A much changed and youthful side lost 5-0 at Garden Village on Sunday. With a number of the side now involved with the first team some of the younger players are stepping up to take their places and gain experience of Youth Football.

We played out a 1-1 draw with neighbours Goytre United with both sides reduced to 10 men in the first half. Referee Gavin Townsend issued 2 yellows and 2 reds inside the first 26 minutes of what is traditionally not a feisty derby.

Lido were without Kaid Mohamed and Jack Hurley to add to the injured Sacha Walters and suspended Lewis Holmes. Steve Morris and Jamie Karnsang started.

Lido went behind on 9 minutes following a corner, it was played to the 6 yard line, Steve Cann stood rooted to the spot, no-one went with Adam Robbins allowing him a free run and he planted a firm header into the net. We struggled to get into the game which was littered with free kicks until we won a corner on 21 minutes which Sean Hanbury headed wide. Brad Flay tried a snap shot which went just over the bar but there were now signs we were getting into the game. On 26 minutes a Goytre attack saw Alex Gammond pick up his second yellow and our one man advantage had gone. Morgan Freeman had to replace the injured Patrick Finneral on 36 minutes. On 38 minutes Josh Jones was played in but Steve Cann made a fine block to deny the visitors a second goal. Brad Flay then cleared a Keane Watts shot from a corner as the visitors pursued a second goal before the interval. Despite those chances it was Lido who scored in added on time in the first half. Noah Daley equalised with a left footed shot after Luke Probert failed to hold a cross.

On 51 minutes a misplaced Liam McCreesh pass set up Josh Jones on a run to goal but with only Steve Cann to beat he shot over the bar. Again, the half was littered with free kicks but as the half progressed, we started to find some momentum and Sean Hanbury shot over the bar from just inside the area with 13 minutes to go. In the final stages however we were struggling to clear our lines, Goytre picked up virtually every clearance and immediately put us back under pressure but we held out for a share of the spoils thanks to a  post coming to our aid with 2 minutes to go as a shot beat Cann but hits the far upright.

This was one of our poorest performances for some time. There were basic errors all over the pitch and it took a first goal for James Parry on 35 minutes to give us the lead. Caerau Ely bottom with 2 points and without a point away always looked as though they could get something out of the game but they let themselves down in the final third.

After 2 minutes Caerau broke down their right and played a cross into the box but there was no-one in support to score but it was an early warning. Jack Hurley with a great tackle won the ball and found Liam McCreesh but he shot wide from a favourable position. Two breaks involving Patrick Finneral, one saw his cross held by the keeper, the second his shot was headed away by a defender but was crossed back in to Liam McCreesh who again shot wide. On 20 minutes only a great tackle in our penalty area by James Parry denied the visitors a goal scoring opportunity. More Lido pressure saw Kaid Mohamed in on goal but he could only shoot at the keeper and the chance was lost. Caerau responded with a corner and another attack down the right after they cleared a Lido free kick. It was down to another fine piece of defending by James Parry to again deny Caerau who had grown in confidence as the game wore on. Brad Flay tried his luck on 33 minutes but his shot went just wide. Then on 35 minutes Lido took the lead, it followed a corner which was won by Patrick Finneral and the corner was perfectly placed for James Parry to net his first goal for the club and crown a fine first half for him. Right on half time we played ourselves into trouble at the back but the Caerau player could only head the ball over the bar.

We failed to heed that warning as Caerau equalised within the first minute of the restart. We lost the ball on the edge of their area and a long ball forward on the strong wind caught us out allowing Ben Vincent the chance to level the scores. We pushed forward looking to re-establish our lead and Kaid Mohamed combined well with Brad Flay before shooting wide. Sean Hanbury played the ball wide to Liam McCreesh whose cross was headed wide by Brad Flay. The next attack following a corner saw Sean Hanbury head the ball at the keeper. Caerau Ely broke from deep and Ben Symons defended solidly to clear the danger. Sacha Walters replaced Patrick Finneral on 67 minutes and 4 minutes later we regained the lead. Again, we played the ball wide and Sean Hanbury’s cross was over the defence for Liam McCreesh to run on to it and score from a couple of yards. From the kick off Kaid Mohamed played Noah Daley in but the keeper was out quickly to close him down and block his shot. Noah returned the compliment for Kaid with a great ball inside the defender but Kaid rushed his shot and it went way over the bar. We continued to push forward looking for a third to see out the game but Brad Flay shot over the bar then Noah Daley, Kaid Mohamed and Liam McCreesh all had half chances in the box but we couldn’t get in a clear shot. The series of misses continued with Sacha Walters and Kaid Mohamed failing to hit the target inside the last 10 minutes. In added on time we almost scored what would have been a howler for the keeper. He kicked the ball against Kaid Mohamed and the ball rebounded inches over the crossbar of the unguarded net.

No game next week and so it’s on to play the double header against Goytre United, the first at home on Saturday December 28th  at 2.30pm.

On a glue pot of a pitch where good football went out of the window we still created more than enough chances to have won the game but two contentious penalties one of which they scored saved a point for the home side

We should have had the ideal start, a poor pass from a Pontypridd defender set up Kaid Mohamed who was in acres of space. He got into the penalty area but chose to shoot early and it was an easy save for the keeper. Alex Gammond was on the end of a Lido free kick but the ball hit him and went through to the keeper. Play was end to end but not in a good way because of the pitch the ball spent a lot of time in the air. On 20 minutes we cleared a Pontypridd corner up to Noah Daley, he squared the ball to Brad Flay whose shot was blocked by a defender. Then on 23 minutes the ref awarded a penalty, we were clearing a corner and the ball hit Kaid Mohamed. No one appealed for a penalty but they weren’t able to take advantage of this gift and Steve Cann dived to his right to push the ball away for another corner. On 42 minutes we played the ball forward to Noah Daley, he held the ball waiting for support. Kaid Mohamed couldn’t quite gain possession but Brad Flay did and he shot wide from the edge of the box.

Pontypridd should have taken the lead on 49 minutes when they attacked down the right and crossed the ball into the box. Somehow from only a couple of yards the striker could only hit Steve Cann’s legs and we cleared the ball. Patrick Finneral was unlucky not to score on 53 minutes. He received the ball 40 yards out and headed for goal but the keeper guessed right and saved his shot. We took the lead on 69 minutes, Alex Gammond played the ball wide for Noah Daley who played the ball into the box for Brad Flay to shoot and score from 15 yards. In a similar incident to Pontypridd’s penalty we looked to have one but the referee thought otherwise, to rub salt into the wound Pontypridd go down the other end and are awarded another penalty. This time they scored although Steve Cann again went the right way but the ball went under his body into the net. To add further insult Alex Gammond received a second yellow card for his protest. Despite being a man down we looked the more likely to win the game but Kaid Mohamed must have left his scoring boots at home! With 10 minutes to go he was set up by Noah Daley but from 15 yards fired his shot over the bar. Then following a Lido corner which had been cleared to Ben Symons we again found Kaid in the box but again from a good position he shot wide. A late Pontypridd corner gave them some hope but we finished on the front foot looking for a late winner. A disappointing result however where despite creating some good chances we failed to hit the target and add to the one goal

A superb second half performance where we scored 5 unanswered goals saw us comfortably beat second placed Llanelli Town.

On yet another night of Sandfields rain and wind we played well in the first half but failed to turn our chances into goals but all that changed after the break. Bradley Flay netted his first league goal  to open our account, Kaid Mohamed scored his tenth with Noah Daley, Sacha Walters and Patrick Finneral completing the scoring.

After a quiet opening Kaid ,Mohamed had the first chance of the game but the keeper dived to turn his shot behind for a corner. Out of nothing Llanelli took the lead on 16 minutes following a throw on the left side. There seemed no danger when the throw was taken finding James Loveridge but his shot from outside the area beat the diving Steve Cann. He had the chance to double the lead on 18 minutes but under pressure from Ben Symons he could only shoot weakly at Steve Cann. Looking to get back into the game Noah Daley went down the right and crossed for Kaid Mohammed but he was adjudged offside and the chance was lost. Again, a right wing cross was whipped across the face of the Llanelli goal but it was too strong and no-one could turn it in. The wind was playing havoc on any long ball which more often than not ended up out of play. On 43 minutes Sacha Walters played a great ball across for Sean Hanbury but his header went just wide.

Lido came out in determined fashion at the start of the second half and Noah Daley beat his marker and squared the ball for Kaid Mohamed but he could only shoot at the keeper. Then on 54 minutes Lewis Holmes met a corner which deflected off the Llanelli keeper onto the crossbar and was cleared but the equaliser wasn’t long in coming. From another corner the ball was played to Bradley Flay who from just inside the area hit an unstoppable shot for his first league goal for the club. We continued to take the game to Llanelli and Kaid Mohammed gave us the lead on 63 minutes. He played a 1-2 in the box with Noah Daley and hit a right footed shot from 10 yards. Three minutes later Noah Daley beat the offside trap to latch on to a long ball over the defence and ran 40 yards and shot past the keeper as he came out. On 70 minutes it was 4-1 following a great team move which involved pass after pass it was left to Kaid Mohamed to set up Sacha Walters who shot over the keeper for possibly the goal of the season. It got even better minutes later when Noah Daley set up a chance for Patrick Finneral and his shot beat the Llanelli keeper for his first league goal of the season. Kaid Mohamed then forced a fine save from the Llanelli keeper to deny us a sixth.