A WHIRLWIND of goals in the second half saw Ton Pentre thump seven into Welsh League rivals Gwynfi United as they remain unbeaten so far this season with two wins and a draw. This win however, may not have been possible if it weren’t for Jon Howe’s crucial penalty save during the first half when the score was one a piece.

The Rhondda Bulldogs had taken the lead during the 13th minute when Mark Simmons hit a pass forward for Lyndon Williams to win a throw-in. Kristian Orchard then shimmied his way into the box and gave the ball to Williams. Instead of being greedy Williams then looked to square the ball across the area but Ton lost possession. Lee Tapper fought hard to get the ball back and when his tackle won possession again he turned and smashed a great shot into the back of the Gwynfi net.

As the first half went on Ton seemed to lack concentration and were punished when Gwynfi equalised when sloppy play saw the Bulldogs lose possession of the ball from their own throw-in.

Soon after Gwynfi could have taken the lead when Geraint Pitt handled the ball in the area following a home team corner. A penalty was awarded and Howe made a fundamental save by diving to his left to deny Gwynfi the lead.

From here Ton Pentre did not look back. During the first couple of minutes in the second half Andrew Hughes was tripped on the edge of the area and from the freekick Lyndon Williams turned in his first competitive goal for Ton to give them a 2-1 lead.

It didn’t take Ton long to race even further into the lead when from a corner Carl Thomas’s shot needed Hughes’s flick on to reach the back of the net as the Ton captain scored his second goal of the season.

As the 55th minute approached the Rhondda Bulldogs scored again from a corner. Neil Davies found space in the box to thump the ball into the goal with his head as Ton raced to a 4-1 lead.

Although Gwynfi grabbed a goal back three minutes later Ton never looked as though they were going to surrender their lead. And when Thomas and Williams were replaced by Lee Brown and Alyn Jones the pair looked hungry to add to the score line.

Jones broke up the right almost immediately after being introduced into the game and provided a cross for debutant Dale Price to head in Ton’s fifth goal.

Jones was provider once again soon after when he crossed to the far post for Orchard to snatch a goal.

Ton scored their seventh goal in the 90th minute when Pitt supplied a through ball to Davies’s superb run up the middle of the pitch from defence. Having timed his run superbly he found himself one on one with the goalkeeper. His cool finish notched up his second goal of the game and rounded off Ton’s 7-2 rout.

Match Facts

Line-up:

1. Jonathan HOWE
2. Lee TAPPER
3. Neil DAVIES
4. Daniel LEVER
5. Mark SIMMONS
6. Andrew HUGHES (Captain)
7. Kristian ORCHARD
8. Geraint PITT
9. Carl THOMAS
10. Lyndon WILLIAMS
11. Dale PRICE

Substitutes: 12. Lee BROWN (Carl Thomas, 72 mins); 14. Scott HAYWARD (Mark Simmons, 84 mins); 15. Alyn JONES (Lyndon Williams, 79 mins)

Goals: Lee Tapper (13 mins); Lyndon Williams (47 mins); Andrew Hughes (49 mins); Neil Davies (54mins, 90 mins) ; Dale Price (82 mins); Kristian Orchard (87mins)

Yellow Cards: Geraint Pitt (37 mins)

Match report by Rob Dowling