Goytre United are one of five local teams bidding for places in the Shamrock Travel Cup quarter-finals tomorrow. The Port Talbot village side face Tredegar Town at Glenhafod Park, and like many other teams they will be missing cup-tied men.

Goytre have ruled out recent recruits Darren Lyons, Ryan Frankcomb and Michael Waters, but Carl Evans is available following suspension.

Holders Briton Ferry host Cardiff Corries and the Old Road side will be without Rob Cann, sent-off in the midweek West Wales Senior Cup quarter-final with Cwmamman.

The third round of the Shamrock Cup has thrown up a derby encounter at the Recreation Ground with second division rivals Pontardawe Town facing Garden Village.

Ponty, who have re-signed Richard Lewis from parks football in Carmarthenshire, have Marc Otten cup-tied while Ian Morgan has a one-match ban, but Paul Davey and Steve Devonald are both available for selection.

Garden Village have former Seven Sisters defender Paul Bromage cup-tied.

The other tie with local interest is being staged in Bridgend with Bryntirion Athletic involved in an all second-division encounter with Ammanford.

The Rice Roaders have ruled out new Barry recruit Gary Davies, along with Michael Donne and Tristan Lewis.

Gavin Morris, Steven Francis, Nathan Jones and top scorer Paul Hughes are available for selection, while managers Wyn Jones and Neil Rees hope Paul Jones recovers from a back injury.

In the league, Neath challenge Taffs Well at Rhiw Ddar, and could have Ashley Taylor back in their starting line-up, but Paul Carpenter is absent.

Maesteg Park, who entertain division one leaders Ton Pentre, are without centre-back John-Paul Jenkins, who this week broke an ankle in training.

But manager Andrew Rickard, who played in the 1-0 defeat against Goytre United last Saturday, is hoping to welcome back defenders Dale Gardner and Dave Blackwell.

In the second division, only three games survive with Seven Sisters and Morriston involved in crucial encounters.

Seven host Tillery, while Morriston, just two places above Seven in the table, face Merthyr Saints in Pant.

Third-division Cwmaman are at Blaenrhondda.

Meanwhile, Ystradgynlais manager Andrew Hopkins has some injury problems to mull over before naming a side to face Newcastle Emlyn away.

His son Craig is suffering from an Achilles problem while there are also doubts surrounding both Liam Soroka and Lancelot Davies.

TONY POOLE
 

Skewen Athletic beat Ely Rangers 3-1 on Saturday to remain fourth in the first division. But with the teams above them also winning, there was no change at the top, with Ton Pentre continuing to lead the way.

Skewen wrapped up their 13th league win of the season on the back of a three-goal blast inside the first 20 minutes.

A fifth-minute cross from Andrew Fairbairn set up a ninth goal of the campaign for Carl Mainwaring, and soon after Andy Hill collected his 17th goal of the season.

And recent acquisition Richard Ryan got his first goal for the club on the end of a bewildering run.

Though Ely responded midway through the second half, Skewen easily clung on.

Goytre Utd extended their unbeaten run to six matches with a narrow 1-0 victory over Maesteg Park at Tudor Park.

The Llynfi Valley side were left to count the cost of missed chances, with the game settled on an 87th-minute penalty.

Johnny Walkley was brought down in the box and substitute Ian Jones, who had come on five minutes earlier for Mark Dunford, obliged from the penalty spot.

Even then Maesteg had a chance to salvage a point, but Goytre goalkeeper Gareth Scantlebury made dramatic saves to deny both Lee Michael and Rob Walters.

But Briton Ferry's recent run of improved form came to an end at Coychurch Road, where they suffered a 4-1 loss against Bridgend Town.

Although Derek Jenkins gave Ferry the lead after eight minutes, Bridgend soon levelled via Ben Bannon.

A shot from Damian Daniels was then deflected past Ferry goalkeeper Chris Curtis, leaving Town 2-1 up at the break.

But Bridgend, who handed a debut to ex-Llanelli and Neath goalkeeper Huw Liddell, went on to boss the game and sealed victory with further goals from Philip Clark and substitute Nana Baah.

Neath also came unstuck on their travels, going down 3-0 against table-topping Ton Pentre.

Though the Llandarcy Park side created a catalogue of chances, it was the Bulldogs who had their tails up at half-time thanks to a Dwayne Mardenborough goal.

But as the game wore on so the heavy pitch suited Ton, and they wrapped things up via Ian Davies and Shaun Thackrell.

In the second division, leaders Pontardawe saw their home encounter with Aberaman called off owing to a waterlogged pitch.

That allowed Bryntirion, 3-1 home winners over promotion rivals Tredegar Town, to make up ground.

The Bridgend side were 2-0 up at the interval thanks to goals from Brandon Walters and Richard Jago.

A 14th goal of the season from Walters then took Bryntirion out of sight, while Tredegar signed off with a Sean Mainwaring penalty.

One of the day's surprise results saw high-flying Newport YMCA go down 1-0 at Merthyr Saints, but Pontypridd maintained contact with the frontrunners with a 4-0 home win over Morriston.

Ponty did the damage in the opening half, scoring all their goals during a period of dominance via Lewis Thomas, Ceri Harding, Jerome Jeremiah and Jamie Williams.

Fourth-placed Garden Village brought a four-match barren sequence to an end with a 2-1 win over lowly Tillery at Woodland Park.

Nicholas Romanello shot Village ahead, and substitute Philip John doubled the lead on the hour.

Tillery then pulled a goal back, and only a superb double save from goalkeeper Carl Howells allowed the visitors to cling on to the three points.

In the basement battle in the Dulais Valley, victory went to bottom-placed Seven Sisters, who beat Ammanford 3-1.

The Rice Roaders went into the game on a high, having obtained the signature of defender Gary Davies from Barry Town, and were boosted by the inclusion of striker Paul Fowler on dual registration from Camford.

But it was Seven who took an early lead through Nigel Westall, and it remained that way until Ammanford levelled with a 55th-minute Jamie Harris penalty.

But soon after Chris Herdman beat goalkeeper Craig Morris with a mishit shot, and his fifth goal of the season carried Seven to within two points of Ammanford.

In the third division, Cwmaman's home game with Risca & Gelli was called off, while Ystradgynlais lost 3-1 against Troedyrhiw at Ynyscedwyn Road.

The Swansea Valley side got off to a disastrous start, and after quarter of an hour they were not only 3-0 down but had also had Carl Evans sent off.

Andrew Miller gave them hope, netting just before the break, but they failed to make further inroads after numbers were evened up with the dismissal of Troedyrhiw's Owen McGill.

TONY POOLE
 

Fourth-placed Skewen Athletic have ex-Swan David D'Auria back for tomorrow's home encounter with Ely Rangers. D'Auria was due to sit out last Saturday's clash at Garw because of a slight hamstring pull, but the game was called off at the 11th hour.

However, Skewen manager Andrew Dyer will have to shuffle his resources at the back as Ian Vaughan misses the game through a ban.

Back in August, the Tennant Park side only just won the day, 3-2, at Station Road on the back of a late Andy Hill winner.

Briton Ferry, who climbed into seventh place following a 2-1 home victory over Barry Town last week, will be looking to redress the balance with Bridgend Town at Coychurch Road.

Bridgend won the midweek meeting between the clubs back in August 2-0, but Ferry announce a full-strength squad for the rematch.

The derby clash of the weekend will unfold at Tudor Park with Maesteg Park going head-to-head against Goytre United.

Four members of the United squad - Kevin Bartley, Mark Dunford, Ryan Frankcomb and Michael Waters - have previously represented the Old Parish club along with assistant manager Andrew Radford.

Goytre United have a full complement of players while new Maesteg manager Andrew Rickard has been unable to strengthen his squad, following the heavy 6-1 defeat last time out at AFC Llwydcoed.

Having seen their home midweek engagement with Garw called off because of wet weather, Neath head for table-topping Ton Pentre.

Paul Carpenter and Ben Davies sit out final suspensions while Neath manager Nigel Stevenson has brought in ex-Ystradgynlais defender Gareth Evans from Briton Ferry.

The weekend programme is launched tonight with Barry Town hosting Betws at Treforest.

The Dragons were last week given permission by the league management committee to play their remaining home matches at Port Talbot Town.

That plan fell through last weekend, but they have switched to Treforest as third-division Penrhiwfer have recently returned to Penrhiwfer Park.

In the second division, leaders Pontardawe Town are set to reintroduce centre-back Marc Otten from Barry Town against visiting Aberaman.

Otten was part of Llanelli's championship- winning side last winter before going to Barry in the summer.

However, Pontardawe will be without three key players against the Cynon Valley side - Ian Morgan, Geza Hajgato and Paul Davey.

Nearest challengers Bryntirion host Tredegar Town in the day's top match with Seven Sisters challenging Ammanford in an equally important basement battle.

Ammanford have gone five weeks without a game, which means Steven Francis still has a one-match ban to complete.

The Rice Road side will also be without top scorer Paul Hughes, who has a cruciate ligament complaint.

Morriston have Neil Simon back for their difficult task at Pontypridd, who are likely to retain the services of ex-Swansea City striker Jonathan Keaveny.

Garden Village, without a win in their last four matches, will be looking to get back to winning ways at lowly Tillery.

This will form a first visit to Woodland Field for Robert Lloyd's team, and they hope to have powerful defender Dave Rimmer back from an ankle injury.

In the third division, Cwmaman will be looking to build on a morale-boosting victory at AFC Porth when entertaining Risca & Gelli.

Ystradgynlais challenge Troedyrhiw at Ynyscedwyn Road, and hope to improve on the 3-3 draw they achieved at The Willows in August.

The Swansea Valley side have Andrew Miller back from a two-match suspension.

TONY POOLE
 

Striker Kevin Bartley made a goal-scoring debut for Goytre Utd in an exciting 3-2 home victory over Uwic in the first division. Bartley, signed earlier in the week from Afan Lido, was responsible for dragging the Port Talbot village side back into contention.

Having leaked two early goals, Bartley's effort at the start of the second half proved the turning point.

A good team talk also worked wonders as Goytre levelled in the 75th minute via Mark Dunford.

And with the students having been reduced to nine men, they conceded a late winner to Dunford.

However, championship-chasing Skewen Athletic were bitterly disappointed that their game against Garw at Blandy was called off.

Just before kick-off, with the players in the midst of their warm-up preparations, both sides were greeted with the shock decision.

Maesteg Park must have wished their game had been postponed after they went down 6-1 at second-placed AFC Llwydcoed.

Two goals from Chris Vardon and a John Mason strike saw the Cynon Valley side go in with a 3-0 advantage.

Rob Walters reduced the deficit on the restart, but two more goals from Vardon and another from Anthony Waters wrapped up an emphatic home victory.

Ton Pentre remain top after overcoming Gwynfi Utd 7-1 at Ynys Park, while the big shock came at Betws, who beat fancied Grange Quins 1-0.

Paul Penniket got the goal that separated the sides, leaving Ton two points clear of AFC Llwydcoed with Grange a further three points adrift.

Neath failed to improve their league standing with a 2-1 defeat by Caerleon at Llandarcy Park.

The Gwent side had the upper hand in the opening half and swept in front on the back of goals from Richie Shire and Chris Pearce.

Neath pulled one back through Richard Howell, and although they held sway during the closing stages, the damage had been done.

Second division leaders Pontardawe Town pieced together a sizzling first-half display in beating Caldicot 4-2 at the Recreation Ground.

First-half goals from Jamie Bowen, Layton Thomas and Ian Morgan left Ponty in the box seat, only for Tyrone Tucker to head Caldicot back into contention.

The home side then endured a rough ride before a 15th goal of the season from Bowen sealed victory.

Caldicot, the only side to beat the league leaders this term, had the final word via a penalty from ex-Ponty player Wayne Morley.

Bryntirion Athletic remain second, 16 points behind Ponty with two games in hand, following a 2-1 victory in a top-of-the-table clash with Garden Village at Stafford Common.

Johnny Fulton gave the Bridgend side the lead, with Jamie Evans restoring parity right on half-time.

The second half proved evenly contested, but ex-Porthcawl striker Jonathan Cuss settled the issue with an 85th-minute strike.

Morriston improved their chances of avoiding the drop with a much-needed 3-0 win over fellow strugglers Cardiff Corries at the Riverside.

Morriston, who were a goal up at the break, have shown improved form since the turn of the year, and assistant manager Dean Beniamous knocked in a hat-trick.

Ammanford's clash with Tillery at Rice Road was postponed owing to a waterlogged pitch, while Seven Sisters went under 2-0 at third-placed Newport YMCA.

Once again Seven turned in a plucky performance, only to be undone by goals either side of half-time from Aaron Stewart and Lewis Summers.

Porthcawl Town suffered a second home defeat on the trot, going down 2-1 against Penrhiwceiber.

The Seasiders dominated early on and it was against the run of play when goals from Robert Richards and Ian Booth lifted Penrhiwceiber into a 2-0-interval lead.

Mike Flanagan responded in the 75th minute, but the nearest Porthcawl came to salvaging a point was through a late Alan Morgan header.

In the third division, Cwmaman welcomed back Steven Williams, Aneurin Evans and Gary Davies in a surprise 3-1 victory at AFC Porth.

Williams, re-signed earlier in the month from Garden Village, scored with a penalty, while Gareth Jones and Jonathan Thomas supplied their other goals.

Ystradgynlais led 2-0 at Pentwyn Dynamos, only to be pulled back to 2-2.

Once again top scorer Craig Hopkins proved too hot to handle - he got both goals to advance his seasonal tally on to 19.

TONY POOLE
 

Goytre have signed striker Kevin Bartley and the ex-Afan Lido man is set to make a debut against Uwic at Glenhafod Park tomorrow. Bartley, who got six of Lido's 18 goals in all competitions this season, will boost a Goytre frontline that hasn't always fired on all cylinders this season.

Still only 28 years of age, the former Cardiff City apprentice has vast experience at Welsh League level having represented Pontardawe Town, Maesteg Park, Bridgend Town and Port Talbot Town.

Managers Craig Duggan and Andrew Radford are delighted to have beaten off opposition and signed a proven goalscorer.

The only other Goytre team news surrounds another ex-Lido man, Johnny Walkley, who returns to the squad having missed the 8-3 home win over Gwynfi last Saturday.

This weekend's programme gets under way tonight with Briton Ferry welcoming Barry Town to Old Road.

Barry, who have been barred from their Jenner Park ground because of rent arrears, were this week given permission by the league to play their remaining nine home games at Port Talbot Town.

Ferry, who will be bidding for a second league double of the season, could be without both captain Leigh Morgan and striker Kurt Tracey owing to hamstring pulls.

Fourth-placed Skewen visit Garw and they will be without David D'Auria, who damaged a hamstring during last Saturday's 2-0 success at Briton Ferry.

Neath have three players suspended for their home encounter with Caerleon - Paul Carpenter, Ben Davies and Ian Darvell.

However, manager Nigel Stevenson has brought in centre-back Mark Jones on loan from Llanelli, and has Chris Thomas back from suspension.

This forms the first of two important home games for Neath with Garw visiting Llandarcy Park on Wednesday.

Maesteg Park have Steve Conaty back from suspension for their tough assignment at AFC Llwydcoed, and new manager Andrew Rickard has signed striker Matthew Rae from Gwynfi.

In the second division, there are some important encounters involving promotion and relegation issues.

Top-of-the-table Pontardawe host the only side to beat them in the league this season - Caldicot.

Ponty have a fitness doubt-surrounding striker Layton Thomas, but both Steve Devonald and Simon Davies are back in the selection mix.

Fourth-placed Garden Village entertain the side two places above them, Bryntirion Athletic, and there is mixed news on the selection front for manager Robert Lloyd.

He will be without Dave Rimmer (ankle injury), but defender Andrew Bowden (Llanelli) might form one of several new men in his squad.

Survival points will be on offer as Ammanford challenge Tillery at Rice Road and Morriston take on Cardiff Corries at the Riverside.

Ammanford's only absentee will be Steven Francis, who has a one-match ban, while Morriston will be without Paul Edwards and Jonny Casey but Peter Osbourne returns.

Nigel Westall is back from suspension for Seven Sisters at promotion-seeking Newport YMCA, but the Dulais Valley side will be missing Shaun Lambert and Stuart Coope is set to deputise.

Third-division Ystradgynlais have signed striker Matthew Nottingham from Cwm Wanderers ahead of their clash at Pentwyn Dynamos.

Former Goytre defender Anthony Hartnall is once more available for selection while Dan Jenkins has returned from holiday.

Finally, Cwmaman travel to AFC Porth looking to improve on the goal-less draw they achieved against the Rhondda Valley side at Grenig Park back in August.

The Carmarthenshire side are set to re-introduce recent Garden Village acquisition Steven Williams.
 

TONY POOLE