Gwent Premier One

Ponthir 3 Mardy AFC 2

MARDY FC’s game away at Ponthir went ahead after a pitch inspection, but after a lively start that saw them take the lead, they eventually fell to a one goal defeat, reports CLIIVE HARRY.

The visitors went on the attack from the first whistle and had much the better of things before taking a 19th-minute lead when Ross Melrose notched his 12th goal of the season with an assist coming from skipper Ellis French.

Mardy continued to hold the upper hand without reward and the worry was that missed chances would come back to bite them when they reached the interval still holding a slender one-goal lead.

Sure enough, within eight minutes of the restart Ponthir were level thanks to a penalty put away by Daniel James.

And some poor defending, possibly resulting from a loss of concentration, resulted in the hosts taking the lead just a minute later thanks to a goal by Rees Workman.

Ponthir were now beginning to dominate, but were pegged back by a Mardy equaliser on 64 minutes when Charlie Douglas put through his own goal.

Sadly, thoughts of a comeback away win against one of the division's better teams were dispelled, when Workman and James combined seven minutes later for the latter to give Ponthir a 3-2 lead which they maintained until the final whistle.

Mardy boss Luke Norris declared himself pleased with the first-half display, but was disappointed with the defending for Ponthir’s second and third goals.

But with no threat of relegation and mid-table security virtually secured, he will have the luxury of time to find out more about the players available to him whilst still being relatively new to the club and the area.

This Saturday, they travel to a struggling Llanhilleth Athletic, whilst the 2nds, after having their game at Panteg called off at the weekend, travel to play Prescoed.