The girls ended their home campaign with an excellent 3-2 win over Caerphilly Castle. Catherine Jones opened the scoring on 15 minutes. Macca McLoughlin equalised for the visitors on 25 minutes but Georgia Thorne restored the lead on 32 minutes.  She added a second and Lido’s third on 74 minutes with Claire Bartlett scoring with two minutes to go to set up a nervy ending but they held on to secure an excellent win against one of the better sides in the league.

Risca United needed a win and hope the results elsewhere were favourable if they were to avoid the drop. There were four clubs who could potentially be relegated, Trefelin, Ammanford, Cwmbran Celtic or Risca United. Risca had the dream start taking the lead on six minutes when Morgan Stead found himself through on goal after a defensive error to give the visitors the lead. Two minutes later they should have scored again as Leon Thomas shot from the edge of the area but the ball went narrowly wide. It was all Risca at this stage as the Lido struggled to cope with the speedy Risca attack. Matthew Thomas tried a speculative shot which forced Aaron Jones into making a great save parrying the ball behind for a corner. After 10 minutes Lido had their first chance when Liam Griffiths turned his man and shot at goal but it was collected well by the Risca keeper. On 12 minutes Risca created another opportunity as Matthew Thomas stole in front of the defence and tried to chip Aaron Jones but the Lido keeper spotted the danger and tipped the ball over the bar. After 17 minutes another chance for Risca as Matthew Thomas again picked his way through the Lido defence to take a shot unchallenged but he couldn’t direct it on target and it crept wide. It took the Lido almost half an hour to come to terms with Risca but again on 33 minutes Leon Thomas took a speculative shot from distance which forced Aaron Jones into making yet another great save.

Half time arrived with everyone amazed the Risca only led by the one goal but at the time it was enough to keep them up. On the hour Morgan Stead with a volley from outside the box narrowly fizzed over the bar. After all the chances Risca had created they were undone on 68 minutes by a set piece, Chris Jones played in a free kick and it was headed in by Sean Hanbury who planted it into the top corner giving the keeper no chance. Mike McCalmon almost gave the Lido the lead on 75 minutes as he turned the defender and tried to slot the ball into the net from a tight angle but it was turned behind by the Risca keeper. From the corner the Lido took the lead, Cai Owens rose above the defence to head the ball into the top corner. This deflated Risca who now needed two goals to be safe. Understandably their intensity dropped  but they still put late pressure on the Lido but some resolute defending and brave goalkeeping from Aaron Jones maintained the score.

The girls drew 2-2 yesterday with Cwmbran Celtic who lead the table. Lido took the lead on 7 minutes through Carly Mason-Thomas and Georgia Thorne made it 2-0 after 13. Celtic missed a second half penalty but scored twice in added on time to secure a vital point.

Two second half goals secured a second derby win and our place in the Cymru South League with other results also going our way. Lido welcomed back Ioan Evans following a few weeks on the injured list and he set up the first opportunity after 2 minutes when he crossed the ball in to Sean Hanbury whose flick was well saved by James Donnelly in the Port Talbot goal. Port Talbot then created a golden opportunity when Liam Reed shot from close range only for Aaron Jones to make a save the ball rebounding to Jenson Cory but Aaron closed him down and the ball squirmed away. Another chance for Lido on 8 minutes when Chris Jones played Sean Hanbury in, he toe pocked it under Donnelly but Garrett gets back to clear off the line. Aaron Jones was again in action on 12 minutes with a fantastic save off Liam Reed managing to turn the ball behind for a corner. On 23 minutes Sean Hanbury headed wide following a Chris Jones free kick. Josh Webber replaced the injured Owen Williams on 26 minutes and took his place wide right. On 41 minutes Sean Hanbury picked up a through ball and shot from distance but the ball went just wide. A goalless first half but plenty of action. The early chances in the second half fell to the Lido with Matthew Beynon heading a corner wide, and Liam Griffiths firing over the bar from distance after spotting Donnelly of his line. For some reason around the hour mark the Port Talbot defence started panicking and played themselves into trouble. Ioan Evans had just put a chance into the side netting before Lido scored, an Evans close range volley was brilliantly saved by James Donnelly but the ball fell to Sean Hanbury and he netted from close range. Worse was to follow for the home side when they needlessly gave away a penalty which Chris Jones blasted in. It went from bad to worse for Port Talbot when Logan Bowkett was shown a second yellow and so they had to play the final 23 minutes with 10 men. Ioan Evans forced another save from Donnelly who again excelled saving from Chris Jones from close range. This win ensured we remain in the Cymru South and leaves four teams still in the mix for the final relegation spot.