SAINTS ON TITLE CHARGE

Ceredigion Costcutter League & J.Emrys Morgan Cup.

Division One

St Dogmaels cut the gap at the top of the table to just four points following their sixth win of the season at Cae Sgwar and they are beginning to look serious title contenders.

The Saints who are enjoying a rich vein of form have now closed the gap between themselves and second placed team Newcastle Emlyn to just a point and Steve Williams and his men are only four points behind leaders Lampeter Town.

Several teams appear to be capable of launching a serious title bid at what is almost the half way stage in the campaign with Lampeter the obvious favourites but St Dogmaels have some talented players in the key positions and some proven goal scorers and if they are able to maintain their discipline and stay clear of injuries they could turn out to be the surprise package of the season.

The Saints dominated for long periods but some excellent defending from the black and ambers kept them out and the deadlock was eventually broken when just before half time Rhys Jones netted from the penalty spot after Dan Jones had been upended. This was how the score remained until eight minutes from the end when a free kick floated into the Aberaeron penalty box by Adam Williams was headed home by experienced raider Ioan Owen.

In division two Llanboidy enjoyed an easy 10-0 victory over Crannog Reserves at Cae Dandre where Chris Bown helped himself to a couple of goals.Others to make the most of some generous defending were Jac Griffiths, Huw Howells, Celt Jones, Declan Harries Ross McDonald,Emyr Lewis and Luke Davies and there was an own goal.

In the only other game played in the division Llandysul Reserves were comfortable 5-1 winners away at New Quay where Iwan Jones netted two for the Swallows. Others to find the target were Paul Jones, Nathaniel Davies and Steffan Hughes.

J.Emrys Morgan Cup round three.

There was heartbreak at Cae Tir Y Dref after holders Llandysul were knocked out of the J.Emrys Morgan Cup in the dying seconds of the game after leading 3-2.

Opponents Forden, who were only reformed recently after a few years in the wilderness came from behind to sneak the verdict late on with a scrambled goal from a corner.

Swallows manager Chris Davies who has seen his team decimated with key players having left the club, saw his young team produce a very mature performance and with a bit more luck could well have won this entertaining tie.

The visitors who fielded several former Berriew Reserves players, the team beaten by the Swallows in the final last season looked on their way to a comfortable win after two goals from Ross Harries had given them a healthy lead in the gluepot conditions but the hosts hit back to lead 3-2 thanks to a couple of goals from Josh Baker and one from Jesse Clayton.

Llandysul enjoyed several chances to kill the game off but the woodwork saved Forden on three occasions and they rode their luck before they hit back with an equaliser from Ryan Jenkins and with just a minute to go Christian Webster slotted the ball home from close range to put Forden through and deny Llandysul the chance of a third J.Emrys Morgan final on the trot.

Lampeter winners of this competition in 2014 cruised through into round four following another very good all round showing against visitors Meifod. The current leaders of the Costcutter League were forced to battle hard in the opening half on what was a very sticky surface but were good value for their 1-0 lead at the break courtesy of a Robert Slawkowski goal. Town upped the tempo after the interval and they created far more in front of goal and front runner Jason Jones bagged a quick fire hat trick to kill the opposition off before the visitors grabbed a late consolation goal.

Dewi Stars may be having a poor run of form this season but they seem to spring to life in this competition. After losing heavily to Bargod in the Dai Dynamo cup a few weeks earlier and with most of their squad available they finished strongly in this game, scoring three goals in the last 15 minutes to progress into round four.

Bargod took the lead in the opening minutes when Jayden Lynch latched on to a through ball to outstrip the home defence and coolly finish before the Stars settled and after several promising attacks they equalised on the half hour when Daniel Williams curled in a terrific free kick round the wall giving custodian Gethin Davies no chance.

The game hung in the balance until the final fifteen minutes when there were chances at both ends. Ryan Hurrell miraculously cleared off the line when Bargod looked certain to retake the lead and minutes later a strong run and cross from the left by Liam Jones saw Arwel Jones slide in to finish at the far post. Soon after it was 3-1 as Arwel Jones again capitalised on a defensive slip on the halfway as Bargod pushed up looking for the equaliser he ran half the length of the pitch and found the bottom corner with a fine shot and in the dying minutes it was 4-1 as man of the match Daniel Williams headed home from a rebound for his second and his team’s fourth to seal victory.