stroke of half time when good work by Karl Williams found Lee Bolderson in space down the right and his shot beat the keeper to make the score 3 – 2 at half time.

In the first minute of the second half Butetown increased their lead when a quick break caught us napping and a miss hit shot rolled past Reed. We had an instant reply and in the 50th minute grabbed a goal back Bolderson played in Rees down the middle and fired the shot past the keeper to grab his second goal in as many games.

Steve Thomas then replaced Leon Black.

On 55 minutes Butetown’s deep looping free kick hit the bar and went over, then Rees had a free kick just outside the area but that went over.

In the 68th minute we were back on level terms when Karl Williams’s cross from the right was headed in by John Williams. Two minutes later we had a chance to take the lead when a mistake by the Butetown keeper meant the ball fell to L’Homme but his lobbing effort went wide.

With fifteen minutes to go Butetown regained the lead when a ball over the top left Ian Reed one on one yet again and the Butetown striker slotted the ball past Reed to make the score 5 – 4.

Gary Thomas replaced the injured Ian L’Homme in the 77th minute.

Our last real effort came with eight minutes to go when a Karl Williams shot was saved by the keeper. In the 90th minute Tom Lewis replaced the injured Nick Rees. Final Score 5 – 4

This was an end to end game and vital points dropped and with other sides around us picking up points we find ourselves third from bottom and in a real relegation battle. Next week we travel to Caerphilly Town who are down the bottom with us and we must take 3 points, No excuses! .

Team:I.Reed, L.Roberts, G.Griffiths, J.Pritchard, J.Williams, L.Bolderson, K.Williams, J.Morgan, L.Black(S.Thomas), I.L'Homme(G.Thomas), N.Rees(T.Lewis)

PLAYER RATINGS

Ian Reed 3
The less said about this performance the better. Surprisingly did better in the second half when surrounded by clouds of smoke!

Leon Roberts 4
Played his part in a very shaky defence. Can’t doubt his ability, but has absolutely no positional sense at all. And I mean none! Scored.

John Williams 4
Struggled in first half, but was much better as an attacking force in second half. Got stuck in and scored a nice headed goal.

Jason Pritchard 3
Wont want to remember this game. Inconsistent and caught out for final goal.

Gareth Griffiths 3
One of the only times this season when he has not been at the races. Was not his normal self.

Leon Black 4
Constantly fouled when on the field. Often had the better of the fullback and got into some very good positions. Hit post and wasted chance when clean through.

Jeremy Morgan 5
Another poor performance but did get stuck into their skinny winger.

Karl Williams 6
As usual, some nice touches in midfield. Great cross for goal in second half.

Nicky Rees 6 – STAR MAN
Plenty of running up front, and scored second goal in two games. Another injury, this time the knee.

Ian L’Homme 4
Had a couple of chances, and didn’t take them. Another injury just after he missed a sitter.

Lee Bolderson 6
Plenty of effort and scored a well taken goal. Still the boy wonder.

Tom Lewis 4
Brief appearance and nice throw.

Gary Thomas 5
Came on to shore up a leaky defence. Did ok.

Steve Thomas 4
Committed foul after foul when he came on. Probably committed more fouls than the times he touched the ball.

_________________________Saturday 12th January 2008________________________

STANLEYTOWN 1 - 4 AFC WHITCHURCH

Nicky Rees 15
attendance 12

This week we played high flyers AFC Whitchurch and for the first time in over a month we had more than 11 players to choose from. We welcomed back Anthony Phillips from suspension and he paired with Nicky Rees up front, with Ian L’Homme dropping to the bench and Karl Williams missing through illness.

It only took Whitchurch 5 minutes to take the lead when a long ball from the back was only cleared to the edge of the area and the striker hit a superb volley to give Ian Reed no chance in goals.

Our first chance came 3 minutes later when the returning Phillips’s long range effort went just wide. On the 15 minute mark we were back level when Leon Roberts whipped a cross in from the right and Rees was there to header home from 8 yards.

It was a tight game with both sides playing good football until we had 6 minutes of madness and found ourselves 4 – 1 down. First a mistake in the back let the Whitchurch striker in one on one only for Reed to pull off a good save, but then a cross from the left was flicked in at the near post.

Then on 26 minutes Whitchurch broke the offside trap went one on one and slotted the ball past Reed to make the score 3 – 1. A minute later they scored in a similar fashion breaking the offside trap and slotting the ball under Reed for the second time in two minutes, 1 – 4.

The game fizzled out towards half time with that little spell knocking the confidence out of us and 2 minutes before half time they almost got another but were unable to hit the target from 10 yards. Half Time 1 – 4

At half time new signing Tony Smith (Ron) replaced John Williams and ten minutes into the second half Leon Black was replaced by the returning Steve Thomas.

Whitchurch had the opening chance of the second half when they shot wide after 56 minutes. Our best chance of the half fell on the hour when Phillips’s cross was laid back to Rees by Lee Bolderson but Nicky couldn’t keep is shot down as is effort was blazed over from 10 yards.

Jason Pritchard was replaced by Gary Thomas in the 65th minute.

The next two chances fell to Whitchurch in the space of two minutes when first in the 71st minute Gareth Griffiths got a block on a shot that meant it was deflected towards the goal but Reed done well to turn it around the post. The in the 73rd minute experienced defender John David tried to run the ball out from his own goal line only for him to be dispossessed 20 yards out but Reed was there to bail him out saving well one on one.

The last chance of the match fell to Whitchurch in the 83rd minute when a driven long range effort was saved by Reed. Final Score 1 – 4

Although this was another defeat the score line defiantly flattered the visitors. Next week there is a change from the scheduled fixture with Llwynypia we now play Lisvance/Llanishen away, 2.00pm kick off.

Team: I.Reed, L.Roberts, J.David, G.Griffiths, J.Pritchard(G.Thomas), J.Williams(T.Smith), L.Bolderson, J,Morgan, L.Black(S.Thomas), N.Rees, A.Phillips

PLAYER RATINGS.

Ian Reed 5
Made one really brave save, no chance with a couple of the goals but should have put his hat on the fourth!

Leon Roberts 4
Did well going forward in first half and terrific cross to create goal. Problem was he couldn’t get back from his forward runs. Often skinned and is turning out to be a bit of a luxury player at fullback.

Jason Pritchard 5
Several mistakes again including one really bad loose pass that led to a goal against. Replaced by Gary.

John David 5
Not looking as comfortable or commanding as usually does.

Gareth Griffiths 5
Relatively quiet from G.

Jeremy Morgan 5
Nothing more than average performance. Didn’t win a header all game.

Leon Black 5
Kept up 100% record of not lasting 90 minutes.

Lee Bolderson 5
Putting in some steady performances. Set up great chance for nicky rees with chest. Or was it bad control????

Anthony Phillips 7 – STAR MAN
Welcome return to the team. Lacking match practice, but still class above everyone else in stanleytown colours.

Nicky Rees 5
Scored in first half proving that if he gets chances he will score. Disproved the first half theory in the second half.

John Williams 4
Another quiet if not anonymous game. Out on Friday night again I reckon.

Gary Thomas 6
Club stalwart gary gave 100% as usual.

Steve Thomas 5
Did well in the air.

Tony Smith 5
Came on at half time with a lot of good words said about him. Not the easiest game for a debut.

_________________________Saturday 29th December 2007________________________

AFC CAERPHILLY 3 - 0 STANLEYTOWN

attendance 18

This week we travelled to AFC Caerphilly and for the third game running we were down to the bare bones but there were no changes from last weeks defeat to Llanbradach.

We didn’t get off to the best start and were 1 – 0 down inside the first 10 minutes when a cross from the right was turned onto the post and the rebound was knocked in. 10 minutes later Ian Reed pulled off a great save tipping a long range effort wide.

We struggled to get a foot hole in the game and it took us half an hour to get our first chance when Ian L’Homme shot over. Five minutes later Gareth Griffiths kept the score at 1 – 0 when he was on the line to clear the ball away.

8 minutes later Caerphilly went 2 – 0 up when a cross from the right was misjudged by Reed and the striker was there to head into an empty net. Nicky Rees then replaced the injured Leon Roberts.

Towards the end of the half we had two chances first when in the 39th minute a John David free kick was met by the head of Jeremy Morgan but it went over. Then four minutes before half time John Williams went one on one but the goalkeeper pulled off a good save.

The second half was a very gritty display with Caerphilly trying to break us down but solid defensive displays from Jason Pritchard, John David and Gareth Griffiths made life very difficult and Ian Reed had very little to do in the second half.

Gary Thomas replaced Leon Black in the 72nd minute.

With 15 minutes to go Caerphilly sealed all 3 points when a great ball through the middle was latched onto by the striker for him to slot the ball under the advancing Reed.

In the last five minutes we had another contender for miss of the season when Karl Williams played in Nicky Rees down the left hand side and his square ball to L’Homme who was three yards out and an empty net in front of him somehow managed to put the ball wide. Final Score 3 – 0

Team: I.Reed, L.Roberts(N.Rees), J.David, G.Griffiths, J.Pritchard, J.Williams, K.Williams, J.Morgan, L.Black(G.Thomas), I.L’Homme, L.Bolderson

_________________________Saturday 15th December 2007________________________

STANLEYTOWN 0 - 1 LLANBRADACH

attendance 10

This week we welcomed Llanbradach Social and again we only had a bare 11, there was one change from last weeks defeat with Leon Black returning in place of the missing Nick Rees.

The first chance of the match fell to Llanbradach in the 14th minute when they broke the offside trap pulled the ball back only for them to miss an open goal from 6 yards.

3 minutes later we had a great chance to take the lead when Ian L’Homme broke through went one on one with the keeper only for him to see his effort come crashing back off the bar.

On the half hour mark Llanbradach broke through went one on one with Ian Reed only for Reed to pull off a good save. On the stroke of half time John Williams forced a good save from the keeper when his effort was tipped wide. Half Time 0 – 0

10 minutes after the restart a quick free kick from Jason Pritchard was tipped over.

On 70 minutes Black saw his effort deflected wide. A minute later Gary Thomas replaced Black.

In the 76th minute great play by Karl Williams played in Leon Roberts only for his shot to go wide.

With 10 minutes to go we had two chances when first John Williams forced another save out of the Llanbradach goalkeeper and the Jeremy Morgan shot over. John had another chance 3 minutes later when he went one on one only for the goalkeeper to save.

With two minutes to go Llanbradach stole all 3 points when a cross from the right was saved by Reed but they were sharper to react and knock in the rebound. Final Score 0 – 1

This was a much better performance this week and a draw probably would have been a fair result, but this is just how things are going for us at the moment. We got to take the positives from games like this and no doubt the results will come.

Team: I.Reed, L.Roberts, J.David, G.Griffiths, J.Pritchard, J.Williams, K.Williams, J.Morgan, L.Black(G.Thomas), I.L’Homme, L.Bolderson

_________________________Saturday 15th December 2007________________________

CASCADE 5 - 1 STANLEYTOWN

attendance 11
John Williams 50

Our first game for 3 weeks saw us travel to Cascade with only a bare 11 and a performance that everyone would want to forget. There were 4 changes from the Penrhiwfer win with Craig Williams, Leon Black, Chris Hill and Anthony Phillips missing and replaced by John David, Jeremy Morgan, Ian L’Homme and Nicky Rees.

The game was played in very bad weather and within 10 minutes we were 3 – 0 down. The first half continued with Cascade dominating and we were lucky to only be 3 – 0 down at half time.

5 minutes into the second half we managed to grab a goal back with Ian L’Homme linking well with John Williams who went one on one and grabbed his first goal of the season.

Just before the hour we had another nightmare 3 minutes when we conceded a further 2 goals to make the score 5 – 1.

With 11 minutes to go Gary Thomas replaced Nicky Rees.

This was probably our worst performance of the season to date and we didn’t deserve anything out of it and it’s a game we need to put behind us and look to our next fixture..

Team: I.Reed, L.Roberts, G.Griffiths, J.Pritchard, J.Williams, L.Bolderson, K.Williams, J.David, J.Morgan, I.L'Homme, N.Rees(G.Thomas)

_________________________Saturday 24th November 2007________________________

STANLEYTOWN 4 - 0 PENRHIWFER

Chris Hill (2) 28, 65
attendance 14

Karl Williams 56

Anthony Phillips 69

Our first game back after the international break saw us play bottom of the table side Penrhiwfer. There was the one change from our draw with Cadoxton with Craig Williams returning in place of the missing Jeremy Morgan.

In difficult conditions Penrhiwfer started the brightest with them playing some nice football and taking the game to us. They had the best chance in the opening 5 minutes when a cross from the right was headed goal-wards only for Ian Reed to pull off a great save tipping the ball wide.

Our first real chance came in the 20th minute when a driven long-range effort by Craig Williams was well saved by the Penrhiwfer keeper.

We up our game a started piling on the pressure with the two boys out wide, Lee Bolderson and Leon Black causing the Penrhiwfer defence problems. In the 28th minute our pressure finally paid off when a cross from the right by Anthony Phillips into the 6 yard box was well dummied by Karl Williams for the ball to drop to the unmarked Chris Hill at the back post for him to put us 1 – 0 up.

This goal spurred Penrhiwfer into action and they attacked us but couldn’t break the solid back four performances from Leon Roberts, Gareth Griffiths, Jason Pritchard and John Williams. Half Time 1 – 0

We started the second half full of confidence knowing that one more goal could give us the three points, and it didn’t take long for us to get the second goal when in the 56th minute a Phillips corner found Karl Williams 8 yards for him to drive home.

On the hour Leon Black was replaced by the returning Ryan Jones.

10 minutes later we went 3 – 0 up with what is probably the best goal of the season so far when a long clearance by Reed found Hill with his first touch brought the ball down and his second touch was to lob the keeper from 40 yards.

Just before the 70th minute we made the game safe when we went 4 – 0 up when a poor goal kick from the Penrhiwfer keeper hit his own defender and the ball dropped kindly for Phillips who then slotted the ball past the keeper to grab his 5th goal of the season.

The last 20 minutes fizzled out with neither side creating any real good chance. There was one flash point in this derby when both sides were reduced to 10 men with ten minutes to go, with Anthony Phillips being sent off for us. Final Score 4 – 0

Even though Penrhiwfer haven’t won a league game for almost 3 years this was still a solid performance from us and made sure we got the job done with our biggest win of the season. Next week we travel to Lisvane/Llanishen looking to extend our recent run of good form where we have only been beaten once in our last five games.

Team: I.Reed, L.Roberts, G.Griffiths, J.Pritchard, J.Williams, L.Bolderson K.Williams, C.Williams, L.Black(R.Jones), C.Hill, A.Phillips

PLAYER RATINGS

Ian Reed 7

Leon Roberts 7

Gareth Griffiths 7
.

Jason Pritchard 7
.

John Williams 7
.

Lee Bolderson 7
.

Karl Williams 7
.

Craig Williams 7
.

Leon Black 7
.

Chris Hill STAR MAN 8
.

Anthony Phillips 7
.

Ryan Jones 7

_________________________Saturday 10th November 2007________________________

CADOXTON 0 - 0 STANLEYTOWN

attendance 17

This week we travelled to Cadoxton and again we only had the bare eleven. The were 3 changes to last weeks defeat to Tonypandy with Jason Pritchard and John Williams returning in place of John David and Ian L’Homme and a first start of the season for Leon Roberts.

The first half wasn’t the best half of football with very few chances and a scrappy game of football. The first chance of the game did fall to us in the second minute when Leon Black’s shot from outside of the area was deflected over, and from Jeremy Morgan’s corner Anthony Phillips volleyed wide.

The next chance of the half fell to Cadoxton when on 17 minutes they went through one on one, lobbed the ball over Ian Reed only for the ball to hit the outside of the post a bounce wide.

The best chance of the half fell to us on the stroke of half time when strong work by Phillips down the right crossed the ball into the 6-yard box only for Chris Hill to header over. Half Time 0 – 0

The second half followed the pattern of the first but with a few more chances, mainly from long range. The first of these came 3 minutes into the half when the Cadoxton goalkeeper saved Phillips’s shot.

On 51 minutes we had a great chance when Phillips played Hill in down the right for him to go one on one with the keeper only for the keeper to save and knock the ball out for a corner.

Of the few chances that did occur during this game we definitely had the best of them and this continued in the 56th minute when Black couldn’t connect with Hill’s low cross from 6 yards.

Cadoxton then had two chances when first a long-range effort went wide and then on the hour had a shot cleared off the line when Reed saved well one on one but as the ball bounced into the path of the striker his shot was turned around the post by Pritchard.

Our contenders for miss of the season continued when on 63 minutes Black had a golden opportunity from a similar position as earlier when this time he did manage to connect with Phillips’s low cross but couldn’t hit the target and the ball rolled past the far post.

Even though we were struggling to put the ball in the net we were doing a good job of keeping them out and forced them to shoot from distance as in the 72 minute a shot from outside the area went wide.

15 minutes from time we had another superb chance when strong battling by Roberts won the ball played it to Karl Williams whose through ball played in Phillips to go one on one with the keeper who was rushing off his line, Phillips lobbed the keeper but it had just a bit too much power and the ball dropped over the bar.

On 82 minutes Gary Thomas replaced Leon Black.

The game fizzled out towards the end with both sides being restricted to long shots that never really troubled either goalkeeper. Final Score 0 – 0

This was a hard fought point but we could have come away with all 3. The were plenty of positives to take from this game as everyone out there battled well and wanted to win, and we did get our first clean sheet of the season. Our next game is in a fortnight when we play bottom of the table Penrhiwfer at home 2.00pm kick off 24th November.

Team: I.Reed L.Robers G.Griffiths J.Pritchard J.Williams L.Bolderson K.Williams J.Morgan L.Black(G.Thomas) A.Phillips C.Hill

PLAYER RATINGS

(Done by Jeremy Morgan)

Ian Reed 7
Not tested as much in this game as others. Coped well with what he had to do.

Leon Roberts 9
First game back for the peoples favourite and stanleytown talisman. Dodge slots into defence and town keep their first clean sheet of the season. Work that out. Polished all round performance and only missed out on star man due to outstanding display from Anthony.

John Williams 8
People were heard saying that was his best game for the club. Did really well and improved as the game went on. Got stuck in.

Gareth Griffiths 8
Another new partner at centre half, but G just got on with it. Won ariel battle easily.

Jason Pritchard 8
Rock solid in centre of defence. Didn’t miss a challenge. Potential star man but narrowly pipped.

Lee Bolderson 7
Worked up and down all game ahead of Dodgy. Tries to play the ambitious ball a little too often. Needs to mix up his game but despite that, kept up recent run of form.

Karl Williams 7
Another consistent display in the middle. Battled well and linked the play up. Countless references to gattuso.

Jeremy Morgan 7
Did well with Karl and kept position well. Played easy ball and did his bit in the centre of the field.

Leon Black 7
Another good game from new boy. Constantly looks for the ball and did a job on left hand side. Missed best chance of the game late on.

Chris Hill 7
Links well with Anthony and was unlucky not to score. Header went close in first half and forced a good save in second. Showed good strength to hold up ball.

Anthony Phillips STAR MAN - 9
Superb performance up front that deserved a goal. Came deep to get involved, created chances, held the ball up, laid it off and was too strong for the opposition. Unlucky with lob from edge of box.

Gary Thomas 6
Did a better job this week. Got right into the faces of the friendly cadoxton forewarsd and helped keep the clean sheet.

__________________________Saturday 3rd November 2007_________________________

STANLEYTOWN 1 - 3 TONYPANDY

Anthony Phillips pen 61
attendance 21

This week we played local rivals and high flyers Tonypandy Albions in a very open and entertaining match. We had 3 changes from last week’s victory over Tongwynlais with Dean White, Craig Williams and John Williams missing. In came new signing Leon Black and the return of John David and Nicky Rees into the back four.

The game started as many would expect with Tonypandy dominating the early possession and looking dangerous going forward. Their first chance came in the 4th minute when a driven shot was well saved by Ian Reed, which would become the story of the game. A minute later we had a good chance when Lee Bolderson’s shot was saved right on the line by the Pandy keeper.

In the 13th minute Tonypandy broke down the right beating the offside trap squared the ball twice across the area only for the shot to be beaten away by Reed in goals.

On 15 minutes Gareth Griffiths back pass was short which allowed the Pandy striker to nip in but again Reed was there to bail out his centre half.

Around the 20 minute mark Tonypandy had two good chances when first a shot from outside the area was saved well and then a minute later Reed was left one on one and again came out on top.

2 minutes later we had a good chance when John David’s chipped ball over the top for Chris Hill was just got to first by the Pandy goalkeeper.

In the 25th minute Tonypandy finally managed to beat Ian Reed when a corner from the left found an unmarked man 8 yards out and his header gave Reed no chance in goals.

Almost straight after the goal they had a chance to go 2 – 0 up when they broke clear again to go one on one with Reed but this time they couldn’t find the target and shot wide.

10 minutes before half time we stepped up the pace and had three good chances within 6 minutes. First in the 35th minute a Anthony Phillips cross found the head of Karl Williams but he couldn’t get his header on target and headed just wide.

On 38 minutes we had a free kick just outside of the area but Phillips’s effort went wide. 3 minutes later a Jeremy Morgan cross caught the keeper unawares only for the ball to come crashing back off the post.
Half Time 0 – 1

The start of the second half was more evenly contested than the first with us having the belief that we could get something out of this game. The first chance of the half fell to Tonypandy when a chipped shot went over the bar.

The game changed in the 61st minute when we were awarded a penalty when a deep Nicky Rees free kick into the area caused problems and they were punished when John David was pulled back and the referee gave us a penalty. Phillips stepped up to drive the ball into the top corner and make the
score 1 – 1.

For a long period after this we upped our game and were on top and had chances to win it when first Hill passed to Williams whose shot was deflected wide. From the corner the ball broke outside the area and Bolderson’s shot was saved by the keeper.

On 70 minutes Phillips played in Morgan but he couldn’t find the target with his shot as he shot over the bar. Then 3 minutes later a perfectly executed Phillips volley went whiskers over the bar.

With 10 minutes to go Tonypandy had two chances when first they went one on one with Reed but he managed to save and turn the ball away for a corner, and from the corner the ball went on target only for Ian L’Homme to head the ball off the line.

Minutes later L’Homme went on a run down the left played the ball to Leon Black whose powerful shot was saved by the Pandy keeper. A minute later quick reactions by the keeper kept the score at 1 – 1 when a Karl Williams free kick into the box took a wicked deflection off the Pandy defender towards the goal only for the keeper to push the ball away for a corner.

On 86 minutes Gary Thomas replaced Leon Black.

In the 88th minute Tonypandy broke the deadlock when a corner into the near post was headed into the goal to give them a 2 – 1 lead. A minute later Pandy got a third when a free kick dropped over everyone and the Tonypandy striker was in on goal and slotted the ball past Reed in goals. 3 – 1.

In injury time we still had a chance to grab a goal when Phillips went through one on one with the Pandy keeper, but the goalkeeper saved well at his feet. Final Score 1 – 3

We battled hard in this game and probably deserved to come away with at least a point. We got to take this kind of performance into next week’s game with Cadoxton and hopefully come away with 3 points.

Team: I.Reed, N.Rees, J.David, G.Griffiths, I.L’Homme, L.Bolderson, K.Williams, J.Morgan, L.Black(G.Thomas), A.Phillips, C.Hill

PLAYER RATINGS

(Done by Jeremy Morgan)

Ian Reed STAR MAN - 9
Back to top of the ratings with a great game. Kept us in it with several one on one saves. Beaten by goals he had no chance with from set pieces.

Nicky Rees 6
Stepped in at unfamiliar right back at last minute. Plenty of early energy overlapping etc, but once he realised he could not keep it up for 90 minutes, settled to a more normal pace. Had a very red face and was sweating well into the night.

Ian L’Homme 5
Has put in better performances at full back this year. Contested ariel battle well. Had several runs forward, usually ending with speculative shots from distance. They don’t call him lhomme Alonso for nothing.

John David 6
Much needed physical presence returned to the starting line up. Can become a useful attacking option from set pieces.

Gareth Griffiths 6
Solid performance as usual. Nothing bad to recall and nothing superb. Put in solid challenges all afternoon. Needs a regular partner at centre back to begin to form a partnership.

Jeremy Morgan 6
Some nice early tackles but average game. Has played better, but also played worse. Second half improvement to help contain opposition midfield.

Lee Bolderson 7
Performances are now back to the standard he set last season. Plenty of energy and wanting the ball. Will improve further if he mixed things up with more easy balls.

Karl Williams 7
Just gets on with things in the middle of the park. Also improved in second half. Close control is often superb and picks out some great passes to release the attack.

Anthony Phillips 7
Worked hard up front and held ball up well with minimal support. Took unstoppable penalty. Showed great technique with one volley that went just over the bar.

Chris Hill 6
Forming an excellent partnership with Anthony. Was expected to score 5 this week, with at least one off his knee, but it didn’t work out. Hard working as ever, all round game improving each week.

Leon Black 6
Came in on left flank to make debut for club. Lots of positives and constantly looked for the ball.

Gary Thomas 4
Veteran came on to shore up the defence for the last few minutes when it was tight at 1-1. He didn’t have a touch and we lost 3-1. Enough said.

__________________________Saturday 27th October 2007_________________________

TONGWYNLAIS 2 - 4 STANLEYTOWN

attendance 14
Chris Hill (4) 24, 43, 47, 67
.

Our first game outside the Rhondda since the 1st of September saw us travel to Tongwynlais, and unlike the previous two weeks we only had 14 players to choose from. There were two changes from last week with Ian L’Homme and John Williams returning in place of the injured Marc Daniels and Gareth Smith.

In difficult conditions and a heavy pitch it was a slow start from both sides and there was only really one chance in the first 20 minutes falling to us in the forth minute when a Anthony Phillips corner found Craig Williams whose shot went wide.

Our next chance came in the 23rd minute when Karl Williams played in Lee Bolderson down the right but his shot was well saved by the goalkeeper.

In the 24th minute a bit of luck went our way and we went 1-0 up when Chris Hill chased down a back pass and the goalkeepers clearance hit Hill on the back and looped over the goalkeeper into the net.

A minute later Tongwynlais drew level when a free kick from the left went straight through to the unmarked striker who flicked the ball past Ian Reed in goals.

5 minutes before half time Ian L’Homme tried a repeat of his efforts against Porth and shot from the half way line, but this time it went well wide and over. On 43 minutes we did go 2 – 1 up when Bolderson passed to Anthony Phillips who played Hill in down the middle for him to go one on one with the keeper and calmly slot the ball past him. Half Time 1 – 2

Two minutes after the re-start we went 3 – 1 up when Bolderson and Phillips combined once again to play in Hill one on one with the keeper and he grabbed his hat-trick by slotting the ball under the goalkeeper.

On 55 minutes John David replaced the injured Dean White.

Within the next five minutes Tongwynlais went close on two occasions when first on 58 minutes a long-range effort went wide and then a minute later a shot from just outside the area went narrowly wide. In the 65th minute Tongwynlais came close to getting a goal back when their shot came crashing back off the bar.

We went 4 – 1 up in the 67th minute when Hill put the Tongwynlais defence under pressure and forced them into a error which allowed him to go through one on one and grab his 4th goal of the game.

Eleven minutes from time Tongwynlais gave themselves a glimmer of hope when they their second goal of the game, when a free kick was headed out of Ian Reeds hands and into the back of the net.

In the last five minutes of the game we had two good chances, first Anthony Phillips beat three defenders and forced a brilliant save from the Ton goalkeeper. From the resulting corner came our second good chance when Hill met Bolderson’s cross only for his header to be cleared off the line. Final Score 2 – 4

This was a good result and a much needed 3 points. Next week we face high flyers Tonypandy Albion at home 2.00pm kick off.

Team: I.Reed D.White(J.David) J.Morgan G.Griffiths I.L’Homme L.Bolderson K.Williams C.Williams J.Williams C.Hill A.Phillips

PLAYER RATINGS

(Done by Jeremy Morgan)

Ian Reed 7
No chance with the first goal, but second goal was ‘headed out of his hands’ by ‘willow’. Difficult game for keepers due to slippery conditions, so did well all in all.

Dean White 6
Had to go off injured early in second half. Had done well to that point.

Jeremy Morgan 7
Helped organise the back four. Once first 20 minutes were out of the way, defence stood strong to limit chances for opposition.

Gareth Griffiths 8
Organised back 4 well once understanding with full backs was established. Was up against very capable centre forward who was an ariel presence. Did well to contain him. Switched to right back for end of the game.

Ian L’Homme 6
Under real pressure in first 20 minutes where he and John could not stop a number of crosses coming in. In true Lhomme style, had a pop from 45 yards when he broke through, high and wide though.

Lee Bolderson 7
Excellently assisted to front two. Recent good form continued with quick and easy passing now coming into his game. About time too.

Karl Williams 7
Fancy footwork from Karl in difficult conditions. The attributes of the mole and frog make a good pair and appear to compliment each other. Who would have thought it?

Craig Williams 7
Kept the shape in the middle of the park and was a physical presence against a similar opponent. Kept going right to the end and tracked his opposite number all over the field.

John Williams 6
Shame this boy goes out so much on Friday nights. Has lots of energy and performances could be so much better if he followed boy wonder Lee’s example and stayed in to watch Corrie and have a cup of warm milk.

Chris Hill STAR MAN - 9
3 chances, 4 goals, you cant ask for much more from a striker than that. Scored the first with his arse then took the rest confidently. Showed the rest of the team how to put away a chance.
Anthony Phillips 8
Superb play up front to help create the chances for Hilly. Was too strong for opposition defenders and caused them problems all afternoon.

John David 7
Welcome return to the team. Same old things can be expected from John. Dribbling too much out of defence, 40 yard balls with the outside of his right boot, plenty of verbal, late challenges, leading with his forearm etc etc etc I could go on………More of this we need, but not the dribbling bit so much.

__________________________Saturday 20th October 2007_________________________

STANLEYTOWN 4 - 4 CAERPHILLY TOWN

Anthony Phillips (2) 10, 15
attendance 20
Karl Williams (2) 57, 88

This week we played Caerphilly Town at home with a squad of 19 players to choose from again. There were four changes from last week with first starts of the season for Anthony Phillips and Craig Williams in place of Ian L’Homme and the missing Ryan Bartlett and returns to the starting line up for Marc Daniels and Lee Bolderson with Jason Pritchard and Jason Carnell dropping to the bench.

A new look Stanleytown came flying out the traps and had our first effort within the first two minutes when Karl Williams played in Lee Bolderson who hard shoot was saved by the Caerphilly keeper. 3 minutes later Lee turned provider for Craig Williams who broke from the middle but the keeper again managed to pull off the save.

The best chance of the opening minutes fell to Caerphilly when on 8 minutes a corner that wasn’t cleared fell to the Caerphilly striker unmarked in the six yard box but his effort went over the bar.

On 10 minutes we took the lead when a quick free kick from Jeremy Morgan found Lee Bolderson down the right who the crossed low for Anthony Phillips who was unmarked at the back post and slotted the ball into the far corner giving the keeper no chance.

In the 15th minute we went 2 – 0 up when strong play down the left for Gareth Smith played in Chris Hill who drove into the box and pulled the ball back to Anthony Phillips who from 8 yards put the ball in the net to grab his second of the game and his third for the club.

For the next 10 minutes we continued to push and looked as if we would get a hat full of goals, when first Craig Williams crossed to Anthony Phillips but this time the goalkeeper made the save to deny him his hat-trick. Then Lee Bolderson went close on two occasions when first a shot from outside the area was saved and the he cut out the defenders header back to the keeper but his shot was again saved.

Just before the half hour mark Caerphilly Town had their first real effort when a long range effort went over. We then went up the other end and a corner from Lee found Craig Williams on the edge of the area but his powerful shot went just wide.

On 38 minutes we were caught napping and allowed Caerphilly back into the game when a free quick into the box caused confusion between Ian Reed and his back four and wasn’t cleared and they put the ball into an empty net to make the score 2-1.

We almost responded instantaneously when Anthony Phillips laid the ball back to Jeremy Morgan but he couldn’t beat the keeper who pulled off a good save. 2 minutes before half time Caerphilly somehow drew level when they broke through the middle played the ball right and a low shot was slotted past Ian Reed to make the score 2 – 2 at half time.

At half time John Williams replaced the injured Gareth Smith.

The second half seemed flat in contrast to the first half but again we had the first chance when Chris Hill shot wide two minutes after the restart. On 56 minutes we had another golden chance when Anthony Phillips played in Craig Williams whose shot was saved by the keeper.

A minute later we regained the lead when a cross from Lee Bolderson was dummied by Chris Hill and the ball dropped through to Karl Williams who knocked the ball past the keeper into the corner for him to grab his first goal of the season.

On 63 minutes Caerphilly Town forced a good save from Ian Reed as he tipped the shot around the post. From the resulting corner Caerphilly shot over the bar.

10 minutes later Jason Carnell replaced Chris Hill. Then on 77 minutes Ryan Jones replaced the hard working Craig Williams.

8 minutes from time Anthony Phillips had a good chance but his shot went wide. Then we had a disastrous 2 minutes when in the 83rd minute Caerphilly were awarded a somewhat controversial penalty when a Gareth Griffiths was adjudged to have handled the ball. Ian Reed did manage to get hand on the penalty but it wasn’t strong enough and Caerphilly drew level at 3 – 3.

A minute later Caerphilly went 4 – 3 when they broke down the left and hit a driven shot to beat Ian at his near post.

Two minutes from the end we managed to grab a equaliser when Jason Carnell played Ryan Jones in down the right hand side of the area and his chipped cross was well left by John Williams for Karl Williams to come in at the back post and grab his second goal of the game and make it 4 – 4.

Even though we saved the game in the dying minutes this result still felt like a loss and we must pick ourselves for next weeks trip to Tongwynlais on Saturday 27th October, 2.00pm kick off.

Team: I.Reed, D.White, J.Morgan, M.Daniels, G.Smith(J.Williams), L.Bolderson, G.Griffiths, K.Williams, C.Williams(R.Jones), A.Phillips, C.Hill(J.Carnell)

PLAYER RATINGS

(To Follow)

__________________________Saturday 13th October 2007_________________________

STANLEYTOWN 2 - 4 AFC BUTETOWN

Anthony Phillips 70
attendance 27
Ryan Bartlett 85

Our first league game for 4 weeks saw us play AFC Butetown with a massive 20 players to choose from. There were just the 3 changes from last weeks cup defeat to Porth with Ian Reed returning in goals in place of Stephen Harris and Gareth Smith returning in defence with Ian L’Homme moving up front in place of Dale Pugh. Chris Hill also returned in place of Lee Bolderson.
We came flying out of the traps and took the game to Butetown early on and within 3 minutes we had our first chance when Ryan Bartlett broke down the right got his shot away only for the goalkeeper to make the save.

It took over ten minutes before the next real chance but again it was us when a free kick from Gareth Griffiths found Ryan Bartlett in space in the box only for him to see his effort hit the bar a go over.

On 20 minutes Butetown took the lead when a free kick from outside the box was brilliantly saved by Ian Reed tipping the ball onto the bar but the Butetown attack were sharper to react than our defence and were first to the rebound tapping the ball in from 6 yards. 2 minutes later Butetown broke through 1 on 1 but couldn’t beat Ian and eventually muscled out of the ball by Gareth Griffiths.

Just after the half hour we came close yet again when a Jeremy Morgan corner found Chris Hill whose header went narrowly over. A minute later Butetown nearly increased their lead only to be denied by the post.

5 minutes before half time Butetown did double their lead when the broke down the left hand side cut inside a shot from the corner of the area into the far corner giving Ian no chance in goals.

Three minutes before half time we had another 2 chances when first a Dean White free kick was headed wide by Ian L’Homme and in injury time Jeremy Morgan played in Ryan Bartlett but his shot was saved by the goalkeeper. Half Time 0 – 2

We started the second half brightly and within 2 minutes had a good chance to score when Jeremy played in Chris Hill but again the keeper was there and made a good save.

5 minutes later Butetown finished us off with 2 goals in the space of 4 minutes first a low free kick from the right went through everyone and straight into the bottom corner. Then on 56 minutes they broke down the right crossed the ball to the middle for their striker to drive the ball in from 14 yards.

In the 57th minute Anthony Phillips and Craig Williams made their Stanleytown debuts in place of Ian L’Homme and Jason Pritchard and instantly made an impact when 3 minutes after coming on they combined for Anthony to get a powerful shot in only for the keeper to make a save.

On 70 minutes we were awarded a penalty when Ryan Bartlett broke down the right and as he cut inside into the box the defender came over and handled the ball. Up stepped Anthony Phillips to slot the penalty home and grab his first Stanleytown goal.

Lee Bolderson replaced Jason Carnell on 75 minutes.

13 minutes from time Gareth Smith played in Anthony Phillips who went through but he couldn’t find the target and shot wide. Then Lee Bolderson broke through and played the ball through for Chris Hill but his shot also went wide. 3 minutes later Lee was involved again when this time he played in Ryan Bartlett but his shot went over.

In the 85th minute we got our second of the game when quick thinking by Chris Hill to play a short corner to Lee whose cross found Ryan Bartlett at the near post for him to flick the ball in at the near post for him to get his first goal for the club.

In injury time Ian Reed managed to keep the score down when they went one on one with him but he came out on top pulling off a great save. Final Score 2 – 4

Although the result didn’t go our way our second half performance is defiantly something to build on, and if we stick together a show good turnouts at training on Wednesdays he shouldn’t be long before we start picking up points. Our next game is home to fellow struggles Caerphilly Town 2.00pm kick off next Saturday the 20th October.

Team: I.Reed, D.White, G.Smith, G.Griffiths, J.Pritchard(C.Williams), R.Bartlett, J.Morgan, K.Williams, J.Carnell(L.Bolderson), C.Hill, I.L’Homme(A.Phillips)

PLAYER RATINGS

(Done by Jeremy Morgan)

Ian Reed 5
Lucky to walk straight back into team after Pip’s heroics last week. Not the best of games for the club appointed ‘best keeper in the league’. No saves for the camera, I think he thought Magua wasn’t taking photos this week.

Dean White 5
Had better games of late. Was often beaten by winger. On a positive note, distribution was average and likes to play football.

Jason Pritchard 5
Same old story, never shirks a challenge. (the ones he can get to) Had plenty of ball in first half, but lack of options for him meant it was often just hoofed forward.

Gareth Griffiths 6
Went toe to toe with their chunky striker. Quiet game by usual standards. Said he has definitely broke a bone in his foot, whatever anyone says. Lee asked ‘what if a doctor x-rays it and says it’s not broken?’ I’m sure he will play through the pain barrier next week.

Gareth Smith 6
Does his talking on the pitch, but not much this week. Cant say much other than typically solid.

Jason Carnell 7
10 for effort as we have come to expect. Never shirked a challenge but would do even better if he played the simple ball early. Went off after a funny bone injury.

Jeremy Morgan 6
Played the easy ball, but didn’t see enough of it. Started well and had loads of time on the ball when reverted to left back. Played in the strikers on more than one occasion. Not so good for middle period of the game.

Karl Williams 6
Good skills as normal, but not as influential as we want him to be. Nicky reckons loads of potential, even at 38.

Ian L’Homme 5
Apparently, is now known as ‘Lhommey Alonso’ in Maerdy and throughout the garage network in the Rhondda fach. Another audacious effort from 45 yards early in the second half, but fluffed it. We have seen him play better, and it was in the ynyshir away game if anyone is wondering when……

Ryan Bartlett 6
Much more involved in this game and beat his man on a fair number of occasions. May be more of a winger than a striker but did well. Met cross at near post for debut stanleytown goal.

Chris Hill 5
Lightning quick over 5 yards, and has to be cos often that is distance of his first touch. Did ok holding the ball up as a striker and played it easy. Not as many chances as penrhiwfer game, but kept going.

Subs

Lee Bolderson 7
Very positive when he came on, plenty of running as you should expect. Gave us a different wide option. Went out with the boys in the night, could spell the beginning of the end……

Anthony Phillips 7 – STAR MAN
Gave us a different approach when he came on. Looks a nice player and bit of a lump with a good touch. Calmly slotted penalty home. Did hear someone say he is better than Lhommey in his prime. Should be some player…..

Craig Williams 7
Also did really well on debut. Looks solid and will be interesting to see how the new boys perform. Gave the easy ball and kept it simple.

Dale Pugh
Rolling back the years with his wedge haircut, the once star striker didn’t make the starting 11. The Saturday afternoons on the bustlers are taking their toll. Look forward to seeing him make his comeback.

Marc Daniels
Give it another week was the verdict. 2 weeks ago couldn’t even walk, now back fighting fit.

Squad

Steve Thomas
Just recovering from an old war wound. Was looking spritely in the warm up due to a few days off the round. If the PO had a strike every week I reckon hobble would be a yard sharper.

John Williams
Scored a hat trick in pre season, now didn’t make first 16. I bet we will see John training on Wednesday and forcing his way back into the reckoning.

Gary Thomas
Former Clubman of the year was there again on the side with his stanleytown scarf……..

Kelvin Owen
Given a week rest cos of the bruising encounters of late.

Nicky Rees
Apart from his cows-lick, looked ok in the club after the game. Heard rumour he was taken ill with mysterious disease before the game……..

___________________________Saturday 6th October 2007__________________________

Senior Cup Round 1

AFC PORTH 8 - 2 STANLEYTOWN

attendance 52
Ian L'Homme 64

Lee Bolderson 73

Our second cup game in as many weeks saw us in another derby with Amateur League side AFC Porth in the first round of the South Wales senior cup. There were 5 changes from last week, Stephen Harris covered in goals for the missing Ian Reed, Carl Wells and Marc Daniels were ruled out through injury, in came Karl Williams and Dale Pugh, and Jason Carnell and Ryan Bartlett returned in place of Gareth Smith and Chris Hill.

The game started as you would expect as the Division 1 side dominated the early play and putting us under a lot of pressure. But our defence held out well and restricting them to long range efforts that didn’t really test stand in keeper Stephen Harris.

On the half hour Porth finally scored when quick short corner caught us napping and the cross was met by a free header 8 yards out to give Porth a 1 – 0 lead. After this we did up our game a little and started to attack Porth and our best chance came 5 minutes before half time when Karl Williams played Ryan Bartlett in down the right only for the goalkeeper to make the save.

In first half injury time we had another chance when Jason Carnell broke down the left hand side crossed into the box, the defender only managed to clear it to the edge of the box where Dale Pugh’s driven shot was saved by the goalkeeper. Just before the break Porth got their second, when again we were caught napping with a quick free kick was chipped into the box and headed in to give Porth a 2 – 0 lead at half time.

5 minutes into the second half Porth went 3 – 0 up when a shot from outside of the area gave Stephen Harris no chance in goals. On 55 minutes John Williams replaced Dale Pugh.

We then had two chances in the next five minutes when first a long range effort from Karl Williams went just over and then a Dean White cross was headed over by Ian L’Homme, but we couldn’t score and then to rub salt into the wounds Porth went up the other end and made the score 4 – 0 when an effort from outside the box deflected past Pip.

Straight from the restart we got one back with the goal of the game as Ian L’Homme vision to see the Porth keeper off his line shot and lobbed him from the half way line.

On 67 minutes Ryan Jones replaced Ryan Bartlett. Porth then went 5 – 1 up when they played the ball down the right and a low driven shot beat Stephen Harris at his near post. A couple of minutes later Porth came close again when Lee Bolderson cleared a header from a corner from the left off the line.

17 minutes before time we managed to get a second goal when some nice build up play between Ryan Jones and Jason Carnell played Lee Bolderson in down the right hand side, and his cross ended up dropping into the net with a little hand from the Porth keeper.

5 minutes later we had a chance to make a come back when Ian L’Homme broke through one on one but he couldn’t hit the target and blazed his shot over.

9 minutes from time we had another chance with a free kick just outside the area but Ryan Jones is effort went over. In the 82nd minute a lovely passing move found it’s way into the box a slotted the ball into the net to give Porth a 6 – 2 lead.

3 minutes from time Kelvin Owen replaced Jason Pritchard. The last two minutes saw Porth grab 2 goals when first they broke through the middle and knocked it past the keeper and then in injury time a driven shot from outside the area gave them 8 – 2 victory.

It’s back to the league for us next week when we are home to AFC Butetown 2.00pm kick off.

Team: S.Harris, D.White, G.Griffiths, J.Pritchard(K.Owen), I.L’Homme, J.Morgan, L.Bolderson, K.Williams, R.Bartlett(R.Jones), J.Carnell, D.Pugh(J.Williams)

PLAYER RATINGS

(Done by Jeremy Morgan)

Stephen Harris 3
Ummmmm, where do you start? Very difficult afternoon for the non-keeper. Didn’t stand a chance with many of the goals. Fair play though, he did turn up and give it a go.

Dean White 4
Tough job against good opposition. Some nice touches but not a game to remember. Still the best haircut in the club by miles.

Jason Pritchard 4
Won some great defensive headers but another of the defence who will want to forget this game.

Gareth Griffiths 5
Not his usual presence. Difficult to get into the game and their mobile strikers did not suit his style.

Jeremy Morgan 4
Reverted to centre half with disastrous effect. Often found a nice pass out of defence but that’s where it ended. Nowhere near their strikers in second half.

Ian L’Homme 6 – STAR MAN
Totally not interested in the first half when having to chase back into the corner. Things changed when he lobbed the keeper from the half way, puffed his chest and produced a cantona’esque style celebration. Had another chance when a well worked move put him clean through, shame he blasted it over the bar as hard as he could. Rumours are that the ball is still on a roof in Parc Afon.
3 for first half, 9 for second half goal.

Karl Williams 4
Really up against it in midfield. Quality players for opposition and outnumbered all too often. I think Karl will admit he was a little anonymous. It was Karl who played in the middle wasn’t it?

Lee Bolderson 4
One moment of brilliance - great vision to lob the keeper from an almost impossible angle. Only the boy wonder could have produced such skill. That aside, didn’t really have a kick. For most of the game was closed down and kept under pressure, not the best of games.

Ryan Bartlett 4
Not at the races. Nor the football match. One good run in the first half but struggled against very good opposition midfield.

Dale Pugh 4
In the shadow of his hero Lhomme. Lack of match practice told. Not close enough to Cazzy. A quiet game for a talented player.

Jason Carnell 6
Worked hard up front and challenged for everything. Could be more mobile and needs to work better with strike partner. Not bad for his first appearance of the season.

John Williams 4
Difficult game to make an impression in. Needless to say, he didn’t make an impression.

Kelvin Owen 4
On a positive note, he didn’t get injured. Suppose you need to be involved to get injured tho. Very difficult with the time he had.

Ryan Jones 6
Some great touches and battled well when he came on. No-one doubts his ability, its just his belly gets in the way sometimes

_____________________Saturday 29th September 2007________________________
Bruty Cup Round 1

STANLEYTOWN 3 - 3 PENRHIWFER

Chris Hill 18
attendance 23

Marc Daniels 53

Own Goal 117

After Extra Time
Penrhiwfer won 9 - 8 on Penalties

Our first game for 2 weeks saw the visit of Penrhiwfer in the first round of the Bruty Cup. We had five changes from our last game against Ynyshir with Gareth Griffiths and Marc Daniels returning and debuts for Dean White, Carl Wells and Chris Hill. Missing were Mathew Smith, Ryan Bartlett, Nicky Rees, Dale Pugh and Nathan Bruford.

Our day didn’t start in the best way when Carl Wells only lasted 10 minutes when he was forced to come off injured. Karl Williams came on to replace him in the centre of midfield. A minute later the first chance of the game the new striking partnership of Marc Daniels and Chris Hill combined with Chris crossing to Marc only for his header to go just wide.

A few minutes later Marc had a great chance when he broke the offside trap on the half way line and went through one on one with the keeper only for his shot to go narrowly wide.

5 minutes later we did find the net when a slip by the Penrhiwfer defender left Chris Hill through one on one with the goalkeeper and he slotted the ball home to grab his first ever goal for Stanleytown.

Just before the half hour we had a chance to go 2-0 up when Gareth Griffiths met Lee Bolderson’s corner but his header went just over.

5 minutes later Penrhiwfer had their first chance but Ian Reed tipped the free kick wide. Ian was called into action a minute later when again a free kick was tipped over the bar. From the resulting corner Penrhiwfer drew level when we failed to clear the corner and the ball dropped into the six-yard box and it was driven into the net.

5 minutes before half time we had a great chance when Chris Hill broke through again but couldn’t connect with the ball cleanly which gave the Penrhiwfer keeper a easy save.

In injury time we had another two chances, first Jeremy Morgan hit the bar and Ian L’Homme’s follow up went just wide and secondly Lee Bolderson’s cross was headed back across goal by Jeremy and Marc Daniels headed over. Half Time 1-1

We started the second half as we ended the first when 6 minutes into the restart Chris Hill had another one on one but again the keeper made a good save and Ian L’Homme then shot over.

2 minutes later we did grab our second when Jeremy Morgan played Lee Bolderson in down the right hand side and his low cross found the unmarked Marc Daniels 8 yards out and he slotted the ball past the keeper.

After the hour John Williams replaced Ian L’Homme.

Seven minutes later we had another great chance when Lee Bolderson broke down the right pulled the ball back only for Karl Williams to shoot over the bar. A minute later a John Williams clearance somehow found its way through to Chris Hill who again went one on one with the keeper but he couldn’t find the target on this occasion.

On 72 minutes Kelvin Owen replaced the injured Gareth Smith.

The last 15 minutes saw Penrhiwfer pushing hard the equaliser but we restricted them to long-range efforts that barely troubled Ian in goals. 12 minutes from time Penrhiwfer had a great chance to level the scores when they were awarded a penalty for a Marc Daniels handball. But for the second game running Ian was up to the task and pulled off a great save down to his right hand side.

In injury time Penrhiwfer got their equaliser when a stunning free kick was driven into the top corner giving Ian Reed no chance. Full Time 2-2

Extra time took a while to get going we both teams tiring but we had the best two chances of the half when first John Williams’s dipping shot went just over. Then a minute before the break Jason Pritchard got his head onto a Lee Bolderson corner only for it to go just over.

4 minutes into the second half Penrhiwfer caught us on the counter attack only for Ian Reed to yet again deny the Penrhiwfer attack. A minute later Chris Hill came close when his header went wide.

7 minutes from time Penrhiwfer took the lead for the first time in the match when a driven shot from 25 yards beat Ian Reed to his right hand side. With 2 minutes to go Penrhiwfer seemed to be holding on, until a lack of communication made the score 3-3, Ian Reed’s long kick up field seemed to be easy to deal with, but as the keeper came out for the ball the centre half headed the ball past him into his own net. Final Score after extra time Stanleytown 3 – 3 Penrhiwfer.

The game went to penalties and it took 24 penalties to separate the two teams. Both of us converted their first 5 penalties, both missed their 6th, then we both scored our 7th and 8th penalties and then missed 9 and 10. The last 4 penalties were the difference, both sides scored their 11th but we missed our 12th and Penrhiwfer went on to score winning the game 9 – 8 on penalties.

Team: I.Reed, D.White, G.Smith(K.Owen), G.Griffiths, J.Pritchard, L.Bolderson, C.Wells(K.Williams), J.Morgan, I.L’Homme(J.Williams), M.Daniels, C.Hill

PLAYER RATINGS

(Done by Jeremy Morgan)

Ian Reed 7
Kicking was a little better this week, Ian kept them in the park for a change. On times, top quality including great penalty save in second half. Went missing in shootout though.

Dean White 6
Steady performance at right back. Is he going to turn up every week is the question?

Jason Pritchard 6
If only he could run. Solid game, no dribbling out of defence of note and cleared his lines well. Same old story though, fine heading and tackling, but looks like he’s running in treacle.

Gareth Griffiths 8 – STAR MAN
Early recovery from broken metatarsal type injury. Welcome return to the team putting in a rock solid display. Made headway to ‘tag’ Jeremy and release him from the sleeper hold.

Gareth Smith 6
Didn’t last the distance. Did this business while he was on the park but didn’t seem to be his usual self.

Jeremy Morgan 6
Hit bar when it was easier to score in first half. Not the best of games but did thread a few nice balls through the defence. Initiated a WWF style ruck and was almost strangled when put in a sleeper hold by an opponent.

Carl Wells 4
Lasted only 10 minutes. Looked quite energetic for those 10 minutes though.

Lee Bolderson 7
Pace caused problem for opposition and he played a few dangerous balls into the box. Getting back to the form of last season.

Marc Daniels 5
Could have had a hat trick. Back legs went in the second half and looked about as mobile as nicky’s dog.

Chris Hill 5
Took first goal calmly and at time thought he would go on to score a hat full. Cant remember him hitting the target after that.

Ian L’Homme 6
Did ok, nothing special and nothing rubbish.

Karl Williams 6
Good performance from Karl after he replaced Wellsy after 10 minutes. Ability not in doubt and what he needs is a good run in the team.

Kelvin Owen 5
Looks a little injury prone.

John Williams 7
Could tell he had a night in on Friday. Didn’t stop running and got stuck in. This boy needs a Friday night drinking ban

_________________________Tuesday 11th September 2007_________________________

YNYSHIR 2 - 1 STANLEYTOWN

attendance 75
Nathan Bruford 8

Our second midweek game of the season saw us again play local rivals Ynyshir. We had three changes from Saturday with Gareth Griffiths and Karl Williams missing through injury and John Williams was dropped to the bench. In came new singing Ryan Bartlett and up front was Nathan Bruford and Dale Pugh.

We started the brightest at took an early lead through Nathan Bruford when his strike gave the Ynyshir goalkeeper no chance. We didn’t hold onto the lead for long as Ynyshir hit straight back.

Ynyshir then went 2 – 1 up when their centre forward won the battle down the left hand side and drove a fierce shot from just inside the area that gave Ian Reed no chance in goals.

We didn’t give up and created a string of chances in the remainder of the first half. First Jason Pritchard had his free kick saved, then Nicky Rees had a go but again the keeper saved his effort and the follow up from Jeremy Morgan. Nicky then had another free kick but again the goalkeeper saved comfortable.

Ian L’Homme, who played full back for this game, then had two chances in the space of 5 minutes, first he took a quick free kick that the keeper saved and then his long-range effort went just over.

Ynyshir had the last two chances of the half, first a shot from outside the area was deflected over and then a cross form the right was volleyed wide. Half time 2 – 1.

Ynyshir started the second half as they ended the first by having the next chance when they hit a free kick wide. Ex Ynyshir player Dale Pugh had the next effort when he broke down the left

but his shot went into the side netting.

Our best chance since the goal saw a Nicky Rees free kick from the left headed back across the goal by Dale Pugh only for Gareth Smith to see his effort go narrowly wide.

On 65 minutes John Williams replaced Ryan Bartlett.

A rare lapse in concentration from our back four allowed the Ynyshir forward to go through one on one with Ian Reed but lifted the ball both over him and the bar. This didn’t faze us as almost instantly we got back into the game but Lee Bolderson’s shot went over.

With 15 minutes left Ynyshir had a great chance to wrap up the points when Jason Pritchard brought down the forward inside the area. But Ynyshir couldn’t make it count as the were denied by a brilliant save by Ian Reed down to his right hand side.

After 78 minutes Steve Thomas replaced Matthew Smith.

We continued to push for the equaliser but the Ynyshir defence was proving hard to break down, first Dale Pugh had a shot deflected wide, the a Nathan Bruford cross was headed by Nicky Rees only for the goalkeeper to save it.

In injury time we came the closet all game when a half cleared corner only made it as far as the edge of the area and Dale Pugh’s driven volley went inches wide.

This was another very entertaining local derby with Ynyshir just edging us out 2-1, on reflection a draw probably would have been the fairer result, but we got to take the positives out of this game and take them forward to Saturdays game against Hopkinstown at home 2.00 kick off.

Team: I.Reed, M.Smith(S.Thomas) G.Smith, J.Pritchard, I.L'Homme, R.Bartlett(J.Williams), L.Bolderson, J.Morgan, N.Rees, D.Pugh, N.Bruford

PLAYER RATINGS

(Done by Jeremy Morgan)

Ian Reed 7
Premier league handling, premier league shot stopping, Rhondda (Sunday) league kicking. Top drawer penalty save, snapping a nail in the process.

Matthew Smith 5
Not best game for club. Passing improving but struggled against physical opposition. Lost one tussle in first half that led to equalizer.

Ian L’Homme 8 – STAR MAN
Very good game. Was clearly up for it, winning every challenge. Had better of opposite number who switched flanks as a result. Could we have finally found the position for Lhomme? He was much better when told not to attack.

Jason Pritchard 7
Hesitant for second goal, allowing opposition striker toe poking ball home. Missed one clear header in second half when he looked like he had it all the way, and gave away penalty. All sounds bad, but actually had one of his better games.

Gareth Smith 6
Up against it and didn’t dominate the physical side of things. Cant remember him losing much, but cant remember him winning much either.

Ryan Bartlett 6
Not involved in game very much. Plenty of effort and a flash of brilliance in the second half showing potential. Fair effort for debut.

Jeremy Morgan 7
Did reasonably against little opposite midfield players and even won a few headers. Got fouled a lot. Plenty of energy in first half, but faded when hobble was introduced.

Lee Bolderson 7
Plenty of effort and put himself about. Never looked composed in a very rushed game. Beginning to improve and starting to show the form we remember from last year.

Nicky Rees 7
Played out of position but did what was asked of him. He might have the worst left foot in the club but still did a job on the left. Put opposition defence under pressure and supported Lhomme in defending.

Nathan Bruford 7
Cant he play every week? Scored a goal out of nothing and gives us a different option up front.

Dale Pugh 6
Not as good as he can produce although he did show for the ball and put the defence under pressure. Pace always a threat but was often out muscled by big lumbering defenders.

John Williams 6
Plenty of energy when he came on and broke through and almost scored. Not afraid to put his head in where it hurts.

Steve Thomas 6
Held a good shape in the middle of the park. Don’t think he pushed forward much though.

_________________________Saturday 8th September 2007_________________________

STANLEYTOWN 0 - 2 AFC CAERPHILLY

attendance 43

Saturday’s game saw us come up against high flying AFC Caerphilly; we had two changes from our mid-week defeat to Ynyshir with Ian Reed returning in goals in place of Andrew Burt and John Williams starting in place of the absent Dale Pugh.

AFC Caerphilly started the sharpest and went close twice within the first 5 minutes, first a free kick went wide and then Ian Reed was called upon to make a save. 6 minutes later we had our first chance, but Nicky Rees is effort didn’t test the goalkeeper as his shot went wide. Soon after Lee Bolderson saw his shot go flying over the bar.

After 25 minutes Caerphilly had their best two opportunities when first in the 21st minute the forced a good save from Ian and then saw their rebound blocked by Jason Pritchard and John Williams. 3 minutes later Ian L’Homme deflected a long range effort onto the post, from this we countered attacked but Lee Boldersons shot went wide.

Steve Thomas replaced the injured Karl Williams on 26 minutes.

5 minutes before half time Caerphilly did take the lead when a right footed strike from outside the area gave Ian Reed no chance as the ball went straight into the top corner.

A couple of minutes later we had our best chance of the half when a deep free kick from Jason Pritchard found the head of Ian L’Homme only for him to head over.
Half Time 0-1.

The second half started the same as the first with Caerphilly having the first chance, when a free kick was met by a free header inside the penalty only for Ian Reed to deny them. 5 minutes later Jeremy Morgan played in Nicky Rees but he again shot wide.

Ian L’Homme was then replaced by new signing Kelvin Owen. Lee Bolderson then had a long range effort go over.

On the hour Ian Reed was called into action yet again when he saved well in a one on one situation. John David then replaced the injured Gareth Griffiths in the centre of defence.

Lee Bolderson and Nicky Rees combined once again when Lee’s cross was headed goalwards by Nicky only for the goalkeeper to save it. A minute later Nicky turned provider when his cross was driven wide by Jeremy Morgan.

After 71 minutes Lee Bolderson had his long range effort saved by the Caerphilly goalkeeper. 15 minutes from time the two substitutes combined when a long John David throw was flicked goalwards by Kelvin Lowe and just missed the far post.

In the last couple of minutes as we were pushing for the equaliser Caerphilly broke through twice to go one on one with Ian, first time Ian prevailed but the second time he was beaten to make the score 0 – 2.

This was a game that we didn’t deserve to lose by 2 but if we can’t take our own chances in front of goal we will struggle. Our next game is on Tuesday against Ynyshir 6.15pm kick-off on the Oval.

Team: I.Reed, M.Smith G.Griffiths(J.David), G.Smith, J.Pritchard, I.L'Homme(K.Owen), J.Morgan, K.Williams(S.Thomas), J.Williams, L.Bolderson, N.Rees

PLAYER RATINGS

(Done by Jeremy Morgan)

Ian Reed 7
No chance with first goal. Steady performance as usual. (Apart from kicking)

Matthew Smith 6
Sometimes brilliant, sometimes rubbish. Bit of both in this game.

Gareth Griffiths 6
Was forming a solid understanding at the back with MP Johnson. Cruel injury puts him out for 6 weeks – he is expected back once the rugby world cup is finished.

Gareth Smith 7
Cant remember him doing much wrong, just gets on with the job. He will start speaking one day soon.

Jason Pritchard 6
Solid in the challenge, but is often cruelly exposed for a lack of pace. Sometimes looks like he is running in wet sand.

Ian L'Homme 6
Journeyman utility player L’homme did not give as good as he can.

Jeremy Morgan 7
Nicky said Star Man, Antos said f*****g useless. It’s a funny old game.

Karl Williams 5
Had been playing well in previous games, but nobody noticed he had gone off until half time. Doesn’t say much for hobble either, cos he replaced him.

John Williams 6
Think his mind was on camping with Lee. Yet to see a repeat of his hat-trick heroics from pre-season. Someone said there is more chance of Dodgy putting on the black and red of Stanleytown again than John scoring another hat-trick. Watch this space.

Lee Bolderson 7
Still had his whistle and glowstick when he turned up for the game, but did well up front with Nicky. Needs to hit the target more (read the report – they all seem to go ‘flying over the bar’)

Nicky Rees 7
Created some good chances for himself, but didn’t really test keeper. Would have been a 6 but rating upped to 7 cos he lasted 90 minutes.

John David 7
Gave us much needed presence when replacing big Gav. Not match fit.

Steve Thomas 6
Typical performance from the Stanleytown stalwart.

Kelvin Owen 8 – STAR MAN
Worked tirelessly when he came on and got stuck in. Hit the deck on more occasions than anyone can remember. Almost concussed and ankle, knee, rib etc injuries, but still kept going.

_________________________Tuesday 4th September 2007_________________________

STANLEYTOWN 0 - 1 YNYSHIR

attendance 78

This mid week fixture saw us play local rivals Ynyshir Albions in a fiery derby. We only had the one change from Saturday’s win over Llanbradach with Andrew Burt replacing Ian Reed in goals.

The game started with a high tempo with both teams looking for that early goal but it took 11 minutes for the first chance when an Ynyshir shot was deflected wide by Gareth Smith. 2 minutes later Ynyshir had a second chance when a header went narrowly over.

Within the next five minutes we had our first two chances when first Ian L’Homme saw his shot go wide and then Nicky Rees had the best chance, Dale Pugh broke down the right laid the ball back to Lee Bolderson who crossed for Nicky but he couldn’t hit the target with his header.

On 20 minutes the deadlock was broken when Ynyshir went 1-0 up. They broke through the middle forced a good save from Andrew Burt, but the rebound fell to their full back whose driven shot gave Burty no chance.

After the goal we started to take the game to Ynyshir and was unlucky not to score with several chances before half time. In the 22nd minute a deep Gareth Griffiths free kick dropped over the Ynyshir centre back and fell to Nicky Rees but his shot went just wide. On 27 minutes Nicky saw his free kick go just over the bar.

On half hour we came the closest yet when Dale Pugh broke down the right crossed to Nicky Rees at the back post and his left foot shot hit the near post and rolled across the line and then cleared by the defender.

3 minutes later the woodwork denied us yet again when a free kick by Jason Pritchard beat the goalkeeper, who happens to be his son, but came crashing back off the crossbar.

Just before half time we had one more chance when Dale Pugh went close but his shot couldn’t find the target and went just wide. A minute later Ynyshir had the last chance of the half when a free kick from the right was headed just over. Half Time 0 – 1.

The second half started in the same fashion as the first with both sides pushing again, 4 minutes into the half a free kick from Jason Pritchard went just wide. A minute later Ynyshir had a chance but their shot also didn’t hit the target going just over.

10 minutes later Ynyshir had another two chances when first the shot over and then minutes later headed wide.

On 67 minutes John Williams replaced Ian L’Homme.

After 70 minutes we had a great chance to draw level when Jeremy Morgan played the ball over the top for Nicky to chase but the goalkeeper just managed to get a toe on the ball and divert it wide. 5 minutes later we had our last real chance of the match, but again nothing came of it when Lee Bolderson’s shot went wide.

Before the end it looked as if we had drew level when Dale Pugh put the ball into the back of the net but the effort was ruled out for offside.

On 85 minutes Ryan Jones replaced Lee Bolderson.

Final score 0 – 1.

Even though we didn’t get anything out of this evenly contested game there were positives to take from it and possible we did deserve a draw. If performances continue like this one for the rest of the season there is no reason why many wins wont follow.

Team: A.Burt, M.Smith, G.Griffiths, G.Smith, J.Pritchard, L.Bolerson(R.Jones), K.Williams, J.Morgan, I.L’Homme(J.Williams), N.Rees, D.Pugh

PLAYER RATINGS

(Done by Jeremy Morgan)

Andrew Burt 7
Didn’t put a foot wrong again. Handling was good and reliable all round. Only thing is kicking leaves a lot to be desired. Nobody knows which direction its going. Another good game.

Matthew Smith 7
Did ok, but not to the high standards of recent performances. Did well tackling and tracking back, but distribution was found a bit wanting on times. Someone said he looked like Rodney Trotter.

Jason Pritchard 6
Won every header that came his way but was often a bit hesitant on the ground. Got caught out on occasions trying to play football. Was exposed for pace several times by their fast wide men.

Gareth Smith 8 – STAR MAN
Boris won every header and tackle. Did not deserve to be on a losing side. Followed their very good forwards everywhere and won the physical challenge with ease. Looking to be one of the signings of the season. Can improve his game by being more vocal.

Gareth Griffiths 7
Played well alongside fellow Gareth but did not dominate as much. Solid as in his last game, it is a long way around him.

Karl Williams 7
Flashes of brilliance and general all round good play. On occasions was dancing with the ball, but final killer ball was missing. Up against strong midfield, but more than held his own.

Ian L’Homme 5
Quiet game from our flying winger. A lot of tracking back, but not a great deal going forward.

Jeremy Morgan 7
Covered a lot of ground. Had a fair amount of the ball, but final ball too often not good enough. Did well to contain very good opposition midfield. One more pint in the club and would have had an 8.

Nicky Rees 7
Best game of the season so far. Created chances and was unlucky not to score. Think he has been off the Chinese takeaways, cos every time ball was knocked over the top, he caused trouble. Not afraid to get involved physically and lasted 90 minutes despite a scare at the end of the first half. Also, won a great header at back post, no direction though.

Dale Pugh 6
Did well in first half and was quite lively, but drifted out of the game in the second. Seemed to score a legitimate goal from Nicky’s cross but was ruled out for offside.

Lee Bolderson 5
Another quiet game from the boy wonder. Is this second season syndrome, as he is yet to repeat last seasons form? Similar to L’Homme, tracked back well, but little going forward. Did come inside to get more involved.

Ryan Jones 5
Did fair job for time he was on, but that wasn’t long.

John Williams 5
Worked hard for last 15 minutes he was involved. Took over where L’Homme left off. We know he is capable of scoring a hat-trick tho.

_________________________Saturday 1st September 2007_________________________

LLANBRADACH SOCIAL 1 - 3 STANLEYTOWN

attendance 38
Nicky Rees 2
Own Goal 69
Dale Pugh 88

This week we travelled to league leaders Llanbradach Social with new manager John David and 4 changes from last weeks defeat to Cascade. Ian Reed returned in goals in place of Andrew Burt, Gareth Griffiths made his debut in place of Marc Daniels, and Lee Bolderson and Dale Pugh replaced Ceri Jones and Stephen Harris.

We made a fantastic start when in the 2nd minute we went 1-0 up. We passed well in the build up with Dale Pugh laying the ball back to Jeremy Morgan and he played Nicky Rees in down the right hand side, and with no other option Nicky hit the ball from a distance that deceived the goalkeeper as the ball dropped over his head into the net.

Within the next 5 minutes Llanbradach nearly hit back but were denied by a good save by Ian Reed. The game continued with Llanbradach trying to break down our defence but with no avail, with their shots off target or being comfortably saved.

After 35 minutes things turned against us when Nicky Rees was sent off for foul and abusive language. But different from last season’s attitude we didn’t lie down and die, as a couple of minutes later we came close when Jeremy Morgans volley from outside the area was deflected wide.

2 minutes before half time Llanbradach drew level when a long ball from the back bounced through and the striker was there to lift the ball over Ian Reed. Just before half time Ian L’Homme had a chance but his shot was saved. Half Time 1-1.

We started the second half the same as the first but it took almost 10 minutes for our first chance when a header from Matthew Smith off a Lee Bolderson free kick was saved. A minute later Ian L’Homme had a chance but his shot went just wide.

It wasn’t until the 65th minute for the next chance where a deep free kick by Gareth Griffiths went just over. Llanbradach then broke and went down the other end but the long-range effort couldn’t beat Ian Reed in goals.

In the 69th minute we went 2-1 up with a freak own goal. Dale Pugh broke through and the Llanbradach defender tried hacking him down but couldn’t catch him, the ball then spun through to the goalkeeper who tried to bring it down but the ball spun off his foot and bounced into the net.

The next 10 minutes saw chances for both sides with Jeremy Morgan with a shot for us, and shots from Llanbradach going harmlessly over or wide, which was mainly down to the solid back four performances from Matthew Smith, Gareth Griffiths, Gareth Smith and Jason Pritchard restricting them to long-range efforts.

7 minutes from time saw Ian L’Homme go close twice, firstly a quick Karl Williams free kick played him in down the left, only for his shot to go wide, and then he saw his long-range effort go over. John Williams then replaced him on the left hand side of midfield.

2 minutes from the end we sealed all 3 points when Lee Bolderson played in Dale Pugh, who left the defence for dead and then slotted the ball past the keeper to grab a well deserved first goal for Stanleytown.

In injury time Neil Griffiths replaced the hard working Karl Williams in midfield.

This was a well-earned 3 points and if this type of performance can be carried through the season many more wins like these will follow. Our next game is home to local rivals Ynyshir on Tuesday the 4th September 6.15pm kick off.

Team: I.Reed, M.Smith, G.Griffiths, G.Smith, J.Pritchard, L.Bolderson, K.Williams(N.Griffiths), J.Morgan, I.L’Homme(J.Williams), N.Rees, D.Pugh

PLAYER RATINGS

(Done by Jeremy Morgan)

Ian Reed 7
Plenty more saves for the cameramen in the crowd. Handling not up to what we expect from Ian, but the balls were hard to be fair.

Matthew Smith 8
Another excellent performance. Distribution is improving and always willing to get stuck in. Played some great balls down the right hand flank. Occasionally got caught out of position in second half but did well to keep one of their best players quiet.

Jason Pritchard 8
Got skinned a few times in the first half but kept at it and probably put in his best performance of the season so far. Won some crucial headers at dangerous times.

Gareth Smith 8
Another good game. Solid at the back and produced a great run in the first half and was unlucky that a goal did not come from it. Had a tough time against sharp strikers but did well to contain them.

Gareth Griffiths 8
Solid debut. Won fair share of headers and most tackles on the ground. Could build a good partnership with the other Gareth at the heart of the defence.

Lee Bolderson 7
100% effort from the boy wonder. Kept tracking back to challenge their midfield and always made himself available when attacking. Final ball too often not as good as we know he can produce.

Jeremy Morgan 8
Establishing a good understanding with young mole. Hit a few nice balls into the channels and won fair share of tackles. Kept going for 90 minutes against a strong midfield.

Karl Williams 8
Another excellent game. Plays the easy stuff well, but can also turn it on and produced some great runs and clever passes. Never stopped running.

Nicky Rees 4
Jekyl and Hide performance. Scored a wonder goal out of nothing lobbing the keeper from 35 yards on the right touchline. Looked to be having a great game up front with Dale until 10 minutes before half time. Red carded (again) for petulant swearing at the ref. Let his team mates down and could have cost them the game. Another suspension looming and talk after the game of a move upstairs.

Dale Pugh 9 – STAR MAN
Never stopped running, and beat his man every time he had the ball. Produced run after run and created lots of chances. If he was a little more selfish, could easily had a hat-trick. Great match against all odds after being left up-front alone following Nicky’s silly red card. Capped star man performance with much deserved goal.

Ian L’Homme 8
Best performance of the season by a mile. Plenty of running and showed the form that got him trials with the City. Unlucky not to score on several occasions. Needs to keep this standard up.
Neil Griffiths 5
Came on for last five minutes. Think he likes the physical side of the game, was itching for a 50/50 that never came.

John Williams 5
Made little impact when he came on, but contributed well defensively.

___________________________Saturday 25th August 2007__________________________

STANLEYTOWN 0 - 1 CASCADE

attendance 25

Our second game of the season saw us play Cascade at home and again we had a bare 11 as players let the team down at the last minute. There were eight changes from last weeks defeat to Brecon with Andrew Burt replacing Ian Reed in goals, debuts for Gareth and Matthew Smith in defence, Ceri Jones in midfield and the returns for Marc Daniels, Nicky Rees, Stephen Harris and Karl Williams. Missing was Nathan Withers, David Withers, Lee Bolderson and John Williams and Tom Lewis, Paul Williams and Gareth Lewis were dropped to the bench.

Within the first 2 minutes Andrew Burt was called into action when a shot from outside the area was comfortably saved. It took over 20 minutes before the next chance when a shot from Cascade was well blocked by Marc Daniels.

Our first chance came from stand in striker Stephen Harris when on 26 minutes the Cascade goalkeeper tipped his shot from outside the area wide. 5 minutes later Ian L’Homme broke down the right but the keeper held his driven shot.

7 minutes before the break we had the best chance of the half when Karl Williams crossed from the right to Jeremy Morgan and he laid the ball into the path of Stephen Harris but his shot from 12 yards was driven over.

The second half started the same as the first with Cascade having an early chance that went over. 5 minutes later a free kick by Cascade from the right was headed just wide. Just after that they had another close chance but their effort from 12 yards went over.

On the hour we had another great chance when Nicky Rees took the ball into the area and pulled it back for Karl Williams for his shot to go narrowly over the bar. 3 minutes later a poor clearance by the Cascade goalkeeper meant he left his goal unattended but Karl couldn’t hit the target from the half way line.

In the 67th minute Cascade had a golden chance to take the lead after Gareth Smith conceded a penalty for a rash challenge. But Andrew Burt denied the striker, who had previously never missed a penalty, with a fantastic save down to his right.

2 minutes later Cascade did the take the lead when the ball was played down the right and a driven shot from just outside the area beat Andrew Burt to his left at his near post.

15 minutes from the end new signing Ceri Jones saw his shot from outside the area go wide. 10 minutes from time Cascade had the last chance of the game when from 18 yards they shot wide. With 8 minutes to go Tom Lewis replaced Stephen Harris.
Final Score 0 – 1.

Overall this was a difficult game for both sides in very hot conditions and we were unlucky not to come away with least a point. Our next game is on Saturday 1st September away to top of the table Llanbradach Social 2.00pm kick off.

Team: A.Burt, M.Smith, M.Daniels, G.Smith, J.Pritchard, I.L’Homme, J.Morgan, K.Williams, C.Jones, S.Harris,(T.Lewis), N.Rees

Best wishes go to David Withers who sustained a nasty knee injury in our abandoned game against Ynyshir in midweek.

PLAYER RATINGS

(Done by Jeremy Morgan)

Andrew Burt 8
Good handling and got good distance on kicking. Great penalty save diving to his right. Was a little disappointed at letting the goal beat him at his near post.

Matthew Smith 8 – STAR MAN
Passing a little ropey at times, but excellent performance. Good tackling up against a tricky winger. Never gave up.

Jason Pritchard 7
Didn’t get caught in possession which was a nice change. Solid as usual. Some nice passes out of defence.

Marc Daniels 7
Why has he got to be so nasty? Apart from one occasion when he got skinned on the touchline, a typical solid performance including one or two dirty challenges. Ripped a sock of an opposing player.

Gareth Smith 8
Looks like a cross between Mr Incredible and Boris Johnson. Great performance at centre half with Danno. Won every challenge and only lost out on star man because of the crap tackle to concede the penalty.

Karl Williams 7
Very hot day, but despite this kept going in midfield. Good closing down and distribution. Had good chance in second half but missed the target.

Ian L’Homme 5
Not in game as much as we know he could be. When he had the ball, showed some good touches and a couple of nice runs.

Jeremy Morgan 7
Good game with Karl in midfield. Not involved in game as much as should have been. Passing was fair, and laid on golden chance for Pip.

Nicky Rees 6
Lasted 90 minutes. Worked hard up front, but never close enough to striking partner, Pip. To be fair, had little support up front. Created good chance for Karl.

Stephen Harris 6
Skinned one defender in first half and had good shot saved. Wasted a very good chance when opting for power over accuracy. Plenty of effort, but pace not there and didn’t form a partnership with Nicky Rees.

Ceri Jones 6
Fair debut for the youngster. Involved in game and gave 100%. Could not ask for more than that.

Tom Lewis 5
Came on for last five minutes. Little impact, but did win one or two headers
.
.
__.

___________________________Saturday 18th August 2007__________________________

BRECON 3 - 0 STANLEYTOWN

attendance 32

Our first game of the season saw us travel to Brecon Corries with a bare 12 to choose from, which meant a debut for Nathan Withers and games for Tom Lewis and experienced defenders Gareth Lewis and Paul Williams.

Brecon started the strongest putting our defence under pressure and allowing us little chance to attack them.

After 20 minutes our day got worse when Ian L’Homme was forced to come off injured. His injury meant a return to the Stanleytown side for veteran defender Gareth Lewis. With Gareth joining Paul Williams, Jason Pritchard and Jeremy Morgan in the back four it pushed the combined age of our defence to 174 (Beating the old record of 172, Penydarren Away Saturday 4th Feb 2006).

15 minutes before half time Brecon took the lead when a shot from outside the box deceived Ian Reed in goals and crept under his body to give Brecon a 1 – 0 lead. 5 minutes before half time Brecon went 2 – 0 up when a cross from the right wing was headed in, giving Ian no chance.

The score at half time could have been a lot worse if it wasn’t for the resilient defending and some fine saves from Ian Reed.

In the second half we did play better and did try to attack but with little effect. 15 minutes into the second half Brecon went 3 – 0 up when a cross from the right was again headed in.

Brecon continued to push but found it difficult to break down the defence and with the midfield of Lee Bolderson, Steve Thomas, David Withers and John Williams working hard in the middle meant that they were restricted to long range efforts which were comfortably saved by Ian Reed.

A final score of 3 – 0 wasn’t as bad of result as it could have been with the side we put out. The commitment of the players was a credit to the side and if that is shown throughout the season then we should have a better season than last season.

Our next game is against local rivals Ynyshir on Tuesday the 21st of August 6.15pm kick off at HOME.

Team: I.Reed, I.L'Homme,(G.Lewis), P.Williams, J.Morgan, J.Pritchard, D.Withers, L.Bolderson, S.Thomas, J.Williams, T.Lewis, N.Withers

PLAYER RATINGS

(Done by Jeremy Morgan)

Ian Reed: 6 – STAR MAN

despite dropping bollock for first goal.

Some great saves for the cameramen on the side. At fault for first goal. Last year it was the sun behind the clouds, this year it was a flat ball.

Ian L’Homme: 3

Blew up after 15 minutes. Pulled something taking a throw in. He was marking a very fit winger at the time.

Jason Pritchard: 6

Solid at the back in tackles and in the air, although was often exposed for pace.

Jeremy Morgan: 6

Solid performance, covered for the old men well.

David Withers: 5

Not the performance of a centre half. More effective when moved into midfield where he was his tip toeing self.

Paul Williams: 6

Couldn’t kick for toffee in the first half, but made amends in the second. Solid display as normal.

Lee Bolderson: 5

Typical display from our midfield/striking star. Plenty of long balls and dribbles. No real output in a difficult game.

Nathan Withers: 4

Loads of effort but not a great deal of end result. Had shaved though.

Tom Lewis: 4
Didn’t hold the ball up or lay it off. No repeat of last years goal scoring heroics. Plenty of balls to chase in the channels, but never got any of them. Worked hard though. And kept smiling throughout.

John Williams: 5

Plenty of running, but didn’t make himself available for the ball enough. Sharpest turn of the day was into MacDonalds in Aberdare.

Steve Thomas: 5

Involved in plenty of tackles and lots of swearing at the other team. Won most headers he went for but was often too lazy or tired to run into position to get them.

Gareth Lewis: 6

Came on early in first half to replace L’Hommey. Looked a bit worried when he came on, but did a good job, putting his arse in where it was needed. Struggled against pacy wingers but defended well as a whole.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Friendly Saturday 11th August.

Player Ratings (Done by Jeremy Morgan)

Stanleytown 1 - 3 Cornelly

1. Ian Reed.
Good game, usual high standards but flapped at cross that led to second goal. Was still thinking about his wedding night. 7

2. Dean White.
Good on the ball and good distribution, the type of player needed at the club. Nice footballers haircut but has probably taken his last free-kick for the club. Very quick shower. 7

3. Pritchard.
Solid in the tackle, but a bit slow coming out of defence on occasions. Likes to dribble. 6

4. Danno.
Tough tackling as usual, but could tell he'd had a good night on friday. Was sweating strongbow. 6

5. Jeremy Morgan.
Danno said he had a good game. Not match fit. 7

6. Pughy.
Very good game, made some good runs and was more effective when moved up front. Spoiled it all by showering in his boxer shorts. 8

7. Little John/Dick.
Quiet game and not likely to repeat his previous hat trick heroics. Complained about a chest problem. Translate that to 'unfit'. 6

8. Dom.
Game improved when moved into midfield. Tried to play too many long balls. Pressure of dad watching from side resulted in awful penalty. He will not take another one for the club if his father is watching. 7

9. Little Mole.
Was sweating half time. Quiet game and not to his usual high standard. 6

10. Dai Withers.
Good when he has the ball, not so good when he hasnt got it. Great 50 yard run and shot for our goal. 6

11. Nicky Rees.
Getting heavier with every game. Too many 'chinese' nights in are taking thier toll. This week's injury came in the first ten minutes. 6

Subs

12. Nathan.
Another great footballers haircut. Got into some good positions, shame he couldnt do anything when he got there. A shave might help for the next game. 6

13. Hobble.
Probably our best player in the last match. Definitely dropped this match. Did ok when he came on, closed down their midfield as best he could. 7

Ref

Mole.

Great guy, great game, great fella, just great all round. Why cant we all have his attitude? Nicky said it was the best reffing display he'd ever seen. 9 STAR MAN

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