Match reports
Alongside my work on The Phoenix, I was in charge of ensuring that the university's website (www.sport.glam.ac.uk/sportscentre/matchreports/) had weekly rugby and football match reports. I assigned roles to certain students who were hard-working and always happy to help out to build up their own portfolio of work.
Much like with my own work on The Phoenix, it was a case of planning in advance to ensure that firstly I had reporters available to cover certain fixtures, and also that there were photographers available for key matches. Looking back, I am delighted with the work put in by my team of reporters, who produced match reports of the highest quality right throughout the year - from the women's 1st team right through to the men's 5th team.
In terms of my own reports (which can be viewed below), I attended a football match every week throughout the season, taking in both of the women's teams, and also all five men's sides who had mixed fortunes across the year. As the season reached a climax, I decided to take over the reporting of the men's 1st team football side on a regular basis - with many of the reports making it into The Phoenix, due to the importance of the fixtures (and the timing).
The agreement I had in place with the university's Head of Sport, Tudor Williams, was that I would ensure all match reports were on the website the day after matches. This meant I would be working under similar deadlines which professional journalists face - though I had to double up as a sub-editor as well as a reporter.
It goes without saying that I picked up some valuable lessons whilst working on this project across the year, including my ability to conduct interviews pre/post-match, carrying-out research on both the home and away side, and also honing in on my own match report writing. Sports journalism is an area I would love to one day work in, so I have used this opportunity to really allow myself to gain some valuable experience which I hope will help me in the future.
Much like with my own work on The Phoenix, it was a case of planning in advance to ensure that firstly I had reporters available to cover certain fixtures, and also that there were photographers available for key matches. Looking back, I am delighted with the work put in by my team of reporters, who produced match reports of the highest quality right throughout the year - from the women's 1st team right through to the men's 5th team.
In terms of my own reports (which can be viewed below), I attended a football match every week throughout the season, taking in both of the women's teams, and also all five men's sides who had mixed fortunes across the year. As the season reached a climax, I decided to take over the reporting of the men's 1st team football side on a regular basis - with many of the reports making it into The Phoenix, due to the importance of the fixtures (and the timing).
The agreement I had in place with the university's Head of Sport, Tudor Williams, was that I would ensure all match reports were on the website the day after matches. This meant I would be working under similar deadlines which professional journalists face - though I had to double up as a sub-editor as well as a reporter.
It goes without saying that I picked up some valuable lessons whilst working on this project across the year, including my ability to conduct interviews pre/post-match, carrying-out research on both the home and away side, and also honing in on my own match report writing. Sports journalism is an area I would love to one day work in, so I have used this opportunity to really allow myself to gain some valuable experience which I hope will help me in the future.
young drAgons fall to strong english side
Sport: Men’s football
Result: Welsh Universities XI 0 - 4 English Universities XI
A solid performance from England was enough to see off Wales in this derby affair between two British university heavyweights.
Wales had the better of the opening quarter of the match, with Chris Miethke bringing his strong Glamorgan form with him into the clash and creating two big opportunities for his side.
Though Wales failed to capitalise on their chances and England got a grip of the game after some tactical changes from manager Steve Guinan.
Marcus Giglio gave his side the lead after 20 minutes, with goals from Sam MacVicar and a second-half brace from substitute Joe Lolley put the seal on a resounding win for a promising England side.
Coming into the friendly clash at Jenner Park in Barry, Steve Savage and his squad – made up of players from a selection of Welsh universities - were in a positive mood having picked up a draw at home to Scotland in Wrexham last month.
This team spirit was clear to see early on when University of Glamorgan player of the season, Miethke managed to make space down the right hand side before seeing his fired-in-cross well cleared.
But England were struggling to cope with the pressure down the right, and just 30 seconds later Miethke was in the same position again - this time Wales came even closer to breaking the deadlock with the pulled back cross rifling against the crossbar, before being cleared.
Wales were playing some nice football in the opening spells, with midfielders dropping deep to collect the ball from the defence, before working their way forward. This almost paid off when Adrian Hopkins of Cardiff Met was played in at an angle, but his shot was saved down low by Jonathan North in the England goals.
Three Lions’ manager Guinan – still currently playing for Conference National side Kidderminster Harriers – could see that, with Wales constantly finding space and creating chances, this game was only going one way at this stage.
A couple of tactical changes later and England were right back into the contest, creating opportunities of their own. The first of these fell to Hakeem Araba who charged down on goal before being brought down by ‘keeper Will Fuller just outside the area.
The referee decided against sending off Fuller to the dismay of Araba, who pointed out to the referee that the Welsh goalkeeper was the last man.
This was the first sign England showed of their attacking intent, and just two minutes after the controversial decision to keep Fuller on the field, Ben Brighton found the ball at his feet inside the penalty box, but his poked effort was well saved by Fuller.
Though Wales failed to clear their lines and England continued to push on, with Giglio the man to give his side the lead. A pulled back cross was picked up by the TNS player whose dummied shot left Fuller stranded in goal, before he calmly tapped the ball home.
Former Northampton Town forward Joe Benjamin, who had been a spectator up until this point, grew into the game more and more as the first half wore on. His fantastic skill and vision almost put his team in on goal again, but the linesman adjudged Giglio to be offside.
Benjamin showed another glimpse of his ability when his outside-of-the-foot cross-field pass managed to create another England attack - this coming just minutes after the current Billericay Town player fired a strong effort in on goal, which was well saved.
Despite all of the visitors openings on goal, Wales managed to break away after a cleared corner led to Chris Davey finding himself in on goal from a tight angle, but his curling effort was narrowly wide of the far post to the relief of ‘keeper North, who will claim to have had it covered.
A five minute period of play which saw both sides try and build play through their defensive midfielders, eventually came to a close when England worked the ball wide before crossing to MacVicar who turned inside the box and found the back of the net to double his sides lead.
It was a tough blow for Wales just five minutes before half-time, though their failure to cut out the cross eventually meant that Savage’s men would go in at the break with a mountain to climb if they were to get anything out of the game.
Though as has been clear right throughout Glamorgan’s own campaign under Savage this season, his side would not roll over, and they managed to put together some positive passing moves. Though ultimately there was to be no end product as substitute goalkeeper James Broadbent – who conceded three times on his last appearance in South Wales against Glam – was equal to any efforts.
This would prove costly as England showed no sign of sitting on their lead, creating chances through the middle with only the offside flag saving the Dragons from conceding a third with 48 minutes on the clock.
Against the run of play Davey found himself with another chance to get an effort in on goal on the hour mark after a nice ball over the top, but the Swansea University player let the ball get away from him and the chance passed Wales by.
That was to be the end of the hosts chances as Lolley - who came on with 30 minutes of the game remaining – got the first of his two goals after finding the back of the net following a scrappy corner which wasn’t dealt with.
This coming after Will Hutton had a chance of his own to extend his sides lead, but his effort was well saved by Fuller, though the resulting corner was delivered perfectly and the game was now all over at 3-0.
It was a case of England being professional and seeing the game out, but they managed more than that as Lolley was again in on goal after beating the offside trap and slotting the ball home to make it 4-0 to the away side.
With the temperature falling to -2°C the referee signalled the end of a match that was all-but-over by half-time, due to a strong and solid England performance against a Wales side who finished second in last year’s BUCS Home Nations tournament in Nottingham.
Speaking after his side’s victory, journeyman player-cum-coach Guinan applauded Wales’s promising start to the match.
He said: “We started really slowly and it’s fair to say that Wales were the brighter side in the opening 20 minutes.
“We struggled to get a firm grip on the game, but we tweaked our formation and started to play our own game.
“We scored two very good goals, and then there was only really one side in the game after we saw it through.”
Though the mood was different outside the Wales dressing room as Savage reflected on his sides defeat, pointing to the failure to take chances as they came.
“Put simply, we didn’t take our opportunities as they came,” Sav began.
“We did create some good chances against a strong and dynamic England side and we have now got to build on this ahead of tournament football.
“It’s a case of taking our chances when we get them.”
Result: Welsh Universities XI 0 - 4 English Universities XI
A solid performance from England was enough to see off Wales in this derby affair between two British university heavyweights.
Wales had the better of the opening quarter of the match, with Chris Miethke bringing his strong Glamorgan form with him into the clash and creating two big opportunities for his side.
Though Wales failed to capitalise on their chances and England got a grip of the game after some tactical changes from manager Steve Guinan.
Marcus Giglio gave his side the lead after 20 minutes, with goals from Sam MacVicar and a second-half brace from substitute Joe Lolley put the seal on a resounding win for a promising England side.
Coming into the friendly clash at Jenner Park in Barry, Steve Savage and his squad – made up of players from a selection of Welsh universities - were in a positive mood having picked up a draw at home to Scotland in Wrexham last month.
This team spirit was clear to see early on when University of Glamorgan player of the season, Miethke managed to make space down the right hand side before seeing his fired-in-cross well cleared.
But England were struggling to cope with the pressure down the right, and just 30 seconds later Miethke was in the same position again - this time Wales came even closer to breaking the deadlock with the pulled back cross rifling against the crossbar, before being cleared.
Wales were playing some nice football in the opening spells, with midfielders dropping deep to collect the ball from the defence, before working their way forward. This almost paid off when Adrian Hopkins of Cardiff Met was played in at an angle, but his shot was saved down low by Jonathan North in the England goals.
Three Lions’ manager Guinan – still currently playing for Conference National side Kidderminster Harriers – could see that, with Wales constantly finding space and creating chances, this game was only going one way at this stage.
A couple of tactical changes later and England were right back into the contest, creating opportunities of their own. The first of these fell to Hakeem Araba who charged down on goal before being brought down by ‘keeper Will Fuller just outside the area.
The referee decided against sending off Fuller to the dismay of Araba, who pointed out to the referee that the Welsh goalkeeper was the last man.
This was the first sign England showed of their attacking intent, and just two minutes after the controversial decision to keep Fuller on the field, Ben Brighton found the ball at his feet inside the penalty box, but his poked effort was well saved by Fuller.
Though Wales failed to clear their lines and England continued to push on, with Giglio the man to give his side the lead. A pulled back cross was picked up by the TNS player whose dummied shot left Fuller stranded in goal, before he calmly tapped the ball home.
Former Northampton Town forward Joe Benjamin, who had been a spectator up until this point, grew into the game more and more as the first half wore on. His fantastic skill and vision almost put his team in on goal again, but the linesman adjudged Giglio to be offside.
Benjamin showed another glimpse of his ability when his outside-of-the-foot cross-field pass managed to create another England attack - this coming just minutes after the current Billericay Town player fired a strong effort in on goal, which was well saved.
Despite all of the visitors openings on goal, Wales managed to break away after a cleared corner led to Chris Davey finding himself in on goal from a tight angle, but his curling effort was narrowly wide of the far post to the relief of ‘keeper North, who will claim to have had it covered.
A five minute period of play which saw both sides try and build play through their defensive midfielders, eventually came to a close when England worked the ball wide before crossing to MacVicar who turned inside the box and found the back of the net to double his sides lead.
It was a tough blow for Wales just five minutes before half-time, though their failure to cut out the cross eventually meant that Savage’s men would go in at the break with a mountain to climb if they were to get anything out of the game.
Though as has been clear right throughout Glamorgan’s own campaign under Savage this season, his side would not roll over, and they managed to put together some positive passing moves. Though ultimately there was to be no end product as substitute goalkeeper James Broadbent – who conceded three times on his last appearance in South Wales against Glam – was equal to any efforts.
This would prove costly as England showed no sign of sitting on their lead, creating chances through the middle with only the offside flag saving the Dragons from conceding a third with 48 minutes on the clock.
Against the run of play Davey found himself with another chance to get an effort in on goal on the hour mark after a nice ball over the top, but the Swansea University player let the ball get away from him and the chance passed Wales by.
That was to be the end of the hosts chances as Lolley - who came on with 30 minutes of the game remaining – got the first of his two goals after finding the back of the net following a scrappy corner which wasn’t dealt with.
This coming after Will Hutton had a chance of his own to extend his sides lead, but his effort was well saved by Fuller, though the resulting corner was delivered perfectly and the game was now all over at 3-0.
It was a case of England being professional and seeing the game out, but they managed more than that as Lolley was again in on goal after beating the offside trap and slotting the ball home to make it 4-0 to the away side.
With the temperature falling to -2°C the referee signalled the end of a match that was all-but-over by half-time, due to a strong and solid England performance against a Wales side who finished second in last year’s BUCS Home Nations tournament in Nottingham.
Speaking after his side’s victory, journeyman player-cum-coach Guinan applauded Wales’s promising start to the match.
He said: “We started really slowly and it’s fair to say that Wales were the brighter side in the opening 20 minutes.
“We struggled to get a firm grip on the game, but we tweaked our formation and started to play our own game.
“We scored two very good goals, and then there was only really one side in the game after we saw it through.”
Though the mood was different outside the Wales dressing room as Savage reflected on his sides defeat, pointing to the failure to take chances as they came.
“Put simply, we didn’t take our opportunities as they came,” Sav began.
“We did create some good chances against a strong and dynamic England side and we have now got to build on this ahead of tournament football.
“It’s a case of taking our chances when we get them.”
glam get season off to best possible start
Sport: Women’s football
Result: Glamorgan 1st 10 - 1 Gloucestershire 2nd
UNIVERSITY of Glamorgan got their season off to the best possible start, beating Gloucestershire in emphatic style.
Glamorgan are looking to go one better than their second place finish last season, and right from the off it looked as though the new additions to the side had immediately gelled together. Though despite Glamorgan’s slick early passing, it was a pretty even affair for the first 10 minutes, with Gloucestershire – who were missing a couple of key players - managing to carve out chances of their own which came to nothing.
The best chance of the early stages fell to Sian Scannell who was put through one-on-one with the keeper, but seen her tame effort saved. It was Scannell who would cause the English side’s back-line the most trouble in the first half, linking up brilliantly with Nia Davies. This proved a deadly combination after 13 minutes when another fine run from Scannell out wide led to the simplest of tap-ins for Ruby Lovell to give Glamorgan an early lead.
It’s fair to say the home side didn’t look back, with Sian Jones picking up the ball just minutes later inside the penalty area and curling the ball out of the reach of a scrambling Gloucestershire goalkeeper, doubling her sides lead.
Scannell continued to provide a threat for the hosts, her link-up play with Davies eventually leading to Ifeoma Chilezie finding space inside the box. Chilezie fired the ball into the net to give Glamorgan a commanding lead with just a quarter of the game gone.
With so much of the play taking part in the opposition final third, Glamorgan left-back Fontaine Franklin Queenley was a mere spectator for the opening 30 minutes, but when she was eventually called upon on the half-an-hour mark, she managed to turn defence into attack in brilliant style. A burst of pace to firstly push the Gloucestershire defence back, before pulling off a back-heel that found a team-mate who crossed into the path of Scannell who made no mistake, slotting it nicely past the onrushing ‘keeper.
It was to get worse for the visitors. Just a minute later, Scannell – who had been much the creator of chances so far - took advantage of the depleted Gloucestershire side breaking through the non-existent defence, scoring twice in three minutes. Gloucestershire did have something to cheer before the end of the half however, pulling a goal back right on half-time.
This set-back at the end of the first period of play clearly hadn’t affected the Glam side, who managed to add two more goals within the first 10 minutes of the second-half. Sian Jones had a couple of early chances which she failed to convert, before eventually sending in a great ball from out wide for Scannell to round-off her hat-trick. This was followed up by a goal for Lovell two minutes later who made no mistake, firing the ball into the roof of the net.
As the clock ticked down, it was simply a case of putting in a professional performance for the Glamorgan women, who managed to string together some nice moves leading to one-on-ones, which, through a combination of poor finishing from Glam and brilliant defending from the away side, came to nothing. With the game looking as though it was going to wind down, up stepped Lovell again after 74 minutes who got on the end of Franklin-Queenley’s corner, managing to turn inside a crowded area and rounding off what had been a brilliant opening-day performance for Glamorgan.
Speaking after the match, a delighted Glam manager, Sarah Adams, said: “It was a pretty decent team performance and overall a great start. There’s still a lot of work to be done because we’ve got some new players in, but if we maintain results we can win the league.”
Result: Glamorgan 1st 10 - 1 Gloucestershire 2nd
UNIVERSITY of Glamorgan got their season off to the best possible start, beating Gloucestershire in emphatic style.
Glamorgan are looking to go one better than their second place finish last season, and right from the off it looked as though the new additions to the side had immediately gelled together. Though despite Glamorgan’s slick early passing, it was a pretty even affair for the first 10 minutes, with Gloucestershire – who were missing a couple of key players - managing to carve out chances of their own which came to nothing.
The best chance of the early stages fell to Sian Scannell who was put through one-on-one with the keeper, but seen her tame effort saved. It was Scannell who would cause the English side’s back-line the most trouble in the first half, linking up brilliantly with Nia Davies. This proved a deadly combination after 13 minutes when another fine run from Scannell out wide led to the simplest of tap-ins for Ruby Lovell to give Glamorgan an early lead.
It’s fair to say the home side didn’t look back, with Sian Jones picking up the ball just minutes later inside the penalty area and curling the ball out of the reach of a scrambling Gloucestershire goalkeeper, doubling her sides lead.
Scannell continued to provide a threat for the hosts, her link-up play with Davies eventually leading to Ifeoma Chilezie finding space inside the box. Chilezie fired the ball into the net to give Glamorgan a commanding lead with just a quarter of the game gone.
With so much of the play taking part in the opposition final third, Glamorgan left-back Fontaine Franklin Queenley was a mere spectator for the opening 30 minutes, but when she was eventually called upon on the half-an-hour mark, she managed to turn defence into attack in brilliant style. A burst of pace to firstly push the Gloucestershire defence back, before pulling off a back-heel that found a team-mate who crossed into the path of Scannell who made no mistake, slotting it nicely past the onrushing ‘keeper.
It was to get worse for the visitors. Just a minute later, Scannell – who had been much the creator of chances so far - took advantage of the depleted Gloucestershire side breaking through the non-existent defence, scoring twice in three minutes. Gloucestershire did have something to cheer before the end of the half however, pulling a goal back right on half-time.
This set-back at the end of the first period of play clearly hadn’t affected the Glam side, who managed to add two more goals within the first 10 minutes of the second-half. Sian Jones had a couple of early chances which she failed to convert, before eventually sending in a great ball from out wide for Scannell to round-off her hat-trick. This was followed up by a goal for Lovell two minutes later who made no mistake, firing the ball into the roof of the net.
As the clock ticked down, it was simply a case of putting in a professional performance for the Glamorgan women, who managed to string together some nice moves leading to one-on-ones, which, through a combination of poor finishing from Glam and brilliant defending from the away side, came to nothing. With the game looking as though it was going to wind down, up stepped Lovell again after 74 minutes who got on the end of Franklin-Queenley’s corner, managing to turn inside a crowded area and rounding off what had been a brilliant opening-day performance for Glamorgan.
Speaking after the match, a delighted Glam manager, Sarah Adams, said: “It was a pretty decent team performance and overall a great start. There’s still a lot of work to be done because we’ve got some new players in, but if we maintain results we can win the league.”
Women's side extend lead at top of prem
Sport: Women’s football
Result: Glamorgan 1st 3 - 2 UWE
GLAMORGAN have extended their lead at the top of the BUCS Western Division - edging out close rivals University of the West of England (UWE) 3-2 in a close-fought encounter.
A brace from Sian Jones seen Glam race into a 2-0 lead with less than 30 minutes played, but UWE grew into the game, pulling it back to 2-2 before coming agonisingly close to finding a winner.
But it was to be Glamorgan’s day as Lucy Edwards found a third and decisive goal with 15 minutes remaining to extend her sides lead at the top of the table, at the expense of the downbeat visitors.
Coming into the game unbeaten so far this season, the hosts knew they would be facing an all-round tougher test against a UWE side who sit second in the table.
Though it looked a case of being the same old story after Jones got Glam onto the score-sheet after just 15 minutes with an absolute screamer 25 yards from goal.
With no UWE players closing her down, Jones unleashed a curling effort which left away goalkeeper Nat DeMerit with no chance of stopping.
The home side didn’t look back, with Jones doubling her goal tally for the day with an altogether different type of goal – a well worked cross from out wide by Sian Scannell which was headed past DeMerit with a glancing header from Jones.
Jones was already searching for her hattrick with just 25 minutes on the clock, but she turned provider – after working some space out wide, her whipped ball was screaming to be converted, but there was no Glam player on the end of it.
It proved to be the moment that changed the tide of the match, with UWE now waking up and creating chances of their own.
The first of these opportunities on goal came from Ellie Isaac, who through frustration had her side’s first real attempt on goal after 30 minutes of play.
The shot was pushed behind by Amanda Hubbard, with the resulting corner being dealt with well.
Though just five minutes later, UWE won another corner which this time was met by the boot of Harriet Scott on the volley – the tame side-footed effort drifting wide of the Glam goal.
The pressure continued to build on the home side however, which began to show with the visitors winning a couple of free-kicks on the edge of the opposition area.
The first effort was easily captured by Hubbard in goal, though the second attempt by Scott was agonisingly close to drifting in - but in the end the heavy winds helped take the ball over the crossbar to the relief of Glamorgan.
Despite this constant pressure, the Glam women’s 1st team showed why it is they are so feared this season, attacking well on the break and creating a great chance for Jones who dragged her shot wide.
UWE didn’t let this affect their state of mind however, as just two minutes later Isaac was taken down in the area by Hubbard, resulting in a penalty being awarded.
Scott stepped up to take the pen, calmly slotting it past Glamorgan’s ‘keeper – it was the lifeline that the Bristol based side needed to get back into the game.
From the resulting kick-off however, Glam had a chance to extend their lead right on the brink of half-time – finding themselves in a one-on-one situation which was well cut-out by DeMerit.
The final action of the opening 45 minutes seen Jones pull off a great piece of skill out wide, but her cross right across the face of goal had no one on the end of it again.
Coming into the second-half, the match was well balanced, with UWE arguably creating the better chances, and they got their reward just five minutes in as Isaac finished off a brilliant team goal to make it level at 2-2.
Isaac found space unmarked on the edge of the 18-yard-box and made no mistake in placing it superbly past Hubbard.
West of England midfielder Scott was growing more and more into the game, and she came closest to completing the unlikely turnaround on the hour mark.
Some great individual play by Isaac created room for Scott to get an effort in on goal, but she seen her strike well blocked by Nicole Rawlins in the Glam defence.
It would be unfair however to say that Glam were holding on for the point, as the league leaders continued to play some nice football across the pitch.
This attacking threat was highlighted on the 75 minute mark when Edwards found herself through on goal, before slotting her effort calmly past DeMerit and into the back of the net.
With the aid of the post, Glamorgan now found themselves 3-2 up – but again UWE attacked with menace.
Isaac – who seemed to be creating all of the away sides’ chances – found Scott inside the Glam penalty box, but her tame effort was edged wide.
The same combination of players linked up again just a minute later, with Scott being picked out for a free header just five yards from goal, but her attempt was again narrowly wide.
The final chance of the thrilling encounter came with just seconds remaining as Scannell capitalised on some uncharacteristic sloppy defending from UWE - but her resulting shot was well saved.
With that the referee signalled the end of the match, with Glamorgan holding on to their one goal advantage.
It means that with over half the season played, Glam now stand clear at the top of the Western Conference, though UWE certainly offered the toughest contest of the season so far.
Speaking after the match, Coach Sarah Adams highlighted the importance of picking up the victory.
She said: “It’s brilliant to pick up all three points. We were happy with one point, but I’m delighted to take all three.
“We should go on and win the league now - we’re halfway through and have built ourselves a lead.
“Today was the toughest challenge so far, but we done well.”
Result: Glamorgan 1st 3 - 2 UWE
GLAMORGAN have extended their lead at the top of the BUCS Western Division - edging out close rivals University of the West of England (UWE) 3-2 in a close-fought encounter.
A brace from Sian Jones seen Glam race into a 2-0 lead with less than 30 minutes played, but UWE grew into the game, pulling it back to 2-2 before coming agonisingly close to finding a winner.
But it was to be Glamorgan’s day as Lucy Edwards found a third and decisive goal with 15 minutes remaining to extend her sides lead at the top of the table, at the expense of the downbeat visitors.
Coming into the game unbeaten so far this season, the hosts knew they would be facing an all-round tougher test against a UWE side who sit second in the table.
Though it looked a case of being the same old story after Jones got Glam onto the score-sheet after just 15 minutes with an absolute screamer 25 yards from goal.
With no UWE players closing her down, Jones unleashed a curling effort which left away goalkeeper Nat DeMerit with no chance of stopping.
The home side didn’t look back, with Jones doubling her goal tally for the day with an altogether different type of goal – a well worked cross from out wide by Sian Scannell which was headed past DeMerit with a glancing header from Jones.
Jones was already searching for her hattrick with just 25 minutes on the clock, but she turned provider – after working some space out wide, her whipped ball was screaming to be converted, but there was no Glam player on the end of it.
It proved to be the moment that changed the tide of the match, with UWE now waking up and creating chances of their own.
The first of these opportunities on goal came from Ellie Isaac, who through frustration had her side’s first real attempt on goal after 30 minutes of play.
The shot was pushed behind by Amanda Hubbard, with the resulting corner being dealt with well.
Though just five minutes later, UWE won another corner which this time was met by the boot of Harriet Scott on the volley – the tame side-footed effort drifting wide of the Glam goal.
The pressure continued to build on the home side however, which began to show with the visitors winning a couple of free-kicks on the edge of the opposition area.
The first effort was easily captured by Hubbard in goal, though the second attempt by Scott was agonisingly close to drifting in - but in the end the heavy winds helped take the ball over the crossbar to the relief of Glamorgan.
Despite this constant pressure, the Glam women’s 1st team showed why it is they are so feared this season, attacking well on the break and creating a great chance for Jones who dragged her shot wide.
UWE didn’t let this affect their state of mind however, as just two minutes later Isaac was taken down in the area by Hubbard, resulting in a penalty being awarded.
Scott stepped up to take the pen, calmly slotting it past Glamorgan’s ‘keeper – it was the lifeline that the Bristol based side needed to get back into the game.
From the resulting kick-off however, Glam had a chance to extend their lead right on the brink of half-time – finding themselves in a one-on-one situation which was well cut-out by DeMerit.
The final action of the opening 45 minutes seen Jones pull off a great piece of skill out wide, but her cross right across the face of goal had no one on the end of it again.
Coming into the second-half, the match was well balanced, with UWE arguably creating the better chances, and they got their reward just five minutes in as Isaac finished off a brilliant team goal to make it level at 2-2.
Isaac found space unmarked on the edge of the 18-yard-box and made no mistake in placing it superbly past Hubbard.
West of England midfielder Scott was growing more and more into the game, and she came closest to completing the unlikely turnaround on the hour mark.
Some great individual play by Isaac created room for Scott to get an effort in on goal, but she seen her strike well blocked by Nicole Rawlins in the Glam defence.
It would be unfair however to say that Glam were holding on for the point, as the league leaders continued to play some nice football across the pitch.
This attacking threat was highlighted on the 75 minute mark when Edwards found herself through on goal, before slotting her effort calmly past DeMerit and into the back of the net.
With the aid of the post, Glamorgan now found themselves 3-2 up – but again UWE attacked with menace.
Isaac – who seemed to be creating all of the away sides’ chances – found Scott inside the Glam penalty box, but her tame effort was edged wide.
The same combination of players linked up again just a minute later, with Scott being picked out for a free header just five yards from goal, but her attempt was again narrowly wide.
The final chance of the thrilling encounter came with just seconds remaining as Scannell capitalised on some uncharacteristic sloppy defending from UWE - but her resulting shot was well saved.
With that the referee signalled the end of the match, with Glamorgan holding on to their one goal advantage.
It means that with over half the season played, Glam now stand clear at the top of the Western Conference, though UWE certainly offered the toughest contest of the season so far.
Speaking after the match, Coach Sarah Adams highlighted the importance of picking up the victory.
She said: “It’s brilliant to pick up all three points. We were happy with one point, but I’m delighted to take all three.
“We should go on and win the league now - we’re halfway through and have built ourselves a lead.
“Today was the toughest challenge so far, but we done well.”
losing run continues for glam
Sport: Men’s football
Result: Glamorgan 1st 3 - 4 Bath
UNIVERSITY of Glamorgan’s losing run to the start off the season continued at home to Bath University - with their late comeback not being enough to secure a point.
Glamorgan failed to hold onto an early lead in this topsy-turvy contest, with Bath soon getting back into the game and taking a commanding 4-1 lead into the closing five minutes. This coming before a late push from the hosts nearly saw them finish with a point, as quick fire goals from Chris Metihke took the score-line to 3-4 in what was a thrilling match
The home side, who were looking to register their first win of the season following a 4-0 defeat away at Chichester last week, looked fired up in the opening stages with Metihke getting the better of Bath full-back Scott Dixon and firing in a cross which took a touch off a Glamorgan player before coming back off the post.
Glam sustained this pressure, forcing the visitors to clear off the line in quick succession following a corner, which Bath failed to properly deal with. Glam were refusing to let Bath play their own passing game with quick closing down, though all that could have been undone as Bath midfielder Tom Andrews was played through on goal by Nick Lawton, but his effort was dragged narrowly wide of the post.
With the game was slowly becoming more balanced, Metihke managed to break free of the defence before being played through on goal and composing himself, before firing the ball into the top corner to give Glam the lead. It was clear to see from the celebrations that this was a big goal for the home side – their first of the campaign.
The goal seemed to shake Bath a little, as Chris Foyle’s poor free-kick played Metihke in on goal again, before Foyle eventually managed to redeem himself with a well timed tackle to relieve the danger.
Despite the setback, Bath refused to roll over however, and when they eventually found some rhythm to their play it proved deadly as right-back Scott Hoxtable was played through on goal at an angle, but he made no mistake of finishing as he slid the ball calmly into the back of the net.
With the game tied, both sides had chances to go ahead in the evenly matched contest. Glamorgan had a strong shout for a penalty waived away before Bath themselves had a good chance with a strike for long range creeping past the post.
But the away side managed to make the most of their possession as Andrews made up for his earlier miss by slotting the ball past Mike Lewis in the Glamorgan goal, after being put through in a move identical to the one that had drawn them level minutes earlier.
As the game looked to be dying out as half-time approached, Dixon fired in a cross from deep which was badly controlled by Lawton in the Glam penalty area, but it didn’t matter as Andrews was there to tap it in to give Bath a 3-1 advantage going into the break. The goal upset some of the Glamorgan players who were unhappy that the ball wasn’t kicked out of play that with one of their players down injured at the other end of the pitch – but the referee let play continue, and the rest is history.
Glam knew they had it all to do in the second-half but they made a real contest of it, with Mamadou Diallo, Laurie March and Dan Richard all coming close to getting their side back into the game. Though regardless of the odd long-shot, Glamorgan seemed to be running out of ideas and this proved costly, when with less than 10 minutes remaining Aidan Litterick found himself unmarked in the penalty area following a corner to hammer the ball into the net and extend Bath’s lead.
Despite Metihke pulling a goal back for Glamorgan, the match seemed to be all over. Though just three minutes later, Metihke was played through again to make it 4-3 with four minutes of stoppage time left to play – Glamorgan were on the brink of a massive comeback, Bath just wanted to hear that whistle.
The English side gave away a free-kick on the edge of the box with just seconds remaining, which Tyrone McFadden stepped up to take. His shot managed to find its way around the wall, but the opposition goalkeeper got down well to keep hold of the ball, which signalled the end of a fascinating seven goal thriller at Glamorgan Sports Park.
Speaking after the game, a delighted but relieved Bath coach, Lee Smith, said: “Glam were good and they pressed us really well. They showed some good movement, but we made it a lot harder than it should have been. Though overall I’m glad to get the result.”
The win means Bath remain unbeaten in the early stages of the season, but for Glamorgan, they still await their first win with University of the West of England up next.
Result: Glamorgan 1st 3 - 4 Bath
UNIVERSITY of Glamorgan’s losing run to the start off the season continued at home to Bath University - with their late comeback not being enough to secure a point.
Glamorgan failed to hold onto an early lead in this topsy-turvy contest, with Bath soon getting back into the game and taking a commanding 4-1 lead into the closing five minutes. This coming before a late push from the hosts nearly saw them finish with a point, as quick fire goals from Chris Metihke took the score-line to 3-4 in what was a thrilling match
The home side, who were looking to register their first win of the season following a 4-0 defeat away at Chichester last week, looked fired up in the opening stages with Metihke getting the better of Bath full-back Scott Dixon and firing in a cross which took a touch off a Glamorgan player before coming back off the post.
Glam sustained this pressure, forcing the visitors to clear off the line in quick succession following a corner, which Bath failed to properly deal with. Glam were refusing to let Bath play their own passing game with quick closing down, though all that could have been undone as Bath midfielder Tom Andrews was played through on goal by Nick Lawton, but his effort was dragged narrowly wide of the post.
With the game was slowly becoming more balanced, Metihke managed to break free of the defence before being played through on goal and composing himself, before firing the ball into the top corner to give Glam the lead. It was clear to see from the celebrations that this was a big goal for the home side – their first of the campaign.
The goal seemed to shake Bath a little, as Chris Foyle’s poor free-kick played Metihke in on goal again, before Foyle eventually managed to redeem himself with a well timed tackle to relieve the danger.
Despite the setback, Bath refused to roll over however, and when they eventually found some rhythm to their play it proved deadly as right-back Scott Hoxtable was played through on goal at an angle, but he made no mistake of finishing as he slid the ball calmly into the back of the net.
With the game tied, both sides had chances to go ahead in the evenly matched contest. Glamorgan had a strong shout for a penalty waived away before Bath themselves had a good chance with a strike for long range creeping past the post.
But the away side managed to make the most of their possession as Andrews made up for his earlier miss by slotting the ball past Mike Lewis in the Glamorgan goal, after being put through in a move identical to the one that had drawn them level minutes earlier.
As the game looked to be dying out as half-time approached, Dixon fired in a cross from deep which was badly controlled by Lawton in the Glam penalty area, but it didn’t matter as Andrews was there to tap it in to give Bath a 3-1 advantage going into the break. The goal upset some of the Glamorgan players who were unhappy that the ball wasn’t kicked out of play that with one of their players down injured at the other end of the pitch – but the referee let play continue, and the rest is history.
Glam knew they had it all to do in the second-half but they made a real contest of it, with Mamadou Diallo, Laurie March and Dan Richard all coming close to getting their side back into the game. Though regardless of the odd long-shot, Glamorgan seemed to be running out of ideas and this proved costly, when with less than 10 minutes remaining Aidan Litterick found himself unmarked in the penalty area following a corner to hammer the ball into the net and extend Bath’s lead.
Despite Metihke pulling a goal back for Glamorgan, the match seemed to be all over. Though just three minutes later, Metihke was played through again to make it 4-3 with four minutes of stoppage time left to play – Glamorgan were on the brink of a massive comeback, Bath just wanted to hear that whistle.
The English side gave away a free-kick on the edge of the box with just seconds remaining, which Tyrone McFadden stepped up to take. His shot managed to find its way around the wall, but the opposition goalkeeper got down well to keep hold of the ball, which signalled the end of a fascinating seven goal thriller at Glamorgan Sports Park.
Speaking after the game, a delighted but relieved Bath coach, Lee Smith, said: “Glam were good and they pressed us really well. They showed some good movement, but we made it a lot harder than it should have been. Though overall I’m glad to get the result.”
The win means Bath remain unbeaten in the early stages of the season, but for Glamorgan, they still await their first win with University of the West of England up next.
Glam fall short against unbeaten hartpury
Sport: Men’s football
Result: Glamorgan 1st 0 - 2 UWE (Hartpury)
TWO late Hartpury goals were enough to see off a brave Glamorgan side who fell to their third straight defeat of the season.
With the rain pouring down, Glamorgan almost managed to hold out for a valuable home point, before Scott Wilson and Duncan Culley popped up in the last 10 minutes to sink home hearts.
The unbeaten hosts were grateful to leave Glamorgan Sport Park with all three points, after Luke Jones wasted a glorious opportunity to give Glam a lead before half-time.
In what was a balanced first half, both sides managed to create opportunities, but neither could get away any serious shots on goal.
It took 20 minutes before the first real chance of the match and it fell to Culley whose header came back off the post before being fired over by one of his teammates from under the bar.
Hartpury continued this pressure, creating big chances, the best of which fell to Culley who rounded the keeper but couldn’t get his effort on goal, hitting the post for the second time in a number of minutes.
Glamorgan were managing to soak up the pressure well, but all the hard work was almost undone when left back Marcus Giglio crossed superbly for the dangerous Culley, but his effort was headed over.
But despite all the chances that had fallen the visitor’s way, Glamorgan had the best chance of the half after some superb play in the middle of the field led to Jones being played through on goal. The midfielder had time to get a shot in on goal, but decided to square the ball instead which was cut out by the Hartpury defence.
It looked as though the game was going to die out as half-time approached, but Hartpury managed to carve out two great chances – the first fell to Culley who yet again failed to beat Glamorgan keeper Mike Lewis
Just minutes later the ball fell nicely to Dan Holloway inside the Glam box who hammered his effort well over, to signal the end of the half.
The second half started in a much better way for the home side, who found themselves with another great chance to take a surprise lead, but Sam Gilroy hit his effort right at Hartpury ‘keeper James Norty with the rebound being fired wide from a tight angle.
These chances helped create some momentum for Glamorgan who came close from a dangerous corner and through Aaron Jewell who saw his curling effort comfortably saved by Norty.
This appeared to spark some life into top of the table Hartpury, who should have taken the lead when the ball fell to an unmarked Matt Liddiard in the box, but his headed effort failed to trouble the goalkeeper to the dismay of his manager.
But despite the wasted chance, Wilson picked up the ball inside the Glamorgan area and placed it past the ‘keeper to give his side the lead. It was agony for the home side, but the joy on the unbeaten Hartpury player’s faces showed that this was a big moment for them in the early stages of the season.
To add insult to injury for Glamorgan, Giglio made space down the left hand side before crossing low into the box for Culley to finally get his goal to make it 2-0 to the leaders.
All that was left was for Mamadou Diallo to pick up a second yellow card for a late tackle, following on from his early booking for dissent. The dismissal signaled the end of the match as the rain continued to fall to sum up the mood around Glamorgan Sport Park.
Speaking after the match, a disappointed but optimistic Glam coach, David Gough, said: “I’m proud of the players out there today. We had conceded eight goals in our last two games and today came up against one of the best sides in University history who haven’t been beaten in five years – with 10 minutes to go we were level, which says it all.
“They’ve won the league every year, and have a brilliant recruitment system, so I’m really proud of my players for giving it a real go out there. “
Result: Glamorgan 1st 0 - 2 UWE (Hartpury)
TWO late Hartpury goals were enough to see off a brave Glamorgan side who fell to their third straight defeat of the season.
With the rain pouring down, Glamorgan almost managed to hold out for a valuable home point, before Scott Wilson and Duncan Culley popped up in the last 10 minutes to sink home hearts.
The unbeaten hosts were grateful to leave Glamorgan Sport Park with all three points, after Luke Jones wasted a glorious opportunity to give Glam a lead before half-time.
In what was a balanced first half, both sides managed to create opportunities, but neither could get away any serious shots on goal.
It took 20 minutes before the first real chance of the match and it fell to Culley whose header came back off the post before being fired over by one of his teammates from under the bar.
Hartpury continued this pressure, creating big chances, the best of which fell to Culley who rounded the keeper but couldn’t get his effort on goal, hitting the post for the second time in a number of minutes.
Glamorgan were managing to soak up the pressure well, but all the hard work was almost undone when left back Marcus Giglio crossed superbly for the dangerous Culley, but his effort was headed over.
But despite all the chances that had fallen the visitor’s way, Glamorgan had the best chance of the half after some superb play in the middle of the field led to Jones being played through on goal. The midfielder had time to get a shot in on goal, but decided to square the ball instead which was cut out by the Hartpury defence.
It looked as though the game was going to die out as half-time approached, but Hartpury managed to carve out two great chances – the first fell to Culley who yet again failed to beat Glamorgan keeper Mike Lewis
Just minutes later the ball fell nicely to Dan Holloway inside the Glam box who hammered his effort well over, to signal the end of the half.
The second half started in a much better way for the home side, who found themselves with another great chance to take a surprise lead, but Sam Gilroy hit his effort right at Hartpury ‘keeper James Norty with the rebound being fired wide from a tight angle.
These chances helped create some momentum for Glamorgan who came close from a dangerous corner and through Aaron Jewell who saw his curling effort comfortably saved by Norty.
This appeared to spark some life into top of the table Hartpury, who should have taken the lead when the ball fell to an unmarked Matt Liddiard in the box, but his headed effort failed to trouble the goalkeeper to the dismay of his manager.
But despite the wasted chance, Wilson picked up the ball inside the Glamorgan area and placed it past the ‘keeper to give his side the lead. It was agony for the home side, but the joy on the unbeaten Hartpury player’s faces showed that this was a big moment for them in the early stages of the season.
To add insult to injury for Glamorgan, Giglio made space down the left hand side before crossing low into the box for Culley to finally get his goal to make it 2-0 to the leaders.
All that was left was for Mamadou Diallo to pick up a second yellow card for a late tackle, following on from his early booking for dissent. The dismissal signaled the end of the match as the rain continued to fall to sum up the mood around Glamorgan Sport Park.
Speaking after the match, a disappointed but optimistic Glam coach, David Gough, said: “I’m proud of the players out there today. We had conceded eight goals in our last two games and today came up against one of the best sides in University history who haven’t been beaten in five years – with 10 minutes to go we were level, which says it all.
“They’ve won the league every year, and have a brilliant recruitment system, so I’m really proud of my players for giving it a real go out there. “
GLAMORGAN HIT FOR SIX AFTER SUFFERING SURVIVAL HANGOVER
Sport: Men’s football
Result: Glamorgan 1st 0 – 6 Northumbria 1st
A WEEK on from their triumphant final day survival victory over Swansea, Glamorgan fell at the first hurdle in the BUCS MARS Championship – losing 6-0 to Northumbria.
Despite coming into the match on a high following the 5-0 crushing of Swansea, Glam failed to get any sort of grip on the contest, with Northumbria cruising into the quarter-finals where they will face Northern Division champions – and cup favourites - Loughborough.
The mood was altogether different for a Northumbria side that had made the near 11 hour-round-journey from Newcastle, following the side’s relegation from their respective division in February. But coming into the game with just one loss in their last five, it was clear to see that the Newcastle based side were certainly no pushovers.
It was also clear to see from kick off that Northumbria intended to use this end of season cup competition to rectify what has been a largely poor season on the field, by making it as far as possible. With just six minutes on the clock, centre back Will Lencham fired the away side into the lead, and from this point on they didn’t look back.
Northumbria had a chance to extend their lead just minutes later with quick-fire chances – the first falling to goalscorer Lencham in the box, before Dan Riley saw his goal-bound effort saved low down by Daniel Bevan in goal, who was filling in for the rested Mike Lewis.
For a twenty minute spell after this early Northumbria pressure, the game was fairly even, with both sides creating opportunities. Northumbria will argue that they had the better of the chances however, with a free-kick on the edge of the box ruffling the top of the net, before Riley had a second chance to get his name on the score-sheet.
Then, with just over 30 minutes of the game played came a moment of magic to really liven up this game on a cold, damp, February afternoon at Glamorgan Sport Park. Midfielder Tom Davies spotted stand-in ‘keeper Bevan off his line, before lofting in a shot from just inside his own area which floated majestically over Bevan’s head into the Glam goal.
If this wasn’t bad enough for the Blue & Yellows, then things were about to get a lot worse. Riley made up for his earlier misses by scoring an overhead kick following a corner which hadn’t been dealt with. It was now 0-3 and the game was all-but-over before the interval.
Though to the credit of Glamorgan, they began to show some of the fighting spirit which was present just nine days prior in the victory against Swansea, creating a couple of half-chances of their own. First, the impressive Mamadou Diallo picked up a short corner, before cutting inside and firing towards goal. His effort made its way through a crowded box before coming back off the post and straight across the face of goal before being cleared, to the away side’s relief.
Winger Chris Miethke also tried to make something happen for the hosts, jinking his way into the penalty area, before winning his side a corner on the edge of half-time. Though the resulting corner was easily captured by Northumbria goalkeeper Niall Davidson and the referee signalled the end of a bad 45 for a make-shift Glamorgan side who were using this competition as a chance to give some of their fringe players a run-out.
The second-half started in a far more positive manner for Glam who at this stage were facing an early cup exit in the face, and it looked as though they had a lifeline when Davidson failed to handle a tame effort on goal and Miethke was left with a tap in. Davidson however managed to redeem himself, saving brilliantly to deny Glamorgan a way back into the game.
With that, Northumbria attacked up the other end and sealed the victory through Ben Clarke who had the simplest of tap-ins thanks to the work by teammate Ben Sears. Sears was played through on goal at a tight angle, though he kept his cool, before skilfully creating an opening for Clarke to give the away side a four goal margin.
Glam heads had now clearly dropped, and this was proved just five minutes later when wide midfielder Mike Byram brought down an over-hit cross inside the Glam area, before calmly laying off Liam Griffin who made no mistake in giving Northumbria a fifth goal of the afternoon.
Again, Glamorgan began to show a little glimpse of the spirit which saw them stay in the BUCS Southern Division, with Diallo the man to again step it up a gear, bursting towards the opposition area from the halfway line, though he found his options limited and ran into trouble.
Despite this rare opening, the hosts failed to build any real momentum to find a consolation goal, and to round off a day to forget, Byram found the back of the net with just a few minutes remaining to hit Glamorgan for six. Byram was played through on goal and had time to compose himself before slotting home to the joy of his manager, former Gateshead Town Coach, Terry Mitchell.
So there was to be no further joy for Glamorgan’s 1st team on what turned out to be their final game of the season, though it has not necessarily been a season to forget. They may have exited the Championship at the first hurdle and hung on to survive in the Southern Division by the skin of their teeth, but Steve Savage, Dave Gough and the rest of the backroom staff can be proud knowing that their side have managed to retain their league status against the odds – now to do it all over again next season.
Result: Glamorgan 1st 0 – 6 Northumbria 1st
A WEEK on from their triumphant final day survival victory over Swansea, Glamorgan fell at the first hurdle in the BUCS MARS Championship – losing 6-0 to Northumbria.
Despite coming into the match on a high following the 5-0 crushing of Swansea, Glam failed to get any sort of grip on the contest, with Northumbria cruising into the quarter-finals where they will face Northern Division champions – and cup favourites - Loughborough.
The mood was altogether different for a Northumbria side that had made the near 11 hour-round-journey from Newcastle, following the side’s relegation from their respective division in February. But coming into the game with just one loss in their last five, it was clear to see that the Newcastle based side were certainly no pushovers.
It was also clear to see from kick off that Northumbria intended to use this end of season cup competition to rectify what has been a largely poor season on the field, by making it as far as possible. With just six minutes on the clock, centre back Will Lencham fired the away side into the lead, and from this point on they didn’t look back.
Northumbria had a chance to extend their lead just minutes later with quick-fire chances – the first falling to goalscorer Lencham in the box, before Dan Riley saw his goal-bound effort saved low down by Daniel Bevan in goal, who was filling in for the rested Mike Lewis.
For a twenty minute spell after this early Northumbria pressure, the game was fairly even, with both sides creating opportunities. Northumbria will argue that they had the better of the chances however, with a free-kick on the edge of the box ruffling the top of the net, before Riley had a second chance to get his name on the score-sheet.
Then, with just over 30 minutes of the game played came a moment of magic to really liven up this game on a cold, damp, February afternoon at Glamorgan Sport Park. Midfielder Tom Davies spotted stand-in ‘keeper Bevan off his line, before lofting in a shot from just inside his own area which floated majestically over Bevan’s head into the Glam goal.
If this wasn’t bad enough for the Blue & Yellows, then things were about to get a lot worse. Riley made up for his earlier misses by scoring an overhead kick following a corner which hadn’t been dealt with. It was now 0-3 and the game was all-but-over before the interval.
Though to the credit of Glamorgan, they began to show some of the fighting spirit which was present just nine days prior in the victory against Swansea, creating a couple of half-chances of their own. First, the impressive Mamadou Diallo picked up a short corner, before cutting inside and firing towards goal. His effort made its way through a crowded box before coming back off the post and straight across the face of goal before being cleared, to the away side’s relief.
Winger Chris Miethke also tried to make something happen for the hosts, jinking his way into the penalty area, before winning his side a corner on the edge of half-time. Though the resulting corner was easily captured by Northumbria goalkeeper Niall Davidson and the referee signalled the end of a bad 45 for a make-shift Glamorgan side who were using this competition as a chance to give some of their fringe players a run-out.
The second-half started in a far more positive manner for Glam who at this stage were facing an early cup exit in the face, and it looked as though they had a lifeline when Davidson failed to handle a tame effort on goal and Miethke was left with a tap in. Davidson however managed to redeem himself, saving brilliantly to deny Glamorgan a way back into the game.
With that, Northumbria attacked up the other end and sealed the victory through Ben Clarke who had the simplest of tap-ins thanks to the work by teammate Ben Sears. Sears was played through on goal at a tight angle, though he kept his cool, before skilfully creating an opening for Clarke to give the away side a four goal margin.
Glam heads had now clearly dropped, and this was proved just five minutes later when wide midfielder Mike Byram brought down an over-hit cross inside the Glam area, before calmly laying off Liam Griffin who made no mistake in giving Northumbria a fifth goal of the afternoon.
Again, Glamorgan began to show a little glimpse of the spirit which saw them stay in the BUCS Southern Division, with Diallo the man to again step it up a gear, bursting towards the opposition area from the halfway line, though he found his options limited and ran into trouble.
Despite this rare opening, the hosts failed to build any real momentum to find a consolation goal, and to round off a day to forget, Byram found the back of the net with just a few minutes remaining to hit Glamorgan for six. Byram was played through on goal and had time to compose himself before slotting home to the joy of his manager, former Gateshead Town Coach, Terry Mitchell.
So there was to be no further joy for Glamorgan’s 1st team on what turned out to be their final game of the season, though it has not necessarily been a season to forget. They may have exited the Championship at the first hurdle and hung on to survive in the Southern Division by the skin of their teeth, but Steve Savage, Dave Gough and the rest of the backroom staff can be proud knowing that their side have managed to retain their league status against the odds – now to do it all over again next season.
late goal downs brave glamorgan
Sport: Men’s football
Result: Glamorgan 1st 1 - 2 Chichester 1st
A LATE Chichester goal was enough to see off a determined Glamorgan side who failed to hold on after getting back into the game.
Glamorgan will feel that they had done enough to take at least a point from the match after coming from behind to draw level and dominate for large parts of the second half, but Chichester showed the fighting spirit which has carried them to second place in the Premier Division to score a late winner.
Sam Goodge was the hero for the visitors with his late goal cancelling out Ulrich Fischer’s equaliser for Glam, but the winger would later turn villain after picking up a straight red card in the 90th minute for a bad challenge. Fischer’s goal managed to level the scores for a short while, after Ben Chick had put Chichester ahead late into the first half – a headed goal again proving to be the downfall for Glamorgan.
The game started in a positive fashion for Glamorgan, with striker Sam Bailey coming close after seven minutes with his effort from a tight angle being blocked and scrambled away. This was followed up just minutes later by Adrian Maguire’s snapshot from the edge of the box, which offered a warning to a Chichester side who are flying high after back-to-back promotions.
In what was a balanced first half contested on the Glamorgan Sport Park 3G pitch – allowing the game to go ahead despite the heavy downpour of rain throughout the day – Chichester finally managed to get a grip on proceedings, pushing Glam back before winning a corner via some nice interplay from their forwards.
The resulting corer was met by the head of Goodge who rose highest in a packed penalty area to fire past Mike Lewis in goal - it was the only real chance of the first half, but it was taken brilliantly by the number 11.
With the sides coming out for the second half, it was clear that the hosts were more fired up, this being highlighted by the brilliant link up play between the Glam attack and midfield. Bailey collected a nice flick-on and turned towards goal before releasing one of his team mates out wide, but the return ball to the striker was collected well by the Chichester ‘keeper down low to put an end to the promising attack.
Chick had a chance to double his sides lead on the hour mark with a nice bit of skill to bring the ball down, before firing his shot narrowly wide of goal to the relief of the on-looking Glam defence.
Though despite this half-chance, Glamorgan managed to create opportunities of their own, and on 65 minutes they earned a corner which the English side failed to deal with. After a brief goal-mouth scramble, Fischer managed to get his toe on the ball and fire Glamorgan level.
Glam then took control of the game for the next 15 minutes, but failed to carve out any real chances. In fact the best opportunity for a third goal in the match fell to Goodge – who had been swapped from the right wing to the left - having the ball at his feet in the opposition penalty area but failing to get a shot away at goal.
Glam failed to clear the lines and Chick again found himself in on goal, this time from a tight angle, but his effort was well saved by goalkeeper Lewis.
But in a final twist, Chichester would force a late corner which was swung in sweetly and met by Chick who seen his effort come off the underside of the bar and go in. The joy for the away side was clear to see, the dejection for Glamorgan even clearer.
The only sour point for visitors was the sending off of Goodge in the closing seconds for a reckless lunge, but they made the long journey back home three points better off.
Speaking after the match, a delighted Chichester coach said: “Today was a much closer game than last time we met Glamorgan. We got a couple of early goals and a couple of penalties in the opening game, which made us play a lot better.
“Today Glam looked much better, particularly in the second half where they came out more organised. They put pressure on us from set pieces with their big guys, but we finished with more tempo which allowed us to get the second goal.
“Glamorgan are a great footballing team, much better than most other sides we have played this season, but we managed to do enough and I’m delighted to take the three points.”
It was a harsh lesson for Glamorgan who came into the game on a high after winning their previous two matches, but the blue & yellows will look to bounce back as they attempt to reach their target of avoiding relegation.
Result: Glamorgan 1st 1 - 2 Chichester 1st
A LATE Chichester goal was enough to see off a determined Glamorgan side who failed to hold on after getting back into the game.
Glamorgan will feel that they had done enough to take at least a point from the match after coming from behind to draw level and dominate for large parts of the second half, but Chichester showed the fighting spirit which has carried them to second place in the Premier Division to score a late winner.
Sam Goodge was the hero for the visitors with his late goal cancelling out Ulrich Fischer’s equaliser for Glam, but the winger would later turn villain after picking up a straight red card in the 90th minute for a bad challenge. Fischer’s goal managed to level the scores for a short while, after Ben Chick had put Chichester ahead late into the first half – a headed goal again proving to be the downfall for Glamorgan.
The game started in a positive fashion for Glamorgan, with striker Sam Bailey coming close after seven minutes with his effort from a tight angle being blocked and scrambled away. This was followed up just minutes later by Adrian Maguire’s snapshot from the edge of the box, which offered a warning to a Chichester side who are flying high after back-to-back promotions.
In what was a balanced first half contested on the Glamorgan Sport Park 3G pitch – allowing the game to go ahead despite the heavy downpour of rain throughout the day – Chichester finally managed to get a grip on proceedings, pushing Glam back before winning a corner via some nice interplay from their forwards.
The resulting corer was met by the head of Goodge who rose highest in a packed penalty area to fire past Mike Lewis in goal - it was the only real chance of the first half, but it was taken brilliantly by the number 11.
With the sides coming out for the second half, it was clear that the hosts were more fired up, this being highlighted by the brilliant link up play between the Glam attack and midfield. Bailey collected a nice flick-on and turned towards goal before releasing one of his team mates out wide, but the return ball to the striker was collected well by the Chichester ‘keeper down low to put an end to the promising attack.
Chick had a chance to double his sides lead on the hour mark with a nice bit of skill to bring the ball down, before firing his shot narrowly wide of goal to the relief of the on-looking Glam defence.
Though despite this half-chance, Glamorgan managed to create opportunities of their own, and on 65 minutes they earned a corner which the English side failed to deal with. After a brief goal-mouth scramble, Fischer managed to get his toe on the ball and fire Glamorgan level.
Glam then took control of the game for the next 15 minutes, but failed to carve out any real chances. In fact the best opportunity for a third goal in the match fell to Goodge – who had been swapped from the right wing to the left - having the ball at his feet in the opposition penalty area but failing to get a shot away at goal.
Glam failed to clear the lines and Chick again found himself in on goal, this time from a tight angle, but his effort was well saved by goalkeeper Lewis.
But in a final twist, Chichester would force a late corner which was swung in sweetly and met by Chick who seen his effort come off the underside of the bar and go in. The joy for the away side was clear to see, the dejection for Glamorgan even clearer.
The only sour point for visitors was the sending off of Goodge in the closing seconds for a reckless lunge, but they made the long journey back home three points better off.
Speaking after the match, a delighted Chichester coach said: “Today was a much closer game than last time we met Glamorgan. We got a couple of early goals and a couple of penalties in the opening game, which made us play a lot better.
“Today Glam looked much better, particularly in the second half where they came out more organised. They put pressure on us from set pieces with their big guys, but we finished with more tempo which allowed us to get the second goal.
“Glamorgan are a great footballing team, much better than most other sides we have played this season, but we managed to do enough and I’m delighted to take the three points.”
It was a harsh lesson for Glamorgan who came into the game on a high after winning their previous two matches, but the blue & yellows will look to bounce back as they attempt to reach their target of avoiding relegation.
glamorgan made to pay the penalty
Sport: Men’s football
Result: Glamorgan 1st 1 - 3 Cardiff Met 3rd
CARDIFF Met made Glamorgan pay the penalty - with two first half spot-kicks piling the misery on a Glam side who have now lost three games on the bounce.
Jamie Adams converted from the penalty spot after 17 minutes of the game, before doubling the away sides tally for the day five minutes before half-time.
Glamorgan managed to get themselves back into the game on the hour mark, with a penalty of their own, but despite a lot of possession, Cardiff Met got the all important third goal through Adam Jenkins to wrap up the three points and condemn Glamorgan to another defeat.
The game started in a good fashion for the home side, with some good play in the middle of the field, though chances were at a minimum. Despite the spells of possession, Cardiff Met had the best opportunity of the opening stages, with Adams managing to turn in the box before seeing his shot curl inches wide of the woodwork.
It would be Adams who got Met off the mark just moments later, after being felled inside the Glam area, the striker won his side a penalty before coolly dispatching it down the middle.
Cardiff Met – formally known as UWIC – made the most of this spell of dominance just before the half-time interval, creating quick-fire chances for Jenkins who dragged his first shot narrowly wide of goal, before breaking into the box for a second time and being taken down by Glamorgan keeper Jon Lewis to win his side a second penalty. Adams stepped up to take the pen and again fired it straight down the middle, beating the frustrated Lewis.
Glamorgan knew that they needed to up the tempo in the second-half, and that is exactly what they did. Some great work down the left hand side led to a couple of crosses into a dangerous area, but this ultimately failed to trouble the Met goalkeeper who was much a spectator during the first 45 minutes.
Though Glamorgan did manage to grab a lifeline after 65 minutes when the referee awarded the home side a penalty, after Morten Rakke was brought down inside the box. The substitute brushed himself down before slotting away his penalty and bringing the score to 2-1 with just under 30 minutes left to play.
Despite Glamorgan constantly knocking on the Cardiff Met door, the away side came closest to grabbing a fourth goal of the game after a cross from the left came back off the crossbar before being cleared away. Glamorgan failed to use this as motivation to up their game, and with just a few minutes left on the clock Cardiff Met all but ended Glam’s hopes of a much needed point with a third goal of the afternoon. Despite Lewis’s best efforts in goal, his wonder save was not cleared from the box and it was left to a Met player to tap home and make it 3-1.
Result: Glamorgan 1st 1 - 3 Cardiff Met 3rd
CARDIFF Met made Glamorgan pay the penalty - with two first half spot-kicks piling the misery on a Glam side who have now lost three games on the bounce.
Jamie Adams converted from the penalty spot after 17 minutes of the game, before doubling the away sides tally for the day five minutes before half-time.
Glamorgan managed to get themselves back into the game on the hour mark, with a penalty of their own, but despite a lot of possession, Cardiff Met got the all important third goal through Adam Jenkins to wrap up the three points and condemn Glamorgan to another defeat.
The game started in a good fashion for the home side, with some good play in the middle of the field, though chances were at a minimum. Despite the spells of possession, Cardiff Met had the best opportunity of the opening stages, with Adams managing to turn in the box before seeing his shot curl inches wide of the woodwork.
It would be Adams who got Met off the mark just moments later, after being felled inside the Glam area, the striker won his side a penalty before coolly dispatching it down the middle.
Cardiff Met – formally known as UWIC – made the most of this spell of dominance just before the half-time interval, creating quick-fire chances for Jenkins who dragged his first shot narrowly wide of goal, before breaking into the box for a second time and being taken down by Glamorgan keeper Jon Lewis to win his side a second penalty. Adams stepped up to take the pen and again fired it straight down the middle, beating the frustrated Lewis.
Glamorgan knew that they needed to up the tempo in the second-half, and that is exactly what they did. Some great work down the left hand side led to a couple of crosses into a dangerous area, but this ultimately failed to trouble the Met goalkeeper who was much a spectator during the first 45 minutes.
Though Glamorgan did manage to grab a lifeline after 65 minutes when the referee awarded the home side a penalty, after Morten Rakke was brought down inside the box. The substitute brushed himself down before slotting away his penalty and bringing the score to 2-1 with just under 30 minutes left to play.
Despite Glamorgan constantly knocking on the Cardiff Met door, the away side came closest to grabbing a fourth goal of the game after a cross from the left came back off the crossbar before being cleared away. Glamorgan failed to use this as motivation to up their game, and with just a few minutes left on the clock Cardiff Met all but ended Glam’s hopes of a much needed point with a third goal of the afternoon. Despite Lewis’s best efforts in goal, his wonder save was not cleared from the box and it was left to a Met player to tap home and make it 3-1.
GLAMORGAN COME OUT ON TOP IN BATTLE TO AVOID RELEGATION
Sport: Men’s football
Result: Glamorgan 1st 5 - 0 Swansea 1st
Glamorgan have retained their place in the Premier South division following an emphatic final day 5-0 victory over rivals Swansea - in a contest where the loser would be relegated.
The match was expected to be a tight-fought encounter, with Glamorgan knowing that anything less than three points would see a season of ups and downs end with the university’s top side facing life in the second-tier next season.
Though an early goal from striker Sam Bailey quickly helped settle any nerves, before three goals inside the opening 10 minutes of the second half helped to seal Glam’s place in the division for another season.
In what had been a bad week for Swansea with a heavy defeat at home to league champions Hartpury, followed by a loss away at Bath last time out, the away side knew that a point would still be enough to secure their fate - keeping them in the division at Glamorgan’s expense.
Despite this, things couldn’t have started much worse for the visitor’s as Bailey found time to compose himself inside the box with just over three minutes played, and fire away an effort into the roof of the net to give Glamorgan a dream start.
The team spirit – which has been clear to see all season – was highlighted in the early celebrations, though Glam knew that a Swansea equaliser would change matters altogether.
Swansea didn’t let the early goal faze them, though their best chances came about through set-pieces – the best of which a corner which wasn’t dealt with, leading to Mike Lewis being called into action. The Glam number one got down low to stop a goal-bound effort with his feet, restricting Swansea to nothing more than half-chances.
As the clock ticked down a pattern began to emerge, with Glamorgan soaking up pressure before getting some shots from distance in on the away side’s goal. Luke Jones saw his effort tipped over by Swans ‘keeper Luke Martin, before Kevin Abojio’s curling effort was narrowly wide of goal.
The visitors didn’t manage to fully test Lewis in the Glam goal with a couple of well-positioned free-kicks on the edge of the area, and it almost proved costly as Chris Miethke superbly put Bailey through on goal, though the lone-strikers effort was well blocked by a covering Swans defender.
Bailey began drifting towards the wings as the match edged closer to half-time, and after bringing down a long ball from defence with a great first touch, his first time effort nearly took Martin by surprise in goal – though again Bailey’s effort was well blocked inside the area.
With the sides coming out for the second-half in front of a strong crowd at Glamorgan Sport Park, the hosts seemed fired up – this showed with three goals in quick-fire time to seal the fate of the down-and-out away side.
Bailey was played through two minutes into the half, before composing himself and brilliantly finishing to put his side 2-0 up – it was now a long way back for Swansea, though things were about to get worse.
Instead of sitting on their lead, Glamorgan took advantage of their opponent’s depleted spirits and continued to attack. This positive play paid off just four minutes later when Miethke capitalised on a mistimed header in the Swansea defence, before rounding the goalkeeper and extending his sides lead.
Then came the game’s best goal, with former Cardiff City prospect Mamadou Diallo pulling off a great piece of skill and finishing from a tight angle – it rounded off an eight minute spell which had provided Glamorgan with arguably their finest moment of the season.
Swansea tried their best to turn the match back into a contest, but the closest they came to pulling back a goal came after an hour as a miss-hit cross from wide looked to be dipping under Lewis’s crossbar, though the Glam ‘keeper managed to handle the ‘shot-cross’ well.
Despite this minor scare, the home side continued to assert their dominance on the game, which was highlighted by Jake Hayward whose snapshot following a blocked free-kick was inches wide of goal.
It was now a case of being professional and seeing out the game for Glamorgan, though Adrian Maguire had other ideas – on the end of a fine piece of team play, Maguire unleashed an effort from the edge of the box which rattled the crossbar.
Despite this, Glamorgan did eventually get a fifth and final goal after Miethke found himself through on goal after some more fantastic team play, with the referee awarding the Blue and Yellows a penalty, before dismissing the guilty party to leave Swansea with 10 men for the remaining five minutes.
The penalty was left to another former Cardiff City prospect, Dean Hudson, to take, with the Welsh youngster making no mistake of getting his side’s fifth goal of the night.
With that, the referee signalled the end of the match, and the end of the league season for both teams. It could have all ended so differently, but a brilliant team performance at just the right time was enough to see Glamorgan keep their place in the Premier Division, but for Swansea, they now face life outside of the top tier.
Result: Glamorgan 1st 5 - 0 Swansea 1st
Glamorgan have retained their place in the Premier South division following an emphatic final day 5-0 victory over rivals Swansea - in a contest where the loser would be relegated.
The match was expected to be a tight-fought encounter, with Glamorgan knowing that anything less than three points would see a season of ups and downs end with the university’s top side facing life in the second-tier next season.
Though an early goal from striker Sam Bailey quickly helped settle any nerves, before three goals inside the opening 10 minutes of the second half helped to seal Glam’s place in the division for another season.
In what had been a bad week for Swansea with a heavy defeat at home to league champions Hartpury, followed by a loss away at Bath last time out, the away side knew that a point would still be enough to secure their fate - keeping them in the division at Glamorgan’s expense.
Despite this, things couldn’t have started much worse for the visitor’s as Bailey found time to compose himself inside the box with just over three minutes played, and fire away an effort into the roof of the net to give Glamorgan a dream start.
The team spirit – which has been clear to see all season – was highlighted in the early celebrations, though Glam knew that a Swansea equaliser would change matters altogether.
Swansea didn’t let the early goal faze them, though their best chances came about through set-pieces – the best of which a corner which wasn’t dealt with, leading to Mike Lewis being called into action. The Glam number one got down low to stop a goal-bound effort with his feet, restricting Swansea to nothing more than half-chances.
As the clock ticked down a pattern began to emerge, with Glamorgan soaking up pressure before getting some shots from distance in on the away side’s goal. Luke Jones saw his effort tipped over by Swans ‘keeper Luke Martin, before Kevin Abojio’s curling effort was narrowly wide of goal.
The visitors didn’t manage to fully test Lewis in the Glam goal with a couple of well-positioned free-kicks on the edge of the area, and it almost proved costly as Chris Miethke superbly put Bailey through on goal, though the lone-strikers effort was well blocked by a covering Swans defender.
Bailey began drifting towards the wings as the match edged closer to half-time, and after bringing down a long ball from defence with a great first touch, his first time effort nearly took Martin by surprise in goal – though again Bailey’s effort was well blocked inside the area.
With the sides coming out for the second-half in front of a strong crowd at Glamorgan Sport Park, the hosts seemed fired up – this showed with three goals in quick-fire time to seal the fate of the down-and-out away side.
Bailey was played through two minutes into the half, before composing himself and brilliantly finishing to put his side 2-0 up – it was now a long way back for Swansea, though things were about to get worse.
Instead of sitting on their lead, Glamorgan took advantage of their opponent’s depleted spirits and continued to attack. This positive play paid off just four minutes later when Miethke capitalised on a mistimed header in the Swansea defence, before rounding the goalkeeper and extending his sides lead.
Then came the game’s best goal, with former Cardiff City prospect Mamadou Diallo pulling off a great piece of skill and finishing from a tight angle – it rounded off an eight minute spell which had provided Glamorgan with arguably their finest moment of the season.
Swansea tried their best to turn the match back into a contest, but the closest they came to pulling back a goal came after an hour as a miss-hit cross from wide looked to be dipping under Lewis’s crossbar, though the Glam ‘keeper managed to handle the ‘shot-cross’ well.
Despite this minor scare, the home side continued to assert their dominance on the game, which was highlighted by Jake Hayward whose snapshot following a blocked free-kick was inches wide of goal.
It was now a case of being professional and seeing out the game for Glamorgan, though Adrian Maguire had other ideas – on the end of a fine piece of team play, Maguire unleashed an effort from the edge of the box which rattled the crossbar.
Despite this, Glamorgan did eventually get a fifth and final goal after Miethke found himself through on goal after some more fantastic team play, with the referee awarding the Blue and Yellows a penalty, before dismissing the guilty party to leave Swansea with 10 men for the remaining five minutes.
The penalty was left to another former Cardiff City prospect, Dean Hudson, to take, with the Welsh youngster making no mistake of getting his side’s fifth goal of the night.
With that, the referee signalled the end of the match, and the end of the league season for both teams. It could have all ended so differently, but a brilliant team performance at just the right time was enough to see Glamorgan keep their place in the Premier Division, but for Swansea, they now face life outside of the top tier.
brighton pay the penalty as glam push on
Sport: Men’s football
Result: Glamorgan 1st 3 - 2 Brighton 1st
GLAMORGAN made it two wins on the bounce after coming from behind to beat Brighton in a thrilling contest at Glamorgan Sport Park.
Brighton raced into an early lead after just five minutes played, but Glamorgan managed to turn the game on its head in the space of two first half minutes, with goals from Adrian Maguire and Sam Bailey putting the home side ahead.
Bottom of the table Brighton managed to draw level early into the second half, but Glam showed their fighting spirit to regain the lead and see out what was a fiery contest.
Though the full-time score doesn’t tell the whole story as both sides failed to score from the penalty spot in the opening 30 minutes, which only added to the excitement in this Premier South clash.
Coming into the game, Glamorgan had failed to win in their previous two home matches, and it looked as though this was playing on their minds as they were slow out of the traps.
Jamie Selby came close to putting the visitors in front after moving free from his marker, but his header from just a few yards out missed the target. This should have served as a warning sign to the Glam defence, but just moments later Selby was there again to fire Brighton ahead.
Glamorgan looked shaken-up, but they slowly grew into the game and came close through Sam Bailey’s overhead kick after some great work down the right from winger Chris Miethke, but Brighton ‘keeper James Broadbent was equal to it in goals, catching the effort with relative ease.
But this spell of possession clearly spurred the home side on, and this pressure led to a penalty kick when the referee adjudged that Brighton’s Gary Connan had manhandled a Glam player inside the area. Mamadou Diallo stepped up to take the resulting penalty, but his effort was saved by Broadbent to the delight of his teammates.
Following on from this, Brighton had a strong spell of possession in which they really should have doubled their lead. First Connan headed wide with an effort that looked easier to score than miss, before the same player fired away a much better effort from the edge of the box which trickled wide of the post.
The danger wasn’t over yet however as Selby found the ball at his feet just yards from goal with Glamorgan goalkeeper Mike Lewis closing down on him, his toe poked attempt was not enough to extend his sides lead. It was this trio of chances that Brighton would look back on after the match knowing they should have made the most of.
Despite Brighton’s dominance, two of their players came to blows when Diallo managed to run half the length of the pitch unchallenged – the arguing between the opposition players in many ways summed up the mood of the match as a whole which seen a few yellow cards handed out throughout after some strong challenges from both sides.
This coming together of players looked to be the turning point, almost as soon as the arguing had stopped, Miethke collected a lovely long ball over the top before bursting into the opposition box, he fired in a cross low and hard, but it was turned away for a corner.
But from the resulting set-piece, which was well cleared, Brighton managed to break in numbers with Connan charging forward before being brought down and winning a penalty for his side. Connan was the man who stepped up to take the penalty, but for the second time in the space of 30 minutes, a penalty was missed. Connan’s effort was hit straight down the middle, but Lewis’s trailing leg managed to stop the ball.
Brighton had now failed to make the most of countless opportunities to extend their lead and they would live to rue the poor finishing. The penalty miss served as a massive wake up call for Glamorgan and just moments later they drew level through Maguire who was played through brilliantly by Miethke, before nicely slotting it past Broadbent.
The turnaround was complete just two minutes later. Miethke managed to bring down a long ball before charging towards goal and unselfishly squaring to Bailey who tapped the ball into the back of the net from just two yards out.
Brighton – who have yet to win a game this season – were happy to hear the half-time whistle, with Glam well and truly getting into their rhythm late on. The hosts managed to use the break to their advantage, coming out for the second period focused, and it took just 10 minutes for them to draw level through Connan who squeezed the ball in off the post brilliantly from a tight angle.
Both sides had big chances to take the lead – Ulrich Fischer managed to find space at the back post from a corner but he headed wide from just a few yards out. Minutes later Brighton managed to counter well leading to a 3 vs. 2 situation at the back in their favour, but they couldn’t make the most of the opportunity. A mixture of poor finishing from Brighton’s attack and committed blocking from the Glam defence meant another chance had gone begging for the English side.
But then on 75 minutes, Glam’s Matthew Whatley gambled and managed to get into the right place at the right time to tap the ball in after Brighton goalkeeper Broadbent spilt the ball - the ‘keeper had gone from hero to rock bottom with this costly error ultimately costing his side the game.
The final 15 minutes seen Brighton put a load of pressure on the blue & yellow defence, but they stood strong to bag another three points – edging them closer to that target of 15 points which they have set themselves.
Speaking after his sides first home win of the season, delighted Glamorgan coach David Gough, said: “It’s crucial we use this momentum to achieve our target of a minimum of five wins.
“We didn’t start the game well, but we had lost three players from our starting 11 going into the match so we did well to grow into it and take the three points.
“We work in cycles of three matches, and we know that the match against Chichester next week is going to be massive for us.”
Result: Glamorgan 1st 3 - 2 Brighton 1st
GLAMORGAN made it two wins on the bounce after coming from behind to beat Brighton in a thrilling contest at Glamorgan Sport Park.
Brighton raced into an early lead after just five minutes played, but Glamorgan managed to turn the game on its head in the space of two first half minutes, with goals from Adrian Maguire and Sam Bailey putting the home side ahead.
Bottom of the table Brighton managed to draw level early into the second half, but Glam showed their fighting spirit to regain the lead and see out what was a fiery contest.
Though the full-time score doesn’t tell the whole story as both sides failed to score from the penalty spot in the opening 30 minutes, which only added to the excitement in this Premier South clash.
Coming into the game, Glamorgan had failed to win in their previous two home matches, and it looked as though this was playing on their minds as they were slow out of the traps.
Jamie Selby came close to putting the visitors in front after moving free from his marker, but his header from just a few yards out missed the target. This should have served as a warning sign to the Glam defence, but just moments later Selby was there again to fire Brighton ahead.
Glamorgan looked shaken-up, but they slowly grew into the game and came close through Sam Bailey’s overhead kick after some great work down the right from winger Chris Miethke, but Brighton ‘keeper James Broadbent was equal to it in goals, catching the effort with relative ease.
But this spell of possession clearly spurred the home side on, and this pressure led to a penalty kick when the referee adjudged that Brighton’s Gary Connan had manhandled a Glam player inside the area. Mamadou Diallo stepped up to take the resulting penalty, but his effort was saved by Broadbent to the delight of his teammates.
Following on from this, Brighton had a strong spell of possession in which they really should have doubled their lead. First Connan headed wide with an effort that looked easier to score than miss, before the same player fired away a much better effort from the edge of the box which trickled wide of the post.
The danger wasn’t over yet however as Selby found the ball at his feet just yards from goal with Glamorgan goalkeeper Mike Lewis closing down on him, his toe poked attempt was not enough to extend his sides lead. It was this trio of chances that Brighton would look back on after the match knowing they should have made the most of.
Despite Brighton’s dominance, two of their players came to blows when Diallo managed to run half the length of the pitch unchallenged – the arguing between the opposition players in many ways summed up the mood of the match as a whole which seen a few yellow cards handed out throughout after some strong challenges from both sides.
This coming together of players looked to be the turning point, almost as soon as the arguing had stopped, Miethke collected a lovely long ball over the top before bursting into the opposition box, he fired in a cross low and hard, but it was turned away for a corner.
But from the resulting set-piece, which was well cleared, Brighton managed to break in numbers with Connan charging forward before being brought down and winning a penalty for his side. Connan was the man who stepped up to take the penalty, but for the second time in the space of 30 minutes, a penalty was missed. Connan’s effort was hit straight down the middle, but Lewis’s trailing leg managed to stop the ball.
Brighton had now failed to make the most of countless opportunities to extend their lead and they would live to rue the poor finishing. The penalty miss served as a massive wake up call for Glamorgan and just moments later they drew level through Maguire who was played through brilliantly by Miethke, before nicely slotting it past Broadbent.
The turnaround was complete just two minutes later. Miethke managed to bring down a long ball before charging towards goal and unselfishly squaring to Bailey who tapped the ball into the back of the net from just two yards out.
Brighton – who have yet to win a game this season – were happy to hear the half-time whistle, with Glam well and truly getting into their rhythm late on. The hosts managed to use the break to their advantage, coming out for the second period focused, and it took just 10 minutes for them to draw level through Connan who squeezed the ball in off the post brilliantly from a tight angle.
Both sides had big chances to take the lead – Ulrich Fischer managed to find space at the back post from a corner but he headed wide from just a few yards out. Minutes later Brighton managed to counter well leading to a 3 vs. 2 situation at the back in their favour, but they couldn’t make the most of the opportunity. A mixture of poor finishing from Brighton’s attack and committed blocking from the Glam defence meant another chance had gone begging for the English side.
But then on 75 minutes, Glam’s Matthew Whatley gambled and managed to get into the right place at the right time to tap the ball in after Brighton goalkeeper Broadbent spilt the ball - the ‘keeper had gone from hero to rock bottom with this costly error ultimately costing his side the game.
The final 15 minutes seen Brighton put a load of pressure on the blue & yellow defence, but they stood strong to bag another three points – edging them closer to that target of 15 points which they have set themselves.
Speaking after his sides first home win of the season, delighted Glamorgan coach David Gough, said: “It’s crucial we use this momentum to achieve our target of a minimum of five wins.
“We didn’t start the game well, but we had lost three players from our starting 11 going into the match so we did well to grow into it and take the three points.
“We work in cycles of three matches, and we know that the match against Chichester next week is going to be massive for us.”
newport crumble in local derby
Sport: Men’s football
Result: Glamorgan 5th 7 - 0 University of Wales, Newport 2nd
GLAMORGAN continued their unbeaten start to the season - comfortably beating local rivals Newport in a one-sided encounter.
A well taken hat-trick from Sam Price in the final 15 minutes of the match put the gloss on a thoroughly deserved Glamorgan win, which leaves them with seven points from their opening three games.
The home side struggled to get out of first gear for large parts of the first half, and Newport went into half time happy to still be in touch, with the score at 2-0.
But a fired up Glam managed to click into gear to score a further five goals in the second period, helping to pick up the three points and bolster their goal difference at this early stage of the season.
Coming into the game, Newport had conceded 15 goals in two games, whilst Glamorgan were full of confidence having booked their place into the second round of the cup, scoring 12 goals in their opening three games in all competitions.
And true to form, just two minutes had past when Joseph Musa latched onto Jonathan Baber’s cross to give Glamorgan the perfect start. Musa continued to provide a threat down the Newport right, but despite some nice interplay from the home side, Newport very nearly drew level after breaking through on goal. A combination of a poor shot and some commanding goalkeeping prevented the visitors from equalising.
Despite this great chance, Glamorgan were the side who were enjoying the greater possession on home turf, and after 10 minutes they doubled their lead through Dan Blackall who smashed in a screamer from distance, leaving the Newport ‘keeper with no chance.
This was the cue for Glam to really have a go at the Newport defence, and chances continued to come their way – the best of which fell the way of Musa who was inches away from connecting with Baber’s cross to make it all-but-over.
The pattern of the game continued with Glamorgan dominating in every area. Baber brought down a long-ball which was hit in his direction, before cutting in from the right and firing towards goal, but missing the target.
Just five minutes later, the same player had another strike towards goal, this time he managed to hit the target and force a decent save from the opposition goalkeeper who got down low.
Newport did however have their chances in the first 45, and they will be disappointed not to have got themselves back into the game after nearly snatching a goal in first half stoppage time, after a long throw was flicked on towards goal but nobody could get on the end of it.
Glamorgan came into the second half knowing that they needed to convert their chances in order to put their Welsh rivals out of site, and it took just four minutes for Glam to do this. The referee played a good advantage allowing the hosts to make it 3-0 and end Newport’s hopes of pulling off a shock.
After Glam’s fourth goal, the game went a little dry with both sides creating chances - the best of which not surprisingly fell the way of the hosts with Theo Rivers’ effort clipping the crossbar on its way over, the best of a number of long-range efforts from Glamorgan.
Heading into the final 10 minutes, Newport seemed content to keep the score at a respectable 3-0, but Price had other ideas. He rounded Newport’s keeper before tapping home to add the fourth goal to his sides tally, before squaring the ball to Rivers just two minutes later to add a fifth.
In a frantic end to the match Newport struck the crossbar, before Price doubled his scoring for the day moments later, putting the ball in after Rivers shot was saved and pushed into his path.
It wasn’t over yet. That man Price was a danger inside the box again, working space well before getting in his shot which he slid perfectly past the keeper to make it 7-0, rounding off the scoring.
Speaking after the game, a delighted Glam manager said: “We started off really well in the opening 10 minutes and then went a little flat. Overall though we put in a good team performance and scored some great goals throughout.”
It certainly won’t be Glamorgan’s toughest game this season, but it means that they are now unbeaten in four matches heading into their home clash with Plymouth next week.
Result: Glamorgan 5th 7 - 0 University of Wales, Newport 2nd
GLAMORGAN continued their unbeaten start to the season - comfortably beating local rivals Newport in a one-sided encounter.
A well taken hat-trick from Sam Price in the final 15 minutes of the match put the gloss on a thoroughly deserved Glamorgan win, which leaves them with seven points from their opening three games.
The home side struggled to get out of first gear for large parts of the first half, and Newport went into half time happy to still be in touch, with the score at 2-0.
But a fired up Glam managed to click into gear to score a further five goals in the second period, helping to pick up the three points and bolster their goal difference at this early stage of the season.
Coming into the game, Newport had conceded 15 goals in two games, whilst Glamorgan were full of confidence having booked their place into the second round of the cup, scoring 12 goals in their opening three games in all competitions.
And true to form, just two minutes had past when Joseph Musa latched onto Jonathan Baber’s cross to give Glamorgan the perfect start. Musa continued to provide a threat down the Newport right, but despite some nice interplay from the home side, Newport very nearly drew level after breaking through on goal. A combination of a poor shot and some commanding goalkeeping prevented the visitors from equalising.
Despite this great chance, Glamorgan were the side who were enjoying the greater possession on home turf, and after 10 minutes they doubled their lead through Dan Blackall who smashed in a screamer from distance, leaving the Newport ‘keeper with no chance.
This was the cue for Glam to really have a go at the Newport defence, and chances continued to come their way – the best of which fell the way of Musa who was inches away from connecting with Baber’s cross to make it all-but-over.
The pattern of the game continued with Glamorgan dominating in every area. Baber brought down a long-ball which was hit in his direction, before cutting in from the right and firing towards goal, but missing the target.
Just five minutes later, the same player had another strike towards goal, this time he managed to hit the target and force a decent save from the opposition goalkeeper who got down low.
Newport did however have their chances in the first 45, and they will be disappointed not to have got themselves back into the game after nearly snatching a goal in first half stoppage time, after a long throw was flicked on towards goal but nobody could get on the end of it.
Glamorgan came into the second half knowing that they needed to convert their chances in order to put their Welsh rivals out of site, and it took just four minutes for Glam to do this. The referee played a good advantage allowing the hosts to make it 3-0 and end Newport’s hopes of pulling off a shock.
After Glam’s fourth goal, the game went a little dry with both sides creating chances - the best of which not surprisingly fell the way of the hosts with Theo Rivers’ effort clipping the crossbar on its way over, the best of a number of long-range efforts from Glamorgan.
Heading into the final 10 minutes, Newport seemed content to keep the score at a respectable 3-0, but Price had other ideas. He rounded Newport’s keeper before tapping home to add the fourth goal to his sides tally, before squaring the ball to Rivers just two minutes later to add a fifth.
In a frantic end to the match Newport struck the crossbar, before Price doubled his scoring for the day moments later, putting the ball in after Rivers shot was saved and pushed into his path.
It wasn’t over yet. That man Price was a danger inside the box again, working space well before getting in his shot which he slid perfectly past the keeper to make it 7-0, rounding off the scoring.
Speaking after the game, a delighted Glam manager said: “We started off really well in the opening 10 minutes and then went a little flat. Overall though we put in a good team performance and scored some great goals throughout.”
It certainly won’t be Glamorgan’s toughest game this season, but it means that they are now unbeaten in four matches heading into their home clash with Plymouth next week.