Lido win the opening fixture

We took the lead on 4 minutes following a free kick. It was awarded 35 yards out in a central position and was played wide of the goal to Cai Owens. He headed the ball across the face of the goa. All the Risca players stood allowing the ball to reach John Hall at the far post and he poked it home from a couple of yards on his Lido league debut.

It got even better on 9 minutes, Jay Thomas intercepted possession to play Pat Finneral through on goal. His goalbound shot was parried well by Dibble in the Risca goal  but only into the path of Ioan Evans who drilled his shot home.

Risca created their first chance on 13 minutes as Jordan Thomas teed up a shot from outside the box but he couldn’t find the target and it flew wide

Risca were now getting their game together and getting a foothold in the game with some bright spells of possession in the middle of the park but they couldn’t penetrate the Lido defensive line.

Lido relieved the pressure to win a corner which Cai Owens flicked on but the Risca defence cleared the danger. Back came Risca as Jordan Thomas picked up a long ball out wide, brought it down with his first touch and drilled the ball goalwards but it just missed the far post.

Risca reduced the deficit with a goal on 32 minutes, a long ball over the top of the Lido defence was met by Ryan Wheeler who lobbed the advancing Steffan Rogers.  A minute later and it could have been all square. Leon Thomas was presented with an open goal from distance after a misplaced pass but Rogers scrambled to keep it out. Risca continued to push forward in pursuit of the equaliser and they had another opportunity when Gameson tried a shot from distance with Rogers out of position but he narrowly missed the target. More pressure from Risca saw Jordan Thomas pick the ball up on the edge of the box and take a speculative shot at goal which forced Rogers into a great save low to his left to keep it out. The Cuckoos were well on top and it was no surprise when they equalised.  They took a short corner and changed the angle of the delivery. Lido blocked the cross but in the ensuing scramble Ryan Wheeler poked home from close range. The chances were coming thick and fast for Risca, Taylor Marsh lined up a shot but he couldn’t keep his effort down. Just before the interval Risca hit the post, Wheeler twisted and turned through the Lido defence before unleashing a shot from a tight angle that rattled the woodwork. Lido have done well in the latter stages of the half to go in all square.

Risca came out firing and were camped out in the Lido half. Ben Keen was injured and replaced by Steve Morris on 53 minutes and two minutes later we regained the lead. Ioan Evans pounced on a misplaced back pass, carried the ball forward and from just outside the box fired home past the keeper.

Risca continued probing the Lido defence but so far they held strong.  On 68minutes Leon Thomas got on the right side of the Lido defence and, with the goal gaping, tried to lob the advancing Steffan Rogers and it took a great save to stop the equaliser

We then created a couple of half chances, substitute Jordan Edwards took a shot on goal but he was crowded out by the defence and his shot was collected easily by Dibble, Then another chance for Lido as Jay Thomas picked up a loose clearance from a corner at the back post but he couldn’t keep his shot down and it sailed over the bar. With 10 minutes to go Risca had a goal disallowed, Palmer nodded down into the path of Wheeler after some frenetic defending from Lido. Wheeler drove the ball home but the assistant referee flagged for offside. With 3 minutes to go a deep cross from the left found Arthur Furness at the far post but, unmarked, he couldn’t direct his header and the chance goes wide. There was four minutes of added time and somehow Lido have won, a frenetic half of football, marked by some significant Risca pressure and some resolute Lido defending sees a classic smash and grab.