GWENT PREMIER LEAGUE ONE

Mardy AFC 2 Tredegar 2

MARDY AFC's season finally got underway on Saturday after a confused build up, reports CLIVE HARRY.

A cup game against Underwood had been scheduled for last week which was subsequently cancelled by the visitors, and a league game away to Tredegar at the weekend had to be switched to Mardy because of the unavailability of the opposition's pitch.

A new management team consisting of senior players Matthew Wham, Tom Jenkins and Owen Vaughan was also in place after the previous incumbent left by mutual consent.

There were also changes on the playing side, with a number of players having been released and several new signings in place, including former Abergavenny Town attacker Ross Melrose, who has been playing in the Midlands for several years.

Other newcomers included Lewi Bradford from West Wales, Aber Town youngster Jack Williams, and Ethan Blake, son of former Wales legend Nathan.

On the field, the team made a good start and dominated the early exchanges without being able to find the back of the net.

And they were caught out on the half-hour mark when Tredegar opened the scoring through Greg Knight to give his side a 1-0 lead at the break.

The second half continued in similar vein but the frustration was ended on 65 minutes when Tom Jenkins equalised after an assist from Musab Hussein.

And incredibly, they were in front within a minute thanks to the two new boys, with Jack Williams setting up Ross Melrose for his first goal in Mardy colours.

With time running out, it looked as if a welcome three points were on the cards despite several players being unavailable and others lacking match practice.

But they paid the price two minutes into injury time when the visitors equalised through Rhys Johnson to make the final score 2-2.

This week Mardy are at home on Wednesday evening (August 14) to Premier Division team Lucas Cwmbran in the County Motors Challenge Cup before another home game on Saturday (August 17) against Ponthir in the league.