Carmarthen 2XI v Llan & Llan 1XI

On Saturday 21st of September, Camarthen 2XI travelled to Cardiff to play Llan & Llan 1XI in their last friendly before their league and cup matches commence. At this point in the season it was important for Carmarthen to push themselves against again a team in the division above to ensure they were ready for an exciting season ahead. 

Due to the lack of numbers from Llan & Llan, the game was played 10 a side. 

Because of the heat and one less player on the pitch, both teams agreed to play quarters for this game before getting back into 35 minutes halves next week. 

The first quarter started with Carmarthen eager to get on the score sheet early on in the game, the quarter was hard fought by both teams but ultimately no goals were scored after some amazing saves by the Llan & Llan goalie denying Carmarthen the opening goal in the first quarter, 0-0.

This made Carmarthen more determined to get a well deserved goal where they started the second quarter using more 1,2’s and the wings to get around the strong Llan & Llan defence and goal keeper. Midfielders Lili Church, Kate Howell, Tirion Evans and Heledd Hunt worked tirelessly up and down the pitch, using each other excellently to connect with the forwards. This lead to Camarthen’s persistence and hard work paying off when Church passed the ball to Captain Charlotte Harries in the ‘D’ who then flicked it over a Llan & Llan stick to find forward Thaia Davies on post who calmly pushed it back into the net, 1-0. 

The third quarter came and by this point in the game Carmarthen were really pushing the Llan & Llan defence with forwards Thaia Davies, Charlotte Harries, Sara Evans and Bethany James constantly hunting for a goal and putting pressure on Llan & Llan’s defence. A ball in from Harries allowed a little touch from Davies to angle the ball passed the goalie, much to the supporters delight and cheers! This was the confidence boost Carmarthen needed and it wasn’t long until another goal was put back into the net. A strong hit from a short corner by Bethany James made sure the third quarter ended 3-0 to Carmarthen. 

The fourth and final quarter came with both teams becoming very tired with the one less player in the centre, it made the team work extra hard to come meet the ball and work for each other. Both teams refused to give up with Llan & Llan starting to put pressure on Carmarthen’s defence Marianne Spratt, Mari Davies, Nia Sutton and Isabell Lavery. Controlled in the back by Spratt, all of Carmarthen’s defence worked hard alongside goalie Deryn Creasy-Rodgers to ensure the ball was played back up the field to Carmarthen who were yet again on the attack. The final goal of the game came when Howell managed to find young Evans on the ‘p’ spot who pushed it passed the goalie in style to get Carmarthen their fourth goal of the game. Carmarthen pushed hard in the final few minutes and were delighted with a 4-0 win away from home. 

Lili Church was awarded man of the match for her outstanding performance in the centre, taking over the role of both centre midfielders with her strong presence on the pitch, controlling the game from the centre to massively help Carmarthen take home the 4-0 win.

Carmarthen 2XI travel to Cardiff next Sunday for the first round of the SWL Cup/Plate against Cardiff Medics 3rd’s.

These two friendlies have allowed Carmarthen to build up play, bond as a team and most importantly be ready for an promising season ahead.