Gwent Premier League Premier Division

Monmouth Town FC 3 Clydach Wasps 1

CLYDACH Wasps went down 3-1 on Saturday as hosts Monmouth extended their unbeaten league run to 11 games, reports JAMES TOWNLEY.

The Kingfishers started the game on the front foot, threatening with an early free-kick taken by England Schoolboys cap Dan Macdonald, only for it to hit the wall.

But with just nine minutes on the clock, Monmouth opened the scoring thanks to a fabulous Ebrima Ndure header from a cross from Finley Thorp on the edge of the box.

Town then won a free-kick in a promising position on the right side of the opposition box, with Luke Cleaves getting onto the end of a rebound, and the ball almost going over the line.

George Gouldingay and Ashley Ford both tried long shots from the edge of the box as the hosts pressed for a second.

But the Wasps then sent a warning with their first chance, as Corey Paton found himself through on goal only for Kingfishers keeper Ethan Ross to deny him.

Town continued to put Clydach on the back foot, with Macdonald forcing David Pearce in goal into another save.

But the referee ended the first half with no further score, and Monmouth holding a narrow 1-0 advantage.

That changed seven minutes into the second half when Dan Spence was pushed in the box and a penalty was awarded to the Kingfishers.

And Macdonald stepped up and scored, placing the ball in the bottom right corner for a 2-0 lead.

Former Abergavenny Town player Paton then looked to get Wasps back into the game, finding space on the right, but his shot from the edge of the box went just wide of the post.

And in short order the hosts then extended their lead to 3-0, with a Macdonald free-kick on 55 minutes swung into the box, and David Elworthy's touch finding Gouldingay who placed it past the keeper.

It then went from bad to worse for the visitors on 74 minutes as they went down to ten men when defender Rhys Tutton saw red for a second yellow card.

But Wasps did secure a consolation four minutes from normal time, with Paton fouled on the edge of the box and firing home a quickly-taken free-kick.

The result saw Monmouth leapfrog Wasps to fourth, with Pill also pushing Clydach down to sixth on goal difference.

High-flying Wasps 2nds got back on track though with a solid 3-2 home win over Pontnewynydd 2nds in Gwent Central 2.

Two goals in the first 12 minutes put Wasps in the driving seat, Tayler Jones firing the opener after just three minutes, before Jay McCloy doubled the advantage nine minutes later.

Pont hit back to make it 2-1 after 24 minutes, but right on half-time Kyle Cheshire fired home to restore the hosts’ two-goal buffer.

That’s how it stayed until just two minutes from time, when a Pont penalty made it 3-2, but despite the late drama, Wasps held on to see out the win and stay second.

This Saturday (February 15), Wasps 1sts host Cefn Fforest, while the 2nds travel to face unbeaten Gwent Central 2 leaders Glascoed in a potential title showdown.