Match Report – Rhondda 3rds vs. Carmarthen 2nds

On a cold and wet Saturday, Carmarthen travelled up to Rhondda to play a friendly against Rhondda 3rds in preparation for the start of the new season.

Carmarthen had first push back and immediately found themselves in the opposition’s half. The midfields Emily Gard, Lilli Church, Sioned Raymond, Lucy Davies, Claire Evans and Heledd Hunt worked hard to keep a good link with the forwards Ffion Wyn Jones, Charlotte Harries and Scarlett Mackenzie-Jones. Carmarthen passed the ball well around the Rhondda players and had several opportunities in the D. Siriol Richards and Marianne Spratt worked well together to hold the centre and transfer the ball up and down the pitch. Rhondda had plenty of chances to counter-attack, but these were dealt with quickly by the backs of Elinor Routley, Caitlin Marshall, Marianne Spratt and Louise Mear. When the ball did slip past the backs a couple of times, goalkeeper Jackie Marshall was on hand to stop any opportunities for the home side. Everyone worked hard to keep hold of possession to be able to attack the opposition’s D constantly. Despite the amount of chances and plenty of short corners awarded, the team were unfortunate not find the back of the goal. The whistle went and the half-time score was 0-0.

An inspiring team talk from Charlotte Harries and Jackie Marshall encouraged the team to build on the first half performance. The whistle was blown for the restart. Not long into the 2nd half, there was some great play amongst the backs, mids and forwards up the right hand side. A superb pass from Raymond found Harries at the top of the D, who pushed the ball into the bottom right corner, 0-1. This gave Carmarthen the confidence they needed as they continued to put pressure on the Rhondda defence and goal keeper which was rewarded with a long corner. A well worked corner from Richard found Ffion Wyn Jones at the top of the D, with a lovely hit that found the back of the goal, 0-2. At this point of the game Carmarthen were on fire with Lucy Davies, Claire Evans, Heledd Hunt, Elinor Routley and Louise Mear all putting on exceptional performances in their 2nd's debut. Towards the end of the 2nd half, an injury to a Rhondda player momentarily stopped play. The team did not allow this to deter them, and resumed in similar fashion looking for more goal-scoring opportunities. The whistle was blown and the full-time score was 0-2 to Carmarthen 2nds.

Carmarthen awarded their player of the match to Ffion Wyn Jones for an excellent performance upfront and her eagerness and constant hassling in the D. Overall, experience and youth combined well throughout the game to create a very good building block for the upcoming season.