Costcutter leaders Llandysul made it three wins from three when they cruised to a 6-0 victory over Aberaeron Reserves at Cae Sgwar and there were excellent victories for second placed side Cardigan Town and title rivals Lampeter Town who fired nine goals past St Dogmaels.
It was very much an all round team performance from the Swallows with six different players getting on to the score sheet but Chris Davies and his men had to earn this win as Aberaeron pushed them hard especially in the opening hour.
Chances were scarce in the first half but the deadlock was eventually broken when Mathew Newbould netted with eight minutes to go and this sparked off a much improved performance after the break and Llan went further ahead on fifty five minutes when Adrian Hazelby won the ball out on the touchline and he let fly from 30 yards to beat the home keeper.
Ten minutes later Hazelby put Simon Davies away with a pin point pass and the in-form front runner rounded the custodian before netting. This knocked the stuffing out of the seagulls and their challenge began to fade and Llandysul took full advantage when midfielder Ben Thomas headed home a Davies cross. Central defender Dean Jones made it 5-0 from the penalty spot after a mazy run from Hazleby came to an abrupt halt in the box and Scott Thomas rounded things off with a powerful header from a Lewis Jones cross.
Manager Chris Davies said that he had been chuffed with the overall showing of his side especially with four key players missing and said:” I was very pleased especially with our second half performance and that was the best forty five minutes of football we have played this season so far.
“Not many teams go to Aberaeron and score six without reply”!
The honours were eventually shared at Llangrannog following a very hard battle where Newcastle Emlyn grabbed a late equaliser through Dafydd Owens,from a shot that took a deflection past Huw Morgan but the result was just about right in the end.
Huw Reed had put Crannog ahead after half an hour and the hosts were fortunate with a couple of decisions that could have proved very costly especially when Chris Welch got away with a last man foul that only drew a yellow card.
Crannog were the better team in the opening half and went in to the break with the lead they deserved but after the turn around the reds came back into the match in very difficult windy conditions and the hosts were forced to clear off the line when Adam Williams hit the target. The reds kept pushing and a goal finally came with just a few minutes to go when Owens let fly to beat Morgans and clinch a point for his team just in the nick of time.
Lampeter recorded the biggest win of the day when they fired nine past St Dogmaels with front runner Gethin Hunter the hero of the hour for the north road men as he claimed four of the goals.
The Saints who could only muster a bare eleven for this tough fixture due to six players dropping out from their midweek team knew it was always going to be a difficult challenge against a Lampeter team that are always very difficult to beat even with a full strength squad.
The hosts made a great start and went two goals up very early through Hunter but the saints levelled through Marcus Dean and Tom Rogers but just as they got themselves back into the game they conceded just before the break when Luke Lovell scored to make it 3-2.
The second half brought an all round improvement from the visitors until Town hit them with two quick goals through Arwel Thomas and Gethin Davies and it was downhill from here on in. Dean added his second of the match to offer a little hope for the saints, Rhys Jones saw his penalty kick saved but up the other end further goals followed through Jason Jones and Hunter as Town took full advantage of an under strength visiting side who had no substitutes.
Felinfach collected their second win of the season after they came from behind to defeat Bargod Rangers at Parc Puw by 3-1. The Milkmen suffered an early set back when talented teen Jay Shae netted for Rangers on the counter attack after only a few minutes but the visitors bounced back when Lee Forrester slotted home a spot kick and the same player added another shortly afterwards when his long range strike squeezed into the corner of the net.
Bargod tried hard to find a way back into the game after the break but the Felinfach defence proved very tough to break down and chances were few and far between. The visitors though managed to kill the game off in the final quarter when Chris Walters went in on a one on one with the advancing keeper and calmly picked his spot. Bargod who are without a point to date produced a plucky performance and it is only as matter of time before things begin to fall into place for them under young manager Jack Fisher.
Cardigan Town were also forced to come from behind before they eventually overcame the challenge of Dewi Stars at the King George by 4-1. Town who like the Stars were not at full strength were caught cold in the opening minutes when keeper Craig Woodford was guilty of handing a goal to the Stars on a plate with a sloppy pass which Steffan Owens kindly accepted and there was little in this game through most of the first half.
Town though hit the visitors with two quick fire goals in the last few minutes of the half, with one from Ewan Jones and a left foot cracker from Steve Blackford and this gave the Magpies the breathing space they needed.
Blackford and co played some lovely football in the second half bringing the ball out of defence and playing to feet with none better than Joost Burki and further goals followed from Ewan Jones and Lee Burrows to see the Magpies through for a comfortable win against a hard working Stars side whose best player was young midfielder Steffan Owens.
New Quay opened their season with a hard earned point against Cilgerran Rovers and a performance that will offer them some heart for the months to follow. The greens have struggled to get a team together and almost folded but they are back in the mix and football followers across the county were glad to see them included in the fixture list.
Rovers manager Neil Morgan was let down at the last minute with players dropping out and he was forced to play a number of men out of position but his team started brightly enough.
It was the visitors who were first out of the blocks and had a goal disallowed by referee Eirian Morgan early on when a Cilgerran player was adjudged to have fouled the seasiders keeper. Quay though soaked up the pressure and they eventually scored when Aaron McCarthy netted from the spot.
Rovers pushed hard after the break with skipper Gary Evans leading by example and they were rewarded for their efforts when striker Louis Harding grabbed an equaliser before his team mate Justin Williams was forced off with a serious knee injury.
New Quay worked hard for the winner and Rovers keeper Barry Evans was forced into making two super saves in the dying minutes whilst at the other end Harding went very close with a header that edged the crossbar.
