The main priority in a cup game is to make sure you are in the hat for the next round and that’s what we achieved. However the performance was way below the level we reached the week before against Ammanford. We barely created a chance certainly in the first half.

Aberbargoed should have gone ahead after 3 minutes when they played Thomas Gameson in on goal but Steve Cann pulled off a fine save with his feet. In the early stages Aberbargoed played with plenty of confidence and looked dangerous when they attacked. In contrast the Lido were struggling to get any game time in Aberbargoed’s half. Another chance fell to Aberbargoed on 16 minutes when McDonnell seized on a Lido error and played the ball forward for Shane Brewer who forced Steve Cann to tip his shot over the bar. The bulk of the play was in the Lido half and the Lido’s passing was often wayward allowing Aberbargoed to push forward. Then on 25 minutes a rare Lido attack saw the ball played into the box and the referee awarded a penalty for hand ball. Kaid Mohamed stepped up to take it but Cael Jones saved his penalty, luckily for Kaid the ball rebounded to him and he calmly slotted the ball into the net to put the Lido one up. Aberbargoed continued to take the game to the Lido and were again unlucky when a shot from a free kick went just over the crossbar.

Aberbargoed started the second half where they ended the first, on the front foot and it was no surprise when they equalised on 50 minutes through Craig McDonnell who was proving a thorn in our side with this display. Ironically Lido could have been two up but Liam McCreesh’s shot was saved and within seconds McDonnell had scored. Credit Steve Cann who saved the shot but it had too much power and trickled into the net. This was no more than Aberbargoed deserved but it was the Lido who scored what turned out to be the winner on 59 minutes. Jack Hurley played a free kick into the box and Kaid Mohamed just beat Cael Jones to the ball to head it past him. Aberbargoed should have been back on level terms 5 minutes later, Steve Cann went racing out of his area but didn’t win the ball, it was played into the Lido area but Owen Thomas was unable to turn the ball into the empty net so another chance went begging. Neither side were able to gain an advantage as the game wore on, Noah Daley had come on from the bench and he easily beat his defender but Cael Jones saved his shot. Deep into added time Steve Cann turned a shot away for a corner, all the Aberbargoed players came up for the corner but the Lido defence cleared the ball. It was played wide left and an Aberbargoed player’s cross hit the crossbar and thankfully fell to a Lido defender who calmly knocked the ball forward with the sound of the final whistle seconds away.

The Youth won on penalties at Garden Village in the Welsh Youth Cup match. They led 2-0 at the interval with Noah Daley netting both. Village came out and equalised within two minutes of the second half before taking the lead on 58 minutes with a penalty. We levelled on 75 minutes through an own goal and regained the lead on 82 minutes with a third Noah Daley goal. Village equalised on 90 minutes to take the game to extra time and scored again on 92 minutes to go 5-4 up. Noah Daley added his fourth on 110 minutes to restore parity and neither side could find a winner. We won 6-5 on penalties with Jack Davies saving two Village penalties. Our penalty scorers were, Noah Daley, Craig Lewis, Toby Link-Jones, Myles Perkins, Morgan Gardner and Sam Hill

This was an entertaining game played in monsoon conditions with both sides adapting well to the conditions while referee Ben Williams also had an excellent game. Steve Cann returned in goal for the Lido while there was a first appearance of the season after injury for James Parry. Liam McCreesh stood down after a family bereavement

First chance of the game fell to the Lido after 2 minutes but Sean Hanbury’s shot went just wide. Ammanford responded with a fierce shot from 8 yards which Cann saved the ball going out for a corner which was played to out to an Ammanford player who from 25 yards unleashed a fierce shot which went inches wide.  Lido took the lead on 11 minutes, Kaid Mohamed had the ball wide left and drilled a low cross across the face of the goal. Sean Hanbury was on hand to turn the ball into the net.  Kaid Mohamed then found space on the edge of the box turned and shot but Morris in the Ammanford goal saved it with his legs. Lido kept up the pressure and Alex Gammond headed just wide from a Lido free kick. Lee Trundle for Ammanford made ground down the right and crossed the ball in but the resultant shot somehow went wide with only Cann to beat. Alex Gammond then did well to block another shot as Ammanford looked for an equaliser. In their next attack Lido again cleared a shot off the line. Ammanford were then awarded a penalty for a handball by James Parry but Steve Cann saved Lee Trundle’s spot kick with the ball going for a corner. Just ahead of half time Kaid Mohamed set up Brad Flay but Morris in the Ammanford goal made an excellent save turning the ball over the bar for a corner.

Ben Symons played the ball wide for Noah Daley who cut in and shot but he couldn’t keep the shot down and the ball went over the bar. Again, Kaid Mohamed played Noah Daley in but again in a repeat of his first effort the ball went over the bar. Ammanford were awarded a free kick just outside the area but from a good promising position Lee Trundle’s shot went high and wide. On the hour Ammanford thought they had their equaliser but Steve Cann did well to save on the line. Again, Noah Daley from a good position shot wide. Play was end to end as both sides looked for different reasons to get a goal. The Lido defence was getting some great blocks in to deny the Ammanford attack. Lido got the decisive second goal with 5 minutes to go, Noah Daley slipped while in possession but Kaid Mohamed picked up the ball and from a wide angle fired the ball into the empty net. Lido pushed forward again to look for a third goal from Sean Hanbury’s shot drifted just wide.

The Youth defeated Goytre United 5-4 way in their latest league match. Having gone behind on 13 minutes Morgan Freeman equalised on 16 before Jay Thomas gave us the lead on 23. Morgan Freeman added his second on 40 minutes to give us a 3-1 interval lead. He then completed his hat trick on 64 minutes and Jay Thomas added his second on 76 minutes to put us 5-1 ahead. There was a tense final 15 minutes however as Goytre scored on 75, 80 and 86 to make it 5-4 but we held on for an excellent result made all the better as we went into the game without a keeper. Jack Davies is on holiday and new signing Cameron Boe broke his wrist over the weekend, our third keeper Kieran Burridge who was last year’s number 1 was unavailable so well done to Toby Link-Jones who volunteered to go between the sticks.

We recovered from the shock of conceding an early goal to win 3-1 with all the goals coming in the first half. With Steve Cann still injured Gareth Couch continued in goal.

We went behind after 3 minutes, an attack down the Monmouth right saw the ball crossed in low for Sam Oxley to turn it in from close range. The pace and movement of the Monmouth forward line was causing us problems early on. While not out of the game we were struggling to find an end product in front of goal, Kaid Mohamed picked up a loose ball and drove at the Monmouth goal but with only the keeper to beat he shot straight at him. That however stirred us into action and Noah Daley had a powerful shot tipped over for a corner with Lewis Holmes heading wide amid calls for a hand ball by the Monmouth defence. Kaid Mohamed was again in on goal but the keeper tipped his shot away for a corner, Sacha Walters beat a couple of defenders but could only shoot at the keeper. With pressure building on the visitor’s defence we drew level, Noah Daley beat his marker and shot, the ball hit the post and rebounded to Sacha Walters who made no mistake from close range. We won the ball from the restart, Noah Daley again went down the left, crossed the ball into the area but no-one could turn it in to the net. Ben Symons played a great ball wide to Noah Daley, again he easily beat his marker, his shot hit the post and rebounded to the keeper. With 5 minutes to half time we could have gone behind, we over played it at the back, lost possession but Gareth Couch made a fine save. We were guilty of this a couple of times before the interval but each time Couchie saved us. He made a terrific double save when the odds were on a Monmouth goal, we played the ball forward and Liam McCreesh played the ball in for Noah Daley to score. So, from looking at a 2-1 down less than a minute later we were 2-1. Just to make it worse for Monmouth Brad Flay scored his first goal for the club to make it 3-1 at the interval.

There was a quiet start to the second half but Gareth Couch again saved on 51 minutes. On 64 Minutes Monmouth cleared a Lido corner and broke quickly but once again Gareth Couch foiled the visitor’s attack. They now dominated possession for a period of time but failed to hit the target with any meaningful shots. With 15 minutes to go Kaid Mohamed played a square ball for Sacha Walters but his shot went over the bar. Monmouth responded with an attack but again shot over the bar. Noah Daley beat his marker and played a low ball across the box for Bradley Flay who got a touch with the goal at his mercy but the ball was cleared. Patrick Finneral played the ball wide for Kaid Mohamed who also crossed the into the 6 yard area, this time Liam McCreesh failed to turn the ball into the net. In added on time Kaid Mohamed went in on goal, rounded the keeper but was tackled deep in the area with the referee waving away appeals for a penalty. A good cup tie played in a good spirit with Monmouth by no means overawed.

Lack of fire power on both sides ensured a low scoring draw. Kaid Mohamed returned to the side after his holiday but he started on the bench while Gareth Couch deputised for the injured Steve Cann.

Neither side could gain the initiative and on 12 minutes Liam McCreesh played the ball wide for Sacha Walters who won a corner on the right. Noah Daley couldn’t get over the cross and only succeeded in heading over the bar. Celtic responded with a through ball for full back Richard Crees but Gareth Couch was out to claim the ball just ahead of him. Kieran Parsons and Sacha Walters combined to set up a shooting chance for Parsons but his shot from 12 yards was held by Scott James in the Celtic goal. Celtic attacked again but Zach Osborne could only head a cross over the bar. Lido lost possession from their free kick Alex Gammond got back to pass it back to Gareth Couch but he under hit it, luckily Couch managed to clear the danger. Further Celtic pressure resulted in a shot going over the bar from the edge of the box. Sacha Walters went on a good run beating a couple of defenders who had both tried to foul him with the ref playing advantage. However, Sacha then fouled when in a promising position and the chance was lost. Some sloppy defending by the Lido saw Louis Feeley in on goal but his shot was wells saved by Gareth Couch. Then virtually on half time Celtic took the lead, another long ball saw Gareth Couch come out to the edge of the area with no obvious danger about. Somehow, he dropped the ball at the feet of Chris Ham who gratefully shoots into the empty net.

Kaid Mohamed replaced the injured Kieran Parsons for the start of the second half and he was immediately in the action combining with Brad Flay and winning a corner which we headed wide. In the early stages of the second half Lido were playing some good football but couldn’t find a killer touch in the area. Too often crosses or through balls found the opposition rather than a red jersey. Then on the hour a through ball saw Kaid Mohamed run on to it and from inside the box scored with the ball going in off the post. A couple of minutes later Mohamed is again in on goal but his shot sees James dive to his right to turn the ball behind for a corner. The corner taken short saw Sacha Walters shoot, again forcing a save from James. The third corner however was too close to the keeper and he had no problem collecting the cross to relieve the pressure. As the half wore on it became more scrappy with numerous free kicks spoiling the flow of the play. One free kick from 25 yards out in front of goal saw Sacha Walters fire over the crossbar. Sean Hanbury had a shot which hit a defender and rebounded to the keeper and then from a Lido corner Celtic broke at pace. Ben Symons held up the attacker until Lido regathered but Celtic still managed to get a shot away but it went over the bar. Two minutes from time Sacha Walters found Kaid Mohamed he laid the ball off for Liam McCreesh who forced a smart save out of James in goal.

The Youth cup tie against Caldicot Town was won in the first 18 minutes when Jay Thomas netted our fourth goal. Patrick Finneral had opened the scoring with goals in the 10th and 11th minutes with Morgan Freeman adding a third on 13. Caldicot had actually started quite well forcing us into a couple of defensive mistakes but once the goals started flowing there was no doubting the winner. Several chances went begging before on 45 minutes full back Myles Perkins crossed from the left touchline, the Caldicot keeper misjudged it and it sailed into the back of the net for his first goal at this level.

Toby Link-Jones bundled in a corner on 51 minutes to make it 6-0 and Morgan Freeman made it seven with a right footed shot from just inside the area. There were no more goals but we kept a clean sheet and introduced some more players to this level of football.