Neath 4, Bala Town 0

The match was as good as lost in the first 12 minutes with Bala already trailing 2-0. After only 5 the Bala defence failed to clear a near post corner and Luke Bowen reacted quickest to scramble the ball over the line. This was followed on 12 minutes by another home side goal when Lee Trundle pierced the visitors defence with an exquisite pass for Craig Hughes to run on and chip the Bala keeper for an excellent finish. Hughes then hit the bar after a slip by Conall Murtagh opened up the space for him but Bala were denied a goal back when a superb John Irving cross was met with a fierce header from Lee Hunt which was miraculously saved by Lee Kendall in the Neath goal. Mark Jones hit a 20 yard shot just wide and then Terry McCormick had to pull off a superb save from point blank range.

Bala were badly hampered by an arm injury to John Irving from a late challenge which went unpunished. He was substituted for Rees Darlington and the interval was reached with no further addition to the score.

Bala then dominated the opening 15 minutes of the second half. Mark Jones hit a volley inches wide and Mark Connolly had a free kick tipped around the post. Connolly then had a header well saved from an excellent Rees Darlington cross but the visitors were unable to make the pressure count.

Terry McCormick made another excellent stop before Lee Trundle imposed his powerful presence on the match. On 60 minutes he beat 3 men on a mazy run and set up Luke Bowen to fire home unchallenged and 6 minutes later it was Trundle again with a super solo run that ended with him rifling a shot into the bottom corner to make it 4-0. Neath were now full of confidence and dominated all over the park. Bala were relieved to see the match end with the 4-0 scoreline.

Next Sunday we see defending champions Bangor visit Maes Tegid. The Club will have a Licenced Bar for this occasion. Please try to support us for this crucial fixture.

Nigel Aykroyd

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