GWENT WEEKEND PREVIEW

3 April 2015

from Terry Daley

HOSTS Aberbargoed Buds and Chepstow Town kick off the weekend action on Friday with a crucial derby clash of which several other promotion-seeking clubs will be keen to discover the result.

Friday - kick off 7.30pm.

Division Two (figures in brackets relate to table positions of 16).

Recreation Ground: Aberbargoed Buds (3) v Chepstow Town (9).

The promotion issue rumbles into another round of fixtures with Aberbargoed still in pole position to secure first-time promotion back to the top flight.

Will have leading scorer Tom McCarthy available again after he missed last weekend's fine, 1-0 away success over second-placed Caldicot Town.

Chepstow's form going into this clash is poor with seven defeats from their last eight league outings and there's little doubt they will start as massive underdogs.

However they are due a decent result and it's not unknown for the high-flying hosts to slip up against lesser-placed opposition.

Form guide:

Aberbargoed Buds: W L W W L W

Chepstow Town: L W L L L L

Saturday - all 2.30pm kick offs.

Division One (figures in brackets relate to table positions of 16).

Pen-Y-Pound Stadium: Monmouth Town (6) v Aberdare Town (10).

Monmouth's chances of a successful defence of their top-flight title are all but over following their 1-0 away mid-week defeat at the hands of Haverfordwest County.

The Kingfishers pressed hard late on, but in hitting a post and seeing the home goalkeeper make a first-class save meant they couldn't quite earn a draw.

The outcome meant there was no fourth consecutive win and with just six matches remaining, it now appears they are only playing to retain their current table position.

Five wins from their last six outings has all but guaranteed Aberdare's top-flight status and that sort of form is light years away from the 8-1 home defeat by Monmouth in mid September,

Form guide

Monmouth Town: W L W W W L

Aberdare Town: W W W L W W

Rhiw Dda'r: Taffs Well (8) v Goytre (9).

Four defeats in five has more or less put an end to Goytre's hopes of a top-four finish and they are 18 points adrift of that position with only one game in hand.

Their only win during that sequence of games was 2-0 at home against Taffs Well on March 7, when striker Craig Moses netted twice to reach his current league tally of 13.

Scoring goals has been a huge problem all season for Goytre, whose tally of 40 is the lowest in the division's entire top 12.

Taffs Well moved seven points clear of Goytre on Tuesday night, when they emerged 3-0 home victors over relegation-threatened Pontardawe Town.

Form guide:

Taffs Well: L L W L W W

Goytre: W L W L L L

Division Two (figures in brackets relate to table positions of 16).

Cold Bath Road: Caerleon (14) v AFC Llwydcoed (11).

A mini revival of two games unbeaten following the arrival or several experience recruits has been negated by three defeats on the trot for relegation-threatened Caerleon.

It leaves them second from bottom and five points from safety, although they have played two matches less than 13th-placed Penrhiwceiber Rangers.

A lack of goals has been the problem, although while only the team immediately below them, Dinas Powys, have scored less goals - 31 as opposed to 30 - Caerleon have conceded less than the whole of the bottom nine.

The visitors will be seeking a fourth consecutive victory and one of their three previous wins was 1-0 at Croesyceiliog on March 7.

Form guide:

Caerleon: L W D L L L

AFC Llwydcoed: W L L W W W

Woodland Road: Croesyceiliog (10) v Barry Town United (champions).

Croesyceiliog appear destined to achieve a mid-table end to their campaign, which has been something of a tough trek because of inconsistency.

However they do go into this clash on the back of a 0-0 home draw with Cwmbran Celtic which followed a fine, 3-1 away win over Llanwern.

But they will most certainly want to do far better than they 6-0 loss they suffered at Jenner Park against Barry Town United in mid February.

The champions will begin as clear favourites to secure the three points, but they'll also be aware they last time they hosted a Gwent club they slipped to their only league defeat - 3-1 by Undy Athletic.

Form guide:

Barry Town United: D W L W D W

Croesyceiliog: W L L L W D

Station Road, Wenvoe: Ely Rangers (16) v Cwmbran Celtic (6).

It really is quite amazing that Celtic keep drawing games, yet remain in the hunt for promotion - although what they require from this match will depend on the outcome of Friday's Aberbargoed v Chepstow clash.

Celtic have been beaten only once in their last 18 outings, but have won only six of those and have earned parity in their four previous games - the last two ending 0-0.

Manager Della Cheedy's team are bidding for a win double having seeing off Ely 4-1 at Celtic Park back in late February - after the capital side had led 1-0 at the break.

Given the relegation-threatened hosts have lost eight games on the trot, it's clear they will begin as huge underdogs and dare I write it, but a draw is also no good to them either!

Form guide:

Ely Rangers: L L L L L L

Cwmbran Celtic: D W D D D D

Glasbrook Field: Penrhiwceiber Rangers (13) v Llanwern (4).

Llanwern have done very well to climb to fourth position following a poor start to the season, but are at a disadvantage of having only five fixtures remaining.

They are the same amount of points adrift of the third and final promotion spot and the three teams below them, Risca United, Cwmbran Celtic and Undy, all have games in hand from which to overtake them.

They have recently re-signed defender-midfielder Liam Screen from Division Three side Lliswerry and defeated Penrhiwceiber 1-0 at home on the final day of February.

The hosts are in the first safe position above the drop zone having lost five of their last six league fixtures and among those was a 4-2 defeat at Aberbargoed Buds.

Form guide:

Penrhiwceiber Rangers: L L W L L L

Llanwern: W L W D L W 

The Causeway: Undy Athletic (7) v Dinas Powys (15).

Two victories, including becoming the only team to beat champions Barry Town United, plus a draw from their previous three games have given Undy a sniff of promotion.

But they are, however, outsiders to go up and will need to rely on others above them to trip up fairly badly between now and the end of the campaign.

Nonetheless, the building blocks are in place to build on for the 2015-16 season, when Undy could well be one of the teams challenging for a place in the top flight.

This, though, won't be easy as Dinas Powys have recently lifted themselves off the foot of the table with successive 2-1 and 4-1 home wins over Caldicot Town and Caerleon respectively.

Form guide:

Dinas Powys: L L L L W W

Undy Athletic: L L L W D W

Pri-Deri Park, Mayhill: West End (8) v Risca United (5).

Unbeaten-in-six Risca are another of those teams whose recent good form has given them an entry into the promotion race.

They trail third-positioned Aberbargoed by five points and also have an inferior goal difference, with each club having seven matches left.

Have scored 14 times in putting together their undefeated run with Tony Wallis heading their scorers' list with 11 while Dave Hurley and Kyle Williams have eight and seven respectively.

West End had been near the top three for most of the season, but have slipped down the table as a result of other clubs winning matches in hand.

Form guide:

West End: L L L L W D

Risca United: W D W D W W

Division Three (figures in brackets relate to table positions of 18).

Recreation Ground: Ammanford (3) v Treowen Stars (14).

If it's three to be relegated out of the league, then Treowen still have a bit of work to do to get completely away from the danger zone.

They are half a dozen points better off then second-from-the-bottom Bettws, although they do start on the back of a fine 3-2 away triumph at county rivals Lliswerry.

Ricky Amos' goal total for the campaign has now reached double figures, but you'd think he or at least one of his colleagues would have to score here if Treowen are to gain a positive result.

After something of a blip, Ammanford have recovered enough to be searching for a fifth successive victory and they look nailed on to gain first-time promotion back to Division Two.

Form guide

Ammanford: L D W W L W W W W

Treowen Stars: W W W L L W 

Riverside Ground, Radyr: Cardiff Corinthians (5) v Newport Civil Service (17).

NCS's 4-0 away defeat at table-topping Llanelli Town on Wednesday means they remain one from the bottom on goal difference only from Treharris Athletic Western.

Both teams have an minus goal difference of 43 and 44 respectively, but Treharris have scored more goal than NCS - 29 as opposed to 17.

NCS still have 14 matches remaining in which to claw themselves away from the relegation area, but they really do need to start winning matches sooner rather than later.

The hosts, who've yet to draw a league game, seemed a good bet to go up at one stage, but only two wins from their last seven fixtures has blunted their bid.

Form guide:

Cardiff Corinthians: L W L W L L

Newport Civil Service: W W L L L L

Mount Pleasant Park, Beddau: Cwm Welfare (9) v Tredegar Town (4).

Tredegar's chances of gaining Division Two football next campaign weakened again in mid-week, when their closest rivals, Cwmamman United, won 5-0 against Lliswerry at Spytty Park.

It takes Cwmamman above Tredegar on goal difference (plus 28 v plus 19) with the west Walians having two matches in hand.

All was going well for Tredegar until a recent 4-0 home loss to mid-table side Pontypridd Town, although they still have 30 points to play for.

Cwm have won just twice in their previous eight games, although they have enough points for a mid-table conclusion to the season.

Form guide:

Cwm Welfare: L L W L W D

Tredegar: W L W W W L

Spytty Park: Lliswerry (6) v Pontypridd Town (8).

Lliswerry's comprehensive 5-0 home defeat at the hands of promotion rivals Cwmamman United gives the impression they will again be playing lower-level football next season.

The unexpected outcome means it is now only five wins from 13 and although they do still have as many as nine matches left to re-ignite their chances of going up.

They are actually just six points adrift of Cwmamman, but now simply must win this clash and will be seeking to over turn a 2-0 defeat at Pontypridd in early February.

Pontypridd are chasing a top-six finish, although they'll have to improve on a run of five without a win if they are to achieve that status.

Form guide:

Lliswerry: L W L D L L

Pontypridd Town: W L D L D L

Mendalgief Road: Newport YMCA (13) v Caerau (15).

A sequence of four unbeaten and just one defeat in six has YMCA in the verge of retaining their league status for at least one more season.

It was touch and go for quite a while, but certainly the 11 goals scored by Nial Simmons has gone a long way towards YMCA current position.

Should they emerge victors from this encounter, it will be their 10^th win of the campaign and will give them a points total of 32 from 27 fixtures.

The visitors are just above the danger area and nine points behind YMCA and since winning two games in a trot, have not won any of their last five matches.

Form guide:

Newport YMCA: W L D W D W

Caerau: W L L D L D

Panteg House, Griffithstown: Panteg (12) v Rhoose (7).

Panteg moved up a place above Newport YMCA on Tuesday evening, when goals from Luke Dyke and Chris White earned them a 2-2 home draw against mid-table Llantwit Major.

That is a position in the table Panteg are quite capable of ending the campaign, although manager Mark Taylor will wish for the return to the fray of the majority of his long injury list.

On their day, Rhoose are capable of holding their own against any team in the division and are still in with an outside chance of going up - although there are more clubs better placed.

Form guide

Panteg: W L W D L D

Rhoose: L W L D W W

GWENT MID-WEEK ROUND-UP

2 April 2015

from Terry Daley

THERE was precious little to celebrate for local a quartet of local clubs from mid-week fixtures, which produced three defeats and a draw for Panteg.

In Division One, late Monmouth pressure against hosts Haverfordwest County, they hit a post and forced a brilliant save from the home goalkeeper, counted for nothing as they went down 1-0 to leave them sixth.

It was even worse in Division Three as both Lliswerry and Newport Civil Service slipped to heavy reverses - the former 5-0 at home to promotion rivals Cwmamman United and the latter 4-0 at table-topping Llanelli Town.

Lliswerry remain in sixth spot, but it now seems highly likely there will be no Division Two football for them in 2015-16.

NCS remain in 17th position on goal difference above bottom-placed Treharris Athletic Western.

Meanwhile Panteg were forced to recover from a 2-1 deficit to earn a point from a 2-2 against visiting Division Three rivals Llantwit Major on Tuesday night, when Luke Dyke and Chris White netted their goals.

GWENT WEDNESDAY PREVIEW

1 April 2015

from Terry Daley

Division One (figures in brackets relate to table positions of 16).

Bridge Meadow Stadium: Haverfordwest County (5) v Monmouth Town (6) - kick off 7.30pm.

It would appear there are at least three teams above them who are more favoured to take over as champions from Monmouth, although The Kingfishers are seeking a fourth win on the trot.

Player-boss Andrew Smith's side kept clean-sheets in winning all of their three previous games, earning a 2-0 victory at Ton Pentre before securing respective 1-0 and 2-0 home triumphs over Briton Ferry Llansawel and Ton again.

Monmouth, who have no selection worries, will start 16 points behind new leaders Caerau (Ely), who took over at the top from Penybont as a result of Tuesday's 4-1 away win at Ton Pentre.

When these teams met at Monmouth's Pen-Y-Pound Stadium HQ in Abergavenny in late August, Haverfordwest took the honours with a 2-0 victory and the west Walians were last in action on March 21 when they lost by the same score at Briton Ferry Llansawel.

Form guide:

Haverfordwest County: W L D D W L

Monmouth Town: L W L W W W

Division Three (figures in brackets relate to table positions of 18).

Stebonheath Park: Llanelli Town (1) v Newport Civil Service (17) - kick off 7.45pm.

NCS found themselves moving off the foot of the table last Saturday, even though they didn't play - Treharris Athletic Western's 7-1 defeat at Ammanford pushing them to down to the basement position.

Here they will be minus defender Gareth Wysome and forward Dave Mellon, who are both suspended, plus unavailable midfielder Jac Hardman is while several other squad members will face fitness tests.

Because of that, NCS face a huge task to gain a positive result with Llanelli Town bidding for a quick-fire win double having beaten them 4-1 at their Shannon Close home ground in Bettws on March 21.

Llanelli Town are inching closer to promotion to the second tier, have dropped only 15 of a possible 78 points and are the division's leading scorers with 85 goals in 26 outings.

Form guide:

Llanelli: W W L W W W

Newport Civil Service: L W W L L L

Spytty Park: Lliswerry (6) v Cwmamman United (4) - kick off 7.45pm.

Lliswerry's hopes of gaining entry to Division Two for the first time took a blow last weekend with a 3-2 home defeat at the hands of county rivals Treowen Stars.

It all means boss Adam Corfield's side is half a dozen points adrift of third-positioned Tredegar Town, so this is close to being a 'must-win' match-up.

Victory will take Lliswerry above Cardiff Corinthians into fifth spot in the table and that would put them just two points of third place - although they'd have played a game more than Tredegar Town.

Corfield will be unable to call on several players because of injury and work commitments against visitors, who ended a three-match run without a win by beating Cardiff Corinthians 2-0 at home.

Form guide:

Lliswerry: W D L W L D

Cwmamman United: W W L D D W

GWENT TUESDAY PREVIEW

31 March 2015

from Terry Daley

Panteg House, Griffithstown: Panteg (13) v Llantwit Major (10)

Panteg have played only 20 games because of postponements and an abandonment and that has left them only nine points above the drop zone - provided it's three to be relegated.

They now face a hectic 14-games-in-46-days run-in, although manager Mark Taylor's troops do have many matches in hand and on the positive side, are 17 points off the third and final promotion spot currently held by county rivals Tredegar Town, who have played four more fixtures.

Panteg, whose very lengthy injury list has been the root cause for them winning only two of their last 12 league games, were last in action on March 21, when visitors second-positioned Ammanford won 2-0.

Llantwit Major were beaten 3-1 at Mendalgief Road by hosts Newport YMCA last weekend, the outcome leaving the Vale of Glamorgan outfit 10^th and they will start three points ahead of Panteg, who have played as many matches less.

Form guide:

Panteg: L W L W D L

Llantwit Major: L L W L W L

GWENT SATURDAY ROUND-UP AND GWENT GOALSCORERS (LEAGUE ONLY)

30 March 2015

from Terry Daley

ABERBARGOED Buds posted a crucial Division Two win over promotion rivals Caldicot Town while only Undy Athletic of the chasing pack managed to secure victory.

In Division Three, Lliswerry's hopes of going up took a massive hit with a home defeat by county rivals Treowen Stars while in the top flight, Goytre were beaten for a third successive time.

Caldicot entertained Aberbargoed at their Jubilee Way HQ in second versus third clash with each side starting on the back of defeats - the former losing their 14-match unbeaten record to lowly Dinas Powys and the latter slipping up at Risca United.

However after a largely forgettable encounter, a Scott Armitage goal on 68 minutes was enough to earn the visitors a deserved 1-0 triumph to move them 13 points behind Caldicot and with three games in hand.

Armitage fastened onto a through ball inside the penalty area to beat home goalkeeper Ben Davidson from 10 yards to settle the contest and he needs just one more goal to reach double figures.

Only in the final 10 minutes did Caldicot come into the game and went close to equalising on a couple of occasions, but it simply wasn't their day as Aberbargoed moved closer to a first-time return to Division One.

Aberbargoed won minus leading scorer Tom McCarthy, although it's hoped he will be available for selection on Friday when Chepstow are the visitors to the Recreation Ground.

Despite their second successive reverse, Caldicot are still favourites to go up with already-promoted Barry Town United, who secured the divisional title with a 5-2 home success over Penrhiwceiber Rangers.

Behind Aberbargoed are Llanwern and Risca, who both had their games postponed, Cwmbran Celtic, who drew 0-0 at Croesyceiliog, and Undy - 4-0 away victors over Chepstow Town.

Celtic's result was the 13^th time in only 23 league fixtures they finished a game all square and they remain in sixth position with Croesyceiliog moving up one to 10^th.

Undy's goals in that routine win over Chepstow were scored by Tom Hooper (2) and Gareth Cullimore, who now has 14 league goals to his credit this season.

They elevated themselves above Swansea-based West End into seventh spot and still have an outsiders' chance of going up to the top flight for the first time.

Relegation-threatened Caerleon had Liam Head netting in a 4-1 away defeat at Dinas Powys and the results means they remain second from the bottom of the 16-strong section.

In Division Three, Lliswerry hosted Treowen on their 3G surface at Spytty Park, where they fell 3-0 behind via goals from Scott Jones, Shane Brewer and Ricky Amos, who took his campaign league goal tally to 10.

Lliswerry did strike back with a couple of Safian Skupinski efforts, but the defeat leaves them six points adrift of the third and final promotion spot currently held by not-in-action Tredegar Town.

Treowen's win gives them every hope of eventually attaining a mid-table finish and the same can be said of Newport YMCA.

They posted a fine, 3-1 home success over Llantwit Major at Mendalgief Road where their goals were scored by Mo Hassan (2) and Nial Simmons (penalty), the latter scoring for the 11^th time in 2014-15.

Remarkably, Newport Civil Service are off the bottom of the 18-strong division - despite not kicking a ball in anger after their game at Tredegar was called off because of a water-logged playing surface.

Treharris Athletic Western's 7-1 away defeat at the hands of second-placed Ammanford pushed them down onto the basement spot with an inferior goal difference than NCS.

Division One, Goytre remain ninth after having only a Josh Bull penalty to show for in a 2-1 home defeat by Briton Ferry Llansawel while Monmouth Town's away game with lowly Pontardawe Town was postponed.

The Kingfishers are next in scheduled action on Wednesday, when they make the long trip to face Haverfordwest County.

Gwent goalscorers (League only)

UNDY'S Gareth Cullimore was the highest-placed scorer on Saturday, when his brace in a 4-0 home success over visiting Chepstow took him onto 14 for the season - nine behind leading marksman Josh Brown, of Lliswerry.

23 - Josh Brown (Lliswerry).

19 - Tom McCarthy (Aberbargoed Buds).

17 - Zac Osbourne (Croesyceiliog).

15 - Leo Ross (Chepstow Town).

14 - Gareth Cullimore (Undy Athletic), Jason Thorn (Caldicot Town).

13 - Nick Harrhy (Monmouth Town), Matthew Hibbs (Llanwern), Craig Moses (Goytre).

12 - Jon Butcher (Panteg), Dan MacDonald (Monmouth Town), Ian Pettit (Tredegar Town).

11 - Tomas Lynch (Tredegar Town), Niall Simmons (Newport YMCA), Tony Wallis (Risca United). 

10 - Ricky Amos (Treowen Stars), Steven Hughes (Tredegar Town).  

9 - Scott Armitage (Aberbargoed Buds), Olly Beckett (Undy Athletic), Dale Cook (Lliswerry), Matthew Flynn (Llanwern, including seven for Pontypridd Town), Dan Hooper (Llanwern), Nic Hooper (Llanwern), Hishi Lama (Croesyceiliog, including one for Chepstow Town).

8 - Daniel Battle (Risca United, including six for Tredegar Town), Josh Bull (including two for Monmouth Town), Dominic Connor (Cwmbran Celtic), Dave Hurley (Risca United), Dan Saunders (Caldicot Town), Luke Lewis (Cwmbran Celtic).

7 - Jamie Davies (Caerleon), Gareth Delve (Llanwern), Luke Dyke (Panteg, including one for Croesyceiliog), Tom Hooper (Undy Athletic), Richard Sharratt (Caldicot Town), Dan Stoneman (Lliswerry), Kyle Williams (Risca United) 

6 - Ben Davies (Undy Athletic), Elliot Evans (Monmouth Town), Liam Head (Caerleon), Jordan Jones (Llanwern), Josh Jones (Tredegar Town), Derice McLean (Newport Civil Service - no longer with club), Ben Taylor (Panteg), Luke Thomas (Cwmbran Celtic).

5 - Josh Collier (Risca United), Mark Dunn (Caerleon, including three for Chepstow Town), James Francis (Caerleon), James Martin (Newport YMCA), Matt Prosser (Goytre), James Young (Goytre).

4 - Michael Bishop (Llanwern), Aaron Colwill (Risca United), Lewis Coote (Treowen Stars), Dan Edwards (Lliswerry), Chris Ham (Monmouth Town, now of Carmarthen Town), Joe Howells (Lliswerry), Chris Jones (Treowen Stars), Andrew Larcombe (Cwmbran Celtic), David Lloyd (Caldicot Town), Jordan Maisey (Aberbargoed Buds), Mark Organ (Chepstow Town), Stephen Parfitt (Treowen Stars), Craig Price (Treowen Stars), Chris Quinlan (Tredegar Town), Dean Randall (Treowen Stars), Liam Shaw (Aberbargoed Buds), Safian Skupinski (Lliswerry).

3 - Wayne Antoniazzi (Aberbargoed Buds), Jamie Arnold (Croesyceiliog), Tom Berry (Newport Civil Service), Dan Clouth (Croesyceiliog), Luke Cueto (Caerleon), Marc Curtis (Llanwern), Gary Evans (Treowen Stars), Max Fessey (Lliswerry), Elliott Ford (Monmouth Town), Nathan Hardwick (Newport YMCA), Mo Hassan (Newport YMCA), Ryan Hayward (Croesyceiliog), Kirk Hicks (Panteg, including three for Lliswerry), Craig Lewis (Chepstow Town), Rhys Luffman (Lliswerry), Tre Marrett (Newport YMCA), Paul Michael (Risca United), Sam Rushworth (Chepstow Town), Jordan Ryan (Panteg), Gyles Thompson (Undy Athletic) Tom Wise (Panteg).

2 - Paul Clayton (Undy Athletic), Owen Cook (Cwmbran Celtic), Richard Crees (Cwmbran Celtic), Lloyd Dando (Treowen Stars), Josh Evans (Treowen Stars), Louis Feeley (Chepstow Town), Luke Fernquest (Croesyceiliog), Marc Gunter (Newport Civil Service), Jordan Harding (Goytre), Matt James (Caldicot Town), Alex Jenkins (Newport YMCA), Rhys Jones (Aberbargoed Buds), Kazeem Kareen (Lliswerry), Ben Lawrence (Newport YMCA), Liam Macan (Tredegar Town), Lee Mason (Panteg), Gavin Meacham (Aberbargoed Buds), Calum Miles (Goytre), Joe O'Brien (Newport YMCA), Nick Potts (Chepstow Town), Mitchell Slape (Caldicot Town), Kieron Thomas (Aberbargoed Buds), Elliott Williams (Aberbargoed Buds), Jon Williams (Panteg), Ben Wotton (Caerleon).

1 - Jack Alderdice (Monmouth Town), Adam Alkysi (Tredegar Town), Gareth Appleby (Panteg), Josh Ball (Tredegar Town), Michael Baugh (Cwmbran Celtic, no longer with the club), James Barnes (Undy Athletic), Tom Barry (Llanwern), Gareth Bennett (Caerleon, including one for Chepstow Town), Joe Bidgood (Newport YMCA), Mike Binning (Undy Athletic), Steven Boucher (Lliswerry), Daffyd Brewer (Aberbargoed Buds), Shane Brewer (Treowen Stars), Gareth Cleverly (Newport Civil Service), Jacob Cross (Aberbargoed Buds), Simon Crook (Caldicot Town), Tom Dando (Cwmbran Celtic), Ben Davies (Monmouth Town), Nathan Davies (Goytre), Aysa El-Doory (Newport Civil Service), Yousif El-Doori (Caerleon), Alex Evans (Goytre), Ben Evans (Monmouth Town), Gary Evans (Treowen Stars), Joe Gibson (Lliswerry), Dean Goddard (Newport YMCA), Lewis Grant (Chepstow Town), Jordan Harding (Goytre), Jack Hardman (Newport Civil Service), Jack Harvey (Chepstow Town), Luke Harris (Treowen Stars), Craig Hewitt (Tredegar Town), Rhys Hodges (Cwmbran Celtic), Sam Hunt (Monmouth Town), Luis James (Panteg), Robbie James (Llanwern), Tommy James (Treowen Stars), Ashley Johnson (Lliswerry), Grant Jones (Treowen Stars), Luke Jones (Cwmbran Celtic), Scott Jones (Treowen Stars), Sean Feeley (Cwmbran Celtic), Jason Lewis (Newport YMCA), Scott Lewis (Caerleon), Owen Llewellyn (Cwmbran Celtic), Will McConnell (Caldicot Town), Craig McDonnell (Aberbargoed Buds), Nick McGrath (Croesyceiliog), Steffan Marchant (Croesyceiliog), Nick Maynard (Llanwern), Ryan Meek (Treowen Stars), Dave Mellon (Newport Civil Service), Adam Meredith (Tredegar Town), Gavin Millar (Panteg), Lee Morgan (Newport Civil Service), Dale Morris (Llanwern), Ian Morris (Tredegar Town), Mark Morris (Croesyceiliog), Lewys Nash (Aberbargoed Buds), Sam Oakley (Caerleon), Ashley Palmer (Chepstow Town), John Pardue (Newport YMCA), Rakesh Patel (Cwmbran Celtic), Marcus Power (Undy Athletic), Tyla Preece (Aberbargoed Buds), James Price (Tredegar Town), Anthony Richards (Croesyceiliog), Leigh Sharp (Risca United), Richie Shire (Lliswerry), Jack Sinderby (Croesyceiliog), Andrew Smith (Monmouth Town), Richard Stansfield (Chepstow Town), Alex Stewart (Newport YMCA), Lewis Sweetland (Newport Civil Service), Mathew Thomas (Risca United), Simon Truman (Goytre), Alex Waters (Caerleon), Jake Wainright (Goytre), Ben Watson (Caerleon), Jack Wellington (Croesyceiliog), Steve Wilson (Caldicot Town), Ben Wotton (Caerleon), Joel Worgan (Tredegar Town).

CLEAN-SHEETS:

12 - Caldicot Town.

8 - Tredegar Town

7 – Lliswerry; Monmouth Town.

5 - Aberbargoed Buds; Cwmbran Celtic; Goytre; Panteg; Undy Athletic.

4 - Chepstow Town; Risca United.

3 – Caerleon; Croesyceiliog; Llanwern; Newport Civil Service; Newport YMCA; Treowen Stars.

FEBRUARY MANAGER OF THE MONTH AWARD

27 March 2015

Francis Ford (right), Manager of Penybont receives the February Nathaniel Car Sales Welsh League Manager of the Month Award from Mr Wayne Griffiths, Managing Director, Nathaniel Car Sales Limited, the League's main sponsor, this evening.

During the month Penybont achieved four victories in four Division One matches, scoring 19 goals and conceding four.

Congratulations Francis!

GWENT SATURDAY PREVIEW

27 March 2015

from Terry Daley

THE race for places in next season's Division One has never been tighter as only nine points separate Aberbargoed Buds in third position and Croesyceiliog in 11^th place - with five other local clubs sandwiched in between.  

Saturday - kick offs 2.30pm.

Division One (figures in brackets relate to league positions of 16).

Plough Road: Goytre (9) v Briton Ferry Llansawel (7).

There was a stage when these teams were touted as outsiders to lift the championship, but playing records of only two wins from their last nine and seven games respectively means they are now playing only for mid-table respectability.

Goytre have been beaten three times in four league matches and their 39-goal tally is the lowest in the division's entire top 11 - yet the 35 goals conceded is the best in the bottom eight.

Player-boss Carl Evans' men reached the Gwent FA Senior Cup final on Wednesday with a 4-1 last-four win over Division Three club Panteg at Newport Stadium, where Craig Moses (3) and Matthew Prosser scored their goals.

BFL have actually improved of late with two wins from three, although a repeat of the 1-1 scoreline when the team met in mid February would not be surprising.

Form guide:

Goytre: D W L W L L

Briton Ferry D D L W L W

Recreation Ground: Pontardawe Town (15) v Monmouth Town (6).

Five wins from their previous seven outings places defending champions Monmouth 14 points adrift of table-topping Penybont, although there are several sides above them more fancied to secure the title.

Nonetheless player-manager Adrian Smith's troops can still finish as high as third or fourth and most certainly the basics are in place for him to build upon for next season.

Smith made a rare appearance as a substitute and scored from the penalty spot during The Kingfishers' 3-1 home success over Pontardawe last last month and his side will start here on the back of three successive clean-sheets.

Despite last Saturday's fine 2-0 home triumph over Goytre, the hosts remain in deep relegation trouble having accumulated only 15 out of a possible 69 points.

Form guide:

Pontardawe Town: L D L L L W

Monmouth Town: L W L W W W

Division Two (figures in brackets relate to league positions of 16).

Jubilee Way: Caldicot Town (2) v Aberbargoed Buds (3).

These clubs are favourites to join already-promoted leaders Barry Town United in Division One next season - yet both will begin having to return to winning ways following a defeat.

Caldicot surprisingly lost their 14-game unbeaten run when going down 2-1 at bottom-placed Dinas Powys last Saturday, when Aberbargoed slipped to a 3-1 reverse at county rivals Risca United.

A Caldicot success would leave them on the verge of going up while a victory for the visitors will life extremely difficult for the chasing pack.

Only Barry Town United and Llanwern have scored more than Aberbargoed's 54-goal total while Caldicot are the clean-sheet kings having kept 12 in 25 league outings.

Form guide:

Caldicot Town: D W W W W L

Aberbargoed Buds: D W L W W L

Woodland Road: Croesyceiliog (11) v Cwmbran Celtic (6).

As usual, this Cwmbran derby is expected to be a keenly-contested affair with Croesyceiliog seeking to build on a fine display in winning 3-1 at Llanwern last time out.

Should be better off as well for the return from suspension of top scorer Zac Osbourne and victory here could see them move up a couple of places.

Draw-experts Celtic were at it again on Wednesday, when they held already-promoted leaders Barry Town United, who had a man sent off, 0-0 at Jenner Park and here striker Luke Thomas returns from a ban.

Here, you can chose your own preferred stat: Celtic have been beaten only twice in 22 starts or Celtic have won only eight of 22 games - the price of drawing an amazing 12 times!

Form guide:

Croesyceiliog: L W L L L W

Cwmbran Celtic: D D W L D D

The Murch, Sunnycroft Lane: Dinas Powys (16) v Caerleon (14).

If two are to be relegated to Division Three, then Caerleon are currently a couple of points clear of the drop zone and with matches in hand over all around them.

But if three are to eventually go down, they they are five points from safety because of a poor record of only one victory from their last 10 outings.

The one positive note is the 43 goals conceded in 22 league games is the least in the bottom eight and up until last Saturday, they may have been clear favourites to secure a win here.

However the hosts became the first club in 15 to defeat second-placed Caldicot Town, winning 2-1, and suddenly this encounter looks far more likely to end in parity.

Form guide:

Dinas Powys: W L L L L W

Caerleon: L L W D L L

Ty-Isaf Park: Risca United (5) v AFC Llwydcoed (10).

Not so very long ago, a fifth successive defeat had some Risca officials and followers privately expressing the view that another loss would mean the side becoming embroiled in the relegation dog-fight.

How times have changed because 14 points from the last 18 on offer has made player-boss Paul Michael's unbeaten-in-six troops being marked down as outsiders for promotion.

The turnaround continued on Tuesday, when efforts from Dan Battle and Matthew Thomas plus an own goal earned a 3-0 triumph at lowly Ely Rangers - although centre back Josh Hales serves the third of a five-game ban.

The visitors are in the same boat as Risca form wise because they have from posted three consecutive victories and appear certain to soon confirm their divisional status for another season.

Form guide:

Risca United: W D W D W W

AFC Llwydcoed: W L L W W W 

Sports Ground, Margam: Tata Steel (12) v Llanwern (4).

It seems odd to write about a team which won its last game 7-2 away, that its record of picking up only half of the last 24 points appears almost certain to cost them the chance to play top-flight football in 2015-16.

Llanwern will start here only a couple of points adrift of third place, but they have played three more matches than Aberbargoed and have only five fixtures remaining.

Nonetheless as long as the maths add up, manager Gareth Morgan will demand nothing less than 100 per cent - although here they face one of the division's most in-form teams.

Tata looked relegation fodder until some new signings helped start a run of just one defeat in 11 and they look well capable of eventually achieving a mid-table end to the campaign.

Form guide:

Tata Steel: L W D W W W

Llanwern: W L W D L W

The Causeway: Undy Athletic (8) v Chepstow Town (9).

Having become the first club this season to defeat champions-elect Barry Town United, Undy would have been seeking more than a 1-1 home draw with Cwmbran Celtic last weekend.

However a run of two without defeat is certainly far better than the previous record of a trio of successive losses and you could argue it's those reverses which will eventually mean no promotion for Undy.

Chepstow are in the middle of a very poor run of results of only two wins from 11 and it all came to a head last Saturday, when they were thrashed 7-2 at home by Llanwern.

Moral has certainly taken a big hit, but, thankfully, they have enough points on the board not to become embroiled in the battle to stay in the division.

Form guide:

Undy Athletic: W L L L W D

Chepstow Town: L L W L L L

Division Three (figures in brackets relate to league positions of 18).

Grenig Park, Glanaman: Cwmamman United (4) v Panteg (12).

A very lengthy injury list has caused havoc with Panteg's promotion push and it seems certain they will now have to settle for another season at this level in 2015-16.

They do still, however, have as many as 14 league fixtures remaining and there is no reason why boss Mark Taylor's side can't end the campaign in the top six.

Their latest outing came in mid-week when they slipped out of the Gwent FA Senior Cup at the semi-final stage in being beaten 4-1 by Division One side Goytre at Newport Stadium.

Cwmamman have hardly set the world alight recently with only one win in four and certainly this is a match which promotion-seeking Tredegar will be very keen to discover the outcome of.

Form guide:

Cwmamman United: W W L D D W

Panteg: W L W D L

Spytty Park: Lliswerry (6) v Treowen Stars (14).

Lliswerry are just half a dozen points off third position and are definitely still in contention to go up, although they simply can not afford to lose this local match-up.

Have suffered recently through several suspensions to key players, including striker Josh Brown - who with 23 goals leads the list for those players attached to Gwent clubs.

Treowen lost their last two matches having won three on the trot previously and they need to gain some more positive results if they are to eventually finish in a mid-table spot.

Are the bottom seven's top goalscorers with 35 from 21 league outings with Ricky Amos needing one more to reach double figures for the campaign.

Form guide:

Lliswerry: W D L W L D

Treowen Stars: D W W W L L

Mendalgief Road: Newport YMCA (13) v Llantwit Major (10).

With just one defeat from their last five matches, YMCA are gradually easing themselves clear of the drop zone and they still have 11 matches left.

Unbeaten-in-three, they have, in general, suffered through a lack of goals, although Nial Simmons now has 10 to his credit.

This fixture is a quick-fire return of the clubs' March 14 clash at Llantwit, when a last-minute Simmons penalty earned YMCA a 1-0 win.

The visitors have since won 2-1 away against lowly Treharris Athletic Western and previous to that defeat by YMCA, were same-scoreline winners at Newport Civil Service.

Form guide:

Newport YMCA: L W L D W D

Llantwit Major: W L L W L W

Sports Complex: Tredegar Town (3) v Newport Civil Service (18). 

Promotion contenders Tredegar couldn't have chosen a worse time to put in what was, arguably, their worst display of the season in crashing 4-0 at home to mid-table visitors Pontypridd Town on Wednesday night.

The defeat ended Tredegar's three-match winning streak and here they will be minus Ian Pettit, Liam Macan and James Price.

NCS are bottom of the whole pile and unless they start winning soon, then then a return to the Gwent County League is inevitable.

Having explained that, I back them to eventually gain the points to secure their league status and doubtless they will take great heart from Tredegar's mid-week reverse.

Form guide:

Tredegar: W L W W W L

Newport Civil Service: L W W L L L

GWENT MIDWEEK ROUND-UP

25 March 2015

from Terry Daley

Tuesday

Barry Town 0 Cwmbran Celtic 0.

Celtic dropped one place to fifth after failing to defeat 10-man and already-promoted Barry Town United, who had Barry Briers sent off before the interval for deliberate handball at Jenner Park.

Before he departed on 28 minutes, Briers provided the free kick from which team-mate Ryan Evans struck Celtic's crossbar.

As the interval approached, Dominic Connor, Adrian McGuire plus Andrew Larcombe all wasted reasonable goalscoring chances for the visitors.

And indeed after it, Connor spurned his side's the best opportunity when he drove over the target after accepting a Larcombe pass.

However with only five minutes remaining, two Barry Town United players tried to walk the ball into an empty net when a shot from either of them would probably have brought a goal (source, Cwmbran Celtic).

Some other facts are the 0-0 scoreline was Jenner Park's first since a game against Cambrian & Clydach three season ago (source, Barry Town United twitter) while Celtic's clean-sheet was their first in 11 matches since the same scoreline result at Caldicot Town on January 31.

It was also the first time they had failed to score since that game and the draw was, remarkably their 12^th in just 22 league matches - yet they are still in contention for promotion.

They trail third-placed Aberbargoed Buds by just four points with each club now having only eight fixtures remaining.

On Saturday. Aberbargoed visit second-placed Caldicot while Celtic travel the very short distance across Cwmbran to take on Croesyceiliog.

Ely Rangers 0 Risca United 3.

This result means unbeaten-in-six Risca have taken 14 points from the last 18 on offer and it moved them above county rivals Cwmbran Celtic into fifth position.

They are now only a couple of points behind the third and final promotion spot held by Aberbargoed, although Risca have played a game more.

Efforts from Dan Battle, Matthew Thomas and an own goal accounted for the win as Risca won for the 12^th time in 23 starts and are at home to AFC Llwydcoed on Saturday.

Ely remain one from the bottom and are next in action on April 4, when they are scheduled to entertain Cwmbran Celtic.

Wednesday

Division Three:

Tredegar Town 0 Pontypridd Town 4.

Tredegar couldn't have chosen a worse time to put what was, arguably, their worst display of the season in crashing to the mid-table visitors.

The defeat ended Tredegar's three-match winning streak while Pontypridd's success called a halt to a four-games-without-a-win sequence.

Tredegar remain in the third and final promotion spot and are in home action again on Saturday against visiting bottom-placed Newport Civil Service while Pontypridd, who moved above Panteg into 11^th position, are on the road again at table-topping Llanelli Town.

Gwent FA Cup, semi final:

Panteg 1 Goytre 4.

Division One Goytre reached the final after a fairly comfortable victory over their bottom-tier county rivals under the floodlights at Newport Stadium.

Goytre moved in front on nine minutes when striker Matthew Prosser scored at the far post from a James Young cross and the rest of their total was made up by a hat-trick from his fellow-marksman, Craig Moses.

Goytre will now face either Tredegar Town or Monmouth Town, who play their semi final at Tredegar on Wednesday, April 8 - kick off 7.30pm.

Goytre return to top-tier action on Saturday by hosting Briton Ferry Llansawel while Panteg resume Division Three duties at Cwmamman United.

GWENT WEDNESDAY PREVIEW

25 March 2015

from Terry Daley

Division Three (figures in brackets relate to table positions of 18):

Sports Complex: Tredegar Town (3) v Pontypridd Town (11) - kick off 7.00pm.

Five wins from their last six league fixtures has put Tredegar in pole position to clinch third place and victory here will mean they will have six-point lead over chasing pair Cwmamman United and Cardiff Corinthians.

Cwmamman will then have three games in hand, but their recent form has hardly been inspiring and certainly Tredegar now have an excellent opportunity of regaining the Division Two status they lost at the end of the 2009-10 campaign.

Tredegar report they have a full squad available for this encounter with player-boss Gareth Harbord keen to see Ian Pettit and Tomas Lynch add to their current 12 and 11-goal totals respectively.

All looked well for Pontypridd when they posted wins over higher-placed sides Cardiff Corinthians and Ammanford, but they have since not won in four and will start following last Saturday's 1-1 away draw at Caerau.

Form guide:

Tredegar: W W L W W W

Pontypridd Town: W W L D L D

Gwent FA Senior Cup, semi final:

Newport Stadium: Panteg v Goytre - kick off 7.30pm.

PANTEG seek to bridge a two-divisional gap to appear in the final while Goytre will see this competition as a chance to end what has been something of a disappointing season by picking up silverware.

Manager Mark Taylor reports his side were minus six regulars for almost every game since Christmas and this was the case when losing 2-0 at home to Ammanford last weekend.

His injury list is now plus another three following that game with the loss of central defenders David Gabbidon and Jon Williams (both injured) and striker Luke Dyke (cup tied).

Although nowhere near the problems of Taylor, Goytre player-manager Carl Evans also has selection issues and will give fitness test to himself and experienced midfielder Simon Truman - the pair having picked up knocks in last weekend's 2-0 defeat at Pontardawe Town.

However goalkeeper Nicky Thomas will return after missing the last two league outings and the winners will face either Tredegar Town or Monmouth Town, who play their semi final at Tredegar on Tuesday, April 7 - kick off 7.30pm.

GWENT TUESDAY PREVIEW

24 March 2015

from Terry Daley

Division Two (figures in brackets relate to table positions of 16):

Jenner Park: Barry Town United (1) v Cwmbran Celtic (5) - kick off 7.45pm.

After drawing for the 11^th time in 21 starts last Saturday, when they held hosts Undy Athletic 1-1, there may be some in the Celtic camp who may well take parity if it were offered right now.

Barry Town United earned promotion to Division One on the same day as a result of winning 4-1 at Caerleon and remain beaten only once, 3-1 at home to Undy recently, in 25 league fixtures.

Should Celtic emulate Undy's achievement, then they would go up one place and above Llanwern on goal difference and would be just two points adrift of third-placed Aberbargoed - with each club then having eight games remaining.

Six-goal Luke Thomas is again unavailable as he serves the second of a three-match suspension, Owen Cook and Rhys Hodges could make squad returns while the one-game bans of Barry Town United's Damon Searle and Lewis Cosslett have now been completed.

These sides met at Celtic Park on February 28, when it ended 2-2 - Jamie Bradford and Ryan Evans putting Barry 2-0 up by the eighth minute with comeback goals from Luke Lewis and Owen Cook rescuing a point for Celtic

Form guide:

Barry Town United: W W D W L W

Cwmbran Celtic: W D D W L D

Station Road, Wenvoe: Ely Rangers (15) v Risca United (6) - kick off 7.30pm.

Risca's unbeaten five-match run has re-ignited their promotion bid, although they'll probably have to win five of their six remaining matches to stand any chance of going up.

A win here against the relegation-threatened hosts would put player-boss Paul Michael's men only two points off third-placed Aberbargoed - although they will have played one more fixture.

On the team-news front, defender Matthew Russell's three-match suspension is over, but centre back Josh Hales will serve the second of a five-game ban.

Skipper and full back Leigh Sharp is also available again after missing two outings because of work commitments, although goalkeeper Mark Mears is an injury doubt because of suspected cracked ribs.

Risca will start on the back of last Saturday's fine 3-1 home triumph over Aberbargoed, when goals from Tony Wallis (penalty), Kyle Williams and Dave Hurley accounted for the visitors.

Ely have endured a nightmare campaign and have lost their last seven league games, including last Friday's 3-1 home defeat at the hands of AFC Llwydcoed.

Form guide:

Ely Rangers: L L L L L L

Risca United: L W D W D W

GWENT SATURDAY ROUND-UP AND GWENT GOALSCORERS (LEAGUE ONLY)

23 March 2015

from Terry Daley

THE race to the top is again wide open as Caldicot Town and Aberbargoed Buds both lost while Llanwern hit seven on the road - all on the day Barry Town United clinched promotion to Division One by winning at Caerleon.

In the top tier, there was a another success for defending champions Monmouth Town, but defeat for Goytre while Tredegar Town strengthened their case to go up with another Division Three win.

Second-placed Caldicot travelled to face basement outfit Dinas Powys and were bitterly disappointed to have three goals disallowed when losing their 14-match unbeaten run in going down 2-1 - Dan Saunders getting their consolation.

Aberbargoed visited Risca United, but slipped to a 3-1 reverse with goals from the home side coming from Tony Wallis (penalty), Kyle Williams and Dave Hurley.

Jordan Maisey was on target for Aberbargoed and both they and Caldicot remain third and second respectively, although the next three places are now filled by county rivals whose promotion hopes remain alive.

Maisey put Aberbargoed into the lead with an unchallenged header before Risca player-boss Paul Michael hit an upright with a free kick.

The side levelled on 55 minutes when Wallis fired home from the spot following a foul on Josh Clayton and on the hour mark it went 2-1 up when Williams pounced from close range.

Risca went close to adding to their total several time before they finally did, Dave Hurley cutting in from the left to fire home into the far corner to make it 3-1.

Risca remained comfortable at that score, although goalkeeper Mark Mears made a superb one-handed save in stoppage time to maintain the scoreline.

Llanwern thrashed hosts Chepstow Town 7-2 to stay in fourth spot, then come Cwmbran Celtic (fifth), who amazingly drew for the 11^th time in 21 starts this time 1-1 at Undy Athletic, and Risca (sixth).

Even Undy, in eighth place, are ranked as outsiders to go up and while it's felt Caldicot will soon return to winning ways to clinch the runners-up place, any of the four other clubs can still finish ahead of Aberbargoed,

Llanwern routed Chepstow with two goals each from Dan and Nic Hooper plus one apiece from Matthew Flynn, Michael Bishop and Jordan Jones with the home side's efforts being netted by Louis Feeley and Richard Stansfield.

Celtic lead 1-0 at the break at The Causeway against Undy via a Dominic Connor goal, but the home side eventually levelled matters via a 25-yard free kick from Tom Hooper.

Gareth Cullimore also struck the bar with a close-range header for Undy, whose substitute forward Ollie Beckett put an even closer chance wide of the target.

There was more bad news for Undy when midfielder Ben Davies snapped medial ligaments in a knee and now faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

Celtic, who selected Lewis Watkins ahead of Giles Cutlan in goal, saw good chances wasted by Andrew Larcombe and Owen Llewellyn with Rhys Williams also seeing a shot strike the woodwork.

There were other opportunities for both sides to have won this encounter with Celtic taking their recent record to three wins and eight draws from 12 outings and this was their 10^th consecutive game without a clean-sheet.

Celtic and Risca are both in away Tuesday action, although their tasks to gain positive results differ greatly - the former visit Jenner Park to tackle Barry Town United and the latter visiting one-from-the-bottom Ely Rangers.

At the other end, Caerleon remain second from bottom after Barry Town United won 4-1 at Cold Bath Road - Liam Head scoring for the home side as the visitors celebrated securing a top-flight spot for 2015-16.

Promotion-seeking Tredegar Town were at county rivals Treowen Stars, whose recent form of three wins from four has taken them away from Division Three's drop zone.

However this was Tredegar's day as they moved up one to the third and final promotion spot thanks to goals from Stephen Hughes (2) and Liam Macan.

Tredegar will seek to gain another three points on Wednesday, when they return home to take on mid-table outfit Pontypridd Town.

Despite a 2-0 home defeat at the hands of second-placed Ammanford, Panteg remain ninth while Newport YMCA climbed one to 13^th after efforts from Eliot Owen and Jamie Martin earned them a 2-2 away draw against Cwm Welfare.

However because Cardiff Grange Harlequins withdrew from the league on Friday evening, Newport Civil Service's 4-1 home defeat at the hands of table-topping Llanelli Town means they slip to the bottom of what is now an 18-strong section.

NCS took the lead through Tom Berry before Dave Mellon and Gareth Wysome were both sent off, the latter conceding a penalty which goalkeeper Chris Jones saved only for a the Llanelli spot-kick taker to score from the rebound.

In Division One, sixth-placed Monmouth saw off visiting Ton Pentre with strikes from Elliot Evans and Ben Davies but Goytre stay ninth after a 2-0 reverse at lowly Pontardawe Town.

Mid-week fixtures (7.30pm kick offs, unless stated).

Tuesday.

Division Two:

Barry Town United v Cwmbran Celtic (7.45pm)

Ely Rangers v Risca United.

Wednesday.

Division Three:

Tredegar Town v Pontypridd Town (7.00pm).

Gwent FA Senior Cup, semi final:

Panteg v Goytre (at Newport Stadium).

Gwent goalscorers (League only).

LAST season's top scorer, Tony Wallis of Risca United, was the highest-placed marksman last Saturday when he netted once in a 3-1 home success over Aberbargoed Buds to take his campaign tally to 11.

23 - Josh Brown (Lliswerry).

19 - Tom McCarthy (Aberbargoed Buds).

17 - Zac Osbourne (Croesyceiliog).

15 - Leo Ross (Chepstow Town).

14 - Jason Thorn (Caldicot Town).

13 - Nick Harrhy (Monmouth Town), Matthew Hibbs (Llanwern), Craig Moses (Goytre).

12 - Jon Butcher (Panteg), Gareth Cullimore (Undy Athletic), Dan MacDonald (Monmouth Town), Ian Pettit (Tredegar Town).

11 - Tomas Lynch (Tredegar Town), Tony Willis (Risca United).#10 - Steven Hughes (Tredegar Town), Niall Simmons (Newport YMCA).

9 - Ricky Amos (Treowen Stars), Olly Beckett (Undy Athletic), Dale Cook (Lliswerry), Matthew Flynn (Llanwern, including seven for Pontypridd Town), Dan Hooper (Llanwern), Nic Hooper (Llanwern), Hishi Lama (Croesyceiliog, including one for Chepstow Town).

8 - Scott Armitage (Aberbargoed Buds), Dominic Connor (Cwmbran Celtic), Dave Hurley (Risca United), Dan Saunders (Caldicot Town), Luke Lewis (Cwmbran Celtic).

7 - Daniel Battle (Risca United, including six for Tredegar Town), Josh Bull (including two for Monmouth Town), Jamie Davies (Caerleon), Gareth Delve (Llanwern), Luke Dyke (Panteg, including one for Croesyceiliog), Richard Sharratt (Caldicot Town), Dan Stoneman (Lliswerry), Kyle Williams (Risca United).

6 - Ben Davies (Undy Athletic), Elliot Evans (Monmouth Town), Jordan Jones (Llanwern), Josh Jones (Tredegar Town), Derice McL.ean (Newport Civil Service - no longer with club), Ben Taylor (Panteg), Luke Thomas (Cwmbran Celtic).

5 - Josh Collier (Risca United), Mark Dunn (Caerleon, including three for Chepstow Town), James Francis (Caerleon), Liam Head (Caerleon), Tom Hooper (Undy Athletic), James Martin (Newport YMCA), Matt Prosser (Goytre), James Young (Goytre).

4 - Michael Bishop (Llanwern), Aaron Colwill (Risca United), Lewis Coote (Treowen Stars), Dan Edwards (Lliswerry), Chris Ham (Monmouth Town, now of Carmarthen Town), Joe Howells (Lliswerry), Chris Jones (Treowen Stars), Andrew Larcombe (Cwmbran Celtic), David Lloyd (Caldicot Town), Jordan Maisey (Aberbargoed Buds), Chris Quinlan (Tredegar Town), Mark Organ (Chepstow Town), Stephen Parfitt (Treowen Stars), Craig Price (Treowen Stars), Dean Randall (Treowen Stars), Liam Shaw (Aberbargoed Buds).

3 - Wayne Antoniazzi (Aberbargoed Buds), Jamie Arnold (Croesyceiliog), Tom Berry (Newport Civil Service), Dan Clouth (Croesyceiliog), Luke Cueto (Caerleon), Marc Curtis (Llanwern), Gary Evans (Treowen Stars), Max Fessey (Lliswerry), Elliott Ford (Monmouth Town), Nathan Hardwick (Newport YMCA), Ryan Hayward (Croesyceiliog), Kirk Hicks (Panteg, including three for Lliswerry), Craig Lewis (Chepstow Town), Rhys Luffman (Lliswerry), Tre Marrett (Newport YMCA), Paul Michael (Risca United), Sam Rushworth (Chepstow Town), Jordan Ryan (Panteg), Gyles Thompson (Undy Athletic) Tom Wise (Panteg).

2 - Paul Clayton (Undy Athletic), Owen Cook (Cwmbran Celtic), Richard Crees (Cwmbran Celtic), Lloyd Dando (Treowen Stars), Josh Evans (Treowen Stars), Louis Feeley (Chepstow Town), Luke Fernquest (Croesyceiliog), Marc Gunter (Newport Civil Service), Jordan Harding (Goytre), Matt James (Caldicot Town), Alex Jenkins (Newport YMCA), Rhys Jones (Aberbargoed Buds), Kazeem Kareen (Lliswerry), Ben Lawrence (Newport YMCA), Liam Macan (Tredegar Town), Lee Mason (Panteg), Gavin Meacham (Aberbargoed Buds), Calum Miles (Goytre), Joe O'Brien (Newport YMCA), Craig Price (Treowen Stars), Nick Potts (Chepstow Town), Safian Skupinski, (Lliswerry), Mitchell Slape (Caldicot Town), Kieron Thomas (Aberbargoed Buds), Elliott Williams (Aberbargoed Buds), Jon Williams (Panteg), Ben Wotton (Caerleon).

1 - Jack Alderdice (Monmouth Town), Adam Alkysi (Tredegar Town), Gareth Appleby (Panteg), Josh Ball (Tredegar Town), Michael Baugh (Cwmbran Celtic, no longer with the club), James Barnes (Undy Athletic), Tom Barry (Llanwern), Gareth Bennett (Caerleon, including one for Chepstow Town), Joe Bidgood (Newport YMCA), Mike Binning (Undy Athletic), Steven Boucher (Lliswerry), Dafydd Brewer (Aberbargoed Buds), Gareth Cleverly (Newport Civil Service), Jacob Cross (Aberbargoed Buds), Simon Crook (Caldicot Town), Tom Dando (Cwmbran Celtic), Ben Davies (Monmouth Town), Nathan Davies (Goytre), Aysa El-Doory (Newport Civil Service), Yousif El-Doori (Caerleon), Alex Evans (Goytre), Ben Evans (Monmouth Town), Gary Evans (Treowen Stars), Joe Gibson (Lliswerry), Dean Goddard (Newport YMCA), Lewis Grant (Chepstow Town), Jordan Harding (Goytre), Jack Hardman (Newport Civil Service), Jack Harvey (Chepstow Town), Luke Harris (Treowen Stars), Mo Hassan (Newport YMCA), Craig Hewitt (Tredegar Town), Rhys Hodges (Cwmbran Celtic), Sam Hunt (Monmouth Town), Luis James (Panteg), Robbie James (Llanwern), Tommy James (Treowen Stars), Ashley Johnson (Lliswerry), Grant Jones (Treowen Stars), Luke Jones (Cwmbran Celtic), Sean Feeley (Cwmbran Celtic), Jason Lewis (Newport YMCA), Scott Lewis (Caerleon), Owen Llewellyn (Cwmbran Celtic), Will McConnell (Caldicot Town), Craig McDonnell (Aberbargoed Buds), Nick McGrath (Croesyceiliog), Steffan Marchant (Croesyceiliog), Nick Maynard (Llanwern), Ryan Meek (Treowen Stars), Dave Mellon (Newport Civil Service), Adam Meredith (Tredegar Town), Gavin Millar (Panteg), Lee Morgan (Newport Civil Service), Dale Morris (Llanwern), Ian Morris (Tredegar Town), Mark Morris (Croesyceiliog), Lewys Nash (Aberbargoed Buds), Sam Oakley (Caerleon), Ashley Palmer (Chepstow Town), John Pardue (Newport YMCA), Rakesh Patel (Cwmbran Celtic), Marcus Power (Undy Athletic), Tyla Preece (Aberbargoed Buds), James Price (Tredegar Town), Anthony Richards (Croesyceiliog), Leigh Sharp (Risca United), Richie Shire (Lliswerry), Jack Sinderby (Croesyceiliog), Andrew Smith (Monmouth Town), Richard Stansfield (Chepstow Town), Alex Stewart (Newport YMCA), Lewis Sweetland (Newport Civil Service), Simon Truman (Goytre), Alex Waters (Caerleon), Jake Wainright (Goytre), Ben Watson (Caerleon), Jack Wellington (Croesyceiliog), Steve Wilson (Caldicot Town), Ben Wotton (Caerleon), Joel Worgan (Tredegar Town).

CLEAN-SHEETS:

12 - Caldicot Town.

8 - Tredegar Town.

7 – Lliswerry.

6 - Monmouth Town.

5 - Goytre; Panteg.

4 - Aberbargoed Buds; Chepstow Town; Undy Athletic.

3 - Caerleon; Cwmbran Celtic; Llanwern; Newport Civil Service; Newport YMCA; Risca United; Treowen Stars.

2 – Croesyceiliog.

CARDIFF GRANGE HARLEQUINS

21 March 2015

It is with regret the League has received confirmation of the withdrawal of Cardiff Grange Harlequins with immediate effect.

GWENT SATURDAY PREVIEW

20 March 2015

from Terry Daley

Saturday - kick offs 2.30pm.

Division One (figures in brackets relate to league positions of 16).

Pen-Y-Pound Stadium, Abergavenny: Monmouth Town (6) v Ton Pentre (13).

Despite having lost more games (8) than any other club in the top six, Monmouth can still reach the 60-point mark and that total could be enough for them to make a successful defence of their title.

That may sound a bit far fetched, but anything can yet happen - especially considering no one team is proving to be dominant.

And with three wins from their last four outings, The Kingfishers are certainly in good enough form to post a quick-fire double having won 2-0 at Ton Pentre a couple of weeks ago.

The visitors were 2-1 victors at home against Taffs Well the weekend previously, although that ended a sequence of four consecutive league defeats.

Form guide:

Monmouth Town: W L W L W W

Ton Pentre: L L L L W L

Recreation Ground: Pontardawe Town (15) v Goytre (9).

Several missed penalties over recent weeks has cost Goytre league points and the likelihood is they will end up finishing in seventh of eighth place.

That would be another fair effort following on from their debut top-flight finish of fifth in 2013-14, when they totalled 54 points - 24 more than they currently have and with nine fixtures remaining.

This encounter, though, does offer player-boss Carl Evans' side a reasonable chance of securing win number 10 from 22 starts.

Pontardawe appear nailed on for relegation to the second tier and here will begin having won only one of their previous 10 league matches.

Form guide:

Pontardawe Town: L L D L L L

Goytre: L D W L W L

Division Two (figures in brackets relate to league positions of 16).

Cold Bath Road: Caerleon (14) v Barry Town United (1).

A recent run of a win and a draw following the arrival of several experienced players raised hopes Caerleon could claw themselves away from the drop zone.

However a 1-0 home loss to fellow-strugglers Tata Steel, who have since won again, means they remain firmly entrenched in the bottom three.

But Caerleon do have games in hand over the four sides immediately above them, although here could be facing a 'wounded animal'.

Barry Town United lost their proud unbeaten 24-game record last Saturday, when they were defeated 3-1 at home by mid-table Undy Athletic.

Form guide:

Caerleon: L L L W D L

Barry Town United: W W W D W L

Larkfield Ground: Chepstow Town (8) v Llanwern (4).

Chepstow were going quite well until a run of only two wins from 10 outings has placed them in mid-table with just seven league fixtures left.

Indeed with only three points won from the last 12, it has to be said they will start this local derby as slight underdogs.

But Llanwern's promotion prospects look grim following a 3-1 home defeat by Croesyceiliog on Wednesday night, Robbie James scoring for the home side and Luke Fernquest (2) and Hishi Lama for the visitors.

The outcome means they have won only once in their last four league matches and this is a clash which could well end all square.

Form guide:

Chepstow Town: W L L W L L

Llanwern: D W L W D L

The Murch, Sunnycroft Lane: Dinas Powys (16) v Caldicot Town (2).

It's now 14 game unbeaten for Caldicot, whose bid for promotion to Division One is entirely in their own hands and are certainly not looking out for any other club's results.

Have recorded more clean-sheets (12) than any other Gwent clubs this season and one of those was in the 3-0 home win over Dinas Powys on February 21.

Here Caldicot welcome back top goalscorer Jason Thorn and skipper David Biggs from injury and unavailability respectively, but are minus the suspended Matt James Having secured only 12 of a possible 66 points, it's really extremely difficult to make a case for Dinas Powys escaping relegation to Division Three.

Form guide:

Dinas Powys: D W L L L L

Caldicot Town: D D W W W W 

Ty-Isaf Park: Risca United (9) v Aberbargoed Buds (3).

Risca have put together a mini run of four without defeat and can certainly count themselves unlucky to have been held 1-1 by hosts Cwmbran Celtic last weekend.

Are not completely out of the running for promotion, but would probably have to win six and draw at least one of their last nine fixtures.

Aberbargoed moved a step closer to first-time promotion back to Division One on Wednesday night, when they emerged 4-2 home victors over Penrhiwceiber Rangers.

Jordan Maisey, Kieran Thomas, Liam Shaw and Tom McCarthy were on target with the latter's goal taking his campaign league tally to 19.

Form guide:

Risca United: L L W D W D

Aberbargoed Buds: D D W L W W

The Causeway: Undy Athletic (7) v Cwmbran Celtic (6).

Undy will hope it's not a case of after the Lord Major's Show following on from their magnificent 3-1 away win over previously-unbeaten leaders Barry Town United.

That win actually ended a run of three successive defeats and like several others outside of the top three, can not yet be ruled out of the promotion race.

Celtic's 1-1 result against visiting Risca was, amazingly, their 10^th draw in 20 league games and had they managed to win just half of them, would now be seven points clear of the fourth-placed club.

Celtic won this game 1-0 via a Dominic Connor goal when it was played on their Celtic Park in mid-November and anything less than another three points will severely dent their hopes of going up.

Form guide:

Undy Athletic: W W L L L W

Cwmbran Celtic: D W D D W D

Division Three (figures in brackets relate to league positions of 19).

Mount Pleasant Park, Beddau: Cwm Welfare (12) v Newport YMCA (14).

In terms of the relegation issue, both these sides appear to have enough points on the board to ensure they retain their league status for 2015-16.

YMCA are fresh from a fine 1-0 away triumph over Llantwit Major, where Nial Simmons scored from the penalty spot to take his campaign league tally to 10.

The clean-sheet was only their third in 24 fixtures and success here will bring their win total for the season to 10 from 27 matches.

Cwm have experienced some inconsistent from in their debut campaign, but posted one of their best wins in seeing off visiting Rhoose 4-1 last time out.

Form guide:

Cwm Welfare: D L L W L W

Newport YMCA: L L W L D W

Shannon Close, Bettws: Newport Civil Service (18) v Llanelli Town (1).

If it's three to go down, then NCS are 10 points from safety - but with half a dozen matches in hand over Bettws - and, amazingly, this game marks the start of the second half of their 36-fixture programme.

However most clubs above them have recently picked up valuable points and it's getting to the stage where those games in hand may suddenly county for nothing.

If it's only two which gets relegated out of the league, then NCS' position is much better as they trail Treharris Athletic Western by a single point having played one fixture less.

Llanelli Town are nailed to to go up to Division Two and this is the first of two meetings between the clubs in a short period of time as they face each other again on April 1 at Stebonheath Park.

Form guide:

Newport Civil Service: L L W W L L

Llanelli: W W W L W W

Panteg House, Griffithstown: Panteg (9) v Ammanford (2). 

Panteg are 14 points behind a promotion spot with four games in hand and with 45 to still play for, still have an outside chance of going up to the second flight.

However inconsistency seems likely to thwart their bid and a record of only three wins from their last 11 league matches is hardly an inspiring stat.

Nonetheless, manager Mark Taylor's side will relish a challenge against the division's second-best side, which won 3-1 at Panteg five days before Christmas.

Ammanford consolidated second position on Tuesday with a 1-0 home success over Caerau, their 19th victory in 24 league games.

Form guide:

Panteg: L L W L W D

Ammanford: L D W W L W W

Bush Park: Treowen Stars (13) v Tredegar Town (4).

This is a clash between two of the county's most in-form clubs as between them they have won seven on their last nine league fixtures.

For Treowen, that has meant a climb away from the relegation zone while Tredegar have been able to maintain contact with the promotion pack.

Treowen, though, will start on the back of a 3-1 away defeat at the hands of table-topping Llanelli Town while Tredegar were 4-1 home winners over promotion rivals Lliswerry.

On the face of it, a draw would probably suit Treowen better, although the teams have drawn only eight of the 46 league games they have played this season.

Form guide:

Treowen Stars: W D W W W L

Tredegar: L W W L W W

GWENT MID-WEEK ROUND-UP

18 March 2015

from Terry Daley

ABERBARGOED Buds took firm control of their promotion destiny with a 4-2 home victory over Penrhiwceiber Rangers while Llanwern's hopes of going up nose-dived following a 3-1 defeat by visiting Croesyceiliog.

At The Recreation Ground, Aberbargoed led 3-1 at the break and although Penrhiwceiber pulled one back, a fourth goal enabled manager Adrian Needs' side to claim a 12^th win in their 21^st game of the season.

They now move onto 40 points, five more than fourth-placed Llanwern, who have played three more games, and six ahead of Cwmbran Celtic (sixth), who have played one matches less.

Their goals came from Jordan Maisey, Kieran Thomas, Tom McCarthy and Liam Shaw with McCarthy taking his campaign league tally to 19.

Some extremely poor defending from Llanwern and some good attacking play from Croesyceiliog at Newport Stadium meant the visitors held a 3-1 advantage at the break.

The visitors swept into a 3-0 lead thanks for efforts from Hishi Lama (2^nd minute), Luke Fernquest (two) (15^th and 28^th) before Llanwern left back Robbie James reduced the arrears on 32 minutes.

The second period was goal-less and the outcome moves Croesyceiliog above AFC Llwydcoed into 10^th position with their ninth success in 23 starts.

* On Tuesday night, Lliswerry remained in fifth place in the Division Three table after drawing 0-0 with hosts Rhoose at Jenner Park.

GWENT WEDNESDAY PREVIEW

18 March 2015

from Terry Daley

Division Two (figures in brackets relate to table positions of 16) - both 7.30pm kick offs.

Recreation Ground: Aberbargoed Buds (3) v Penrhiwceiber Rangers (12).

With only one defeat in their last six outings, Aberbargoed will be the more fancied side to win here and welcome back a couple of regulars.

Returning from a four-game ban is Liam Shaw while Scott Armitage is back after missing last Friday's 4-1 home win over Croesyceiliog due to a family bereavement.

Tom McCarthy scored twice in that win to take his season's league tally to 18 with Armitage the club's second top goalscorer with eight.

Despite other clubs behind them still being in the hunt to pip Aberbargoed to the third and final promotion spot, manager Adrian Needs' side is in the driving seat and victory here will strengthen their bid for a first-time return to Division One.

Rangers were 2-1 home victors over Undy Athletic last time out to ease their relegation fears, although they will certainly not want a repeat of the 6-0 defeat they suffered at the hands of visiting Aberbargoed last October.

Form guide:

Aberbargoed Buds: D D D W L W

Penrhiwceiber Rangers: D W W L L W

Newport Stadium: Llanwern (4) v Croesyceiliog (11).

With 16 points gained from the last 27 on offer, Llanwern have put themselves in with an outside chance of earning a place in the top flight for 2015-16.

However the odds are against them as although they trail third-placed Aberbargoed by just a couple of points, they've played three more games.

They will, however, be able to call in skipper and midfielder Sam Hartrey from suspension and forward Matthew Flynn from injury., but wide man Gareth Delve has been ruled out for a month with a hamstring tear.

Croesyceiliog will here seek to end a miserable run of three consecutive defeats and will be better off for the return of 17-goal striker Zac Osbourne from a three-match suspension.

Their poor form has helped clubs below them close the points gap on Croesyceiliog, although the Woodland Road outfit appears to be capable of eventually climbing away from the danger zone.

Form guide:

Llanwern: D D W L W D

Croesyceiliog: W L W L L L

GWENT TUESDAY PREVIEW

17 March 2015

from Terry Daley

Division Three (figures in brackets relate to table positions of 16).

Jenner Park, Barry: Rhoose (8) v Lliswerry (5) - kick off 7.30pm.

LLISWERRY will again be minus leading goalscorer Josh Brown on Tuesday, when they must return to winning ways against hosts Rhoose to maintain their push for promotion to Division Two.

Former Newport County Academy ace Brown has 22 league goals to his credit and heads the scorers' list for those player appearing for Gwent clubs.

He missed the 4-1 away defeat against promotion rivals Tredegar Town on Saturday, when Safian Skupinski netted his second league goal of the season, due to serving the second of a three-match suspension.

Also missing against Rhoose for the same reason is Ashley Sully, but Lliswerry welcome back Liam Screen from a two-match ban for the game.

Manager Adam Corfield's men will start fifth of 19 and trail third-placed Cardiff Corinthians by four points, but with a match in hand with Tredegar sandwiched in between the pair - two points better off than Lliswerry.

Rhoose also lost last weekend, going down 4-1 at Cwm Welfare, and will begin in eighth position - 10 points adrift of Lliswerry, but with four matches in hand. 

Form guide:

Rhoose: W D L L W L

Lliswerry: W W D L W L

TOMMY DAVIES (UPDATED)

17 March 2015 (22 March 2015)

from Terry Daley

FORMER Caerleon player and long-serving committee member Tommy Davies has passed away, aged 86.

Mr Davies played for the club for 30 years from the 1940s and later filled almost every committee position during a 60-year association.

He was among those influential in the building of the clubhouse with gaining a bar licence at Cold Bath Road.

The funeral will take place at 10.00am at Croesyceiliog Crematorium, Cwmbran, on Wednesday, April 8.

GWENT WEEKEND ROUND-UP AND GWENT GOALSCORERS (LEAGUE ONLY)

16 March 2015

from Terry Daley

UNDY Athletic produced the Welsh League result of the season in becoming the first side in 24 to defeat Division Two leaders Barry Town United, winning 3-1 at Jenner Park.

The outcome was great news also for second-placed Caldicot Town and Aberbargoed Buds, third, who posted 4-0 and 4-1 home victories over derby rivals Chepstow Town and Croesyceiliog respectively.

Tredegar Town took a giant step towards promotion to the middle tier with another Division Three win while in the top flight, Monmouth Town won but Goytre missed out in a seven-goal thriller at home.

But it was Undy's magnificent triumph over Barry Town United which rightly grabs the headlines and nobody should point to the fact the table-toppers were down to nine men by the final whistle as a reason for the upset.

That's because Undy were in total command at 3-0 when the first Barry player was dismissed and indeed they actually scored their goal after former Newport County defender Damon Searle became their second to be sent packing - after he had entered the fray as a substitute.

Undy marksman Gareth Cullimore gave his side a 1-0 interval lead before he doubled the advantage on 50 minutes with a fine finish from a Tom Hooper assist.

And it was Hooper who put the issued beyond doubt by making it 3-0 with a superb long-range free kick - with Barry's TJ Nagi grabbing a late consolation.

The outcome moves Undy up a couple of places to seventh and they are only four points adrift of Aberbargoed - but having played two matches more.

Aberbargoed got the weekend's action underway on Friday night with that 4-1 home win over Croesyceiliog thanks to a couple of goals from Tom McCarthy, who now has 18 for the season, Dafydd Brewer and Jordan Maisey - with Nick McGrath replying for the visitors, who drop one to 11th.

Caldicot are now only eight points behind Barry Town United with each having just six fixtures remaining and their efforts against Chepstow came via Richard Sharratt, Simon Crook (pen), Sam Watkins and Dan Saunders as manager Mark Williams' side stretched its unbeaten league run to a 14^th game.

Immediately behind Aberbargoed are Llanwern, who were denied the full three points when they conceded a late and controversially-awarded penalty to hosts West End - after Matthew Hibbs has put them ahead with his 13^th league goal.

It was sixth versus eighth as Cwmbran Celtic entertained Risca United and a 1-1 draw, the home side's 10^th in 20 outings, was a little harsh on the visitors.

The game failed to ignite from the very off - except for a 21st-minute midfield clash between Celtic's Luke Thomas and Risca's Josh Hales which ended with both being straight red-carded.

Risca deservedly held a 1-0 interval lead thanks to a fine goal from striker Tony Wallis, who strode onto a through ball before beating goalkeeper Giles Cutlan at his near post with 11 minutes of the first period remaining.

After the break, Cutlan prevented his side from going 2-0 when he made an outstanding, one-handed save onto the bar to deny Aaron Colwill's header.

And with time running out, Risca paid the price when Celtic's Owen Llewellyn tapped in from close range after another substitute, Sean Feeley, has headed into his path.

Parity means Celtic, whose goal was their 500^th in the Welsh League, and Risca trail Aberbargoed by one and five points with the latter having played one more game.

Tredegar entertained Lliswerry in a fifth versus fourth Division Three encounter with the hosts coming out on top 4-1 with goals from Ian Pettit (2), Joshua Jones and Craig Hewitt with Lliswerry, who were minus suspended trio Josh Brown, Liam Screen and Ashley Sully, scored through Safian Skupinski.

The teams remain in the same positions as do ninth-placed Panteg, who drew 1-1 away at Caerau, where Tom Wise was their scorer with a brilliant 35-yarder - although they dominated enough to have emerged winners.

Another club staying put are Treowen Stars, whose 3-1 away defeat at the hands of leaders Llanelli Town leaves them 13^th of 19 - Stephen Parfitt netting in the loss which ended a run of three successive wins.

Despite a fine 1-0 away win over Llantwit Major, via an 89th-minute penalty by top scorer Nial Simmons, Newport YMCA failed to move up from 14^th - although the win more or less secures their league status.

However the same can not to said of one-from-the-bottom Newport Civil Service, who went down 3-1 at second-placed Ammanford, where Marc Gunter put them ahead.

Monmouth failed to move up from sixth in Division One after a goal from Nick Harrhy earned them a 1-0 home success over Briton Ferry Llansawel while Goytre are still ninth following a 4-3 defeat by visiting promotion-seeking Haverfordwest County.

Leading Goytre scorer Craig Moses missed an early penalty and although Calum Miles later equalised to make it 1-1, the West Walians took control by scoring twice more.

But efforts from Matthew Prosser and Nathan Davies put Goytre level at 3-3 - only for Haverfordwest to sneak a late winner.

Credit to the visitors who played the final 35 minutes with 10 players following a sending off and they also missed a penalty during this period.

Mid-week fixtures (all 7.30pm).

Tuesday.

Division Three:

Rhoose v Lliswerry.

Wednesday.

Division Two:

Aberbargoed Buds v Penrhiwceiber Rangers

Llanwern v Croesyceiliog.

Gwent goalscorers (League only).

ABERBARGOED Buds' Tom McCarthy scored twice in a 4-1 home success over county rivals Croesyceiliog to move five behind leading scorer Josh Brown, of Lliswerry.

23 - Josh Brown (Lliswerry).

18 - Tom McCarthy (Aberbargoed Buds).

17 - Zac Osbourne (Croesyceiliog).

15 - Leo Ross (Chepstow Town).

14 - Jason Thorn (Caldicot Town).

13 - Nick Harrhy (Monmouth Town), Matthew Hibbs (Llanwern), Craig Moses (Goytre)

12 - Jon Butcher (Panteg), Gareth Cullimore (Undy Athletic), Dan MacDonald (Monmouth Town), Ian Pettit (Tredegar Town).

11 - Tomas Lynch (Tredegar Town).

10 - Niall Simmons (Newport YMCA), Tony Willis (Risca United).

9 - Ricky Amos (Treowen Stars), Olly Beckett (Undy Athletic), Dale Cook (Lliswerry).

8 - Scott Armitage (Aberbargoed Buds), Matthew Flynn (Llanwern, including seven for Pontypridd Town), Steven Hughes (Tredegar Town), Hishi Lama (Croesyceiliog, including one for Chepstow Town), Luke Lewis (Cwmbran Celtic).

7 - Daniel Battle (Risca United, including six for Tredegar Town), Josh Bull (including two for Monmouth Town), Jamie Davies (Caerleon), Gareth Delve (Llanwern), Luke Dyke (Panteg, including one for Croesyceiliog), Dan Hooper (Llanwern), Nic Hooper (Llanwern), Dave Hurley (Risca United), Dan Saunders (Caldicot Town), Richard Sharratt (Caldicot Town), Dan Stoneman (Lliswerry).

6 - Dominic Connor (Cwmbran Celtic), Ben Davies (Undy Athletic), Josh Jones (Tredegar Town), Derice McLean (Newport Civil Service - no longer with club), Ben Taylor (Panteg), Kyle Williams (Risca United).

5 - Josh Collier (Risca United), Mark Dunn (Caerleon, including three for Chepstow Town), Elliot Evans (Monmouth Town), James Francis (Caerleon), Jordan Jones (Llanwern), Matt Prosser (Goytre), Luke Thomas (Cwmbran Celtic), James Young (Goytre).

4 - Aaron Colwill (Risca United), Lewis Coote (Treowen Stars), Dan Edwards (Lliswerry), Chris Ham (Monmouth Town, now of Carmarthen Town), Liam Head (Caerleon), Joe Howells (Lliswerry), Chris Jones (Treowen Stars), David Lloyd (Caldicot Town), Chris Quinlan (Tredegar Town), Mark Organ (Chepstow Town), Stephen Parfitt (Treowen Stars), Craig Price (Treowen Stars), Dean Randall (Treowen Stars).

3 - Wayne Antoniazzi (Aberbargoed Buds), Jamie Arnold (Croesyceiliog), Michael Bishop (Llanwern), Dan Clouth (Croesyceiliog), Luke Cueto (Caerleon), Marc Curtis (Llanwern), Gary Evans (Treowen Stars), Max Fessey (Lliswerry), Elliott Ford (Monmouth Town), Nathan Hardwick (Newport YMCA), Ryan Hayward (Croesyceiliog), Kirk Hicks (Panteg, including three for Lliswerry), Tom Hooper (Undy Athletic), Andrew Larcombe (Cwmbran Celtic), Craig Lewis (Chepstow Town), Rhys Luffman (Lliswerry), Jordan Maisey (Aberbargoed Buds), Tre Marrett (Newport YMCA), James Martin (Newport YMCA), Paul Michael (Risca United), Sam Rushworth (Chepstow Town), Jordan Ryan (Panteg), Liam Shaw (Aberbargoed Buds), Gyles Thompson (Undy Athletic) Tom Wise (Panteg).

2 – Tom Berry (Newport Civil Service), Paul Clayton (Undy Athletic), Owen Cook (Cwmbran Celtic), Richard Cress (Cwmbran Celtic), Lloyd Dando (Treowen Stars), Josh Evans (Treowen Stars), Marc Gunter (Newport Civil Service), Jordan Harding (Goytre), Matt James (Caldicot Town), Alex Jenkins (Newport YMCA), Rhys Jones (Aberbargoed Buds), Kazeem Kareen (Lliswerry), Ben Lawrence (Newport YMCA), Lee Mason (Panteg), Gavin Meacham (Aberbargoed Buds), Calum Miles (Goytre), Joe O'Brien (Newport YMCA), Craig Price (Treowen Stars), Nick Potts (Chepstow Town), Safian Skupinski, (Lliswerry), Mitchell Slape (Caldicot Town), Elliott Williams (Aberbargoed Buds), Jon Williams (Panteg), Ben Wotton (Caerleon).

1 - Jack Alderdice (Monmouth Town), Adam Alkysi (Tredegar Town), Gareth Appleby (Panteg), Josh Ball (Tredegar Town), Michael Baugh (Cwmbran Celtic), James Barnes (Undy Athletic), Tom Barry (Llanwern), Gareth Bennett (Caerleon, including one for Chepstow Town), Joe Bidgood (Newport YMCA), Mike Binning (Undy Athletic), Steven Boucher (Lliswerry), Daffyd Brewer (Aberbargoed Buds), Gareth Cleverly (Newport Civil Service), Jacob Cross (Aberbargoed Buds), Simon Crook (Caldicot Town), Tom Dando (Cwmbran Celtic), Nathan Davies (Goytre), Aysa El-Doory (Newport Civil Service), Yousif El-Doori (Caerleon), Alex Evans (Goytre), Ben Evans (Monmouth Town), Gary Evans (Treowen Stars), Louis Feeley (Chepstow Town), Joe Gibson (Lliswerry), Dean Goddard (Newport YMCA), Lewis Grant (Chepstow Town), Jordan Harding (Goytre), Jack Hardman (Newport Civil Service), Jack Harvey (Chepstow Town), Luke Harris (Treowen Stars), Mo Hassan (Newport YMCA), Craig Hewitt (Tredegar Town), Rhys Hodges (Cwmbran Celtic), Sam Hunt (Monmouth Town), Luis James (Panteg), Tommy James (Treowen Stars), Ashley Johnson (Lliswerry), Grant Jones (Treowen Stars), Luke Jones (Cwmbran Celtic), Jason Lewis (Newport YMCA), Scott Lewis (Caerleon), Owen Llewellyn (Cwmbran Celtic), Will McConnell (Caldicot Town), Craig McDonnell (Aberbargoed Buds), Nick McGrath (Croesyceiliog), Liam Macan (Tredegar Town), Steffan Marchant (Croesyceiliog), Nick Maynard (Llanwern), Ryan Meek (Treowen Stars), Dave Mellon (Newport Civil Service), Adam Meredith (Tredegar Town), Gavin Millar (Panteg), Lee Morgan (Newport Civil Service), Dale Morris (Llanwern), Ian Morris (Tredegar Town), Mark Morris (Croesyceiliog), Lewys Nash (Aberbargoed Buds), Sam Oakley (Caerleon), Ashley Palmer (Chepstow Town), John Pardue (Newport YMCA), Rakesh Patel (Cwmbran Celtic), Marcus Power (Undy Athletic), Tyla Preece (Aberbargoed Buds), James Price (Tredegar Town), Anthony Richards (Croesyceiliog), Leigh Sharp (Risca United), Richie Shire (Lliswerry), Jack Sinderby (Croesyceiliog), Andrew Smith (Monmouth Town), Alex Stewart (Newport YMCA), Lewis Sweetland (Newport Civil Service), Kieron Thomas (Aberbargoed Buds), Simon Truman (Goytre), Alex Waters (Caerleon), Jake Wainright (Goytre), Ben Watson (Caerleon), Jack Wellington (Croesyceiliog), Steve Wilson (Caldicot Town), Ben Wotton (Caerleon), Joel Worgan (Tredegar Town).

CLEAN-SHEETS:

12 - Caldicot Town.

7 - Tredegar Town.

6 – Lliswerry.

5 – Goytre; Monmouth Town; Panteg.

4 - Aberbargoed Buds; Chepstow Town; Undy Athletic.

3 - Caerleon; Cwmbran Celtic; Llanwern; Newport Civil Service; Newport YMCA; Risca United; Treowen Stars.

2 – Croesyceiliog

GWENT WEEKEND PREVIEW

13 March 2015

from Terry Daley

Friday - kick off 7.30pm.

Division Two (figures in brackets relate to league positions of 16).

Recreation Ground: Aberbargoed Buds (3) v Croesyceiliog (10).

Aberbargoed must win here, otherwise their status as promotion favourites will be called into question - even though they were a tad unlucky to lose 1-0 at home against unbeaten leaders Barry Town United last Saturday.

Have taken only 12 points from the last 10 matches and rely heavily on Tom McCarthy and Scott Armitage for goals, the pair currently on 16 and eight respectively.

Croesyceiliog lost their last two fixtures having previously won four out of five and are currently nine points off the third-from-bottom slot held by Caerleon.

This is a tough ask for them to avoid a third successive defeat, especially considering they will be minus suspended 17-goal leading scorer Zac Osbourne.

Form guide:

Aberbargoed Buds: L D D D W L

Croesyceiliog: W W L W L L

Saturday – kick offs 2.30pm.

Division One (figures in brackets relate to league positions of 16).

Plough Road: Goytre (8) v Haverfordwest County (4).

Goytre still have enough points to play for (30) to make an impact on the top four and two wins from their last three outings suggests they are capable of a much higher finish.

Unusually for them, scoring goals has been a problem this season and the stats reveal their tally of 36 is the lowest in the top 10.

Wales under-23 semi-professional cap Craig Moses is their leading scorer with 13, but the next after him is James Young with five.

The visitors have been trying to gain a Welsh Premier League spot for the last three seasons, but so far have only succeeded in shooting themselves in the foot time after time.

Form guide:

Goytre: L L D W L W

Haverfordwest County: W W W L D D

Pen-Y-Pound Stadium, Abergavenny: Monmouth Town (6) v Briton Ferry Llansawel (7).

Monmouth's inconsistent results has blighted their whole season, although third place is certainly not beyond the defending champions.

Were 2-0 winners at Ton Pentre recently, but their bid to reach the Gwent FA Senior Cup final by defeating hosts Tredegar Town on Wednesday was thwarted when the game was postponed because of a floodlight problem.

Will be seeking a season's double having travelled back from Briton Ferry Llansawel as 4-2 victors last August, when Nick Harrhy hit a hat-trick with the other goal coming from the since-departed Chris Ham.

The visitor's recent run of picking up just six of 21 points knocked them out of title contention, although they were 3-0 home victors over Garden Village last time out.

Form guide:

Monmouth Town: L W L W L W

Briton Ferry Llansawel: L D D D L W

Division Two (figures in brackets relate to league positions of 16).

Jenner Park: Barry Town United (1) v Undy Athletic (9).

Despite a third consecutive defeat, this time 3-1 at Llanwern in mid-week when Ben Davies scored with a brilliant 30-yard volley, Undy remain only four points off a promotion spot.

However they have played a couple more games than Aberbargoed and the reality is Undy are almost certain to be again playing second-tier football in 2015-16.

Defensively, there is not too much wrong because their goals against total of 33 (from 21 fixtures) is the lowest outside of the division's top six.

Seemingly there is nothing to prevent Barry Town United from a earning promotion to the top flight and including this match, they are seven away from ending the campaign unbeaten.

Form guide:

Barry Town United: W W W W D W

Undy Athletic: W W W L L L

Jubilee Way: Caldicot Town (2) v Chepstow Town (7).

Caldicot are within touching distance of Division One - no matter what happens to any other club below them in the table.

A run of 13 games without a defeat clearly indicates they are worthy of promotion and here they will start as red-hot favourites to overcome their close rivals.

In terms of picking up points, all is not well with Chepstow as a run of only nine from the last 27 has blunted their promotion charge.

Having explained that, this is just the sort of challenge manager Dave Livermore will relish and without doubt his team will be up for the occasion.

Form guide:

Caldicot Town: W D D W W W

Chepstow Town: D W L L W L

Celtic Park: Cwmbran Celtic (6) v Risca United (8).

It really is amazing how one win can affect a club and Celtic's 3-1 victory over visiting Llanwern last weekend has convinced many they will go onto pip Aberbargoed to the third and final promotion slot.

It stretched their unbeaten run to a seventh game, although it goes without saying it will count for nothing if Celtic don't win again here.

Following an horrendous run of five successive defeats, Risca have re-grouped well and are attempting to be unbeaten in four outings and mathematically are not yet out of the promotion race.

Were 2-0 victors at Chepstow last time out and will also be aiming to avoid a campaign double defeat having lost 2-1 at home to Celtic 12 days before Christmas.

Form guide:

Cwmbran Celtic: W D W D D W

Risca United: L L L W D W

Pri Deri Park, Mayhill, Swansea: West End (5) v Llanwern (4).

Llanwern moved up a quartet of places to fourth on Wednesday night with a 3-1 home success over county rivals Undy Athletic with goals coming from Marc Curtis, Matthew Hibbs and Dan Hooper.

The outcome rekindled their promotion hopes following a same-scoreline defeat at Cwmbran Celtic previously, an outcome which ended their eight-match league and cup unbeaten run.

They trail third-placed Aberbargoed on goal difference only having played three more fixtures and this match-up gives Llanwern an opportunity to avenge a 3-1 home defeat at the hands of West End on December 20.

West End halted a run of four straight losses by winning 2-1 at Dinas Powys, but while they trail third place on goal difference only, have just five matches left and there are several other clubs expected to soon overtake them.

Form guide:

West End: D L L L L W

Llanwern: W D D W L W

Division Three (figures in brackets relate to league positions of 19).

Recreation Ground: Ammanford (2) v Newport Civil Service (17).

NCS still have much to do to claw themselves away from the exit door which will lead to the Gwent County League, although the signs are encouraging.

Lost 2-1 at home to Llantwit Major last time out, a result which prevented them from gaining a third win on the trot since a recent recruitment campaign.

If three are to go down, then they are 10 points from safety - but with as many as seven matches in hand over some teams above them.

Obviously this will be an extremely tough task given the large gap between the table placings, but it must be pointed out Ammanford, having won their first 15 games, have lost four of their last seven matches.

Form guide:

Ammanford: L L D W W L

Newport Civil Service: L L L W W L

Athletic Ground: Caerau (15) v Panteg (8).

Panteg are a dozen points away from a promotion slot with five fixtures in hand, although they still have 16 to fit in between now and the end of the season.

That could hinder their bid to go up, especially should the suffer any more postponements, and that means Panteg may have to settle for another campaign in the lower level.

Nonetheless they have made a favourable impression in their debut season since ending a 15-season absence with Jon Butcher their leading league goalscorer on 12.

Caerau had won five out of six before a couple of consecutive defeats, including last Saturday's 3-0 loss at Treowen Stars, means they still remain near the drop zone.

Form guide:

Caerau: W L W W L L

Panteg: W L L W L W

Stebonheath Park: Llanelli Town (1) v Treowen Stars (13).

It's extremely pleasing to report Treowen will here defend a five-game unbeaten run, a sequence which has taken them well clear enough of the danger zone.

Indeed manager Simon Evans' side are just five points off a mid-table spot with top scorer Ricky Amos needing one more to reach double figures.

It doesn't come any harder than a visit to face the divisional leaders and Llanelli Town's 2-0 home win over second-placed Ammanford in mid-week took them to the 60-point mark for the season.

However a couple of weeks before, Tredegar Town lost only 1-0 at the venue while Lliswerry defeated Llanelli 3-1 at home recently.

Form guide:

Llanelli: L W W W L W

Treowen Stars: L W D W W W

Windmill Ground: Llantwit Major (11) v Newport YMCA (14).

Although hugely inconsistent, YMCA appear to have enough about them to eventually secure league status for another season.

Gained a valuable point from a credible 2-2 away draw against seventh-placed Pontypridd Town last weekend and here seek a ninth win in 26 starts.

YMCA have scored just 33 goals in 25 league matches, but Nial Simmons has enjoyed a reasonable campaign in scoring nine of them.

The hosts are eight points better off than YMCA and are booked for a mid-table end to the season and they were 2-1 away winners over Newport Civil Service last weekend.

Form guide:

Llantwit Major: L L W L L W

Newport YMCA: L L L W L D

Sports Complex: Tredegar Town (5) v Lliswerry (4).

This really is a crucial clash between two teams who sit behind third-placed Cardiff Corinthians by only two and one point respectively - and with a game in hand.

However with the Corries expected to defeat bottom-placed Cardiff Grange Harlequins at home, a draw here would be of no use to either side.

Tredegar Town were not in action last weekend and were denied some match practice on Wednesday, when their scheduled home Gwent FA Senior Cup semi-final with Monmouth Town was postponed due to floodlight issues.

Lliswerry scored a fine 3-1 home triumph over table-topping Llanelli Town last Saturday, their 14^th victory in 23 league starts.

Form guide:

Tredegar: L L W W L W

Lliswerry: L W W D L W

GWENT WEDNESDAY REPORT

11 March 2015

from Terry Daley

Llanwern 3 Undy Athletic 1

LLANWERN returned to winning ways at Newport Stadium to boost their hopes of maintaining a place in the race to gain promotion to Division One.

They recovered from Saturday's same-scoreline defeat at Cwmbran Celtic to move up a quartet of places to fourth and behind third-placed Aberbargoed Buds on goal difference only.

However Llanwern have played three more matches than Aberbargoed and sixth-placed Celtic - who also have a trio of games in hand.

Marc Curtis put Llanwern ahead around the five-minute mark before visiting forward Ollie Beckett passed over a great chance to level matters when he missed from the penalty spot just six minutes later.

However Undy did manage to equalise via a brilliantly-struck 30-yard volley from Ben Davies just after the half-hour mark and Beckett was out of luck again when he hit the crossbar before team-mate James Barnes head wide when well placed.

Llanwern went ahead for a second time through their top scorer Matthew Hibbs, who fired in his 12^th league goal of the season on the hour mark and it was 3-1 with just 16 minutes remaining when Dan Hooper netted.

Home goalkeeper Chris Golton kept Undy at bay with three good saves before his side went on to complete a deserved triumph - their 10^th victory in 22 starts and they are next in action on Saturday, when travel down the M4 to face fifth-placed West End.

Undy are remain ninth, although still only four points adrift of Aberbargoed, and they now face an extremely difficult task to gain a positive result - an away fixture against unbeaten leaders Barry Town United.

TREDEGAR TOWN V MONMOUTH TOWN POSTPONED THIS EVENING

11 March 2015

This evening's Gwent FA Senior Cup semi final between Tredegar Town and Monmouth Town has been postponed because of floodlight issues.

Rearranged date to be advised.

GWENT WEDNESDAY PREVIEW

11 March 2015

from Terry Daley

Division Two (figures in brackets relate to table positions of 16).

Newport Stadium: Llanwern (7) v Undy Athletic (9) - kick off 7.30pm.

BOTH of the teams will be well aware defeat could see an end to their already-slim hopes of achieving promotion to Division One.

Therefore each needs to win this local derby and should Llanwern prevail, then they would go above three clubs into fourth place behind Aberbargoed Buds, who currently hold the third and final promotion spot.

It would leave Llanwern trailing Aberbargoed by goal difference only, but having played three more matches with just eight remaining.

Undy will also move up a trio of places to sixth should they gain the full three points and that would leave them just one adrift of Aberbargoed having played two fixtures more with nine left.

Llanwern lost their unbeaten eight-match league and cup run last Saturday, when they went down 3-1 at Cwmbran Celtic, but welcome back suspended central defender Ben Burns.

However they are still minus influential skipper and midfielder Sam Hartrey, who must serve the last of a three-match ban.

Undy, whose coach Lawrence Owen spent nine seasons in Llanwern's dug-out, have striker Gareth Cullimore suspended and defender Gyles Thompson out with a shin problem while midfielder Martyn Phillips is doubtful with a knee strain.

They will be bidding to avoid a third consecutive reverse to follow on from respective 2-1 losses at home against Croesyceiliog and at Penrhiwceiber Rangers last weekend.

Form guide:

Llanwern: W W D D W L

Undy Athletic: L W W W L L

Gwent FA Senior Cup, semi final:

MATCH POSTPONED - FLOODLIGHT ISSUES

Sports Complex: Tredegar Town v Monmouth Town - kick off 7.30pm.

TREDEGAR will begin as underdogs to reach the final and will start fifth in the 19-strong Division Three table and are just a point adrift of third-positioned Cardiff Corinthians and with a match in hand.

They will be without Lewis Parfitt and Craig Hewitt, but welcome back Liam Macan, Gethyn Jones and Thomas Jones to their squad.

Division One champions Monmouth are currently sixth of 16 in the top flight, but would need several teams above them to experience form collapses if they are to make a successful defence of their title.

Dan Clare, Elliot Ford and Rob Laurie all missed Saturday's 2-0 away win at Ton Pentre, but all will return to the squad - although Ashley Ford and Sam Hunt face late fitness tests.

The winners to face either Panteg or Goytre, who meet at Newport Stadium on Wednesday, March 25.

GWENT SATURDAY ROUND-UP AND GWENT GOALSCORERS (LEAGUE ONLY)

9 March 2015

from Terry Daley

CWMBRAN Celtic and Lliswerry both posted crucial 3-1 home victories wins to enhance their respective hopes of promotion from Division Two and Three.

In the top flight, there were 2-0 wins for Monmouth Town and Goytre while Treowen Stars' lower-tier revival continued with a third successive triumph.

Celtic entertained county rivals Llanwern knowing drawing nine of their first 18 league fixtures was seriously harming their prospects of first-time promotion back to the top tier.

However a 3-1 success plus news of a 1-0 defeat at unbeaten leaders Barry Town United for third-placed Aberbargoed Buds, means manager Della Cheedy's troops are just a point adrift.

Both clubs still have 11 games remaining and they are now rightly classed as joint favourites to go up behind Barry Town United and second-placed Caldicot Town.

Up until the interval at Celtic Park, the sides were evenly balanced as the score stood level at 1-1 - with yet another draw looming for the home side.

However there's little doubt unbeaten-in-six Celtic created the better chances during the second period - even thought they had to reply on two late goals to secure the triumph.

Striker Luke Lewis' powerful drive bounced high into the air after it has struck the underside of the cross bar and he was first to react in heading home to make it 2-1 with just 10 minutes remaining.

Then as the game entered stoppage time, substitute Luke Thomas fired home his side's third goal to register win number eight for Celtic.

The home team went ahead on 19 minutes when Curtis Patel's pass was latched onto by Dom Connor, whose well-timed shot went in off the far post.

Llanwern, managed by former Celtic boss Gareth Morgan, began to settle in though and after a Matthew Flynn header had been cleared off the line by home midfielder Rhys Williams, they took a deserved equaliser.

However it's not a moment Celtic goalkeeper Giles Cutlan will want to recall as he allowed a fairly tame shot from Flynn to pass though his body.

Both sides missed opportunities before and after the break, but just when it appeared parity would reign Celtic finally took control.

Besides Aberbargoed, there were also 1-0 defeats at home for under strength Croesyceiliog and Caerleon against AFC Llwydcoed and Tata Steel respectively and a 2-1 away loss for Undy Athletic at Penrhiwceiber Rangers.

Olly Beckett gave Undy a 47th-minute lead when he back-heeled in a Dan Jarman cross and after the home team had eventually gone 2-1 up, Jarman and Ben Davies both struck the woodwork while James Barnes missed a very good chance.

Chepstow Town were also beaten at home, but at least the victors were Risca United, whose goals in a 2-0 success came from Dan Battle and Tony Wallis.

The win was thoroughly deserved by a changed Risca outfit, whose winger Kyle Williams hit the crossbar with a long-range effort after Wallis had opened the scoring on 15 minutes.

Battle doubled the advantage with a well-struck free kick before the break and although Chepstow did improve after it, they never really came close to reducing the deficit.

Lliswerry faced a difficult task when they hosted Division Three table toppers Llanelli Town at Spytty Park as the west Walians had been beaten only twice in 23 previous league outings.

However goals before the interval by Joe Gibson, Dan Edwards and Safian Skupinski put manager Adam Corfield's men in total control and although the visitors pulled one back after it, Lliswerry were worthy winners.

They are now fourth and only a point behind Cardiff Corinthians with a match in hand with not-in-action Tredegar Town a further one adrift, having played the same amount of games as Lliswerry.

Panteg moved up a couple of spots to eighth thanks to a 1-0 home triumph over Bettws, Jon Butcher taking his league goal tally to nine with an 84th-minute strike.

Treowen stay 13^th, but are looking increasingly safer against relegation - their 3-0 home victory over Caerau coming thanks to goals from Ricky Amos (2) and Chris Jones.

Amos now has nine league goals to his credit while Jones has recently returned from Division One Ton Pentre with Treowen also fielding new midfield signings Shane Brewer and Steve Edwards.

Newport YMCA aided their fight against the drop by picking up a point from a 2-2 draw at Pontypridd Town, but Newport Civil Service remain in the danger zone after being beaten 2-1 at home by Llantwit Major.

YMCA looked like being 2-1 losers until Alex Jenkins levelled in the very last minute with Ben Lawrence getting their other goal while NCS suffered the opposite in conceding a stoppage-time effort.

Recently-returned midfielder Marc Gunter was on the mark for NCS, whose player-boss Ben Burrows hit an upright with a free kick while the visitors' goalkeeper also made a fine save to prevent Callum Porter from adding to NCS' total.

In Division One, champions Monmouth won 2-0 at Ton Pentre and Goytre by a similar scoreline against visiting Taffs Well with both having a player netting twice, goal-doubles for Elliot Evans and Craig Moses taking their respective league totals for five and 13.

Mid-week fixtures (both 7.30pm):

Wednesday.

Welsh League, Division Two:

Llanwern v Undy Athletic.

Gwent FA Senior Cup, semi final:

Tredegar v Monmouth Town.

Gwent goalscorers (League only).

GOYTRE'S Craig Moses scored both of his side's goals in a 2-0 home win over Taffs Well to take his campaign tally to 13 - ten behind leading marksman Josh Brown, of Lliswerry.

23 - Josh Brown (Lliswerry).

17 - Zac Osbourne (Croesyceiliog).

16 - Tom McCarthy (Aberbargoed Buds).

15 - Leo Ross (Chepstow Town).

14 - Jason Thorn (Caldicot Town).

13 - Craig Moses (Goytre)

12 - Jon Butcher (Panteg), Nick Harrhy (Monmouth Town), Dan MacDonald (Monmouth Town).

11 - Matthew Hibbs (Llanwern), Tomas Lynch (Tredegar Town).

10 - Gareth Cullimore (Undy Athletic), Ian Pettit (Tredegar Town).

9 - Ricky Amos (Treowen Stars), Olly Beckett (Undy Athletic), Dale Cook (Lliswerry), Niall Simmons (Newport YMCA), Tony Willis (Risca United).

8 - Scott Armitage (Aberbargoed Buds), Matthew Flynn (Llanwern, including seven for Pontypridd Town), Steven Hughes (Tredegar Town), Hishi Lama (Croesyceiliog, including one for Chepstow Town), Luke Lewis (Cwmbran Celtic).

7 - Daniel Battle (Risca United, including six for Tredegar Town), Josh Bull (including two for Monmouth Town), Jamie Davies (Caerleon), Gareth Delve (Llanwern), Luke Dyke (Panteg, including one for Croesyceiliog), Nic Hooper (Llanwern), Dave Hurley (Risca United), Dan Saunders (Caldicot Town), Richard Sharratt (Caldicot Town), Dan Stoneman (Lliswerry).

6 - Dominic Connor (Cwmbran Celtic), Dan Hooper (Llanwern), Derice McLean (Newport Civil Service - no longer with club), Ben Taylor (Panteg), Kyle Williams (Risca United).

5 - Josh Collier (Risca United), Ben Davies (Undy Athletic), Mark Dunn (Caerleon, including three for Chepstow Town), Elliot Evans (Monmouth Town), James Francis (Caerleon), Jordan Jones (Llanwern), Josh Jones (Tredegar Town), Luke Thomas (Cwmbran Celtic), James Young (Goytre).

4 - Aaron Colwill (Risca United), Lewis Coote (Treowen Stars), Dan Edwards (Lliswerry), Chris Ham (Monmouth Town, now of Carmarthen Town), Liam Head (Caerleon), Joe Howells (Lliswerry), Chris Jones (Treowen Stars), David Lloyd (Caldicot Town), Chris Quinlan (Tredegar Town), Mark Organ (Chepstow Town), Craig Price (Treowen Stars), Matt Prosser (Goytre), Dean Randall (Treowen Stars).

3 - Wayne Antoniazzi (Aberbargoed Buds), Jamie Arnold (Croesyceiliog), Michael Bishop (Llanwern), Dan Clouth (Croesyceiliog), Luke Cueto (Caerleon), Gary Evans (Treowen Stars), Max Fessey (Lliswerry), Elliott Ford (Monmouth Town), Nathan Hardwick (Newport YMCA), Ryan Hayward (Croesyceiliog), Kirk Hicks (Panteg, including three for Lliswerry), Andrew Larcombe (Cwmbran Celtic), Craig Lewis (Chepstow Town), Rhys Luffman (Lliswerry), Tre Marrett (Newport YMCA), James Martin (Newport YMCA), Paul Michael (Risca United), Stephen Parfitt (Treowen Stars), Sam Rushworth (Chepstow Town), Jordan Ryan (Panteg), Liam Shaw (Aberbargoed Buds), Gyles Thompson (Undy Athletic).

2 - Tom Berry (Newport Civil Service), Paul Clayton (Undy Athletic), Owen Cook (Cwmbran Celtic), Marc Curtis (Llanwern), Richard Cress (Cwmbran Celtic), Lloyd Dando (Treowen Stars), Josh Evans (Treowen Stars), Jordan Harding (Goytre), Tom Hooper (Undy Athletic), Matt James (Caldicot Town), Alex Jenkins (Newport YMCA), Rhys Jones (Aberbargoed Buds), Kazeem Karen (Lliswerry), Ben Lawrence (Newport YMCA), Jordan Maisey (Aberbargoed Buds), Lee Mason (Panteg), Gavin Meacham (Aberbargoed Buds), Joe O'Brien (Newport YMCA), Craig Price (Treowen Stars), Nick Potts (Chepstow Town), Mitchell Slape (Caldicot Town), Elliott Williams (Aberbargoed Buds), Jon Williams (Panteg), Tom Wise (Panteg), Ben Wotton (Caerleon).

1 - Jack Alderdice (Monmouth Town), Adam Alkysi (Tredegar Town), Gareth Appleby (Panteg), Josh Ball (Tredegar Town), Michael Baugh (Cwmbran Celtic), James Barnes (Undy Athletic), Tom Barry (Llanwern), Gareth Bennett (Caerleon, including one for Chepstow Town), Joe Bidgood (Newport YMCA), Mike Binning (Undy Athletic), Steven Boucher (Lliswerry), Gareth Cleverly (Newport Civil Service), Jacob Cross (Aberbargoed Buds), Simon Crook (Caldicot Town), Tom Dando (Cwmbran Celtic), Aysa El-Doory (Newport Civil Service), Yousif El-Doori (Caerleon), Alex Evans (Goytre), Ben Evans (Monmouth Town), Gary Evans (Treowen Stars), Louis Feeley (Chepstow Town), Joe Gibson (Lliswerry), Dean Goddard (Newport YMCA), Marc Gunter (Newport Civil Service), Lewis Grant (Chepstow Town), Jordan Harding (Goytre), Jack Hardman (Newport Civil Service), Jack Harvey (Chepstow Town), Luke Harris (Treowen Stars), Mo Hassan (Newport YMCA), Rhys Hodges (Cwmbran Celtic), Sam Hunt (Monmouth Town), Luis James (Panteg), Tommy James (Treowen Stars), Ashley Johnson (Lliswerry), Grant Jones (Treowen Stars), Luke Jones (Cwmbran Celtic), Jason Lewis (Newport YMCA), Scott Lewis (Caerleon), Will McConnell (Caldicot Town), Craig McDonnell (Aberbargoed Buds), Liam Macan (Tredegar Town), Steffan Marchant (Croesyceiliog), Nick Maynard (Llanwern); Ryan Meek (Treowen Stars), Dave Mellon (Newport Civil Service), Adam Meredith (Tredegar Town), Calum Miles (Goytre), Gavin Millar (Panteg), Lee Morgan (Newport Civil Service), Dale Morris (Llanwern), Ian Morris (Tredegar Town), Mark Morris (Croesyceiliog), Lewys Nash (Aberbargoed Buds), Sam Oakley (Caerleon), Ashley Palmer (Chepstow Town), John Pardue (Newport YMCA), Rakesh Patel (Cwmbran Celtic), Marcus Power (Undy Athletic), Tyla Preece (Aberbargoed Buds), James Price (Tredegar Town), Anthony Richards (Croesyceiliog), Leigh Sharp (Risca United), Richie Shire (Lliswerry), Jack Sinderby (Croesyceiliog), Safian Skupinski (Lliswerry), Andrew Smith (Monmouth Town), Alex Stewart (Newport YMCA), Lewis Sweetland (Newport Civil Service), Kieron Thomas (Aberbargoed Buds), Simon Truman (Goytre), Alex Waters (Caerleon), Jake Wainright (Goytre), Ben Watson (Caerleon), Jack Wellington (Croesyceiliog), Steve Wilson (Caldicot Town), Ben Wotton (Caerleon), Joel Worgan (Tredegar Town).

CLEAN-SHEETS:

11 - Caldicot Town.

7 - Tredegar Town.

6 - Lliswerry.

5 - Goytre; Panteg.

4 - Aberbargoed Buds; Chepstow Town; Monmouth Town; Undy Athletic.

3 - Caerleon; Cwmbran Celtic; Llanwern; Newport Civil Service; Risca United; Treowen Stars.

2 - Croesyceiliog; Newport YMCA.

GWENT SATURDAY PREVIEW 

6 March 2015

from Terry Daley

SHOULD Aberbargoed Buds become the first team of 23 to defeat unbeaten leaders Barry Town United on Saturday, it would significantly boost their prospects of first-time promotion back to the top flight.

Nathaniel Cars Welsh League (all 2.30pm kick offs).

Division One (figures in brackets relate to league positions of 16).

Plough Road: Goytre (9) v Taffs Well (8).

Goytre are battling to secure a mid-table end to the campaign and could yet finish in the top six, although they must become far more consistent during their final 11 games.

Player-boss Carl Evans' troops can match the best on their day, but being the top 11's lowest goalscorers - just 34 in 19 - has held them back.

Will begin here on the back of last weekend's 2-1 away defeat by Aberdare Town, where 12-goal striker Craig Moses' penalty miss denied them a point.

The visitors are just one point better off and lost by the same score at Ton Pentre and with these teams having identical playing records over the past three matches, a draw seems the favourites outcome.

Form guide:

Goytre: L L L D W L

Taffs Well: W W W D W L

Ynys Park: Ton Pentre (12) v Monmouth Town (6).

The day is fast approaching when Monmouth will be described as former champions and they must recover from Tuesday's 2-1 home defeat at the hands of Caerau (Ely).

Striker Nick Harrhy was The Kingfishers' scorer to take his season's league tally to 12, the same as attacking midfielder Dan MacDonald.

Monmouth have defeated Ton this season, winning a Welsh Cup, round-one tie 3-0 at home last October, when Harrhy, MacDonald and the now-departed Chris Ham were their scorers.

Ton, eight points adrift of Monmouth having played three matches less, ended a run of four straight defeats by winning 2-1 against visiting Taffs Well last time out.

Form guide:

Ton Pentre: W L L L L W

Monmouth Town: L L W L W L

Division Two (figures in brackets relate to league positions of 16).

Recreation Ground: Aberbargoed Buds (3) v Barry Town United (1).

Aberbargoed are unbeaten in four and halted a sequence of three consecutive draws by defeating visiting Swansea-based West End 5-2 a couple of weeks ago.

Striker Tom McCarthy bagged a brace to take his campaign league total to 16 and since, results have gone his side's way remain in pole position to go up.

Are currently 13 points behind second-placed Caldicot Town with four matches in hand and the teams meet at Caldicot's Jubilee Way ground on March 28.

This, of course, is the ultimate test as the visitors are unbeaten in 22 league matches, the last a 2-2 draw at Cwmbran Celtic recently.

Form guide:

Aberbargoed Buds: W L D D D W

Barry Town United: W W W W W D

Cold Bath Road: Caerleon (13) v Tata Steel (14).

Caerleon's recent recruitment drive produced four points from the last six on offer and their improved form has finally taken them out of the drop zone.

Another positive is despite their lowly position, they actually have the best defensive record in the section's bottom seven, just 38 goals conceded in 20 outings.

This is an extremely difficult game to predict a winner as both sides are on the up and it would be no surprise if it ended all square.

Tata may well still be in the drop zone, but Wednesday's 2-2 draw at Cwmbran Celtic means it's just one defeat in eight for them now - although five have been drawn.

Form guide:

Caerleon: L L L L W D

Tata Steel: D W D D L D

Larkfield Ground: Chepstow Town (4) v Risca United (9).

Despite losing five squad regulars recently, Chepstow returned to winning ways by edging a nine-goal thriller at AFC Llwydcoed.

The victory took them up to the very edge of the promotion race, but the general feeling is they may just miss out - mainly because they've played more matches than their rivals.

Risca have stabilised a rocking boat with a win and a draw following five successive defeats and it's a fact they are still only half a dozen points off a promotion spot.

However a top-six place in now a much more realistic target for The Cuckoos, whose striker Tony Wallis scored a last-minute penalty to earn a 1-1 home draw with Caerleon last time out.

Form guide:

Chepstow Town: L D W L L W

Risca United: L L L L W D

Woodland Road: Croesyceiliog (10) v AFC Llwydcoed (11). 

Croesyceiliog put a 6-0 away thrashing at the hands on unbeaten, champions-elect Barry Town United by winning 2-1 away at county rivals Undy Athletic.

However they can count themselves extremely unlucky to have slipped to a 1-0 defeat at second-placed Caldicot Town in mid-week, when the home side scored in the very last minute via Mitchell Slape.

To make matters worse, Croesyceiliog will be minus top scorer Zac Osbourne, who missed a penalty and was then sent off at Jubilee Way.

The visitors form run of seven defeats from their last nine outings has them just six points above the danger zone and they lost their last two games, both at home, 4-0 and 5-4 to Caerleon and Chepstow respectively.

Form guide:

Croesyceiliog: W W W L W L

AFC Llwydcoed: L W L W L L

Celtic Park: Cwmbran Celtic (7) v Llanwern (5).

It may be worth checking to see if this game is on a pools coupon somewhere because given Celtic's passion for drawing games, it certainly appears to be worth a punt on parity.

Their 'habit' surfaced yet again on Wednesday, when they were held for the ninth time in 18 games, this time 2-2 at Newport Stadium by Tata Steel - Dom Connor and skipper Richard Crees their scorers.

Llanwern are unbeaten in their last six league matches and only leaders Barry Town United have scored more than their 46-goal tally and they played Celtic at Newport Stadium on February 18 - when it unsurprisingly ended 1-1.

The hosts may not be the most free-flowing football side on the planet, but they do have a strong work ethic and they can still make an impact on the promotion race.

Form guide:

Cwmbran Celtic: D W D W D D

Llanwern: W W W D D W

Glasbrook Field: Penrhiwceiber Rangers (12) v Undy Athletic (8).

Undy were very disappointed to have been beaten 2-1 at home by county rivals Croesyceiliog last weekend, when victory would have put them into fourth place.

Their bid to quickly recover in mid-week was thwarted by the weather which forced a postponement of their away game against Ely Rangers.

They are by no means out of the running to clinch promotion from ending the season in third spot, but because of their last result this is now a 'must-win' fixture.

Rangers have been flirting with the drop zone of the vast majority of the season, have won only two of their last 11 games and were beaten lost 1-0 at Llanwern recently.

Form guide:

Penrhiwceiber Rangers: L D W W L L

Undy Athletic: D L W W W L

Division Three (figures in brackets relate to league positions of 19).

Spytty Park: Lliswerry (5) v Llanelli (1).

Lliswerry's prospects of playing Division Two football for the first time took a hit in mid-week, when they were beaten 3-1 at home by second-placed Ammanford.

Kazeem Karen scored their goal, although the defeat means they are still just a single point off third spot (held by Tredegar Town) and with a match in hand.

Their previous game was actually at Ammanford where they played well before being held 1-1, although they will have to re-produce that form here of they are to gain a positive result.

The west Walians are in fine form and it appears only a matter of time before they clinch promotion and probably the divisional championship trophy.

Form guide:

Lliswerry: W L W W D L

Llanelli: W L L W W W

Shannon Close, Bettws: Newport Civil Service (17) v Llantwit Major (11).

After reporting on such an horrendous run of straight defeats (13), I take great delight in explaining NCS are here gunning for a third successive victory.

The turnaround, following the signing of a whole batch of Monmouth Town youth-team players plus a couple of 'old-boys', has given the club fresh hope of eventually climbing away from the relegation zone.

There is, however, much work to be done, although it's quite a remarkable fact that NCS still have 22 league fixtures remaining - so with 66 points on offer, who am I to rule them out of promotion!!

The visitors' slump in form has seen the slip to defeat four times in their last five outings, including a 3-0 home loss at the hands of Treowen Stars six days ago.

Form guide:

Newport Civil Service: L L L L W W

Llantwit Major: W L L W L L

Panteg House, Griffithstown: Panteg (10) v Bettws (16).

Panteg are 13 points off a promotion spot and with four games in hand - although they will be aware there are several clubs who are in better positions.

They were edged out in a seven-goal thriller at Tredegar Town on Wednesday, when Jon Butcher (2) and Ben Taylor were their scorers with the home side netting via Ian Pettit, Tomas Lynch, Steven Hughes and Joshua Jones (penalty).

The records show that was Panteg's third loss in four and because of that, this clash must produce a win for manager Mark Taylor's men.

Bettws' recent run of good form has kept them just above the drop zone and they were 2-0 away victors over basement outfit Cardiff Grange Harlequins on the same night.

Form guide:

Panteg: D W L L W L

Bettws: W W D L W W

Ynysangharad Park: Pontypridd Town (9) v Newport YMCA (15). 

With 24 points gained, YMCA are some 12 ahead of those in the drop zone - but their recent form is not good and they may still need three more wins to be absolutely safe.

They really do need to tighten up at the back and only bottom-placed Cardiff Grange Harlequins have conceded more goals - 97 as opposed to 69.

Are, remarkably, still waiting for the first draw after 24 league matches and the truth is, a point here would be most welcome.

The hosts were on a good run of four unbeaten until they were defeated 3-1 at home by revitalised Newport Civil Service.

Form guide:

Pontypridd Town: L W D W W L

Newport YMCA: L L L L W L

Bush Park: Treowen Stars (13) v Caerau (14).

Treowen will see this as a fine opportunity to continue their recent run of good form and it's not beyond them to eventually progress to clinch a mid-table end to the campaign.

Manager Simon Evans' side has also been among the goals as no less than 14 were scored in compiling a sequence of three wins and a draw.

Not unsurprisingly, that means they are now the highest goal scorers in the bottom seven with Ricky Amos their leading marksman with the same total.

The visitors had won five of six until they were defeated 3-0 at home by Newport YMCA two weeks ago and the home side will begin as favourites to clinch the three points on offer.

Form guide:

Treowen Stars: D L W D W W

Caerau: W W L W W L

GWENT WEDNESDAY ROUND-UP

5 March 2015

from Terry Daley

Division Two.

Jubilee Way: Caldicot Town 1 Croesyceiliog 0

There was a dramatic end to this county derby as each side had a player sent off, there was a missed penalty plus a last-minute winner for the promotion-seeking home team.

Croesyceiliog's Zac Osbourne saw Caldicot goalkeeper Ben Davidson save his spot kick before he and the home side's Matt Trottman were both red-carded - with striker Mitchell Slape grabbing the last-minute winner.

It was Caldicot's 11^h clean-sheet in 23 league outings and they now have 50 points for the season and are almost within touching distance of regaining top-flight status while Croesyceiliog remain in 10^th position.

Newport Stadium: Cwmbran Celtic 2 Tata Steel 2.

Just when it appeared Celtic were about to celebrate victory, up popped Tata full back Matthew Williams with two minutes left to head home the equaliser.

However the goal was shrouded in controversy as Celtic claim the ball had not crossed the line as one of their defenders attempted to head Williams' effort clear.

The visitors held a 1-0 interval lead, this time from a Matthew Lewis header, before Celtic struck back through goals from a Dom Connor free kick and a header from skipper Richard Crees at a Connor corner.

However Williams' late effort means Celtic drew for a ninth time in 18 league outings - although they moved up one place to seventh above Undy Athletic while Tata remain 14^th of 16.

Division Three.

Spytty Park: Lliswerry 1 Ammanford 3.

This defeat for Lliswerry means they lose valuable ground in the race to gain Division Two football and with Tredegar defeating Panteg, they remain in fifth place.

Lliswerry's goalscorer Kazeem Karen.

Sports Complex: Tredegar Town 4 Panteg 3.

Goals from Tomas Lynch, Ian Pettit, Steven Hughes and Joshua Jones (penalty) earned Tredegar the edge in this seven-goal thriller.

The success was their 13^th in 23 starts and took them up two places to third on 43 points and there was more good news later when it was discovered Lliswerry had been beaten at home by Ammanford.

On target for Panteg where Jon Butcher (2) and Ben Taylor and they stay 10^th in the 19-strong section.

GWENT WEDNESDAY PREVIEW

4 March 2015

from Terry Daley

Division Two (figures in brackets relate to table positions of 16). 

Jubilee Way: Caldicot Town (2) v Croesyceiliog (10) - kick off 7.30pm.

Victory for Caldicot will take them onto 50 points for the season and given they have the meanest defence in the entire league (for those clubs who have played more than 18 games), it would make them red-hot favourites to go up behind champions-elect Barry Town United.

They are unbeaten in 12 league matches and will start on the back of Saturday's 2-1 away win at West End, their 14^th success in 23 fixtures in which they have kept 10 clean-sheets.

This is, however, no given because apart from a 6-0 thrashing at Barry, Croesyceiliog's form has been excellent and indeed they are only six points off third spot, having played a game more.

Were also 2-1 away victors at the weekend, against hosts Undy Athletic, and their total of 41 goals conceded is the second lowest in the bottom seven.

Form guide:

Caldicot Town: W W D D W W

Croesyceiliog: D W W W L W

Newport Stadium: Cwmbran Celtic (8) v Tata Steel (14) - kick off 7.30pm.

Statistics are firmly against the home side gaining promotion back to the top flight as only two of the last 15 clubs to have gone up drew more matches than Celtic's current total of eight.

That was Aberbargoed Buds and Caerau (Ely), who both found parity 10 times when earning elevation to the top flight in 2012-13 - but that figure was from 30 games as opposed to Celtic's 17.

Celtic, though, deserve great credit from recovering from a very-early 2-0 deficit at home against unbeaten leaders Barry Town United last weekend.

Their respective league placings will hand Celtic the favourites tag, but be aware lowly Tata Steel have lost just once in their last seven fixtures - with four of those being draws!

Form guide:

Cwmbran Celtic: L D W D W D

Tata Steel: D W D D L W

Division Three (figures in brackets relate to table positions of 19).

Spytty Park: Lliswerry (4) v Ammanford (2) - kick off 7.30pm.

This match represents a fair chance for Lliswerry to continue their push for promotion to the second tier and it comes just four days after the teams drew 1-1 at Ammanford.

Lliswerry striker Josh Brown was on the mark to take his league tally to 23 to stretch his lead at the top of the scorers' list for those players appearing for Gwent clubs.

Should Lliswerry avoid defeat, it will take them above third-placed Cardiff Corinthians and they will still have a match in hand over the capital side.

After winning their opening 15 games, Ammanford's form has dramatically nose-dived to show they have gained only one point from the last 12 on offer.

Form guide:

Lliswerry: L W L W W D

Ammanford: W W L L L D

Sports Complex: Tredegar Town (6) v Panteg (10) - kick off 7.15pm.

Big game for both clubs, who rightly still harbour hopes of being involved in the race to go up - although each will be aware there are some clubs in much better positions.

Tredegar were unlucky in losing 1-0 to hosts and leaders Llanelli Town last time out, but expect to have Liam Macan, Lewis Parfitt, Gethyn Jones and Thomas Jones all returning to the squad.

Panteg earned a 5-2 home win over Cardiff Grange Harlequins last time out, but report they are minus eight members of their squad for this clash,

Remarkably, this match marks the start of their second half on their 36-fixture programme and with still so many points to play for, manager Mark Taylor's men can still finish in a fairly lofty position.

Form guide:

Tredegar: W L L W W L

Panteg: L D W L L W

GWENT TUESDAY PREVIEW

3 March 2015

from Terry Daley

Division One (figures in brackets relate to table positions of 16).

Pen-Y-Pound Stadium, Abergavenny: Monmouth Town (6) v Caerau (Ely) (5) - kick off 7.15pm kick off.

ROB Laurie hopes becoming a father for the second time can inspire him to victory against the team immediately above Monmouth.

However The Kingfishers' leading scorer, 22-goal Dan MacDonald, is doubtful for the game because of injury.

Laurie, 29 and club captain, missed The Kingfishers 3-1 home win over Pontardawe Town on Saturday, due to the birth of his daughter and also missing were Elliot Ford, Sam Hunt and Ben Evans - but all are available for selection.

The visitors are one spot above Monmouth in the 16-strong division and they were 3-0 victors at basement side AFC Porth at the weekend.

Form guide:

Monmouth Town: W L L W L W

Caerau (Ely): D L D W D W

Division Two:

Station Road, Wenvoe: Ely Rangers (15) v Undy Athletic (7) - kick off 8.00pm.

Undy must recover from Saturday's 2-1 home defeat at the hands of county rivals Croesyceiliog, their seventh defeat in 19 league fixtures.

They will be without strikers Gareth Cullimore (suspended) and Dan Jarman (holiday) plus injured midfielders Martyn Phillips and Tom Hooper.

Victory for Undy will take them up three places to fourth in the table and just one point off the third and final promotion spot held by Aberbargoed Buds.

Ely are in danger of losing their second-tier status having won only five times in 23 starts and they were last in action on February 21, when they were beaten 4-1 by hosts Cwmbran Celtic.

Form guide:

Ely Rangers: W L L L L L

Undy Athletic: D L W W W L

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2 March 2015

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GWENT SATURDAY ROUND-UP AND GWENT GOALSCORERS (LEAGUE ONLY)

2 March 2015

from Terry Daley

CALDICOT Town inched closer to a place in the top flight thanks to a 2-1 win at Swansea-based West End, their 14^th success in 23 Division Two starts.

In the same section, Chepstow Town and Llanwern both won to stay on the heels of the promotion pack while in the bottom tier, it was a good day for Lliswerry, whose bid to go up was helped by them picking up a valuable away points while other rivals slipped up.

Caldicot player-boss Mark Williams took his side down the M4 to the Mayhill area of Swansea to face West End, who were relegated from Division One at the end of last season.

It was a tight affair, but Caldicot eventually emerged as 2-1 victors to consolidate second position and they are now a point closer to Barry Town United, who maintained their unbeaten status with a 2-2 draw at Cwmbran Celtic.

Netting for Caldicot were David Lloyd and Dan Saunders while Chepstow moved up three to fourth behind not-in-action Aberbargoed Buds with a 5-2 home triumph over hosts AFC Llwydcoed.

Leo Ross was their goalscoring hero with a hat-trick to take his campaign league tally to 15 with other goals coming via Louis Feeley and Mark Organ.

Also elevating themselves up a trio of places were Llanwern, now fifth, whose effort in their 1-0 success over Penrhiwceiber Rangers was scored by Michael Bishop - although defender Ben Burns now faces a suspension after being sent off for picking up two yellow cards.

Down two spots to seventh are Undy Athletic, who surprisingly lost 2-1 at home to Croesyceiliog, who leap-frogged Risca United into 10^th spot.

Undy took the lead before the break through Gyles Thompson, but goals after it by Jack Wellington and Jamie Arnold earned the visitors the win.

Celtic entertained Barry Town United, who began with a bang with two goals in the opening seven minutes - first when a Jamie Bradford corner evaded everyone and in the first 60 seconds and then when Ryan Evans scored at another flag-kick after home goalkeeper Giles Cutlan had done well to initially parry a close-range shot.

The home team, though, managed to gain a foothold on 23 minutes as Luke Lewis fired in after visiting goalkeeper Dan Bradley could only push out a deflected Dominic Connor cross.

Manager Della Cheedy's men maintained the pressure and were duly rewarded on the hour mark, when Bradley's weak punch out of a Luke Jones lob was headed into an unguarded net by Owen Cook.

The 2-2 draw, Celtic's eighth in 17 league outings, means they slip one from seventh and they are in action again on Wednesday, when they host Tata Steel at Newport Stadium.

Risca drew their county derby against improving Caerleon 1-1 with the visitors looking likely to secure as second consecutive win following a goal from Liam Head.

However despite having Matthew Russell sent off, Risca grabbed a last-minute equaliser thanks to a Tony Wallis penalty.

Lliswerry made the long trek home from second-placed Ammanford with a point from a 1-1 draw and they are fourth only a point behind Cardiff Corinthians with a match in hand

Striker Josh Brown scored yet again to take his campaign league total to 23, the highest among those playing for Gwent clubs, and they face a quick-fire return with the west Walians, who they host on Wednesday.

Tredegar's promotion hopes took a knock as they were beaten 1-0 at table-topping Llanelli Town while of the remaining five local clubs in the section, only Newport YMCA didn't win.

They were crushed 5-1 at Cardiff Corinthians, but Panteg beat visiting Cardiff Grange Harlequins 5-2, Treowen won 3-0 at Llantwit Major and Newport Civil Service were 3-1 victors at Pontypridd Town.

Panteg's goals were posted by Jon Butcher (2), Tom Wise, Luke Duke and Luis James as they moved up a place to 10^th of 19 with Treowen scoring via Dean Randall (2) and Josh Evans.

NCS were without five regulars, but will managed to net goals by Tom Berry (2) and Jack Hardman and they are now favourites to move away from the drop zone.

In Division One, defending champions Monmouth Town were 3-1 home winners over struggling Pontardawe Town, but Goytre fell to a 2-1 reverse at Aberdare Town.

The Kingfishers' player-boss Andrew Smith came on as a substitute for his first appearance in two years and managed to score a penalty which supplemented goals from Nick Harrhy and Luke Cleaves.

Goytre had only an own goal to show for their efforts with striker Craig Moses missing a penalty.

Mid-week fixtures (7.30pm kick offs, unless stated).

Tuesday.

Division One: Monmouth Town v Caerau (Ely) (at Pen-Y-Pound Stadium, Abergavenny).

Division Two: Ely Rangers v Undy Athletic (8.00pm).

Wednesday.

Division Two:

Caldicot Town v Croesyceiliog

Cwmbran Celtic v Tata Steel (at Newport Stadium).

Division Three:

Lliswerry v Ammanford

Tredegar Town v Panteg (7.15pm).

Gwent goalscorers (League only).

LEADING scorer Josh Brown increased his lead at the top of the list after scoring Lliswerry's goal in a 1-1 draw at Ammanford.

23 - Josh Brown (Lliswerry).

17 - Zac Osbourne (Croesyceiliog).

16 - Tom McCarthy (Aberbargoed Buds).

15 - Leo Ross (Chepstow Town).

14 - Jason Thorn (Caldicot Town).

12 - Dan MacDonald (Monmouth Town).

11 - Nick Harrhy (Monmouth Town), Matthew Hibbs (Llanwern), Craig Moses (Goytre).

10 - Gareth Cullimore (Undy Athletic), Tomas Lynch (Tredegar Town).

9 - Jon Butcher (Panteg), Dale Cook (Lliswerry), Ian Pettit (Tredegar Town).

8 - Scott Armitage (Aberbargoed Buds), Olly Beckett (Undy Athletic), Matthew Flynn (Llanwern, including seven for Pontypridd Town), Hishi Lama (Croesyceiliog, including one for Chepstow Town), Luke Lewis (Cwmbran Celtic), Niall Simmons (Newport YMCA), Tony Willis (Risca United).

7 - Ricky Amos (Treowen Stars), Josh Bull (including two for Monmouth Town), Jamie Davies (Caerleon), Gareth Delve (Llanwern), Luke Dyke (Panteg, including one for Croesyceiliog), Nic Hooper (Llanwern), Steven Hughes (Tredegar Town), Dave Hurley (Risca United), Dan Saunders (Caldicot Town), Richard Sharratt (Caldicot Town), Dan Stoneman (Lliswerry).

6 - Daniel Battle (Risca United, including six for Tredegar Town), Dan Hooper (Llanwern), Derice McLean (Newport Civil Service - no longer with club), Kyle Williams (Risca United).

5 - Josh Collier (Risca United), Dominic Connor (Cwmbran Celtic), Ben Davies (Undy Athletic), Mark Dunn (Caerleon, including three for Chepstow Town), James Francis (Caerleon), Jordan Jones (Llanwern), Ben Taylor (Panteg), Luke Thomas (Cwmbran Celtic), James Young (Goytre).

4 - Aaron Colwill (Risca United), Lewis Coote (Treowen Stars), Chris Ham (Monmouth Town, now of Carmarthen Town), Liam Head (Caerleon), Joe Howells (Lliswerry), Josh Jones (Tredegar Town), David Lloyd (Caldicot Town), Chris Quinlan (Tredegar Town), Mark Organ (Chepstow Town), Craig Price (Treowen Stars), Matt Prosser (Goytre), Dean Randall (Treowen Stars)

3 - Wayne Antoniazzi (Aberbargoed Buds), Jamie Arnold (Croesyceiliog), Michael Bishop (Llanwern), Dan Clouth (Croesyceiliog), Luke Cueto (Caerleon), Dan Edwards (Lliswerry), Eliot Evans (Monmouth Town), Gary Evans (Treowen Stars), Max Fessey (Lliswerry), Elliott Ford (Monmouth Town), Nathan Hardwick (Newport YMCA), Ryan Hayward (Croesyceiliog), Kirk Hicks (Panteg, including three for Lliswerry), Chris Jones (Treowen Stars), Andrew Larcombe (Cwmbran Celtic), Craig Lewis (Chepstow Town), Rhys Luffman (Lliswerry), Tre Marrett (Newport YMCA), James Martin (Newport YMCA), Paul Michael (Risca United), Stephen Parfitt (Treowen Stars), Simon Prangley (Chepstow Town, now of Afan Lido), Sam Rushworth (Chepstow Town), Jordan Ryan (Panteg), Liam Shaw (Aberbargoed Buds), Gyles Thompson (Undy Athletic).

2 – Tom Berry (Newport Civil Service), Paul Clayton (Undy Athletic), Owen Cook (Cwmbran Celtic), Marc Curtis (Llanwern), Lloyd Dando (Treowen Stars), Josh Evans (Treowen Stars), Jordan Harding (Goytre), Tom Hooper (Undy Athletic), Matt James (Caldicot Town), Alex Jenkins (Newport YMCA)Rhys Jones (Aberbargoed Buds), Ben Lawrence (Newport YMCA), Jordan Maisey (Aberbargoed Buds), Lee Mason (Panteg), Gavin Meacham (Aberbargoed Buds), Joe O'Brien (Newport YMCA), Craig Price (Treowen Stars), Nick Potts (Chepstow Town), Elliott Williams (Aberbargoed Buds), Jon Williams (Panteg), Tom Wise (Panteg), Ben Wotton (Caerleon).

1 - Jack Alderdice (Monmouth Town), Adam Alkysi (Tredegar Town), Gareth Appleby (Panteg), Josh Ball (Tredegar Town), Michael Baugh (Cwmbran Celtic), James Barnes (Undy Athletic), Tom Barry (Llanwern), Gareth Bennett (Caerleon, including one for Chepstow Town), Joe Bidgood (Newport YMCA), Mike Binning (Undy Athletic), Steven Boucher (Lliswerry), Gareth Cleverly (Newport Civil Service), Richard Cress (Cwmbran Celtic), Jacob Cross (Aberbargoed Buds), Simon Crook (Caldicot Town), Tom Dando (Cwmbran Celtic), Aysa El-Doory (Newport Civil Service), Yousif El-Doori (Caerleon), Alex Evans (Goytre), Ben Evans (Monmouth Town), Gary Evans (Treowen Stars), Louis Feeley (Chepstow Town), Dean Goddard (Newport YMCA), Lewis Grant (Chepstow Town), Jordan Harding (Goytre), Jack Hardman (Newport Civil Service), Jack Harvey (Chepstow Town), Luke Harris (Treowen Stars), Mo Hassan (Newport YMCA), Rhys Hodges (Cwmbran Celtic), Sam Hunt (Monmouth Town), Luis James (Panteg), Tommy James (Treowen Stars), Ashley Johnson (Lliswerry), Grant Jones (Treowen Stars), Luke Jones (Cwmbran Celtic), Kazeem Karen (Lliswerry), Jason Lewis (Newport YMCA), Scott Lewis (Caerleon), Will McConnell (Caldicot Town), Craig McDonnell (Aberbargoed Buds), Liam Macan (Tredegar Town), Steffan Marchant (Croesyceiliog), Nick Maynard (Llanwern), Ryan Meek (Treowen Stars), Dave Mellon (Newport Civil Service), Adam Meredith (Tredegar Town)Calum Miles (Goytre), Gavin Millar (Panteg), Lee Morgan (Newport Civil Service), Dale Morris (Llanwern), Ian Morris (Tredegar Town), Mark Morris (Croesyceiliog), Lewys Nash (Aberbargoed Buds), Sam Oakley (Caerleon), Ashley Palmer (Chepstow Town), John Pardue (Newport YMCA), Rakesh Patel (Cwmbran Celtic), Marcus Power (Undy Athletic), Tyla Preece (Aberbargoed Buds), James Price (Tredegar Town), Anthony Richards (Croesyceiliog), Leigh Sharp (Risca United), Richie Shire (Lliswerry), Jack Sinderby (Croesyceiliog), Mitchell Slape (Caldicot Town), Andrew Smith (Monmouth Town), Alex Stewart (Newport YMCA), Lewis Sweetland (Newport Civil Service), Kieron Thomas (Aberbargoed Buds), Simon Truman (Goytre), Alex Waters (Caerleon), Jake Wainright (Goytre), Ben Watson (Caerleon), Jack Wellington (Croesyceiliog), Steve Wilson (Caldicot Town), Ben Wotton (Caerleon), Joel Worgan (Tredegar Town).

CLEAN-SHEETS:

10 - Caldicot Town.

7 - Tredegar Town.

6 - Lliswerry.

4 - Aberbargoed Buds; Chepstow Town; Goytre; Panteg; Undy Athletic.

3 - Caerleon; Cwmbran Celtic; Llanwern; Monmouth Town; Newport Civil Service.

2 – Croesyceiliog; Newport YMCA; Risca United; Treowen Stars.

GWENT SATURDAY PREVIEW

27 February 2015

from Terry Daley

CWMBRAN Celtic's ambitions for first-time promotion back to the top flight following last season's enforced relegation, will come under fierce examination on Saturday when they host the Welsh League's only unbeaten club, Division Two champions-elect Barry Town United.

Nathaniel Cars Welsh League (all 2.00pm kick offs).

Division One (figures in brackets relate to league positions of 16).

Aberaman Park: Aberdare Town (12) v Goytre (9).

Goytre are seeking to break into the top half of the table and indeed have enough games left to eventually finish in the first six.

Will start on the back of last Saturday's 2-1 home win over lowly Garden Village, an outcome which ended a run of four without success.

Although it could be said most clubs need to score more goals, in Goytre's case it's certainly true because their total of 33 is the lowest in the entire top 12.

Aberdare are six points behind, although here they will bid for a third successive win and they've netted 10 goals in their last two outings - beating bottom-placed AFC Porth 6-1 and then winning 4-1 at Ton Pentre.

Form guide:

Aberdare Town: L L L L W W

Goytre: W L L L D W

Pen-Y-Pound Stadium, Abergavenny: Monmouth Town (8) v Pontardawe Town (15).

It's been a disappointing season for champions Monmouth, who appear well out of contention to retain their title and they currently are 20 points off the top with only four fixtures in hand.

They are definitely out of the League Cup following last weekend's 2-1, after-extra-time defeat by Llanwern at Newport Stadium and their only chance now of silverware lies in the Gwent FA Senior Cup.

Nonetheless there is something to build on for next season, so it's far from being doom and gloom and here they will be firm favourites to return to winning ways.

The visitors are one from the bottom with just a trio of wins from 20 outings and only basement side Porth has scored less goals this season - 12 as opposed to 20.

Form guide:

Monmouth Town: L W L L W L

Pontardawe Town: W L L D L L

Division Two (figures in brackets relate to league positions of 16).

Celtic Park: Cwmbran Celtic (7) v Barry Town United (1).

With only two defeats in in 16 games, late-starters Celtic are proving hard to beat - although seven draws so far has held up their challenge to join the promotion race.

Played well after the break against relegation-threatened Ely Rangers in scoring all their goals in a 4-1 victory which came days after a credible 1-1 draw at Llanwern.

Over the years, Celtic have traditionally done better against higher-placed sides and this could be one of those occasions when they will upset the odds

But this is a very tough task for them as table-toppers Barry are virtually certain to go up and are unbeaten in 21 games with only nine remaining.

Form guide:

Cwmbran Celtic: D L D W D W

Barry Town United: W W W W W W

Newport Stadium: Llanwern (8) v Penrhiwceiber Rangers (12).

Llanwern will begin on a high after clinching a Welsh League Cup semi-final spot following their 2-1 after-extra-time triumph over champions Monmouth Town.

However a couple of league draws previous to that has blunted their hopes of becoming involved in the battle to reach the top flight.

But their playing record now shows just two reverses in their last 15 all-competition fixtures with Matthew Hibbs their leading league scorer on 11 goals.

The visitors are seven points worse off having played a game more and although they lost 2-1 at home to Barry last Saturday, they'd kept three successive clean-sheets prior to that match.

Form guide:

Llanwern: L W W W D D

Penrhiwceiber Rangers: L L D W W L

The Causeway: Undy Athletic (5) v Croesyceiliog (10).

Only one loss in seven and conceding just one goal in winning three league games on the trot, has helped Undy re-join those clubs seeking top-flight football in 2015-16.

However they will have to do without 10-goal leading scorer Gareth Cullimore, who is now suspended for three games after being straight red-carded during a 2-1 win at Chepstow Town.

Croesyceiliog had put together an impressive run of only one loss in eight games - until they were undone by unbeaten leaders Barry, who won 6-0 at Jenner Park.

If manager Mark Waddon's men can put that outcome firmly to the back of their minds, then they could well push the hosts, who are competing in their fourth successive derby, all the way.

Form guide:

Undy Athletic: D D L W W W

Croesyceiliog: L D W W W L

Pri Deri Park, Mayhill: West End (4) v Caldicot Town (2).

It seems only a matter of time before Caldicot clinch promotion back to Division One from which they were relegated from at the end of the 2010-11 season.

Player-boss Mark Williams' side is now unbeaten in 11 league outings and kept clean-sheets in eight of those to take their tally to 10 for the campaign.

Striker Jason Thorn scored in a 3-0 home triumph over relegation candidates Dinas Powys to take his league tally to 14 with Richard Sharratt on seven and Dan Saunders six while goalkeeper Ben Davidson saved a penalty.

West End are four without a win and their high placing is largely a result of playing many more games than all their rivals and here they must avoid a campaign double having lost 3-0 at Caldicot last November.

Form guide:

West End: L W D L L L

Caldicot Town: W W W D D W

Division Three (figures in brackets relate to league positions of 19).

Recreation Ground: Ammanford (2) v Lliswerry (4).

Not so very long ago, this clash would have been seen by many as red-hot banker home win as Ammanford secured victory in each of their first 15 league games while Lliswerry had lost three in four.

However Ammanford have subsequently shipped 15 goals in losing three consecutive matches with Lliswerry now looking for a third successive win.

The amazing turnaround means manager Adam Corfield's side retains interest in the promotion race and if they avoid defeat here and Cwmamman United lose at Cwm Welfare, then they will return to third position.

Striker Josh Brown netted twice in a 3-1 home success over Bettws and he still leads the scorers' list for those players appearing for Gwent clubs with 22 league goals.

Form guide:

Ammanford: W W W L L L

Lliswerry: L L W L W W

Riverside Ground, Radyr: Cardiff Corinthians (6) v Newport YMCA (14).

YMCA halted a run of five straight defeats by emerging 3-0 victors over hosts Caerau and it's believed two more wins from their remaining 13 fixtures will be enough to retain their league status.

Indeed they are only seven points adrift of eighth-placed Pontypridd Town, although they have played a couple of matches more, so a mid-table finish is still on the cards.

It's an odd fact that YMCA have still to draw a match yet after 23 outings and by coincidence, neither have the hosts in 22 starts.

Therefore it would be no surprise of parity ensued here and that would be a result which would suit YMCA better as the Corries are struggling to remain in promotion contention.

Form guide:

Cardiff Corinthians: L W W W L L

Newport YMCA: L L L L L W

Stebonheath Park: Llanelli Town (1) v Tredegar Town (5).

Tredegar reached the 40-point mark following last weekend's 2-0 win at Rhoose and need only another 11 more to better last season's total which provided them with an eighth-placed finish.

As far as going up is concerned, they are behind third-positioned Cwmamman United on goal difference - but have played three matches more.

They also need to be more sharper in front of goal as their tally of 48 from 21 starts is the lowest in the top six and have netted 30 less than leaders Llanelli from just one more fixture.

That kind of goal power has enabled the west Walians to win 17 and draw three of their 22 matches and a continuation of that sort of form will undoubtedly send them back to the second level.

Form guide:

Llanelli Town: D W L L W W

Tredegar Town: D W L L W W

Windmill Ground: Llantwit Major (10) v Treowen Stars (15).

After being eight without success, Treowen are now three unbeaten to ease fears they would go on to drop out of the 51-strong league.

Boss Simon Evans has seen his men reach 22 points from 19 fixtures and they have games in hand over the three teams above them to further improve their placing.

Ricky Amos heads their scorers' list with seven, including a couple in a fine, 5-1 away victory at bottom-placed Cardiff Grange Harlequins.

The hosts seem sure of a mid-table end to their third campaign in this league and their last two matches have produced 2-0 winning and losing scorelines at home to Panteg and away at Lliswerry respectively.

Form guide:

Llantwit Major: W W L L W L

Treowen Stars: L D L W D W

Panteg House: Panteg (11) v Cardiff Grange Harlequins 19.

Only one success from their last seven league fixtures has ruled out Panteg for promotion and they are 13 points off third spot with just a single game in hand.

However they still have 57 points to play for, although cramming so many matches into a short period of time is never the best for any side.

However they have a never-say-die attitude and that often can carry a side forward and here they should be good enough to clinch all three points.

The visitors are enduring a miserable campaign in which they have gained only seven from a possible 72 points and seem certain to lose their league status.

Form guide:

Panteg: D L D W L L

Cardiff Grange Harlequins: L L D L D L

Ynysangharad Park: Pontypridd Town (8) v Newport Civil Service (18).

Finally! After 12 successive league defeats, NCS ended the rot by winning 1-0 at fellow-strugglers Treharris Athletic Western, their first clean-sheet they beat visiting Caerau 2-0 on the opening day of the season.

The victory took NCS off the bottom of the table and above Cardiff Grange Harlequins and with 23 matches still remaining, player-manager Ben Burrows' men have lots of points from which to continue their climb.

Have since signed former Newport County youth-team goalkeeper Jamie Proctor from Caerleon, forward Tom Berry from Albion Rovers and Wales under-18s striker Callum Porter from Monmouth Town youth.

This is a tough task though for them as Pontypridd's form shows four matches unbeaten and only one loss in eight and their 47-goal tally is the highest outside the top six clubs.

Form guide:

Pontypridd Town: W L W D W W

Newport Civil Service: L L L L L W

DATES FOR THE LEAGUE CUPS SEMI-FINALS ANNOUNCED

27 February 2015

NATHANIEL CAR SALES LEAGUE CUP SEMI FINALS

SATURDAY 11 APRIL 2015 (2.00 PM KO)

Cwmamman United v Caerau (Ely) at Cwmamman United FC

Taffs Well v Llanwern at Taffs Well FC

LEAGUE YOUTH CUP SEMI FINALS

SUNDAY 12 APRIL 2015 (2.00 PM K0)

Aberdare Town v Cwmbran Celtic at Aberdare Town FC

Caerau (Ely) v Port Talbot Town at Caerau (Ely) FC

GWENT FA SENIOR CUP SEMI-FINAL DATES ANNOUNCED

26 February 2015

from Terry Daley

DATES for both of this season's Gwent FA Cup semi-final ties have been announced with each game having Welsh League Division Three clubs hosting Division One opposition.

Promotion-seeking lower-tier outfit Tredegar will entertain top-level Monmouth Town at their Sports Complex home ground on Wednesday, March 11 - kick off 7.15pm.

The other last-four tie is between Panteg and Goytre and has been arranged to take place at Newport Stadium two weeks later on Wednesday, March 25 - kick off 7.30pm.

Tredegar reached this stage following 1-0 home wins over Caldicot Town and Caerleon while The Kingfishers beat hosts Risca United 6-5 on penalties following a 2-2 after-extra-time draw and then defeated Undy Athletic 10-0 on Llanwern High School's 3G surface.

Panteg were 3-0, first-round winners over visiting Treowen Stars before knocking out hosts Croesyceiliog 1-0 with Goytre first winning 1-0 at home against Aberbargoed Buds and the seeing off hosts Cwmbran Celtic 3-1.

Gwent FA Senior Cup, first-round full results.

Chepstow Town 1 Cwmbran Celtic 2.

Risca United 2 Monmouth Town 2 (after extra time - Monmouth won 6-5 on penalties).

Goytre 1 Aberbargoed Buds 0.

Croesyceiliog 4 Newport Civil Service 1.

Newport YMCA 0 Caerleon 4.

Panteg 3 Treowen Stars 0.

Tredegar Town 1 Caldicot Town 0.

Lliswerry 1 Undy Athletic 2.

Quarter-final results.

Tredegar Town 1 Caerleon 0.

Undy Athletic 0 Monmouth Town 10.

Croesyceiliog 0 Panteg 1.

Cwmbran Celtic 1 Goytre 3.

Semi-finals

Tredegar Town v Monmouth Town: Wednesday, March 11 - kick off 7.30pm.

Panteg v Goytre (at Newport Stadium): Wednesday, March 25 - kick off 7.30pm.

GWENT SATURDAY ROUND-UP AND GWENT GOALSCORERS (LEAGUE ONLY)

24 February 2015

from Terry Daley

LLANWERN reached the semi finals of the Welsh League Cup at the expense of Division One champions Monmouth Town while both Caldicot Town and Aberbargoed Buds remain on course for promotion to the top flight.

In Division Three, Lliswerry continued their push to go up with a home victory and there were crucial wins for relegation-threatened trio Treowen Stars, Newport YMCA and Newport Civil Service.

Division Two outfit Llanwern entertained Monmouth at Newport Stadium, where the teams were playing for an away, last-four clash with top-tier side Taffs Well.

As the interval approached, fine saves from goalkeepers Chris Golton and Kieron Blackburn looked likely to mean a goal-less stalemate.

However when the ball bounced down off the crossbar during a 44th-minute goal-mouth scramble, Monmouth's Sam Hunt was on hand to give The Kingfishers a 1-0 advantage.

Llanwern began the second period much the stronger with Dan Hooper, Nic Hooper and Gareth Delve all going close before Monmouth had their period of domination with Golton again having to make important stops.

The odds swung in favour of Monmouth, when home skipper and midfielder Sam Hartrey was extremely unlucky to be straight red-carded when it appeared he had won a tackle legally.

It seemed the visitors would hang on until a linesman spotted a handball in the penalty area with Dan Hooper's ensuing spot-kick proving too powerful for the diving Blackburn.

The successful 82nd-minute equaliser saw the game enter extra time and with a penalty shoot-out looming, Llanwern's Gareth Delve nudged the ball over at a Dan Hooper corner - although it did seem as though Blackburn was impeded.

The 2-1 win stretched Llanwern's unbeaten league and cup run to an eighth game while Monmouth were slipping to a sixth defeat from their last nine all-competition matches.

In Division Two, Caldicot and Aberbargoed remain second and third respectively thanks to fine, three-goal margin home victories.

Caldicot scored via Dan Saunders, Jason Thorn and David Lloyd, the latter with a long-range volley, in defeating basement side Dinas Powys 3-0 - their 10^th clean-sheet in 21 league starts.

Striker Tom McCarthy took his campaign league tally to 16 with a brace in Aberbargoed's 5-2 win against fourth-placed West End with Elliott Williams (2) and Scott Armitage also netting, although Liam Vaughan was sent off.

Undy moved up two to fifth following a 2-1 away triumph at Chepstow Town, who drop one to sixth after taking the lead through Leo Ross before a Ben Davies header levelled matters.

Both sides were reduced to 10 men when Ashley Palmer and Gareth Cullimore saw red after a clash and deep into 12 minutes of stoppage time, up popped James Barnes to nod in the winner from a Davies free kick.

Cwmbran Celtic elevated themselves up one to seventh thanks to a 4-1 home success over struggling Ely Rangers, who led 1-0 at the break.

The home side, though, powered away with goals coming from Luke Thomas, Luke Jones, skipper Richard Crees and Dominic Connor.

Risca went into their home fixture with lowly Tata Steel having lost five games on the trot, but a 4-0 scoreline eased fears they may become embroiled in the fight to stay in the division.

Dave Hurley scored twice with other goals coming from Josh Collier and Kyle Williams as player-boss Paul Michael's side went up one position to ninth.

Caerleon's poor form had them struggling in the relegation zone, so they recruited experienced trio Gareth Wesson (goalkeeper), Gareth Bennett (defender) and Mark Dunn (striker, rejoining after a previous spell) in the week.

All three were included in the team for the visit to AFC Llwydcoed and made an immediate impact as their new side engineered a fine 4-0 win to climb out of the bottom three.

Dunn was on target twice with Scott Lewis and Jamie Davies adding goals as Caerleon won for only the fifth time in 19 league outings.

In Division Three, Lliswerry and Tredegar Town are fourth and fifth following a 3-1 home win against Bettws and a 2-0 away victory over Rhoose respectively.

Scoring Lliswerry's goals were Josh Brown (2), who now has 22 league goals, and Dan Stoneman while Joshua Jones (penalty) and Steven Hughes were on target for Tredegar.

Panteg stay 11^th of 19 in losing 4-1 at home by promotion-seeking Cwmamman United after taking the lead through Jon Butcher with Kyle Edwards later being sent off.

YMCA travelled to face Caerau as underdogs having lost five successive games, although they responded with a 3-0 win which puts them 14 points clear of the danger zone - their goals came from Nial Simmons (penalty), Ben Lawrence and James Martin.

Treowen's form improvement continued with a thumping 5-1 success at bottom-placed Cardiff Grange Harlequins where efforts from Ricky Amos (2), Lloyd Dando, Lewis Coote and Stephen Parfitt has them 12 points ahead of the relegation area.

NCS finally collected three winning points following an horrendous sequence of 12 straight defeats with a 1-0 triumph at fellow-strugglers Treharris Athletic Western.

Their recent recruitment policy paid off as new signing Lee Morgan snapped up the only goal of the game, although NCS were grateful to a splendid last-minute save from goalkeeper Chris Jones.

In Division One, Goytre are up one rung to ninth after defeating visiting Garden Village 2-1 with goals from Josh Bull and Jordan Harding.

There are no mid-week games.

Gwent goalscorers (League only).

LLISWERRY'S Josh Brown increased his lead at the top of the list by scoring twice in a 3-1 home win over Bettws while Aberbargoed Buds' Tom McCarthy took his total to 16 with a brace in his side's 5-2 victory over visiting West End.

22 - Josh Brown (Lliswerry).

17 - Zac Osbourne (Croesyceiliog).

16 - Tom McCarthy (Aberbargoed Buds).

14 - Jason Thorn (Caldicot Town).

12 - Dan MacDonald (Monmouth Town), Leo Ross (Chepstow Town).

11 - Matthew Hibbs (Llanwern), Craig Moses (Goytre).

10 - Gareth Cullimore (Undy Athletic), Nick Harrhy (Monmouth Town), Tomas Lynch (Tredegar Town).

9 - Dale Cook (Lliswerry), Ian Pettit (Tredegar Town).

8 - Scott Armitage (Aberbargoed Buds), Olly Beckett (Undy Athletic), Matthew Flynn (Llanwern, including seven for Pontypridd Town), Hishi Lama (Croesyceiliog, including one for Chepstow Town), Niall Simmons (Newport YMCA).

7 - Ricky Amos (Treowen Stars), Josh Bull (including two for Monmouth Town), Jon Butcher (Panteg), Jamie Davies (Caerleon), Gareth Delve (Llanwern), Nic Hooper (Llanwern), Steven Hughes (Tredegar Town), Dave Hurley (Risca United), Luke Lewis (Cwmbran Celtic), Richard Sharratt (Caldicot Town), Dan Stoneman (Lliswerry), Tony Willis (Risca United).

6 - Daniel Battle (Risca United, including six for Tredegar Town), Luke Dyke (Panteg, including one for Croesyceiliog), Dan Hooper (Llanwern), Derice McLean (Newport Civil Service - no longer with club), Dan Saunders (Caldicot Town), Kyle Williams (Risca United).

5 - Josh Collier (Risca United), Dominic Connor (Cwmbran Celtic), Ben Davies (Undy Athletic), Mark Dunn (Caerleon, including three for Chepstow Town), James Francis (Caerleon), Jordan Jones (Llanwern), Ben Taylor (Panteg), Luke Thomas (Cwmbran Celtic), James Young (Goytre).

4 - Aaron Colwill (Risca United), Lewis Coote (Treowen Stars), Chris Ham (Monmouth Town, now of Carmarthen Town), Joe Howells (Lliswerry), Josh Jones (Tredegar Town), Chris Quinlan (Tredegar Town), Craig Price (Treowen Stars), Matt Prosser (Goytre).

3 - Wayne Antoniazzi (Aberbargoed Buds), Dan Clouth (Croesyceiliog), Luke Cueto (Caerleon), Dan Edwards (Lliswerry), Eliot Evans (Monmouth Town), Gary Evans (Treowen Stars), Max Fessey (Lliswerry), Elliott Ford (Monmouth Town), Nathan Hardwick (Newport YMCA), Ryan Hayward (Croesyceiliog), Liam Head (Caerleon), Kirk Hicks (Panteg, including three for Lliswerry), Chris Jones (Treowen Stars), Andrew Larcombe (Cwmbran Celtic), Craig Lewis (Chepstow Town), Rhys , David Lloyd (Caldicot Town), Luffman (Lliswerry), Tre Marrett (Newport YMCA), James Martin (Newport YMCA), Paul Michael (Risca United), Mark Organ (Chepstow Town), Stephen Parfitt (Treowen Stars), Simon Prangley (Chepstow Town, now of Afan Lido), Sam Rushworth (Chepstow Town), Jordan Ryan (Panteg), Liam Shaw (Aberbargoed Buds).

2 - Jamie Arnold (Croesyceiliog), Michael Bishop (Llanwern), Paul Clayton (Undy Athletic), Marc Curtis (Llanwern), Lloyd Dando (Treowen Stars), Jordan Harding (Goytre), Tom Hooper (Undy Athletic), Matt James (Caldicot Town), Alex Jenkins (Newport YMCA), Rhys Jones (Aberbargoed Buds), Ben Lawrence (Newport YMCA), Jordan Maisey (Aberbargoed Buds), Lee Mason (Panteg), Gavin Meacham (Aberbargoed Buds), Joe O'Brien (Newport YMCA), Craig Price (Treowen Stars), Nick Potts (Chepstow Town), Dean Randall (Treowen Stars), Gyles Thompson (Undy Athletic), Elliott Williams (Aberbargoed Buds), Jon Williams (Panteg), Ben Wotton (Caerleon).

1 - Jack Alderdice (Monmouth Town), Adam Alkysi (Tredegar Town), Gareth Appleby (Panteg), Josh Ball (Tredegar Town), Michael Baugh (Cwmbran Celtic), James Barnes (Undy Athletic), Tom Barry (Llanwern), Gareth Bennett (Caerleon, including one for Chepstow Town), Joe Bidgood (Newport YMCA), Mike Binning (Undy Athletic), Steven Boucher (Lliswerry), Gareth Cleverly (Newport Civil Service), Owen Cook (Cwmbran Celtic), Richard Cress (Cwmbran Celtic), Jacob Cross (Aberbargoed Buds), Simon Crook (Caldicot Town), Tom Dando (Cwmbran Celtic), Aysa El-Doory (Newport Civil Service), Yousif El-Doori (Caerleon), Alex Evans (Goytre), Ben Evans (Monmouth Town), Gary Evans (Treowen Stars), Josh Evans (Treowen Stars), Dean Goddard (Newport YMCA), Jordan Harding (Goytre), Jack Harvey (Chepstow Town), Luke Harris (Treowen Stars), Mo Hassan (Newport YMCA), Rhys Hodges (Cwmbran Celtic), Sam Hunt (Monmouth Town), Tommy James (Treowen Stars), Ashley Johnson (Lliswerry), Grant Jones (Treowen Stars), Luke Jones (Cwmbran Celtic), Kazeem Karen (Lliswerry), Jason Lewis (Newport YMCA), Scott Lewis (Caerleon), Will McConnell (Caldicot Town), Craig McDonnell (Aberbargoed Buds), Liam Macan (Tredegar Town), Steffan Marchant (Croesyceiliog), Nick Maynard (Llanwern)Ryan Meek (Treowen Stars), Dave Mellon (Newport Civil Service), Adam Meredith (Tredegar Town), Calum Miles (Goytre), Gavin Millar (Panteg), Lee Morgan (Newport Civil Service), Dale Morris (Llanwern), Ian Morris (Tredegar Town), Mark Morris (Croesyceiliog), Lewys Nash (Aberbargoed Buds), Sam Oakley (Caerleon), Ashley Palmer (Chepstow Town), John Pardue (Newport YMCA), Rakesh Patel (Cwmbran Celtic), Marcus Power (Undy Athletic), Tyla Preece (Aberbargoed Buds), James Price (Tredegar Town), Anthony Richards (Croesyceiliog), Leigh Sharp (Risca United), Richie Shire (Lliswerry), Jack Sinderby (Croesyceiliog), Mitchell Slape (Caldicot Town), Alex Stewart (Newport YMCA), Lewis Sweetland (Newport Civil Service), Kieron Thomas (Aberbargoed Buds), Simon Truman (Goytre), Alex Waters (Caerleon), Jake Wainright (Goytre), Ben Watson (Caerleon), Steve Wilson (Caldicot Town), Tom Wise (Panteg), Ben Wotton (Caerleon), Joel Worgan (Tredegar Town).

CLEAN-SHEETS:

10 - Caldicot Town.

7 - Tredegar Town.

6 - Lliswerry.

4 - Aberbargoed Buds; Chepstow Town; Goytre; Panteg; Undy Athletic.

3 - Caerleon; Cwmbran Celtic; Monmouth Town; Newport Civil Service.

2 - Croesyceiliog; Llanwern; Newport YMCA; Risca United.

1 - Treowen Stars.

JANUARY MANAGER OF THE MONTH AWARD

21 February 2015

Gruff Harrison, Manager of Ammanford receives the January Nathaniel Car Sales Manager of the Month Award from Mr Alf Germain, Chairman, The Welsh Football League, this afternoon.

During the month Ammanford achieved five victories in five Division Three matches, scoring 15 goals and conceding six.

Congratulations Gruff!

GWENT SATURDAY PREVIEW

20 February 2015

from Terry Daley

LLANWERN and Monmouth Town will try for the second successive Saturday to play their last-eight Welsh League Cup tie while elsewhere, almost every game will effect promotion and relegation issues.

Nathaniel Cars Welsh League Cup, quarter finals (kick off 1.30pm and to be played to a conclusion).

Newport Stadium: Llanwern v Monmouth Town.

This tie was postponed last weekend because of a water-logged playing surface and since, the semi-final draw has handed the winners an away clash with Taffs Well on a date yet to be decided.

Division Two outfit Llanwern lifted the trophy in 2002 while Division One champions Monmouth are seeking to reach their first final - although this is only their eighth season in the league.

Both these clubs produced disappointing results last time out, Llanwern scoring through Nic Hooper in Wednesday's home 1-1 against Cwmbran Celtic while and Monmouth lost 2-0 against at home to Penybont.

Nathaniel Cars Welsh League (all 2.00pm kick offs).

Division One (figures in brackets relate to league positions of 16).

Plough Road: Goytre (10) v Garden Village (13).

The championship title may well be beyond them, but Goytre have enough games remaining to secure a top-four spot - although they must start to put some regular ticks in the W column.

Looked good value to complete a deserved and overdue victory at high-flying Briton Ferry Llansawel last weekend before a very late equaliser denied them.

Postponements has meant huge gaps between match action this is only Goytre's fourth league fixture of the year and their first at home since five days before Christmas.

The visitors have been in and around the relegation zone for most of the campaign and although there are three clubs below them, each has matches in hand.

Form guide:

Goytre: W W L L L D

Garden Village: W D D W D W

Division Two (figures in brackets relate to league positions of 16).

Recreation Ground: Aberbargoed Buds (3) v West End (Swansea) (4).

Despite four matches without a win, Aberbargoed are actually still in pole position to clinch the third and final promotion spot.

Their last trio of games have all ended in 1-1 scoreline and they have played less matches than the three teams immediately below them, the visitors, Chepstow Town and Undy Athletic.

Tom McCarthy has 14 league goals and if he can maintain that form and Aberbargoed continue to do well defensively (just 19 goals conceded in 17 games), then a first-time return to the top flight is in their hands.

West End are a decent outfit, but appear to have played too many games and and although they trail the hosts on goal difference only, they have played five more fixtures.

Form guide:

Aberbargoed Buds: W W L D D D

West End: W L W D L L

Merthyr Road: AFC Llwydcoed (11) v Caerleon (14).

Caerleon hope the signings of goalkeeper Gareth Wesson, central defender Gareth Bennett and striker Mark Dunn from Chepstow Town will boost their bid to avoid the drop.

It's now six without a win for the Cold Bath Road outfit, who here will want to halt a miserable run of four consecutive defeats.

They do have games in hand over all three of the teams above them, Ely Rangers, Penrhiwceiber Rangers and Llwydcoed, but simply must start to gain positive results.

The hosts had lost four on the trot recently, but have recovered somewhat lately and have won two out of their last three matches - including a thumping 5-0 home success over Risca United last Saturday.

Form guide:

AFC Llwydcoed: L L L W L W

Caerleon: D D L L L L

Jubilee Way: Caldicot Town (2) v Dinas Powys (16).

Caldicot had gone 566 minutes without conceding a goal until hosts Tata Steel finally found a way through in a 2-2 draw, the second successive match player-boss Mark Williams' side had finished all square.

However they are still red-hot favourites to go up with unbeaten leaders Barry Town United, who were the last side to defeat Caldicot - 2-0 way back on October 21, 2014.

That means they have strung together a sequence of 10 games without a loss - seven wins and three draws - and have suffered only one reverse in their last 14 league outings.

Dinas Powys sit in the very bottom of the table, although they are unbeaten in two and they were shock, 1-0 victors at Cwmbran Celtic a couple of weeks ago.

Form guide:

Caldicot Town: W W W W D D

Dinas Powys: L L L L D W

Celtic Park: Cwmbran Celtic (9) v Ely Rangers (13).

Celtic moved to six points behind third-positioned Aberbargoed Buds with a 1-1 draw against Llanwern at Newport Stadium on Wednesday night.

They also have two fixtures in hand, although the outcome was their seventh draw in just 15 outings and that is clearly far too many.

Substitute Luke Lewis netted within a minute of his introduction to take his campaign league tally to seven, although defender Rakesh Patel saw his penalty well saved by Llanwern stopper Chris Golton.

Ely have been involved in the fight to avoid relegation all season and here will bid to end a run of three consecutive defeats.

Form guide:

Cwmbran Celtic: D D L D W D

Ely Rangers: D L W L L L  

Ty-Isaf Park: Risca United (10) v Tata Steel (Margam) (15).

Six losses from seven has scuppered any hopes Risca had of playing Division One football in the 2015-16 campaign.

And unless the poor form can be arrested, they are in danger of becoming involved in the relegation dog-fight to avoid dropping into the lower tier.

Their last win came on December 20, when they defeated hosts Aberbargoed Buds 3-2, and to make matters worse, Risca have not won any of their last six league and cup home fixtures.

Tata Steel are much improved of late and here defend a five-match unbeaten run, although four of those have been drawn.

Form guide:

Risca United: W L L L L L

Tata Steel: L D D W D D

Division Three (figures in brackets relate to league positions of 19).

Athletic Ground: Caerau (14) v Newport YMCA (15).

With the three teams currently in the relegation zone, Cardiff Grange Harlequins, Newport Civil Service and Treharris Athletic, also all struggling, YMCA's run of nine defeats in 10 has not been as harmful as it may suggest.

However a continuation of that form could eventually lead to them being dragged into the dog-fight which also includes Bettws and Treowen Stars.

YMCA were a forced to be reckoned with in mid-season, when they posted five wins on the trot - but now face a host side which is in equally good form.

From being relegation candidates, Caerau have strung together a run of six wins from seven to move three points above YMCA having played a match less.

Form guide:

Caerau: W W W L W W

Newport YMCA: W L L L L L

International Sports Stadium: Cardiff Grange Harlequins (18) v Treowen Stars (15).

Two games unbeaten may not be a great run, but it's form which has eased Treowen's fears of dropping back down to the Gwent County League.

Manager Simon Evans' men won 4-3 at promotion-seeking Cardiff Corinthians and then drew 3-3 at home with Pontypridd Town and they have scored more goals (32) than in the bottom six.

Ricky Amos heads their scorers list with five while Craig Price has four and here Treowen will be classed as the more fancied side to post a win.

The bottom-placed capital hosts are experiencing an horrendous campaign with only one win and four draws in 23 starts and their latest outing was on Wednesday, when they finished level at 1-1 with fellow-strugglers Treharris.

Form guide:

Cardiff Grange Harlequins: L L L D L D

Treowen Stars: L L D L W D

Spytty Park: Lliswerry (5) v Bettws (16).

Two wins from their last three games has maintained Lliswerry's promotion interest with striker Josh Brown heading the goalscorers' list for players appearing for Gwent clubs.

Brown has 20 league goals to his name and with Lliswerry still having 17 fixtures remaining, there's every chance he could eventually bag 30 plus.

Lliswerry, though, are far from being a one-man team with Dale Cook having netted scored nine times and Dan Stoneman seven in their 53-goal total.

Bettws are again involved in the battle to retain league status, but a recent vast form improvement means they will here seek to stretch their unbeaten run to a fifth game.

Form guide:

Lliswerry: W L L W L W

Bettws: L L W W W D

Panteg House: Panteg (11) v Cwmamman United (4).

While it's mathematically possible for Panteg to join the promotion race, their recent form and that of most of the teams above them means they will have to eventually settle for a second season at this level.

Nonetheless it's been a fine debut season back following a 15-year absence and manager Mark Taylor has done a good job with a committed squad.

Panteg have suffered badly through postponements and they still have 22 games to squeeze in between now and the end of the campaign and that kind of crammed fixture list is of little use to any club.

Unbeaten-in-15 Cwmamman are riding high in the battle to go up and they are also in the last four of the League Cup.

Form guide:

Panteg: L D L D W L

Cwmamman United: D W D D W W

Jenner Park: Rhoose (7) v Tredegar Town (6).

Tredegar returned to winning ways and to keep the pressure on the promotion pack with a comfortable 4-0 home success over Cwm Welfare on Wednesday night.

Tomas Lynch and Ian Pettit took their respective league goal tallies to 10 and nine with one each while also on target was Stephen Hughes and Joshua Jones, although Lynch also missed a penalty.

It was Tredegar's sixth clean-sheet of the campaign and they will begin here only a couple of points adrift of third-placed Cardiff Corinthians and with a game in hand.

Rhoose are also on the edge of the clutch of teams seeking to go up, although they will certainly have to improve on their current form of only three wins and two draws from their last nine outings if they are to gain promotion.

Form guide:

Rhoose: W D L W D L

Tredegar: W D W L L W 

Athletic Ground: Treharris Athletic Western (17) v Newport Civil Service (19).

This is a massive clash for NCS, who here are seeking to halt an absolute horrendous sequence of 13 consecutive league defeats since winning their opening two fixtures.

Have brought in a coach (Simon Berry) and five players from Monmouth Town's youth set-up while defender Gareth Wysome (from Chepstow Town) and midfielder Marc Gunter (unattached) have both re-joined.

NCS have played only 14 league games and with 66 points still to play for, there remains hopes they can eventually escape from the danger area - but the new recruits must hit the ground running.

They fell to the very bottom of the league on Wednesday, when Cardiff Grange Harlequins overtook them as a result of drawing 1-1 at home with Treharris.

Form guide:

Treharris Athletic Western: L W L L L D

Newport Civil Service: L L L L L L

CROESYCEILIOG CHAIRMAN QUITS

19 February 2015

from Terry Daley

FORMER manager Chris Evans has quit as chairman of Croesyceiliog after eight years in the hot-seat with the Welsh League Division Two club.

Long-serving committee member Bob Urie has succeeded Evans, who was in charge in the dug-out for 10 seasons as Croesyceiliog moved from the Gwent County League to the top tier of the WL.

“It's become harder and harder for me to get motivated about things such as sponsorship and in all honesty I was becoming increasingly embarrassed at asking the same people for help time after time,” explained Evans.

“That and the fact I need to concentrate on my business (electrical contractor) means I have to step down and the job needs someone with some fresh ideas.

“I have missed being in the dug-out and my passion as a chairman maybe was not as great as it was when I was manager.

“I don't want to be tied anymore to anything other than my family and business and I wish all the committee, players and fans of the club all the very best for the future.

“I'd also like to thank all those who have sent me best wishes since I announced I was finishing, they are all very much appreciated.”

Alongside joint manager Neil Gilmore, Croesyceiliog remained unbeaten in gaining promotion from the GCL in time for the 2004-05 WL season.

In successive campaigns, the managerial duo took the club into Division One before Evans was in sole charge after Gilmore eventually stood down.

Evans in turn handed over to Gareth Morgan, now boss of Llanwern, who guided Croesyceiliog lift the 2010 Welsh League Cup.

The current man in charge at Woodland Road is player-boss Mark Waddon with Croesyceiliog currently sitting in a mid-table position in the 16-strong division.

CLIFF BETHEL - UPDATED 22 FEBRUARY 2015

19 February 2015

It is with sadness and deep sympathy that the death yesterday of Cliff Bethel, founder member and Life President of Tredegar Town FC is reported.

The funeral service is being held at St George's Church, Tredegar at 1.45pm on Friday 27 February 2015 followed by cremation at Llwydcoed Crematorium.

GWENT WEDNESDAY ROUND-UP

19 February 2015

from Terry Daley

Division Two

Llanwern 1 Cwmbran Celtic 1.

THESE county rivals were forced to accept a point each at Newport Stadium, although neither will feel the outcome will do any favours towards their hopes of earning promotion to the top flight.

The result was Llanwern's second successive draw following from a 0-0 stalemate against Tata Steel and they now are now three points adrift of third-placed Aberbargoed Buds - but having played two matches more.

Celtic were experiencing parity for the seventh time in only 15 outings and they trail Aberbargoed by six points, but have played a couple of games less.

While there are still plenty of points still to play for both clubs, their inability to kill off teams could is threatening to keep each in the second tier in 2015-16.

On a different night, this could well have ended up with a 5-5 scoreline as both teams missed guilt-edged chances with visiting defender Rakesh Patel wasting a 58th-minute penalty.

Celtic were dealt a blow before even a ball had been kicked when central defender Rhys Hodges was injured in the warm-up, although he was replaced by experienced defender Ben Luck - who had a spell with Llanwern last season.

Also lining up against his former team-mates was Celtic forward Andrew Larcombe while home boss Gareth Morgan was once in charge of the visitors.

Llanwern began well with Celtic goalkeeper Giles Cutlan forced to save from Gareth Delve and then Jordan Jones before midfielder Nic Hooper struck the bar with a free kick.

Celtic, though, eventually began to get forward with Owen Llewellyn drawing a save out of home stopper Chris Golton, who stretched backwards to palm away the resulting corner from visiting skipper Richard Crees.

Larcombe soon combined well with Llewellyn, but when the former's cross fell to Dominic Connor, the Celtic winger lashed the ball high and wide of the intended target.

Patel was next to try his luck with a fierce long-range effort from Cress' short corner with Nic Hooper teeing up Delve, whose effort went just wide.

It was nip and tuck as Owen Cook and Luke Thomas did well to play in Connor, but again he fired wide when well placed.

But just when it appeared it would be all square at the interval, a mistake by Cutlan presented Hooper with his seventh league goal of the season.

As a cross came over, Nic Hooper was unmarked some six yards out and didn't even have to jump to put his header on target.

However Cutlan made a hash of collecting the ball and appeared to help it into the net, although the goal was later officially credited to Nic Hooper.

It's always a difficult time for a side when it concedes so late in the first period, but Celtic came out after the break to dominate the early stages with some forceful play.

Luke Thomas pulled a shot wide and soon Celtic were handed a golden opportunity to draw matters level when Dominic Dwyer was adjudged to have fouled Larcombe as they both contested a cross into the area.

However as Patel send a firm penalty shot towards Golton's left-hand post, the goalkeeper guessed right and dived full length to push the ball around the post.

Patel's penalty miss ended the club's run of 17 consecutive successful spot-kicks and he was the last Celtic player to fail from 12 yards - on October 27, 2012, against visiting Tata Steel.

But just four minutes later, Celtic did manage to get the ball in the back of the net when substitute Luke Lewis tapped home from very close range for a thoroughly-deserved equaliser.

It was Lewis's seventh league goal of the season and came just a minute after he had come on to replace Luke Thomas up front.

The unfortunate Connor again slashed a shot well wide before Larcombe set Llewellyn up only for Golton to make a fine one-handed stop.

Celtic were having much the better of the play in terms of producing goal chances with Patel being extremely unlucky when his header crashed against the crossbar with Lewis soon shooting past the target.

However apart from Patel's penalty error, the miss of the night went to Llanwern substitute Matthew Flynn, who side-footed wide of an unguarded net as Golton lay on the ground following a save.

Both camps will undoubtedly argue they did enough to have warranted the full three points, but in all honesty a draw was just about the right result on a night when each side missed enough chances to have won two matches!

Llanwern take a break from trying to win points when they host Division One champions Monmouth Town in a Welsh League Cup quarter-final tie on Saturday (1.30pm kick off) while Celtic return to home action when hosting lowly Ely Rangers (2.00pm kick off).

Llanwern: 1: Chris Golton, 2: Liam Whiskey, 3: Robert James (Ben Burns 76), 4: Michael Bishop, 5: Dominic Dwyer, 6: Jordan Jones, 7: Sam Hartrey (captain), 8: Nic Hooper (Mark Curtis, 74), 9: Matthew Hibbs (Matthew Flynn, 74), 10; Dan Hooper, 11: Matthew Delve. Subs not used: Dean Maynard; Rhodri Morgan.

Booked: Bishop (90).

Goal: Nic Hooper (43).

Cwmbran Celtic: 1: Giles Cutlan, 2: Rakesh Patel, 3: Richard Crees (captain), 4: Luke Jones, 5: Ben Luck, 6: Owen Cook, 7: Owen Llewellyn, 8: Craig Cheedy, 9: Luke Thomas (Luke Lewis, 61), 10: Andrew Larcombe, 11: Dominic Connor. Subs not used: Sean Feeley, Rhys Williams, Curtis Patel, Tom Doidge.

Booked: Llewellyn (33); Crees (89).

Goal: Lewis (62).

Referee: Darren Aidie (Caldicot).

Assistants: Nigel Baldwin (Pontypool) & Jordan Harman (Newbridge).

Division Three

Tredegar Town 4 Cwm Welfare 0.

Tredegar returned to winning way following two consecutive defeats to remain in contention for promotion to Division Two.

Tomas Lynch and Ian Pettit took their campaign league totals to 10 and nine respectively while others came from Stephen Hughes and Joshua Jones - although Lynch blotted his copybook by missing a penalty.

Tredegar remain sixth of 19, but are now just two points behind third-positioned Cardiff Corinthians with two games in hand and the scoreline earned them a sixth clean-sheet in 19 league starts

They are next in action on Saturday, when they visit Rhoose while league debutants Cwm, who are 13^th, are scheduled to host leaders Llanelli Town.

PORT TALBOT DERBY ON FRIDAY

18 February 2015

Valuable points and local bragging rights are at stake on Friday evening 20 February, when Goytre United entertain Afan Lido at Glenhafod Park Stadium, Goytre, Port Talbot.

Kick off is at 7.30pm.

CAERLEON SIGN THREE FROM CHEPSTOW TOWN

18 February 2015

from Terry Daley

Relegation-threatened Caerleon have strengthened their squad by signing three playing from Division Two rivals Chepstow Town.

The Cold Bath Road outfit has recruited goalkeeper Gareth Wesson, central defender Gareth Bennett while striker Mark Dunn rejoins and all three are expected to make their debuts in Saturday's away game against AFC Llwydcoed.

Wesson began with Plymouth Argyle and later appeared for Newport County, Cwmbran Town and Newport YMCA, Bennett was previously with Newport Civil Service while former Notts County professional Dunn was also on Cwmbran's books when they were a Welsh Premier League club.

Caerleon, who are joint managed by Nick Davies, Brendan Dowd and Dave Griffiths, are currently second from bottom of the division, but have matches in hand over the three teams above them.

The trio's departure from Chepstow follows the moves of Simon Prangley and Gareth Wysome to Afan Lido and Newport Civil Service respectively.

GWENT WEDNESDAY PREVIEW

18 February 2015

from Terry Daley

Division Two - kick off 7.30pm. (figures in brackets relate to table positions of 16).

Newport Stadium: Llanwern (6) v Cwmbran Celtic (9).

This is a keenly-anticipated derby clash which both clubs need to win if their status is to be classed as genuine promotion contenders.

Llanwern, managed by former Celtic boss Gareth Morgan, are four points adrift of third-placed Aberbargoed Buds having played a couple of matches more.

The visitors are 17 behind Aberbargoed and have only three games in hand, a scenario brought about because they have drawn six of their 14 fixtures.

After scoring 20 goals in just three outings, Llanwern's last league encounter produced a disappointing 0-0 home draw with lowly Tata Steel.

Celtic chief Della Cheedy saw his side return to winning ways by defeating hosts West End 3-1 last Saturday and his players are no strangers to Newport Stadium.

They've already hosted three of the four fixtures being paid for by the Football Association of Wales due to the club's belated start to the season following an appeal against relegation.

Unbeaten-in-four Llanwern are definitely without wideman Gareth Delve and recent signing Dean Maynard through injury while Celtic are not expected to make many changes to their squad.

A Llanwern success will see them move above Chepstow Town into fifth place while a Celtic victory will elevate them up three rungs to sixth over Croesyceiliog, Undy Athletic and tonight's hosts.

Form guide:

Llanwern: W L W W W D

Cwmbran Celtic: W D D L D W

Division Three - kick off 7.15pm.

Leisure Complex: Tredegar Town (6) v Cwm Welfare (11).

Tredegar's faltering promotion challenge of picking up only four points from the last 12 on offer has handed this game a 'must-win' tag for them.

However they will will welcome back Gethyn Jones, Thomas Jones and James Price, who all missed Saturday's 4-2 away Welsh League Cup, quarter-final defeat at divisional rivals Cwmamman United.

Player-boss Gareth Harbord's men were last in league action on February 7, when they were a little unfortunate to slip to a 2-1 away defeat at the hands of then-unbeaten Ammanford.

Victory will take Tredegar onto 37 points, just a couple worse off than third-positioned Cardiff Corinthians and after this clash they will still have two matches in hand.

Cwm, who will move up a couple of places with a victory, have endured a topsy-turvy debut campaign, although their recent form has been good and here they will seek to stretch their unbeaten league run to six.

This is the third time of asking for this fixture was twice postponed last month and the return game at Cwm is scheduled to take place on April 4.

Form guide:

Tredegar: W W D W L L

Cwm Welfare: L W W W D D

GWENT SATURDAY ROUND-UP AND GWENT GOALSCORERS (LEAGUE ONLY)

17 February 2015

from Terry Daley

IT WAS another disappointing match-day for local clubs as only Division Two sides Cwmbran Celtic and Undy Athletic plus lower-level outfit Lliswerry managed victories.

In the Welsh League Cup, Tredegar were beaten 4-2 on the road while the county derby between Llanwern and Monmouth Town was postponed because of a water-logged Newport Stadium playing surface and has been re-scheduled to take place on Saturday.

In Division One, mid-table Goytre looked to be heading for a much-needed win when Craig Moses' penalty had them 1-0 up at Briton Ferry Llansawel.

However a stoppage-time equaliser from the hosts denied player-boss Craig Evans' troops, although the outcome did end a run of three consecutive defeats for Goytre.

Second-placed Caldicot Town began their Division Two clash at Tata Steel not having conceded a league goal in 538 minutes and added another 28 to that before the hosts took the lead.

Dan Saunders levelled with a smart back-heel on the hour mark, but after his team continued to dominate matters Tata scored with a well-struck free kick.

But with time running out, Caldicot levelled for a second time when Matt James fired home while David Lloyd twice struck the woodwork.

Player-manager Mark Williams' men remain in pole position to go up with champions-elect Barry Town United, who well and truly ended Croesyceiliog's recent form improvement by defeating them 6-0 at Jenner Park.

Despite having their match at Dinas Powys postponed, Aberbargoed Buds remain in third position while not-in-action duo Chepstow Town and Llanwern stay fifth and sixth respectively.

Undy moved above Croesyceiliog into seventh spot thanks to a 2-0 home triumph over relegation-threatened Caerleon at The Causeway.

It was 0-0 at the break before Undy left it late to secure the three points for coach Laurence Owen, who was in charge in the absence of manager Mark Crook, with efforts from Ben Davies and Mike Binning counting.

Risca United travelled to AFC Llwydcoed aiming to halt a run of four successive defeats, but failed miserably in losing 5-0 and they have now been overtaken by Celtic.

Risca missed an early chance through a Dave Hurley effort before the home side went ahead and at the break, they led 2-0 - although the second goal was thought by many to be offside - with striker Tony Wallis having had a header cleared off the line.

Matters got even worse after the interval for Risca, who kept getting caught out by long balls down the middle, with Josh Hales picking up a red card after being booked for a second time.

Celtic boss Della Cheedy took his troops to face fourth-placed West End bidding to prove the previous week's 1-0 home defeat at the hands of bottom-placed Dinas Powys was nothing more than a freak result.

A 3-1 win certainly went a long way to restoring some pride for ninth-positioned Celtic, whose goal scorers were Luke Thomas, Dom Connor and Andrew Larcombe, and they are next in action on Wednesday against Llanwern at Newport Stadium.

In Division Three, Lliswerry rekindled their promotion hopes by beating visiting Llantwit Major thanks to goals from Josh Brown and Kazeem Karen.

Brown now has 20 league goal this season, the highest total for players appearing for Gwent clubs, and while Lliswerry remain fourth, they are now just four points off a promotion slot - and with a couple of games in hand.

Elsewhere in the section, there was a 3-3 home draw for fast-improving Treowen Stars but a sixth defeat on the trot for relegation-haunted Newport YMCA.

Treowen began on the back of a fine 5-3 away win over high-flying Cardiff Corinthians and looked set fair for another three points when Stephen Parfitt and Ricky Amos put them 2-0 up at home against Pontypridd Town.

However the visitors struck back to level at 2-2 before Lloyd Dando handed the advantage to Treowen by scoring their third goal.

But as the game entered its seventh minute of stoppage time, Pontypridd grabbed an equaliser to leave Treowen 15^th of 19 - although they are now 10 points clear of the danger zone.

YMCA squandered a couple of chances before the break at Mendalgief Road against visiting Bridgend Street, who led 1-0 at that stage via Ross Dingle's early effort.

However after it, the visitors controlled the game for long periods and it was only after further goals from former Llanwern striker Alex North, Liam Jeremy and substitute Robert Fowler did YMCA manage another on-target shot.

Dan Cueto's effort was well saved by goalkeeper Damian Lack, but he had given no chance when substitute John 'Frankie' Pardue's brilliantly-struck, free kick sailed past him.

YMCA are still 12 points ahead of the drop area, but that's now 10 goals shipped in successive defeats against Bridgend Street and 23 in their last six losing outings.

They now face four consecutive away matches - all against higher-placed sides and starting with Caerau on Saturday.

Tredegar Town travelled to face Division Three rivals Cwmamman United looking for a win which would have secured them a semi-final spot in the Welsh League Cup.

However despite equalising goals from Tomas Lynch and Chris Quinlan, they were beaten 4-2 to leave them to concentrate on their outside chances of promotion to Division Two - beginning with Wednesday's home fixture with Cwm Welfare.

Mid-week fixtures. 

Wednesday.

Division Two:

Llanwern v Cwmbran Celtic (7.30pm).

Division Three:

Tredegar Town v Cwm Welfare (7.15pm).

Gwent goalscorers (League only).

LLISWERRY'S Josh Brown scored a goal in his side's 2-0 home success over Llantwit Major to increase his lead at the top of the list.

20 - Josh Brown (Lliswerry).

17 - Zac Osbourne (Croesyceiliog).

14 - Tom McCarthy (Aberbargoed Buds). 

13 - Jason Thorn (Caldicot Town).

12 - Dan MacDonald (Monmouth Town).

11 - Matthew Hibbs (Llanwern), Craig Moses (Goytre), Leo Ross (Chepstow Town).

10 - Gareth Cullimore (Undy Athletic), Nick Harrhy (Monmouth Town).

9 - Dale Cook (Lliswerry), Tomas Lynch (Tredegar Town).

8 - Olly Beckett (Undy Athletic), Matthew Flynn (Llanwern, including seven for Pontypridd Town). Hishi Lama (Croesyceiliog, including one for Chepstow Town), Ian Pettit (Tredegar Town).

7 - Scott Armitage (Aberbargoed Buds), Gareth Delve (Llanwern), Richard Sharratt (Caldicot Town), Niall Simmons (Newport YMCA), Dan Stoneman (Lliswerry), Tony Willis (Risca United).

6 - Daniel Battle (Risca United, including six for Tredegar Town), Josh Bull (including two for Monmouth Town), Jon Butcher (Panteg), Jamie Davies (Caerleon), Luke Dyke (Panteg, including one for Croesyceiliog), Dan Hooper (Llanwern), Nic Hooper (Llanwern), Luke Lewis (Cwmbran Celtic), Derice McLean (Newport Civil Service).

5 - Ricky Amos (Treowen Stars), James Francis (Caerleon), Steven Hughes (Tredegar Town), Dave Hurley (Risca United), Jordan Jones (Llanwern), Dan Saunders (Caldicot Town), Ben Taylor (Panteg), Kyle Williams (Risca United), James Young (Goytre).

4 - Josh Collier (Risca United), Aaron Colwill (Risca United), Dominic Connor (Cwmbran Celtic), Chris Ham (Monmouth Town, now of Carmarthen Town), Joe Howells (Lliswerry), Chris Quinlan (Tredegar Town), Craig Price (Treowen Stars), Matt Prosser (Goytre), Luke Thomas (Cwmbran Celtic).

3 - Wayne Antoniazzi (Aberbargoed Buds), Dan Clouth (Croesyceiliog), Lewis Coote (Treowen Stars), Luke Cueto (Caerleon), Ben Davies (Undy Athletic), Mark Dunn (Chepstow Town), Dan Edwards (Lliswerry), Eliot Evans (Monmouth Town), Gary Evans (Treowen Stars), Max Fessey (Lliswerry), Elliott Ford (Monmouth Town), Nathan Hardwick (Newport YMCA), Ryan Hayward (Croesyceiliog), Liam Head (Caerleon), Kirk Hicks (Panteg, including three for Lliswerry), Chris Jones (Treowen Stars), Andrew Larcombe (Cwmbran Celtic), Craig Lewis (Chepstow Town), Rhys Luffman (Lliswerry), Tre Marrett (Newport YMCA), Paul Michael (Risca United), Mark Organ (Chepstow Town), Simon Prangley (Chepstow Town), Sam Rushworth (Chepstow Town), Jordan Ryan (Panteg), Liam Shaw (Aberbargoed Buds).

2 - Jamie Arnold (Croesyceiliog), Michael Bishop (Llanwern), Paul Clayton (Undy Athletic), Marc Curtis (Llanwern), Jordan Harding (Goytre), Tom Hooper (Undy Athletic), Matt James (Caldicot Town), Alex Jenkins (Newport YMCA), Josh Jones (Tredegar Town), Rhys Jones (Aberbargoed Buds), Jordan Maisey (Aberbargoed Buds), James Martin (Newport YMCA), Lee Mason (Panteg), Gavin Meacham (Aberbargoed Buds), Joe O'Brien (Newport YMCA), Stephen Parfitt (Treowen Stars), Craig Price (Treowen Stars), Nick Potts (Chepstow Town), Dean Randall (Treowen Stars), Gyles Thompson (Undy Athletic), Jon Williams (Panteg), Ben Wotton (Caerleon).

1 - Jack Alderdice (Monmouth Town), Adam Alkysi (Tredegar Town), Gareth Appleby (Panteg), Josh Ball (Tredegar Town), Michael Baugh (Cwmbran Celtic), James Barnes (Undy Athletic), Tom Barry (Llanwern), Joe Bidgood (Newport YMCA), Mike Binning (Undy Athletic), Steven Boucher (Lliswerry), Gareth Cleverly (Newport Civil Service), Jacob Cross (Aberbargoed Buds), Simon Crook (Caldicot Town), Lloyd Dando (Treowen Stars), Tom Dando (Cwmbran Celtic), Aysa El-Doory (Newport Civil Service), Yousif El-Doori (Caerleon), Alex Evans (Goytre), Ben Evans (Monmouth Town), Gary Evans (Treowen Stars), Josh Evans (Treowen Stars), Dean Goddard (Newport YMCA), Jack Harvey (Chepstow Town), Luke Harris (Treowen Stars), Mo Hassan (Newport YMCA), Rhys Hodges (Cwmbran Celtic), Sam Hunt (Monmouth Town), Tommy James (Treowen Stars), Ashley Johnson (Lliswerry), Grant Jones (Treowen Stars), Kazeem Karen (Lliswerry), Ben Lawrence (Newport YMCA), Jason Lewis (Newport YMCA) David Lloyd (Caldicot Town), Will McConnell (Caldicot Town), Craig McDonnell (Aberbargoed Buds), Liam Macan (Tredegar Town), Steffan Marchant (Croesyceiliog), Nick Maynard (Llanwern), Ryan Meek (Treowen Stars), Dave Mellon (Newport Civil Service), Adam Meredith (Tredegar Town), Calum Miles (Goytre), Gavin Millar (Panteg), Dale Morris (Llanwern), Ian Morris (Tredegar Town), Mark Morris (Croesyceiliog), Lewys Nash (Aberbargoed Buds), Sam Oakley (Caerleon), Ashley Palmer (Chepstow Town), John Pardue (Newport YMCA), Rakesh Patel (Cwmbran Celtic), Marcus Power (Undy Athletic), Tyla Preece (Aberbargoed Buds), James Price (Tredegar Town), Anthony Richards (Croesyceiliog), Leigh Sharp (Risca United), Richie Shire (Lliswerry), Jack Sinderby (Croesyceiliog), Mitchell Slape (Caldicot Town), Alex Stewart (Newport YMCA), Lewis Sweetland (Newport Civil Service), Kieron Thomas (Aberbargoed Buds), Simon Truman (Goytre), Alex Waters (Caerleon), Jake Wainright (Goytre), Ben Watson (Caerleon), Steve Wilson (Caldicot Town), Tom Wise (Panteg), Ben Wotton (Caerleon), Joel Worgan (Tredegar Town).

CLEAN-SHEETS:

9 - Caldicot Town.

5 - Lliswerry; Tredegar Town.

4 - Aberbargoed Buds; Chepstow Town; Goytre; Panteg; Undy Athletic.

3 - Cwmbran Celtic; Monmouth Town.

2 - Caerleon; Croesyceiliog; Llanwern; Newport Civil Service.

1 - Newport YMCA; Risca United; Treowen Stars.

CWMBRAN CELTIC RESERVES URGENTLY REQUIRE FRIENDLIES - FRIENDLIES NOW FILLED

17 February 2015

Cwmbran Celtic Reserves are looking for a potential friendly or two over the next two weekends.

Sat 21^st Feb – Away only.

Sat 28^th Feb – Home or Away.

If anyone is interested then please contact Rhys Dalgleish on 07446 115 975 or Gareth Hinwood on 07768 542 920.

NOVEMBER MANAGER OF THE MONTH AWARD

14 February 2015

Eirian Rees and Mark Snell, Joint Managers of Cwmamman United receive the November Nathaniel Car Sales Manager of the Month Award from Mr Jeff Davies, Vice Chairman, The Welsh Football League, this afternoon.

During the month Cwmamman United achieved three victories in three Division Three matches, scoring 12 goals and conceding two.

Congratulations Eirian and Mark!

GWENT SATURDAY PREVIEW

14 February 2015

from Terry Daley

THE winners of the Llanwern v Monmouth Town Nathaniel Cars Welsh League Cup tie assures one local side of a semi-final spot and it could be two if Tredegar Town are victorious at Cwmamman United.

Nathaniel Cars Welsh League Cup, quarter finals (kick off 1.30pm and to be played to conclusions).

Grenig Park, Glanaman: Cwmamman United v Tredegar Town.

Given they are unbeaten in their last 15 league games, the home side will undoubtedly be firm favourites to progress from this all-Division Three clash.

That form has them placed fourth in the 19-strong table while two consecutive defeats and only one win in four has seen Tredegar slip down to sixth.

Tredegar, though, had by far the better of the two league meetings this season - winning 1-0 at Cwmamman last August before drawing 0-0 at home two days after Christmas.

Newport Stadium: Llanwern v Monmouth Town.

Both these clubs will want to recover from disappointing mid-week results, Llanwern drawing 0-0 at this venue with relegation-threatened Division Two rivals Tata Steel and Monmouth losing 2-0 against at home to Penybont.

Llanwern's last picked up a piece of silverware when they won this trophy in 2002 while Monmouth are the current Division One champions.

That makes The Kingfishers as the more fancied team here, although before that stalemate against Tata, Llanwern had previously scored 20 goals in the three league outings.    

Nathaniel Cars Welsh League (all 2.00pm kick offs).

Division One (figures in brackets relate to league positions of 16).

Old Road: Briton Ferry Llansawel (6) v Goytre (10).

Goytre are here seeking to avoid an unprecedented fourth successive Division One reverse and with news there may be only two clubs relegated, it means they are currently 11 points off the drop zone having played three fixtures less.

They have also played fewer games than all nine of the clubs above them, so a top-six finish is certainly not beyond player-manager Carl Evans' side.

Their defensive record of conceding only 25 goals (from 16 games) is the best among the division's bottom nine, but eight have been shipped in losing their last three outings.

The hosts have enjoyed a good first season back at this level, although their recent form of only one win in five has more or less ended whatever championship hopes they had.

Form guide:

Briton Ferry Llansawel: W L L W D D

Goytre: W W W L L L

Division Two (figures in brackets relate to league positions of 16).

Merthyr Road: AFC Llwydcoed (11) v Risca United (9).

Four consecutive losses and five from the last six has just about knocked Risca out of the promotion race, although they are currently just seven points off third spot.

However there are several clubs with better claims to go up and perhaps player-manager Paul Michael's troops may do better now that expectations have virtually vanished.

Goalkeeping problems have meant they've re-signed experienced stopper Mark Mears, who played in last Saturday's 1-0 home defeat at the hands of county rivals Undy Athletic.

Llwydcoed have won only once in their last eight league fixtures - although that was 2-1 at Undy a couple of weeks ago.

Form guide:

AFC Llwydcoed: L L L L W L

Risca United: L W L L L L

Jenner Park: Barry Town United (1) v Croesyceiliog (7).

Player-manager Mark Waddon has turned things around after his side looked likely to be among those clubs fighting against relegation.

Were unconvincing in beating visiting Ely Rangers 3-2 last time out, but it's getting to the stage of the season when a win is a win is a win.

Striker Zac Osbourne scored in that victory to take his league tally to 17, although this is a mighty task for his team to gain a positive result against the unbeaten table-toppers

Barry made it 19 without defeat since the start of the campaign on Tuesday, when they saw off visiting Ely Rangers 3-0.

Form guide:

Barry: W D W W W W

Croesyceiliog: W L D W W W

The Murch: Dinas Powys (16) v Aberbargoed Buds (3).

Aberbargoed regained third position on Wednesday night, although they would have been looking for all three points instead of the one picked up from a 1-1 home draw with Cwmbran Celtic.

It was their third successive same-scoreline draw with leading scorer Tom McCarthy on the mark again to take his campaign league total to with his 14.

Until last Saturday, manager Adrian Needs outfit would have been the obvious choice to secure victory here against the division's bottom-placed club.

However Dinas will doubtless be full of confidence following a highly-surprising 1-0 success at Cwmbran Celtic - only their third win in 18 league starts and which ended a miserable sequence of 12 games without a win.

Form guide:

Dinas Powys: L L L L D W

Aberbargoed Buds: W W L D D D

Sports Ground, Margam: Tata Steel (15) v Caldicot Town (2).

Caldicot will again try to increase their minutes-without-a-goal record from 538 minutes following last weekend's postponement at Aberbargoed.

Player-boss Mark Williams' side is well placed to finish the season as runners-up to champions-elect Barry Town United, although it's true to say there are several chasing clubs who can overtake them.

However with such a fine defensive record of nine clean-sheets from 19 fixtures, it would seem Caldicot are well on their way to regaining the top-flight status they lost at the end of the 2010-11 season.

Williams was an interested spectator at Newport Stadium on Wednesday, when he watched Tata stretch their unbeaten run to a fourth game with a 0-0 draw against hosts Llanwern.

Form guide:

Tata Steel: L L D D W D

Caldicot Town: W W W W W D

The Causeway: Undy Athletic (8) v Caerleon (14).

Undy's 1-0 win at Risca United last time out was their first in four outings and because it was only their second in nine, it looks likely they will have to settle for another season at this level.

But for all that, they remain only four points adrift of third place with a game in hand and have still 14 matches remaining.

Caerleon are deep in relegation trouble with just one victory in nine, but have moved to strengthen.

Should this happen then expect Caerleon's fortunes to change for the better and they trail the first safe club, Ely Rangers, by two points having played four fewer games.

Form guide:

Undy Athletic: L W D D L W

Caerleon: W D D L L L

Pri Deri Park, Mayhill: West End (4) v Cwmbran Celtic (10).

Celtic would be a punter's delight if they were on the football pools as Wednesday's 1-1 draw at Aberbargoed Buds was their third in four and sixth in the 13 games they've played since their belated start to the season.

Luke Thomas scored his third goal of the campaign, but it appears they are in desperate need of a striker who can put the ball in the back of the net on a regular basis.

It could mean the difference between success and failure because while they have many matches in hand over all of their rivals, three points from the last 12 is certainly not promotion form.

The west Wales host are trying to secure first-time promotion back to the top flight, but it seems they have already played to many matches and it's expected several of their rivals will eventually overtake them.

Form guide:

West End: W W L W D L

Cwmbran Celtic: W W D D L D

Division Three (figures in brackets relate to league positions of 19).

Spytty Park: Lliswerry (5) v Llantwit Major (8).

Recent poor form has dented Lliswerry's promotion drive and they really must win this encounter if they are to regain momentum.

With leaders Llanelli Town and second-positioned Ammanford, who have won all 15 of their games, seemingly set fair to go up, it would appear Lliswerry are only chasing third spot.

However all is most certainly not lost though as they are only five points behind third-placed Cardiff Corinthians with four games in hand.

The Vale of Glamorgan visitors won 2-0 at home against Panteg last time out and could yet clinch a top-six end to their campaign.

Form guide:

Lliswerry: W L L W D L

Llantwit Major: L W W L L W

Shannon Close, Bettws: Newport Civil Service (18) v Cardiff Corinthians (3)

Civil's continuing recruitment campaign has seen former player-coach Gareth Wysome return from a spell with Division Two outfit Chepstow Town.

It's just the sort of experienced defender the club needs following on from the signing of five members of Monmouth Town's youth-team squad.

It pains me to write NCS have lost their last 13 league fixtures and they have just Cardiff Grange Harlequins below them on goal difference only.

The capital-based visitors had won five of six until last Saturday's shock, 4-3 home defeat at the hands of struggling Treowen Stars.

Form guide:

Newport Civil Service: L L L L L L

Cardiff Corinthians: W L W W W L

Mendalgief Road, Pill: Newport YMCA (14) v Bridgend Street (Cardiff) (10)

Nothing at all surprises me in football anymore and it's a fact a team who is beaten heavily one Saturday is capable of turning matters around against the same opposition seven days later.

Well that's exactly what struggling YMCA are being asked to do here following a 6-0 drubbing at Bridgend Street and it doesn't help that they have lost eight of their last nine fixtures.

Despite that poor form, they are still a dozen points above the drop zone and the smart money will be laid on them retaining their league status come May.

That big win for Bridgend Street over YMCA has planted them barely into a mid-table position and a hat-trick scorer on that occasion was former Llanwern forward Alex North.

Form guide: 

Newport YMCA: L W L L L L

Bridgend Street: L W L D W W

Bush Park: Treowen Stars (15) v Pontypridd Town (11).

Treowen's magnificent 4-3 away success at Cardiff Corinthians was just the badly-needed tonic they were seeking following eight matches without a win.

It gives them a nine-point advantage over those clubs in the danger area and another win here and depending on other results, could see them climb two places.

But manager Simon Evans' side has not won consecutive league games all season and certainly gaining three points from this particular clash won't come easy.

Inconsistency has dogged Pontypridd over a number of seasons, although they are well capable of defeating most clubs on their day.

Form guide:

Treowen Stars: D L L D L W

Pontypridd Town: W L D W L W

GWENT MID-WEEK ROUND-UP

12 February 2015

from Terry Daley

DIVISION One champions Monmouth Town plus second-tier outfits Aberbargoed Buds, Cwmbran Celtic and Llanwern all failed to secure wins in mid-week games.

Monmouth were first in action on Tuesday, when a 2-0 home defeat at the hands of new leaders Penybont was a serious blow towards their bid to make a successful defence of their championship title.

The Kingfishers missed several good goalscoring chances to have achieved a positive result, but it was the visitors who were sharper in front of goal.

It all means Penybont are now 17 points ahead of Monmouth having played six games more while second-placed Haverfordwest County are 15 in front with The Kingfishers. who have only one match in hand.

In Division Two, Aberbargoed Buds and Cwmbran Celtic played out a 1-1 draw - an outcome which is of no use to either clubs' hopes to gaining promotion - while Llanwern's recent goalscoring spree came to an abrupt end in being held 0-0 at home by struggling Tata Steel.

Luke Thomas gave Celtic a 10th-minute lead at the Recreation Ground with his third league goal before Tom McCarthy levelled matters three minutes into the second period to take his tally to 14.

Aberbargoed moved above West End into third position on goal difference while Celtic remain 10^th - although there is no doubt both sides would have wanted the full three points towards their ambitions.

The same can be said for Llanwern, who had scored no less than 20 goals in their previous three league outings while Tata edged hosts AFC Llwydcoed in a nine-goal thriller last Saturday.

Both sides could have scored as each goalkeeper, Chris Golton for the home side and visiting stopper Matthew Stanton produced a couple of good saves, while Llanwern left back Robert James headed off his own line in the game's very last minute.

Llanwern are still sixth, but are now only four points off a promotion spot while relegation-threatened Tata remain one from the bottom - but are unbeaten in their last quartet of fixtures (one win and three draws).

GWENT WEDNESDAY PREVIEW

11 February 2015

from Terry Daley

Both 7.30pm kick offs

Division Two:

Recreation Ground: Aberbargoed Buds (4) v Cwmbran Celtic (10).

Aberbargoed will start just a point behind West End, but with five games in hand while 10th-positioned Celtic are 11 points adrift of the final promotion spot having played the same amount of games less.

The home side were last in action on the final day of January, when they were held 1-1 at Tata - their second successive draw to take their run of matches without a win to three.

Celtic could start low on confidence after losing 1-0 at home to bottom-placed Dinas Powys last Saturday, only their only second reverse in 12 league fixtures and one of the five draws they have played out was 1-1 at home to Aberbargoed on January 25.

On that occasion, Jordan Maisey gave Aberbargoed and interval lead only for Celtic substitute Sean Feeley to grab the equaliser with just three minutes of normal time remaining.

Celtic have a clean bill of health, but Aberbargoed have injury doubts over Scott Armitage and Liam Vaughan as well as having four players unavailable.

However they do have top scorer Tom McCarthy, Wayne Antoniazzi plus the returning Dafydd Brewer all fit for selection.

Form guide:

Aberbargoed Buds: L W W L D D

Cwmbran Celtic: D W W D D L

Newport Stadium: Llanwern (6) v Tata Steel (15).

Llanwern go into their clash with Tata with a highly-impressive recent scoring run of 20 goals from their last three league outings.

After defeating visiting Ely Rangers 9-1, they went onto win 6-2 at AFC Llwydcoed 6-2 and then 5-1 at home against county rivals Risca United.

That form has taken them to only five points behind third-placed West End and with four games in hand and following this fixture, Llanwern have consecutive derby matches against Celtic (away on February 18) and Croesyceiliog (three days later).

Llanwern, who will remain in sixth place even if they emerge as victors, welcome back Michael Bishop, Matthew Hibbs and Liam Whiskey to their squad

Tata had suffered a depressing run 15 games without success before they gained a much-needed three points by winning at AFC Llwydcoed in a nine-goal thriller last Saturday.

Form guide:

Llanwern: L W L W W W

Tata Steel: L L L D D W

GWENT TUESDAY PREVIEW

10 February 2015

from Terry Daley

Kick off 7.15pm.

Division One (figures in brackets relate to league pacings of 16).

Pen-Y-Pound Stadium, Abergavenny: Monmouth Town (10) v Penybont (3).

MONMOUTH Town boss Andrew Smith could have a full-strength squad for Tuesday's crucial home Welsh League Division One clash against Penybont.

The Kingfishers are defending champions, but have slipped to 15 points behind leaders Haverfordwest County - although they do have a couple of matches in hand and will visit the west Walians on April 1.

Smith could have defender Aaron Davies and forward Eliot Ford available to boost his selection options following last Saturday's 4-1 home success over former title winners Goytre United.

Nick Harrhy scored twice to take his season's league tally to 11 while Dan MacDonald now has 12 after netting once - as did Ben Evans.

That win at Pen-Y-Pound Stadium in Abergavenny, moved Smith's men up three places to 10^th while Penybont, who defeated visiting Taffs Well 1-0 last Friday night, are third.

It was their third successive league win to following on from the same number of consecutive defeats and they've not drawn any of their last 10 league fixtures.

They lead Monmouth by 14 points, but have played six games more, and will seek a campaign double having won 2-1 at home on January 27.

However Monmouth have beaten Penybont at home this season, winning a Welsh Cup tie 3-1 in mid November of last year.  

Form guide:

Monmouth Town: D L W L L W

Penybont: L L L W W W

Wednesday fixtures (both 7.30pm).

Division Two:  

Aberbargoed Buds v Cwmbran Celtic.

Llanwern v Tata Steel.

GWENT SATURDAY ROUND-UP AND GWENT GOALSCORERS (LEAGUE ONLY)

9 February 2015

from Terry Daley

DEFENDING Division One champions Monmouth Town returned to winning ways on a day when only four of 12 local clubs in action managed to emerged as victors.

Croesyceiliog and Undy Athletic also took all three points in Division Two fixtures while Treowen Stars eased their relegation fears with a fine away success in the lower tier.

Seventh-placed Monmouth previously suffered consecutive defeats which had somewhat derailed their bid to make a successful defence of the crown they won in 2013-14.

However goals from Nick Harrhy (2), Dan MacDonald and Ben Evans earned them a fairly comfortable 4-1 home triumph over former title-holders Goytre United at their Pen-Y-Pound Stadium home in Abergavenny.

MacDonald now has 12 league goals for the season and Harrhy 10 and The Kingfishers can reduce the current 15-point gap leaders Haverfordwest County have over them on Tuesday night, when they host third-placed Penybont.

In the second level, Chepstow Town remain fifth despite a 5-1 home thumping at the hands of unbeaten-in-18 table toppers Barry Town United for whom former Cwmbran Town forward Tom Billing was among their scorers.

Chepstow actually took the lead via a Simon Prangley goal, but Barry forged clear during the second period after the hosts goalkeeper Gareth Wesson limped off injured to be replaced by outfield player Sam Rushworth.

At a bitterly-cold Woodland Road, Croesyceiliog entertained Ely Rangers, who had been thrashed 9-1 by Llanwern on the last occasion they played in the county.

Another hefty defeat looked on the cards for the Cardiff-based visitors as goals from Zac Osbourne, Jamie Arnold and Daniel Clouth put the home side in complete command at the break - even though Ely had looked the better side in the opening 20 minutes or so.

But Croesyceiliog made hard work of hanging on for the success as Ely roared back to reduce the arrears with two goals from Richard Greaves - although his stoppage-time sending off ended the visitors' challenge.

Osbourne took his league tally to 17 and he is now only two behind Lliswerry's Josh Brown, who currently heads the goalscorers' list for those players appearing for Gwent clubs.

It was the third successive league victory for player-manager Mark Waddon's team, which is now unbeaten in four with only one defeat in eight, and it is just six points off a promotion spot with four matches in hand.

Undy moved above hosts Risca United to eighth position as a result of a 1-0 win at Ty-Isaf Park, where a long-range free kick from Tom Hooper with just three minutes remaining was enough to settle the derby.

Risca fielded goalkeeper Mark Mears, who has re-joined the club, but he had little chance with Hooper's superb dead-ball shot which gave Undy their seventh victory of the campaign while the home team slipped to a fourth consecutive defeat.

Both of these clubs are just seven points from a promotion spot having played less matches than all of their rivals placed above them. However it was Risca's third loss on the trot while Undy have won only two of their last nine league outings.

Cwmbran Celtic had lost only once in 11 league fixtures as they lined up against bottom-placed visitors Dinas Powys, who turned up having with no wins from any of their last 12 outings.

However a shocking display from Celtic caused them to crash to an unexpected 1-0 reverse, which ended their unbeaten six-match run and they remain in 10^th place in the 16-strong table.

They have a quick opportunity to redeem themselves on Wednesday, when they travel to face fourth-placed Aberbargoed Buds - whose home derby clash against second-positioned Caldicot Town on Friday night was postponed.

In Division Three, Tredegar Town visited Ammanford aiming to end the hosts' amazing 100 per cent record from 14 games since the start of their season.

It was all going to plan for Tredegar, whose recent poor form has seen them drop from the second place held by Ammanford to sixth, when Tomas Lynch beat four would-be tacklers before netting his ninth league goal of the campaign.

But, and despite having much the better of the possession, two defensive errors from Tredegar allowed Ammanford to eventually emerged as 2-1 winners.

Tredegar's eventual finishing position could be decided by home form as 11 of their final 16 fixtures are scheduled to take place at their Sports Complex HQ in the town.

Elsewhere in the same section, promotion-seekers Lliswerry and Panteg plus relegation-threatened duo Newport YMCA and Newport Civil Service all fell to away defeats - and each without even scoring.

Lliswerry and Panteg went down 2-0 at Pontypridd Town and Llantwit Major respectively to stay in fifth and drop one spot to in the 19-club division.

YMCA lost 6-0 at Bridgend Street while NCS slipped to a 4-0 loss at Bettws, the latter taking their sequence of consecutive league defeats to 13.

However without-a-win-in-eight Treowen edged a seven-goal thriller at high-flying Cardiff Corinthians to move nine points clear of the drop zone.

Goals came from Ricky Amos, Lewis Coote, Chris Jones and Tommy James as Treowen clinched only their fifth victory in 17 league starts and manager Simon Evans' side has matches in hand over all of the immediate five clubs above them.

Mid-week fixtures (7.30pm, unless stated).

Tuesday.

Division One:

Monmouth Town v Penybont (7.15pm).

Wednesday.

Division Two:

Aberbargoed Buds v Cwmbran Celtic.

Llanwern v Tata Steel.

Gwent goalscorers (League only).

CROESYCEILIOG'S Zac Osbourne scored once in a 3-2 home victory over Ely Rangers to move to just two goals behind Lliswerry's Josh Brown.

19 - Josh Brown (Lliswerry).

17 - Zac Osbourne (Croesyceiliog).

13 - Tom McCarthy (Aberbargoed Buds), Jason Thorn (Caldicot Town).

12 - Dan MacDonald (Monmouth Town).

11 - Matthew Hibbs (Llanwern), Leo Ross (Chepstow Town).

10 - Gareth Cullimore (Undy Athletic), Nick Harrhy (Monmouth Town), Craig Moses (Goytre).

9 - Dale Cook (Lliswerry), Tomas Lynch (Tredegar Town).

8 - Olly Beckett (Undy Athletic), Matthew Flynn (Llanwern, including seven for Pontypridd Town). Hishi Lama (Croesyceiliog, including one for Chepstow Town), Ian Pettit (Tredegar Town).

7 - Scott Armitage (Aberbargoed Buds), Gareth Delve (Llanwern), Richard Sharratt (Caldicot Town), Niall Simmons (Newport YMCA), Dan Stoneman (Lliswerry), Tony Willis (Risca United).

6 - Daniel Battle (Risca United, including six for Tredegar Town), Josh Bull (including two for Monmouth Town), Jon Butcher (Panteg), Jamie Davies (Caerleon), Luke Dyke (Panteg, including one for Croesyceiliog), Dan Hooper (Llanwern), Nic Hooper (Llanwern), Luke Lewis (Cwmbran Celtic), Derice McLean (Newport Civil Service).

5 - James Francis (Caerleon), Steven Hughes (Tredegar Town), Dave Hurley (Risca United), Jordan Jones (Llanwern), Ben Taylor (Panteg), Kyle Williams (Risca United), James Young (Goytre).

4 - Ricky Amos (Treowen Stars), Josh Collier (Risca United), Aaron Colwill (Risca United), Chris Ham (Monmouth Town, now of Carmarthen Town), Joe Howells (Lliswerry), Chris Quinlan (Tredegar Town), Craig Price (Treowen Stars), Matt Prosser (Goytre), Dan Saunders (Caldicot Town).

3 - Wayne Antoniazzi (Aberbargoed Buds), Dan Clouth (Croesyceiliog), Dominic Connor (Cwmbran Celtic), Lewis Coote (Treowen Stars), Luke Cueto (Caerleon), Mark Dunn (Chepstow Town), Dan Edwards (Lliswerry), Eliot Evans (Monmouth Town), Gary Evans (Treowen Stars), Max Fessey (Lliswerry), Elliott Ford (Monmouth Town), Nathan Hardwick (Newport YMCA), Ryan Hayward (Croesyceiliog), Liam Head (Caerleon), Kirk Hicks (Panteg, including three for Lliswerry), Chris Jones (Treowen Stars), Craig Lewis (Chepstow Town), Rhys Luffman (Lliswerry), Tre Marrett (Newport YMCA), Paul Michael (Risca United), Mark Organ (Chepstow Town), Simon Prangley (Chepstow Town), Sam Rushworth (Chepstow Town), Jordan Ryan (Panteg), Liam Shaw (Aberbargoed Buds).

2 - Jamie Arnold (Croesyceiliog), Michael Bishop (Llanwern), Paul Clayton (Undy Athletic), Marc Curtis (Llanwern), Ben Davies (Undy Athletic), Jordan Harding (Goytre), Tom Hooper (Undy Athletic), Alex Jenkins (Newport YMCA), Josh Jones (Tredegar Town), Rhys Jones (Aberbargoed Buds), Andrew Larcombe (Cwmbran Celtic), Jordan Maisey (Aberbargoed Buds), James Martin (Newport YMCA), Lee Mason (Panteg), Gavin Meacham (Aberbargoed Buds), Joe O'Brien (Newport YMCA), Craig Price (Treowen Stars), Nick Potts (Chepstow Town), Dean Randall (Treowen Stars), Luke Thomas (Cwmbran Celtic), Gyles Thompson (Undy Athletic), Jon Williams (Panteg), Ben Wotton (Caerleon).

1 - Jack Alderdice (Monmouth Town), Adam Alkysi (Tredegar Town), Gareth Appleby (Panteg), Josh Ball (Tredegar Town), Michael Baugh (Cwmbran Celtic), James Barnes (Undy Athletic), Tom Barry (Llanwern), Joe Bidgood (Newport YMCA), Steven Boucher (Lliswerry), Gareth Cleverly (Newport Civil Service), Jacob Cross (Aberbargoed Buds), Simon Crook (Caldicot Town), Lloyd Dando (Treowen Stars), Tom Dando (Cwmbran Celtic), Aysa El-Doory (Newport Civil Service), Yousif El-Doori (Caerleon), Alex Evans (Goytre), Ben Evans (Monmouth Town), Gary Evans (Treowen Stars), Josh Evans (Treowen Stars), Dean Goddard (Newport YMCA), Jack Harvey (Chepstow Town), Luke Harris (Treowen Stars), Mo Hassan (Newport YMCA), Rhys Hodges (Cwmbran Celtic), Sam Hunt (Monmouth Town), Matt James (Caldicot Town), Tommy James (Treowen Stars), Ashley Johnson (Lliswerry)Grant Jones (Treowen Stars), Ben Lawrence (Newport YMCA), Jason Lewis (Newport YMCA) David Lloyd (Caldicot Town), Will McConnell (Caldicot Town), Craig McDonnell (Aberbargoed Buds), Liam Macan (Tredegar Town), Steffan Marchant (Croesyceiliog), Nick Maynard (Llanwern), Ryan Meek (Treowen Stars), Dave Mellon (Newport Civil Service), Adam Meredith (Tredegar Town), Calum Miles (Goytre), Gavin Millar (Panteg), Dale Morris (Llanwern), Ian Morris (Tredegar Town), Mark Morris (Croesyceiliog), Lewys Nash (Aberbargoed Buds), Sam Oakley (Caerleon), Ashley Palmer (Chepstow Town), Stephen Parfitt (Treowen Stars), Rakesh Patel (Cwmbran Celtic), Marcus Power (Undy Athletic), Tyla Preece (Aberbargoed Buds), James Price (Tredegar Town), Anthony Richards (Croesyceiliog), Leigh Sharp (Risca United), Richie Shire (Lliswerry), Jack Sinderby (Croesyceiliog), Mitchell Slape (Caldicot Town), Alex Stewart (Newport YMCA), Lewis Sweetland (Newport Civil Service), Kieron Thomas (Aberbargoed Buds), Simon Truman (Goytre), Alex Waters (Caerleon), Jake Wainright (Goytre), Ben Watson (Caerleon), Steve Wilson (Caldicot Town), Tom Wise (Panteg), Ben Wotton (Caerleon), Joel Worgan (Tredegar Town).

CLEAN-SHEETS:

9 - Caldicot Town.

5 - Tredegar Town.

4 - Aberbargoed Buds; Chepstow Town; Goytre; Lliswerry; Panteg.

3 - Cwmbran Celtic; Monmouth Town; Undy Athletic.

2 - Caerleon; Croesyceiliog; Llanwern; Newport Civil Service.

1 - Newport YMCA; Risca United; Treowen Stars.

GWENT WEEKEND PREVIEW

6 February 2015

from Terry Daley

DIVISION Two promotion rivals Aberbargoed Buds and Caldicot Town meet in the first of this weekend's local fixtures on Friday, when the visitors will defend a brilliant run of 528 minutes without conceding a league goal.

Friday (7.30pm kick off). 

Division Two (figures in brackets relate to league positions of 16).

Recreation Ground: Aberbargoed Buds (4) v Caldicot Town (2).

Caldicot last shipped a league goal in the second minute of a 2-1 home win over Tata Steel on December 2, 2014, and have since beaten Llanwern (1-0), AFC Llwydcoed (2-0), Risca United (1-0) plus Penrhiwceiber Rangers (2-0) and drawn with Cwmbran Celtic (0-0).

This is a crucial clash because despite having three matches in hand, Aberbargoed trail the hosts by 10 points and they certainly need to emerge victors if they are to maintain their hopes of a first-time return to the top flight.

Both clubs have in-form scorers who have scored 13 league goals - Tom McCarthy for Aberbargoed and Jason Thorn for Caldicot.

However it's Caldicot's magnificent defensive record which marks them down as favourites here and certainly a draw would suit them far better.

Form guide:

Aberbargoed Buds: L W W L D D

Caldicot Town: W W W W W D

Saturday (all 2.00pm kick offs).

Division One (figures in brackets relate to league positions of 16).

Pen-Y-Pound Stadium, Abergavenny: Monmouth Town (9) v Goytre United (4).

Just two wins from their last eight league outings means Monmouth have a massive task to make a successful defence of the championship title.

They will start a huge 17 points adrift of table-topping Cardiff Metropolitan University and have only four fixtures in hand over the students.

While The Kingfishers still have 45 points left to play for, it would appear their best chance of lifting silverware lies in the League Cup, in which they visit Division Two side Llanwern at Newport Stadium on February 14.

The unbeaten-in-six visitors are in contention to win the title for the first time since 2009-10 and will be seeking to go one better than the 0-0 home draw with Monmouth on November 1 last year.

Form guide:

Monmouth Town: L D L W L L

Goytre United: W W W D D W

Division Two (figures in brackets relate to league positions of 16).

Larkfield Ground: Chepstow Town (5) v Barry Town United (1).

Chepstow ended a run of four without a victory when defeating hosts Ely Rangers 4-2 last time out, when Leo Ross scored a goal to take his campaign tally to 11.

Are only a point off a promotion spot having played a couple of games less, although their habit of drawing looks likely to hold then back.

Manager Dave Livermore has seen his side gain parity on six occasions, a total which is shared only by lowly Penrhiwceiber Rangers in the entire division.

It will take a football miracle to deny the visitors Division One status for 2015-16 and here they will hope to stretch their unbeaten league run since the start of the season to 18.

Form guide:

Chepstow Town: W D D L D W

Barry: W D W D W W

Woodland Road: Croesyceiliog (8) v Ely Rangers (12).

Until a fine current sequence of only one loss from seven games, Croesyceiliog were battling against being dragged in the relegation fight.

Now, however, and with Zac Osbourne and Hishi Lama both in good goalscoring form, player-boss Mark Waddon's troops are just two or three wins off being classed as promotion contenders.

They will certainly be highly fancied to post one of those victories here against an Ely side which lost 9-1 at Llanwern on December 27.

They have, however, won 3-0 at fellow strugglers Caerleon - one of only five wins from 19 starts for the capital visitors.

Form guide:

Croesyceiliog: W W L D W W

Ely Rangers: D L L D L W L

Celtic Park: Cwmbran Celtic (10) v Dinas Powys (16).

On paper, any side which has a record of only one defeat in their first 11 fixtures must be convinced they will soon join the promotion race.

However Celtic have drawn no less than five of those games and that could prove to be far too many as they strive regain Division One status at the first attempt.

Celtic need an experienced marksman to guide some of the younger forwards and perhaps resting one or two regulars to the bench may have a more positive effect on the side in the long run.

Nonetheless they will begin here as strong favourites to land the three points against the bottom-placed visitors, who failed to win any of their previous 11 league matches.

Form guide:

Cwmbran Celtic: W D W W D D

Dinas Powys: L L L L L D

Ty-Isaf Park: Risca United (7) v Undy Athletic (9).

This is a county derby between two clubs whose poor recent form has virtually ruled them out of the race for promotion to the top level.

Risca were hammered 5-1 at Llanwern to make it three consecutive defeats while Undy's 3-1 home loss to AFC Llwydcoed means they failed to win a trio of league matches in January.

These teams drew 2-2 at Undy in early November last year, when Ben Davies and Gareth Cullimore netted for Undy and Aaron Corwell getting both of Risca's goals.

Another draw will be of no use to either side and because of that, this has all the ingredients for being a cracking local match-up.

Form guide:

Risca United: W L W L L L

Undy Athletic: L L W D D L

Division Three (figures in brackets relate to league positions of 19).

Recreation Ground: Ammanford (2) v Tredegar Town (6).

Two draws and as many defeats in their last eight outings has meant Tredegar dropping four places and it now appears they are now only in contention to finish in the third and final promotion spot.

Although Llanelli Town lost their unbeaten record last weekend, it's thought they and Ammanford will form the division's top top two at the end of the season.

That would leave Tredegar as one of half a dozen clubs chasing third place and they must start to put together a decent run of results - although here they are the clear underdogs.

Ammanford have scored 51 goals in winning all 13 of league fixtures following their belated beginning to the campaign and it will be interesting to see what is required when the return takes place at Tredegar in the clubs' final game of the season on May 9.

Form guide:

Ammanford: W W W W W W

Tredegar: D W W W D W L

North Site, Bettws Road: Bettws (16) v Newport Civil Service (18).

NCS' recent recruitment drive of signing new coach Simon Berry and three youth players from Monmouth Town plus the return of midfielder Marc Gunter simply must hit the ground running - or else.

Last week's 2-0 home defeat by capital-based Bridgend Street was their 11^th on the trot and they will begin here needing seven more points to get out of the drop zone.

The side in the first safe position is today's hosts, so this clash really is an extremely crucial affair for both sides especially considering NCS have played five fewer fixtures than the hosts.

Bettws are in good recent form having won 3-2 at Treowen Stars last Saturday and 4-0 at home against Treharris Athletic Western seven days previously. 

Form guide: Bettws: L L L L W W

Newport Civil Service: L L L L L L

Willows High School, Tremorfa: Bridgend Street (10) v Newport YMCA (13).

Even though YMCA are a dozen points off the danger area, the time has now come for them to gain some positive result because some teams below them are starting to gain momentum.

They've now lost six of their last seven league outings and would have been very disappointed to go down 2-0 at home against fellow-strugglers Cwm Welfare recently.

Previous to the current poor run, it was only one reverse in five for YMCA and the simply must return to that sort of consistency if they are to survive.

The visitors are fresh from a 2-0 win at Newport Civil Service and appear set fair for an end-of-season mid-table finish.

Form guide:

Bridgend Street: L L W L D W

Newport YMCA: L L W L L L

Riverside Ground, Radyr: Cardiff Corinthians (4) v Treowen Stars (15).

Losing 3-2 at home to one of only four sides (Bridgend-based Bettws) below them in the table was a massive blow for Treowen's hopes of remaining in the league.

It's now no wins from eight for manager Simon Evans' men and here they face a club which beat them 3-1 at home in early September of last year.

Treowen have played fewer games than the two sides above them and another good statistic is they have conceded less goals (40) than the entire bottom eight.

But just to confirm what a difficult task this is, the hosts will begin in very high spirits having become the first team in 19 to defeat leaders Llanelli Town - winning 3-0 at this venue last weekend.

Form guide:

Cardiff Corinthians: L W W L W W

Treowen Stars: L D L L D L

Windmill Ground: Llantwit Major (9) v Panteg (8).

Given most of the teams above them are in good form, it's believed Panteg will just miss out on promotion to the next level at the conclusion of their return season.

Nonetheless there is still hope they can remain in contention, although they still have a tough task to fit in their remaining 21 fixtures.

Manager Mark Taylor's side can hold it's own with any club when it brings it's 'A' game to the proceedings and should they manage that here, there are signs they could well return home with the points.

The hosts lost their last two games, albeit against Ammanford who have a 100 per cent record from 13 games, and have won only twice in their last seven matches.

Form guide:

Llantwit Major: D L W W L L

Panteg: W L D L D W

Ynysangharad Park: Pontypridd Town (11) v Lliswerry (5).

Lliswerry are three points off the third and final promotion spot behind Cwmamman United with both clubs have 19 fixtures remaining.

Therefore absolutely anything is possible and here manager Adam Corfield will want his side to banish all thoughts of the mass brawl which forced last Saturday's game at Caerau to be abandoned.

Lliswerry striker Josh Brown is the county's leading league scorer with 19, but he has not found the back of the net recently.

Because of cup matches and postponements, Pontypridd have played only six league fixtures since November 1 last year - the latest producing a 2-0 home defeat at the hands of promotion contenders Cwmamman United.

Form guide:

Lliswerry: W W L L W D

Pontypridd Town: L W L D W L

GWENT WEEKEND ROUND-UP AND GWENT GOALSCORERS (LEAGUE ONLY)

2 February 2015

from Terry Daley

FOOTBALL was the loser on Saturday, when gratuitous violence caused Lliswerry's Division Three match at Caerau to be abandoned with 19 minutes still remaining.

At that stage the home side led 3-0 against promotion-seeking Lliswerry, who play their home games at Spytty Park in Newport.

However an off-the-ball incident produced a mass brawl between both sets of players and soon Blackwood-based match referee Tudor Lewis had clearly seen enough in calling the game off.

Officials of both clubs were tight-lipped about the affair with Lliswerry boss Adam Corfield only confirming a slight injury to his player, Rhys Luffman.

Welsh League and FAW officials will now await Mr. Lewis' match report before investigating matters, although league life-vice president and FAW vice president David Griffiths was in attendance.

There was more bad news later for fifth-placed Lliswerry when it was discovered promotion rivals Cardiff Corinthians and Cwmamman United had both won.

Elsewhere in the same division, Panteg emerged as the only winners among five other local clubs - although Tredegar Town's home clash against Pontypridd Town was postponed.

Both of Panteg's goals came from Ben Taylor and their win still has them 10 points off a promotion spot having played two fixtures less.

There were 2-0 home defeats for Newport YMCA and Newport Civil Service against Bridgend Street and Cwm Welfare respectively while Treowen Stars lost 3-2 against visiting Bettws - Ryan Meek and Lloyd Dando their goal scorers.

In Division One, Goytre looked set to pick up a point from a trip to tackle second-positioned Haverfordwest County until they conceded a late goal.

The 1-0 defeat leaves them just eight points off the drop zone, although they have played less matches than some of the teams above them.

Division Two side Chepstow Town got the weekend's action underway on Friday night, when they travelled to Wenvoe to face relegation-threatened Ely Rangers.

After 90 minutes during which both sides missed some clear-cut chances, Chepstow emerged 4-2 victors thanks to goals from Simon Prangley, Leo Ross, his 11th of the season, Mark Dunn and Mark Organ.

Caldicot Town are a point closer to clinching a place in Division One after being held 0-0 by county rivals Cwmbran Celtic at their Jubilee Way home ground.

It was second-placed Caldicot's ninth clean-sheet of the campaign, their fifth in succession and sixth in seven matches - although the outcome denied them an eighth consecutive league win.

Celtic are now beaten only once in 11 league fixtures since their belated start, although it was their fifth draw, with Dom Connor coming close to scoring when his effort was cleared off the line.

An early goal from Tyla Preece put Aberbargoed Buds ahead at Margam-based Tata Steel, but they had to settle for a 1-1 draw - their second successive such result following on from their clash at Cwmbran Celtic the previous week.

They moved back above Chepstow into fourth spot and are only a point adrift of third-placed West End having played four fewer games.

It was seventh versus sixth as Llanwern hosted Risca United at Newport Stadium, where it was obvious at the break that the visitors' 1-0 lead, thanks to a close-range goal from Kyle Williams after goalkeeper Chris Golton had spilt a Daniel Battle free kick, was never going to be enough because of an extremely strong wind.

And so it proved as Llanwern roared to a 5-1 triumph, although the second period was a tale of two goalkeepers for Risca.

Debutant Leigh Jones, signed in mid-week from Gwent County League side Blaenavon Blues, was forced off through injury on the hour mark and some 12 minutes after conceding a Jordan Jones equaliser.

On came substitute stopper Tom Chorely, who endured something of a nightmare time with the next couple of goals, being badly positioned to deal with a Matthew Flynn corner which flew straight in and seemingly being slow to get down to a Matthew Delve shot which made it 3-1.

Delve made it four with a very good finish, although Llanwern debutant Matthew Maynard was clearly in an offside position when he went through for the fifth soon after coming on as a substitute.

In fairness to Chorely, a regular for Risca for a number of seasons, he did also make several fine saves as Llanwern, who were minus leading scorer Matthew Hibbs, tried to add to their impressive tally of 25 goals from their last four league fixtures.

The teams swapped places as a result of the game Undy Athletic remained ninth following a hugely disappointing 3-1 home defeat at the hands of AFC Llwydcoed, who are 11^th in the 16-strong table.

Olly Beckett put Undy in front before he went off injured and after the visitors had a player sent off, the home side's Paul Clayton also saw red.

Despite a battling performance against unbeaten table-topping Barry Town United, lowly Caerleon slipped to a 1-0 reverse at Jenner Park and they are now above the relegation zone ahead of Penrhiwceiber Rangers on goal difference only.

Gwent goalscorers (League only).

CHEPSTOW Town's Leo Ross scored in a 4-2 win at Ely Rangers to move on to 11 goals, eight behind leading scorer Josh Brown, of Lliswerry.

19 - Josh Brown (Lliswerry). 

16 - Zac Osbourne (Croesyceiliog). 

13 - Tom McCarthy (Aberbargoed Buds); Jason Thorn (Caldicot Town).

11 - Matthew Hibbs (Llanwern), Dan MacDonald (Monmouth Town), Leo Ross (Chepstow Town).

10 - Gareth Cullimore (Undy Athletic), Craig Moses (Goytre).

9 - Dale Cook (Lliswerry).

8 - Olly Beckett (Undy Athletic), Matthew Flynn (Llanwern, including seven for Pontypridd Town), Nick Harrhy (Monmouth Town), Hishi Lama (Croesyceiliog, including one for Chepstow Town), Tomas Lynch (Tredegar Town), Ian Pettit (Tredegar Town).

7 - Scott Armitage (Aberbargoed Buds), Gareth Delve (Llanwern), Richard Sharratt (Caldicot Town), Niall Simmons (Newport YMCA), Dan Stoneman (Lliswerry), Tony Willis (Risca United).

6 - Daniel Battle (Risca United, including six for Tredegar Town), Josh Bull (including two for Monmouth Town), Jon Butcher (Panteg), Jamie Davies (Caerleon), Luke Dyke (Panteg, including one for Croesyceiliog), Dan Hooper (Llanwern), Nic Hooper (Llanwern), Luke Lewis (Cwmbran Celtic), Derice McLean (Newport Civil Service).

5 - James Francis (Caerleon), Steven Hughes (Tredegar Town), Dave Hurley (Risca United), Jordan Jones (Llanwern), Ben Taylor (Panteg), Kyle Williams (Risca United), James Young (Goytre).

4 - Josh Collier (Risca United), Aaron Colwill (Risca United), Chris Ham (Monmouth Town, now of Carmarthen Town), Joe Howells (Lliswerry), Chris Quinlan (Tredegar Town), Craig Price (Treowen Stars), Matt Prosser (Goytre), Dan Saunders (Caldicot Town).

3 - Ricky Amos (Treowen Stars), Wayne Antoniazzi (Aberbargoed Buds), Dominic Connor (Cwmbran Celtic), Luke Cueto (Caerleon), Mark Dunn (Chepstow Town), Dan Edwards (Lliswerry), Eliot Evans (Monmouth Town), Gary Evans (Treowen Stars), Max Fessey (Lliswerry), Elliott Ford (Monmouth Town), Nathan Hardwick (Newport YMCA), Ryan Hayward (Croesyceiliog), Liam Head (Caerleon), Kirk Hicks (Panteg, including three for Lliswerry), Craig Lewis (Chepstow Town), Rhys Luffman (Lliswerry), Tre Marrett (Newport YMCA), Paul Michael (Risca United), Mark Organ (Chepstow Town), Sam Rushworth (Chepstow Town), Jordan Ryan (Panteg), Liam Shaw (Aberbargoed Buds).

2 - Michael Bishop (Llanwern), Paul Clayton (Undy Athletic), Dan Clouth (Croesyceiliog), Lewis Coote (Treowen Stars), Marc Curtis (Llanwern), Ben Davies (Undy Athletic), Jordan Harding (Goytre), Alex Jenkins (Newport YMCA), Chris Jones (Treowen Stars), Josh Jones (Tredegar Town), Rhys Jones (Aberbargoed Buds), Andrew Larcombe (Cwmbran Celtic), Jordan Maisey (Aberbargoed Buds), James Martin (Newport YMCA), Lee Mason (Panteg), Gavin Meacham (Aberbargoed Buds), Joe O'Brien (Newport YMCA), Craig Price (Treowen Stars), Nick Potts (Chepstow Town), Simon Prangley (Chepstow Town), Dean Randall (Treowen Stars), Luke Thomas (Cwmbran Celtic), Gyles Thompson (Undy Athletic), Jon Williams (Panteg), Ben Wotton (Caerleon).

1 - Jack Alderdice (Monmouth Town), Adam Alkysi (Tredegar Town), Gareth Appleby (Panteg), Jamie Arnold (Croesyceiliog), Josh Ball (Tredegar Town), Michael Baugh (Cwmbran Celtic), James Barnes (Undy Athletic), Tom Barry (Llanwern), Joe Bidgood (Newport YMCA), Steven Boucher (Lliswerry), Gareth Cleverly (Newport Civil Service), Jacob Cross (Aberbargoed Buds), Simon Crook (Caldicot Town), Lloyd Dando (Treowen Stars), Tom Dando (Cwmbran Celtic), Aysa El-Doory (Newport Civil Service), Yousif El-Doori (Caerleon), Alex Evans (Goytre), Jack Evans (Treowen Stars), Josh Evans (Treowen Stars), Dean Goddard (Newport YMCA), Jack Harvey (Chepstow Town), Luke Harris (Treowen Stars), Mo Hassan (Newport YMCA), Tom Hooper (Undy Athletic), Rhys Hodges (Cwmbran Celtic), Sam Hunt (Monmouth Town), Matt James (Caldicot Town), Ashley Johnson (Lliswerry), Grant Jones (Treowen Stars), Ben Lawrence (Newport YMCA), Jason Lewis (Newport YMCA) David Lloyd (Caldicot Town), Will McConnell (Caldicot Town), Craig McDonnell (Aberbargoed Buds), Liam Macan (Tredegar Town), Steffan Marchant (Croesyceiliog), Nick Maynard (Llanwern), Ryan Meek (Treowen Stars), Dave Mellon (Newport Civil Service), Adam Meredith (Tredegar Town), Calum Miles (Goytre), Gavin Millar (Panteg), Dale Morris (Llanwern), Ian Morris (Tredegar Town), Mark Morris (Croesyceiliog), Lewys Nash (Aberbargoed Buds), Sam Oakley (Caerleon), Ashley Palmer (Chepstow Town), Stephen Parfitt (Treowen Stars), Rakesh Patel (Cwmbran Celtic), Marcus Power (Undy Athletic), Tyla Preece (Aberbargoed Buds), James Price (Tredegar Town), Anthony Richards (Croesyceiliog), Leigh Sharp (Risca United), Richie Shire (Lliswerry), Jack Sinderby (Croesyceiliog), Mitchell Slape (Caldicot Town), Alex Stewart (Newport YMCA), Lewis Sweetland (Newport Civil Service), Kieron Thomas (Aberbargoed Buds), Simon Truman (Goytre), Alex Waters (Caerleon), Jake Wainright (Goytre), Ben Watson (Caerleon), Steve Wilson (Caldicot Town), Tom Wise (Panteg), Ben Wotton (Caerleon), Joel Worgan (Tredegar Town).

CLEAN-SHEETS:

9 - Caldicot Town.

5 - Tredegar Town.

4 - Aberbargoed Buds; Chepstow Town; Goytre; Lliswerry; Panteg.

3 - Cwmbran Celtic; Monmouth Town.

2 - Caerleon; Croesyceiliog; Llanwern; Newport Civil Service; Undy Athletic.

1 - Newport YMCA; Risca United; Treowen Stars.

HUGE CUP-TIE FOR TON PENTRE YOUTH ON SUNDAY

30 January 2015

from Ton Pentre FC

Ton Pentre’s Youth Team has accomplished a remarkable achievement by reaching the final eight of the FAW Youth Cup, where they rub shoulders against the established academies of Welsh Premier League clubs and the youth teams of Cardiff City, Newport County and English Premier League outfit Swansea City.

The young Bulldogs play Bala Town at Ynys Park on Sunday 1st February in what will be their biggest game of the season. A place in the Semi-Finals of the FAW Youth Cup will be the prize for the winner.

Fellow Quarter-Finalists Airbus UK Broughton, Bala Town, Port Talbot Town and The New Saints all receive significant funding from UEFA for their Academy teams, while Cardiff, Newport and Swansea are professional outfits.

Ton Pentre Youth’s entire existence is down to a small grant from Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council via Sport Wales to get the team started and the hard work of supporters and the players themselves whose fundraising activities help run the team.

Under the guidance of Youth Team Manager Ryan Betteney, Ton Pentre have knocked Merthyr Town out of the Welsh League Youth Cup and are currently well positioned in the challenge for the Welsh League Youth Division East title.

The team’s achievements have highlighted the young football talent in the Rhondda and several of the Youth players have already made the step up to the Ton Pentre First Team in Welsh League Division One this season.

The Bulldogs Youth Team are certainly making a name for themselves and are looking forward to the visit of Bala Town on Sunday, 1 February for an FAW Youth Cup match that kicks off at 2.00pm. Entry for this game will be £2 and with 16 year olds and under free. 

For more information on Ton Pentre AFC please visit tonpentreafc.com or if you would like to discuss sponsorship opportunities with the Bulldogs, please contact Ceri Jones on 07792 190761 or e-mail sponsorthebulldogs@gmail.com.

Ton Pentre youth celebrate reaching the Quarter-Final of the FAW Youth Cup

FAW Youth Cup Quarter Finals

Cardiff City v The New Saints

Port Talbot Town v Newport County

Swansea City v Airbus UK Broughton

Ton Pentre v Bala Town

NEWPORT CIVIL SERVICE STRENGTHEN

30 January 2015

from Terry Daley

RELEGATION-THREATENED Newport Civil Service have moved to strengthen on and off the field in a bid to avoid dropping out of the Welsh League.

The struggling Division Three outfit has brought in Monmouth Town under-19s manager Simon Berry as coach to link up with player-boss Ben Burrows as NCS seek to move out of the drop zone.

Berry has brought three of The Kingfishers' youth-team squad with him, winger Jac Hardman, midfielder Thomas Hodge and defender Callum Hodges while another midfielder, Marc Gunter, returns to the Shannon Close clubs club following a break from the game.

“We are delighted Simon (Berry) has agreed to join our management team,” remarked NCS player-secretary Steve Muir. “He is a young and enthusiastic coach, who is performing wonders with Monmouth's youth team

“The players he has brought in will bring more quality and ability to the squad and they will, hopefully, push us up the table.

“We offer them all a warm welcome to the club and would also like to thank Monmouth chairman Lee Robson and his club for their help and cooperation

“We also welcome back Marc (Gunter) back home where he belongs after his extended break from the game and he will add a much-needed extra dimension to our game.”

Hardman, Hodge and Hodges are all available for Saturday's home game against Bridgend Street, but Gunter not so until the February 7 away clash at Bettws.

GWENT WEEKEND PREVIEW

30 January 2015

from Terry Daley

CHEPSTOW Town kick off the local football action on Friday while the outcomes of a couple of Division Two derbies on Saturday will have a strong bearing on which clubs will eventually be promoted to the top flight for the 2015-16 season.

Friday (7.30pm kick off).

Division Two (figures in brackets relate to league positions of 16).

Station Road, Wenvoe: Ely Rangers (12) v Chepstow Town (5).

Although it's only one defeat in six, Chepstow's promotion bid has taken a knock over the past few matches with just three draws from their last four outings.

They've brought in the vastly-experienced Gary Proctor as first-team coach to work alongside manager Dave Livermore and his assistant Chris Lillygreen.

Livermore and co. will certainly want to avoid a campaign losing double having been beaten 2-1 at home by Ely last November.

Ely ended a miserable run of six without a win by being 3-0 victors at Caerleon, an outcome which lifted them out of the relegation zone.

Form guide:

Ely Rangers: D L L D L W

Chepstow Town: W W D D L D

Saturday (all 2.00pm kick offs).

Division One (figures in brackets relate to league positions of 16).

Bridge Meadow Stadium: Haverfordwest County (2) v Goytre (10).

This is an extremely difficult task for out-of-form Goytre, who have lost their last three league and cup fixtures - all away.

They are 15 points adrift of leaders Cardiff Metropolitan University having played the same amount of games (15 of 30), but are only eight above the drop zone.

Need to get leading scorer Craig Moses back among the goals while a clean-sheet for player-boss Carl Evans' side would certainly not go amiss.

During every campaign since relegation, the hosts have found a way to shoot themselves in the foot in eventually missing out on regaining Welsh Premier League status - could this be their season?

Form guide:

Haverfordwest County: L D D W W W

Goytre: L W W W L L

Division Two (figures in brackets relate to league positions of 16).

Jenner Park: Barry Town United (1) v Caerleon (12).

It's really no exaggeration to say if Caerleon are to win this fixture, then they must bring their A-Star game to the seaside venue.

Will start on the back of a hugely disappointed display in losing 3-0 at home to fellow-strugglers Ely Rangers, a lack of sharpness in front of goal letting them down.

If they are to get anything positive, it's thought Jamie Davies or James Francis - or both – will need to add to their six and five-goal tallies respectively.

Barry are unbeaten in their 16 league matches and have scored 19 times and conceded just five in owning a 100 per cent record from seven home games.

Form guide:

Barry Town United: W W D W D W

Caerleon: L W D D L L

Jubilee Way: Caldicot Town (2) v Cwmbran Celtic (10). 

Caldicot are on track for promotion back to Division One and here seek an eighth consecutive win, although they were held to a 1-1 draw at Celtic in late October.

Keeping clean-sheets is the speciality of player-manager Mark Williams side, which has eight to its name - the last four in succession and five out of their previous six outings.

Celtic didn't play as well as they can last weekend, but still grabbed a point from a 1-1 home draw against promotion contenders Aberbargoed Buds.

However this is a different kettle of fish and their fine record of just one defeat in 10 starts will be tested to the max by the home side.

Form guide:

Caldicot Town: W W W W W W

Cwmbran Celtic: L W D W W D

Newport Stadium: Llanwern (7) v Risca United (6).

This is an important clash between two teams whose recent form is the exact opposite - the hosts having won three from four and the visitors having lost the same number from their quartet of previous games.

That's not to say, however, that Risca can't win here as they came close to getting something from a home meeting with unbeaten Barry Town United before losing 2-1 last Saturday.

Llanwern scored 20 goals in those four games and start in the back of a brilliant 6-2 away triumph over AFC Llwydcoed on the same day.

These sides are only eight and seven points respectively off a promotion spot, so victory is absolutely essential to maintain interest in a top-three position.

Form guide:

Llanwern: W L W L W W

Risca United: D W L W L L

Sports Ground, Margam: Tata Steel (15) v Aberbargoed Buds (4).

Dropping two points from a 1-1 draw at Cwmbran Celtic means Aberbargoed have taken only 14 from the last 30, although they are still just one spot off third place and with matches in hand.

Played well enough to have won at Celtic, but certainly missed unavailable 13-goal striker Tom McCarthy plus a couple of other influential regulars.

On the face if it, Aberbargoed will be firm favourites to return to winning ways, but they will be aware Tata drew 0-0 at Undy Athletic last time out.

The hosts are heading for relegation and although the 33 goals they've conceded in 16 outings is the lowest in the six - the 14 scored is the worse tally in the entire division.

Form guide:

Tata Steel: L L L L L D

Aberbargoed Buds: D L W W L D

The Causeway: Undy Athletic (9) v AFC Llwydcoed (11).

With just one win from seven, Undy's hope of promotion to Division One are fast fading and it didn't help matters that they were held 0-0 at home by lowly Tata Steel last weekend.

They do, however, have many games in hand over all but one of the eight teams above them and currently are 10 points off the third and final promotion place.

Gaining a win here is vital for Undy, whose entire February fixture list is made up of local derbies against Risca United, Caerleon, Chepstow Town and Croesyceiliog.

Llwydcoed will seek to avoid a fifth successive league defeat - although they will also bid for a season's double having beaten Undy 2-0 at home last October.

Form guide:

Undy Athletic: D L L W D D

AFC Llwydcoed: L W L L L L

Division Three (figures in brackets relate to league positions of 19).

Athletic Ground: Caerau (14) v Lliswerry (3).

Lliswerry have played just four times since November 29, but despite only one win they've managed to remain in a promotion spot.

Will doubtless have been extremely disappointed to have only drawn 0-0 against visiting capital-based Bridgend Street last time out - their first home league blank of the campaign.

Remain the division's second highest goalscorers with 51 from 17 outings and that kind of form would have meant they'd have been clear favourites to win this a month or so again.

However a run of fours wins from five has lifted Caerau well clear of the relegation zone and certainly Lliswerry will hope they can return to their previous fine goalscoring ratio.

Form guide:

Caerau: L W W W L W

Lliswerry: W W L L W D

Shannon Close, Bettws: Newport Civil Service (17) v Bridgend Street (12).

Last weekend's 4-0 defeat at Cwm Welfare was the 10^th consecutive reverse for NCS, who are here yet again involved in a 'must-win' clash.

And while it's a fact they do have enough fixtures in hand to get out of the relegation area, a total of just 10 goals in 12 league games suggests wins are going to be very hard to come by.

Having explained that, this is a match-up which NCS can gain something positive from and the one matter which is without doubt is they will give nothing less than 100 per cent.

The visitors have drawn their last two matches 0-0, at home against Treowen Stars and at high-flying Lliswerry, and certainly parity can not be ruled out.

Form guide:

Newport Civil Service: L L L L L L

Bridgend Street: L L W L D D

Mendalgief Road, Pill: Newport YMCA (11) v Cwm Welfare (13).

YMCA were thumped 5-0 at Rhoose, a surprising outcome given they'd only lost 2-1 at unbeaten Ammanford a week previously.

Nonetheless YMCA are generally regarded as one of the clubs who will eventually finish the campaign in mid table and they are currently 12 points clear of the drop zone.

However their form is poor in terms of picking up points, although this match-up does offer them a reasonable chance to secure an eighth win of the season.

League debutants Cwm are just as inconsistent as the hosts and have earned only nine points from the last 30, but they will start on the back of a 4-0 home success over Newport Civil Service.

Form guide:

Newport YMCA: L L L W L L

Cwm Welfare: W L W L L W

Sports Complex: Tredegar Town (5) v Pontypridd Town (10).

Just one win from their last three fixtures has dented Tredegar's promotion ambitions and they've slipped down three places from the runners-up spot.

With Llanelli Town and Ammanford seemingly fast heading towards Division Two, it appears Tredegar are competing with four other clubs for the third and final promotion place.

Therefore a win here is of top priority and anything less will seriously harm the chances of player-boss Gareth Harbord's side

Pontypridd recently lost 2-0 at home against one of Tredegar's rivals to go up, Cwmamman United, but previously they ran Division One champions Monmouth Town close in losing a League Cup tie 3-2.

Form guide:

Tredegar: W W W D W L

Pontypridd Town: L W L D W L

Athletic Ground: Treharris Athletic Western (17) v Panteg (9).

Panteg are fresh from picking up a good point from a 2-2 draw against Rhoose at Jenner Park, Barry, on Tuesday, when skipper skipper Tom Wise and Jon Williams netted.

It was a very encouraging display given they were without several regulars, although Kirk Hicks was sent off on the hour mark and the former Lliswerry player is now suspended.

The outcome leaves Panteg 11 points adrift of a promotion place with three matches in hand and with 66 still to play for, manager Mark Taylor's men can not be written off yet.

Treharris are in deep relegation trouble and a Panteg victory will aid the plight of lowly Newport Civil Service, who along with Cardiff Grange Harlequins are the only two clubs below the hosts.

Form guide:

Treharris Athletic Western: L D L L W L

Panteg: W W L D L D

Bush Park: Treowen Stars (15) v Bettws (Bridgend) (16).

This is a huge game for both of these struggling sides, who are involved in the fight to avoid dropping out of the 51-strong league.

Treowen will begin with no wins in seven, although they did gain a credible 0-0 away draw with Bridgend Street last weekend.

Manager Simon Evans' side is six points out of the relegation area and they've let in the least amount of goals, 37 in 15 games, than any other team in the lower seven.

Bettws' second win of the campaign, 4-0 at home against fellow-strugglers Treharris Athletic Western last Saturday, ended a seven-match sequence without victory.

Form guide:

Treowen Stars: L L D L L D

Bettws: D L L L L W

CHEPSTOW TOWN NAME NEW FIRST-TEAM COACH

29 January 2015

from Terry Daley

WELSH League Division Two outfit Chepstow Town have added much-travelled former Cwmbran Town manager Gary Proctor to the dug-out team.

Proctor has been appointed as first-team coach and will work alongside Chepstow boss Dave Livermore and his assistant Chris Lillygreen, the former Newport County striker.

Chepstow's next fixture is on Friday when they travel to Wenvoe on the outskirts of Cardiff to take on lowly Ely Rangers at their Station Road HQ.

“I am delighted to have Gary on board as he has a wealth of experience having managed in over 600 games,” remarked Chepstow boss Dave Livermore, who is in his first season in charge after being promoted from the reserve-team set-up.

“Gary will be working with the first team and will oversee all football matters at the club. His duties will be to work with the current management team and oversee our progression to the next level.

“He has a professional approach and work ethic and that is something which will be very much welcomed at this club.”

With unbeaten table-topping Barry Town United and second-placed Caldicot Town going so well, it's thought Chepstow are battling with several other clubs for the third and final promotion spot.

That is currently held by Swansea-based West End, who head Chepstow by only four points having played three games more.

Besides Cwmbran, Proctor has also previously been a manager with Rhayader Town, capital-based Bridgend Street (two spells), Cardiff Grange Harlequins and Llanelli.

GWENT TUESDAY ROUND-UP

28 January 2015

from Terry Daley

Division One 

Penybont 2 Monmouth Town 1.

DESPITE a debut goal from midfielder Sam Hunt at Bryntirion Park, Division One champions Monmouth slipped to a sixth defeat in 16 top-tier starts.

Home striker Richard French did the damage with both his side's goals on a night when The Kingfishers failed to take some fine goalscoring chances to have wrapped up a win before the break.

They remain in ninth spot and still 14 points behind leaders Cardiff Metropolitan University, but they now have only three games in hand while Penybont climb one to fourth.

Player-boss Andrew Smith's troops are not now in action until Saturday, February 7, when they will entertain Goytre United at their Pen-Y-Pound Stadium home at Abergavenny.

Division Three 

Rhoose 2 Panteg 2

Panteg came from behind at Jenner Park, Barry to claim a crucial point towards their promotion ambitions - although there was a downside for manager Mark Taylor's team.

The home side gained an early advantage when Drew Fahiya earned them a fifth-minute lead only for visiting skipper Tom Wise to level matters shortly before the half-hour mark.

Rhoose went ahead for the second time as Nicholas Davison netted soon after the start of the second period, but within minutes Jon Williams had equalised to make it 2-2.

Panteg's Kirk Hicks was cautioned for the second time on 67 minutes and his subsequent red card means he will miss Saturday's trip to Treharris Athletic Western.

Panteg remain ninth and are 11 points adrift of third-placed Lliswerry with three games in hand while Rhoose, who next host unbeaten Ammanford on February 3, are still seventh.

GWENT TUESDAY PREVIEW

27 January 2015

from Terry Daley

Both 7.30pm kick offs.

Division One (figures in brackets relate to league positions of 16).

Bryntirion Park: Penybont (5) v Monmouth Town (9).

DIVISION One champions Monmouth Town are in Nathaniel Cars Welsh League action for the first time in 25 days on Tuesday, when they travel at take on title rivals Penybont.

The Kingfishers have not played a league match since losing 3-0 at Taffs Well on January 2 and their only fixture since saw them defeat visiting lower-tier outfit Pontypridd Town 3-2 in a Nathaniel Cars Welsh League Cup tie, a week last Saturday.

This is a must-win meeting for ninth-placed Monmouth if they are to successfully defend their top-tier title as they will start 14 points behind leaders Cardiff Metropolitan University, although they do have four matches in hand.

Goalkeeper Keiron Blackburn is back after being rested for that win over Pontypridd because of of an early-morning arrival from holiday, although Aaron Davies remains sidelined

Monmouth will give a fitness test to Sam Palmer and will hope international clearance can be gained for defender and Sam Hunt, a student at University of Wales who has experience with English clubs Evesham United, Redditch United and Cinderford Town.

Penybont sit in sixth position eight points better off than The Kingfishers having played five games more, but they lost their last three - all at home on their 3G surface at Bryntirion Park.

These two teams met at on November 15 last year, when Monmouth emerged 3-1 home winners of a Welsh Cup, round-two tie with Dan MacDonald, the now-departed Chris Ham and Nick Harrhy getting the goals.

Form guide: figures in brackets relate to league positions of 16).

Monmouth Town: W L D L W L

Penybont: L W W L L L

Division Three (figures in brackets relate to league positions of 19).

Jenner Park, Barry: Rhoose (6) Panteg (9)

Panteg will hope to be able to call on at least a couple of the eight regulars who were unavailable for Saturday's home clash with table-topping Llanelli Town, who departed Cwmbran Stadium as 2-0 victors.

Manager Mark Taylor's men are in their return season following a 15-year absence and are 11 points short of the third and final promotion spot currently held by Lliswerry - although they do have four games in hand.

Previous to losing against Llanelli Town, Panteg drew 1-1 at the West Walians' home base at Stebonheath Park – although you have to go back to December 6 to find their last win, 1-0 against visiting Pontypridd Town.

Rhoose have played two more fixtures and are seven points better off and were 5-0 home winners over Newport YMCA on Saturday.

These clubs have met before in 2014-15, but the outcome of their October 4 meeting at Panteg House was inconclusive because it was abandoned on 90 minutes when a Rhoose player could not be moved after he picked up a serious injury.

The match was re-scheduled, but was postponed because of a water-logged pitch and a new date of April 4 has been announced.

Form guide:

Rhoose: L W W D L W

Panteg: W W W L D L

GRAHAM BEVAN

27 January 2015

from AFC Llwydcoed

AFC Llwydcoed wish to announce with regret the sudden death of Mr Graham Bevan who was one of a small group of supporters from Llwydcoed who travelled near and far to watch their village football team.

During his working career he taught at Comin School, Trecynon, Aberdare.  It was through his teaching career that he became involved with football.  He became Cynon Valley Schools Secretary for over 20 years organising all the junior ages, this also included him being a Welsh Schools’ football selector. 

His work will never be forgotten.  Without which there would not have been schools football for this length of time. 

The Aberdare Valley Football League recognised this and made him a Vice President.

Mr Bevan was a football man through and through, Saturdays will not be the same for his Llwydcoed friends, players, and officials.

His funeral is at Llwydcoed Crematorium on Friday 30 January at 12.45pm.

GWENT SATURDAY ROUND-UP AND GWENT GOALSCORERS (LEAGUE ONLY)

26 January 2015

from Terry Daley

CROESYCEILIOG hit seven and Llanwern six on an afternoon when Division Two rivals Caldicot Town took a massive step towards regaining top-tier status.

Elsewhere, there was a damaging reverse for Division Three promotion contenders Tredegar Town and an agonising extra-time League Cup defeat for Goytre.

Caldicot entertained struggling Penrhiwceiber Rangers and were fully expected to claim an eighth straight win under player-boss Mark Williams.

And although the visitors played well, the result was never really in doubt as goals from Jason Thorn, who now has 13 this season, and Simon Crook (penalty) eased them home.

It was a crucial win because all four of the teams below them failed to gain the full three points and it all means Caldicot are 10 points clear of fourth-placed Aberbargoed Buds, who have three games in hand, and 12 ahead of Chepstow Town (fifth), who have played one match less.

Aberbargoed travelled to face Cwmbran Celtic, who were defending a record of only one defeat in nine outings since their delayed start to the campaign.

On the day, the visitors played the better football more or less throughout as Celtic struggled to get into any sort of rhythm at their Celtic Park HQ.

Nonetheless a point from a 1-1 draw when you've under-performed is not to be sniffed at and substitute Sean Feeley's 87th-minute effort maintained his side's 10 place in the 16-strong table.

Aberbargoed boss Adrian Needs will feel his team should have had matters wrapped up long before Feeley's late leveller - although it must be pointed out he was minus several key players.

Striker Tom McCarthy, who has netted 13 times this season, was unavailable while influential midfielder Wayne Antoniazzi and impressive defender Keiron Thomas were also sidelined.

However they put those losses firmly behind them and went onto take lead just three minutes before interval, when Scott Armitage's low cross was turned past home goalkeeper Giles Cutlan by Jordan Maisey.

Poor passing the main feature and just when it appeared the visitors had clinched victory, Owen Llewellyn's cross was side-footed home by Feeley to save the day.

Chepstow hosted third-positioned West End, but were disappointing in a 0-0 draw while there was a 2-1 home loss for Risca United by unbeaten leaders Barry Town United.

The seasiders took the lead at Ty-Isaf Park through Barry Briers only for Josh Collier to make it 1-1, but sixth-placed Risca were denied a point when Barry's James Dixon headed in the winner.

But it was the scoring performances of Llanwern and Croesyceiliog which were the highlights as each improved their status by moving above Undy Athletic into seventh and eighth places respectively.

Llanwern demolished hosts AFC Llwydcoed 6-2 with goals coming from Matthew Hibbs (2), Gareth Delve (2), plus brothers Nic and Dan Hooper.

Hibbs now has 11 league goals in 2014-15 while Croesyceiliog striker Zac Osbourne also netted a brace in his side's 7-1 home thrashing of Dinas Powys to take his tally to 16.

However he was upstaged by team-mate Hishi Lama, who smashed in a hat-trick with Croesyceiliog's other goals coming from Jamie Arnold and Dan Clouth.

Undy will be bitterly disappointed they were held to a 0-0 stalemate by visiting Tata Steel, who turned up at The Causeway having lost all 12 of their league outings.

Undy slip a couple of rungs to ninth while 13th-placed Caerleon paid the price for missing several good chances in being defeated 3-0 at home by another relegation-threatened club, Ely Rangers.

In the lower tier, Tredegar lost their promotion spot and are now fifth following a 3-1 away defeat at the hands of Cardiff Corinthians - Josh Jones scoring, but also missing a penalty.

Mid-table Panteg were forced to switch their home game with table-topping Llanelli Town from their unavailable Panteg House home to Cwmbran Stadium.

However being minus eight regulars took it's toll and they couldn't get anywhere near the fine form they displayed in drawing 1-1 at Llanelli the previous weekend in going down to a 2-0 defeat to the west Walians.

There were also reverses for Newport YMCA and Newport Civil Service, but a valuable point from a 0-0 draw at Bridgend Street for Treowen Stars - for whom goalkeeper Asa Kirkwood saved a penalty.

YMCA, who are sit in mid-table, were beaten 5-0 at Jenner Park, Barry, by promotion outsiders Rhoose and NCS 4-0 by hosts Cwm Welfare.

It was NCS' 11th consecutive defeat and they remain in the one-from-the-bottom spot while Treowen's draw means they are now half-a-dozen points above the drop zone.

Goytre's League Cup, round-three tie at Ton Pentre appeared to be heading for a penalty shoot-out, but the home side scored in the 120^th and final minute to earn a quarter-final tie at Division One rivals Taffs Well.

Ton had defender Ryan Morgan sent off with Goytre also being reduced to nine men after Brad Dowling received a second yellow card and having already used all their substitutes when when a player limped off injured.

Tuesday fixtures (both 7.30pm).

Division One:

Penybont v Monmouth Town.

Division Three:

Rhoose v Panteg

Gwent goalscorers (League only).

CROESYCEILIOG'S Zac Osbourne scored twice in a 7-1 home success over Dinas Powys to move to just three goals behind Josh Brown, of Lliswerry.

Caldicot Town's 2-0 victory over visiting Penrhiwceiber Rangers was their seventh clean-sheet in 18 league starts – three more than Tredegar Town.

19 - Josh Brown (Lliswerry).

16 - Zac Osbourne (Croesyceiliog).

13 - Tom McCarthy (Aberbargoed Buds); Jason Thorn (Caldicot Town).

11 - Matthew Hibbs (Llanwern), Dan MacDonald (Monmouth Town).

10 - Gareth Cullimore (Undy Athletic), Craig Moses (Goytre), Leo Ross (Chepstow Town).

9 - Dale Cook (Lliswerry).

8 - Nick Harrhy (Monmouth Town), Hishi Lama (Chepstow Town, including three for Croesyceiliog), Tomas Lynch (Tredegar Town), Ian Pettit (Tredegar Town).

7 - Scott Armitage (Aberbargoed Buds), Olly Beckett (Undy Athletic), Matthew Flynn (Llanwern, including seven for Pontypridd Town), Richard Sharratt (Caldicot Town), Niall Simmons (Newport YMCA), Dan Stoneman (Lliswerry), Tony Willis (Risca United).

6 - Daniel Battle (Risca United, including six for Tredegar Town), Josh Bull (including two for Monmouth Town), Jon Butcher (Panteg), Jamie Davies (Caerleon), Luke Dyke (Panteg, including one for Croesyceiliog), Dan Hooper (Llanwern), Nic Hooper (Llanwern), Luke Lewis (Cwmbran Celtic), Derice McLean (Newport Civil Service).

5 - Gareth Delve (Llanwern), James Francis (Caerleon), Steven Hughes (Tredegar Town), Dave Hurley (Risca United), James Young (Goytre).

4 - Josh Collier (Risca United), Aaron Colwill (Risca United), Chris Ham (Monmouth Town, now of Carmarthen Town), Joe Howells (Lliswerry), Jordan Jones (Llanwern), Chris Quinlan (Tredegar Town), Craig Price (Treowen Stars), Matt Prosser (Goytre), Dan Saunders (Caldicot Town), Kyle Williams (Risca United).

3 - Ricky Amos (Treowen Stars), Wayne Antoniazzi (Aberbargoed Buds), Dominic Connor (Cwmbran Celtic), Luke Cueto (Caerleon), Dan Edwards (Lliswerry), Eliot Evans (Monmouth Town), Gary Evans (Treowen Stars), Max Fessey (Lliswerry), Elliott Ford (Monmouth Town), Nathan Hardwick (Newport YMCA), Ryan Hayward (Croesyceiliog), Liam Head (Caerleon), Kirk Hicks (Panteg, including three for Lliswerry), Craig Lewis (Chepstow Town), Rhys Luffman (Lliswerry), Tre Marrett (Newport YMCA), Paul Michael (Risca United), Sam Rushworth (Chepstow Town), Jordan Ryan (Panteg), Liam Shaw (Aberbargoed Buds), Ben Taylor (Panteg).

2 - Michael Bishop (Llanwern), Paul Clayton (Undy Athletic), Dan Clouth (Croesyceiliog), Lewis Coote (Treowen Stars), Marc Curtis (Llanwern), Ben Davies (Undy Athletic), Mark Dunn (Chepstow Town), Jordan Harding (Goytre), Alex Jenkins (Newport YMCA), Chris Jones (Treowen Stars), Josh Jones (Tredegar Town), Rhys Jones (Aberbargoed Buds), Andrew Larcombe (Cwmbran Celtic), Jordan Maisey (Aberbargoed Buds), James Martin (Newport YMCA), Lee Mason (Panteg), Gavin Meacham (Aberbargoed Buds), Joe O'Brien (Newport YMCA), Mark Organ (Chepstow Town), Craig Price (Treowen Stars), Nick Potts (Chepstow Town), Dean Randall (Treowen Stars), Luke Thomas (Cwmbran Celtic), Gyles Thompson (Undy Athletic), Ben Wotton (Caerleon).

1 - Jack Alderdice (Monmouth Town), Adam Alkysi (Tredegar Town), Gareth Appleby (Panteg), Jamie Arnold (Croesyceiliog), Josh Ball (Tredegar Town), Michael Baugh (Cwmbran Celtic), James Barnes (Undy Athletic), Tom Barry (Llanwern), Joe Bidgood (Newport YMCA), Steven Boucher (Lliswerry), Gareth Cleverly (Newport Civil Service), Jacob Cross (Aberbargoed Buds), Simon Crook (Caldicot Town), Tom Dando (Cwmbran Celtic), Aysa El-Doory (Newport Civil Service), Yousif El-Doori (Caerleon), Alex Evans (Goytre), Jack Evans (Treowen Stars), Josh Evans (Treowen Stars), Dean Goddard (Newport YMCA), Jack Harvey (Chepstow Town), Luke Harris (Treowen Stars), Mo Hassan (Newport YMCA), Tom Hooper (Undy Athletic), Rhys Hodges (Cwmbran Celtic), Matt James (Caldicot Town), Ashley Johnson (Lliswerry), Grant Jones (Treowen Stars), Ben Lawrence (Newport YMCA), Jason Lewis (Newport YMCA) David Lloyd (Caldicot Town), Will McConnell (Caldicot Town), Craig McDonnell (Aberbargoed Buds), Liam Macan (Tredegar Town), Steffan Marchant (Croesyceiliog), Dave Mellon (Newport Civil Service), Adam Meredith (Tredegar Town), Calum Miles (Goytre), Gavin Millar (Panteg), Dale Morris (Llanwern), Ian Morris (Tredegar Town), Mark Morris (Croesyceiliog), Lewys Nash (Aberbargoed Buds), Sam Oakley (Caerleon), Ashley Palmer (Chepstow Town), Stephen Parfitt (Treowen Stars), Rakesh Patel (Cwmbran Celtic), Marcus Power (Undy Athletic), Simon Prangley (Chepstow Town), James Price (Tredegar Town), Anthony Richards (Croesyceiliog), Leigh Sharp (Risca United), Richie Shire (Lliswerry), Jack Sinderby (Croesyceiliog), Mitchell Slape (Caldicot Town), Alex Stewart (Newport YMCA), Lewis Sweetland (Newport Civil Service), Kieron Thomas (Aberbargoed Buds), Simon Truman (Goytre), Alex Waters (Caerleon), Jake Wainright (Goytre), Ben Watson (Caerleon), Jon Williams (Panteg), Steve Wilson (Caldicot Town), Ben Wotton (Caerleon), Joel Worgan (Tredegar Town).

CLEAN-SHEETS:

8 - Caldicot Town.

5 - Tredegar Town.

4 - Aberbargoed Buds; Chepstow Town; Goytre; Lliswerry.

3 - Monmouth Town; Panteg.

2 - Caerleon; Croesyceiliog; Cwmbran Celtic; Llanwern; Newport Civil Service; Undy Athletic.

1 - Newport YMCA; Risca United; Treowen Stars.

CAMBRIAN & CLYDACH URGENTLY REQUIRE FRIENDLIES

26 January 2015

Cambrian & Clydach are looking for a potential friendly or two over the next few weeks.

Will travel away in mid week or if anyone is free and fancies a 5.00pm Saturday night game then we are looking for games on January 31st and February 7th on our 3g.

If anyone is available then please contact Antony Coombes on 07765 244792.

DECEMBER MANAGER OF THE MONTH AWARD

24 January 2015

Rhys Fisher, Captain, receives the December Nathaniel Car Sales Manager of the Month Award on behalf of Ammanford’s Manager, Gruff Harrison, from Mr Alf Germain, Chairman, The Welsh Football League, this afternoon.

During the month Ammanford achieved four victories in four Division Three matches, scoring 15 goals and conceding seven.

Congratulations Gruff!

GWENT SATURDAY PREVIEW 

23 January 2015

from Terry Daley

A GOYTRE win at Division One rivals Ton Pentre will earn them a Welsh League Cup quarter-final spot alongside Monmouth Town, Llanwern and Tredegar Town while the pick of the rest is a second-tier county derby between Cwmbran Celtic and Aberbargoed Buds.

Nathaniel Cars Welsh League Cup round three (1.30pm kick off)

Ynys Park: Ton Pentre v Goytre.

Third time of asking for this tie, which has twice fallen victim to inclement weather with the eventual winners scheduled to visit top-flight rivals Taffs Well on a date yet to be announced.

Goytre, winners in 2010-11, must tighten up defensively as they lost their last two league fixtures, 2-0 at Penybont and 5-2 at namesakes Goytre United.

The hosts have won only three of their last 10 outings - although they did emerge 3-2 victors at Goytre in a league match in early September.

Nathaniel Cars Welsh League (all 2.00pm kick offs).

Division Two (figures in brackets relate to table positions of 16).

Merthyr Road: AFC Llwydcoed (11) v Llanwern (8). 

Although they held a section advantage, Llanwern's 1-0 League Cup win at unbeaten Division Three leaders Llanelli Town recently was, arguably, the club's best away result in a number of seasons.

The impressive success came on the back of a brilliant 9-1 home league victory over struggling Ely Rangers just before the turn of the new year.

Their previous best home triumph this season was, coincidently, 5-2 against visiting Llwydcoed back in early September, when leading scorer Matthew Hibbs netted one of his nine league goals.

Four defeats in five has Llwydcoed sitting only three points above the relegation area, although their 28-goal tally is the joint highest in the bottom eight.

Form guide:

Llwydcoed: W L W L L L

Llanwern: W W L W L W

Cold Bath Road: Caerleon (12) v Ely Rangers (14).

Caerleon failed to stretch their unbeaten run to a fourth match last weekend, when they went down 3-1 at promotion-seeking West End.

And because they'd drawn their previous two games, they are now without a win in three and find themselves only a single point above the drop zone.

Jamie Davies (six goals) and James Francis (five) are their leading scorers and if Ely repeat the sort of defending which cost them so heavily the last time they played, then the pair may well add to those totals.

Ely visited Newport Stadium on December 27, when they were thumped 9-1 by Llanwern, who actually scored all 10 because of an own goal.

Form guide:

Caerleon: L L W D D L

Ely: L D L L D L

Jubilee Way: Caldicot Town (2) v Penrhiwceiber Rangers (13).

With only 13 fixtures remaining, Caldicot are well set to gain promotion back to Division One and here seek a seventh consecutive league victory.

They also lead the clean-sheet table for local clubs with seven - four of which has come in the last five outings and three in succession.

The only possible down side is Caldicot have suffered a trio of recent postponements and their last game was on December 27, when they beat hosts Risca United 1-0.

Rangers were in the county in their previous appearance, losing 2-0 against Cwmbran Celtic under Newport Stadium's floodlights.

Form guide:

Caldicot: W W W W W W

Rangers: W L L D D L

Larkfield Ground: Chepstow Town (5) v West End (Swansea) (3).

 Like so many clubs, Chepstow have not been in action since December 27 - a 2-1 home defeat at the hands of Cwmbran Celtic ending their five-match unbeaten record.

Because their two fixtures before that ended in parity, they've not actually won since they emerged 3-2 victors at Margam-based Tata Steel three weeks earlier.

This is a crucial game for both sides as Chepstow are just three points off the final promotion spot currently held by the visitors, who played as many games more.

West End are a decent enough side seeking first-time promotion back to Division One, but the general opinion is they've completed far too many games and will eventually be overtake by several rivals.

Form guide:

Chepstow Town: W W W D D L

West End: W L W W L W

Woodland Road: Croesyceiliog (9) v Dinas Powys (15).

Croesyceiliog have been as inconsistent as most this season and have not kicked a competitive ball since returning from Tata Steel as 3-2 victors as far back as December 20.

That has to have an affect on match fitness and in many respects, this clash is certainly like a season opener because the visitors have also been sidelined for the same period.

Up to that win at Tata, striker Zac Osbourne was in fine form in netting 14 league goals and if he can return to that kind of strike rate, then Croesyceiliog could yet clinch a top-six finish to the campaign.

Without-a-win-in-10 Dinas are in all sorts of trouble near the bottom with five successive defeats and although they've won just two matches - one was 3-2 at Croesyceiliog.

Form guide:

Croesyceiliog: W W W L D W

Dinas Powys: D L L L L L

Celtic Park: Cwmbran Celtic (10) v Aberbargoed Buds (4). 

Celtic's scheduled game against Margam-based Tata Steel at Newport Stadium on Wednesday was washed out and no new date has yet been announced.

This particular clash sees Celtic complete 10 fixtures and they will begin 12 points off promotion with as many as 10 matches in hand.

Aberbargoed were going quite well, but a run of only four wins and a draw from nine outings has seen them drop out of the three-strong promotion area.

A draw here would not be the end of the world for either club and players to watch for are Celtic's Luke Lewis, who has quickly moved onto six goals, and Aberbargoed's Tom McCarthy, who has 14 for the season.

Form guide:

Cwmbran Celtic: W L W D W W

Aberbargoed Buds: W D L W W L

Ty-Isaf Park: Risca United (6) v Barry Town United (1).

Risca's inconsistent form over their last half-dozen matches threatens their promotion hopes and it doesn't come any harder than a visit from unbeaten-in-15 leaders.

The home side has, however, played less matches than all of the five teams above them and will certainly want to replicate the good form they showed in only losing 2-1 at Barry back in early September.

Have not played in a month and have recently signed six-goal midfielder Daniel Battle from Division Three side Tredegar Town, 22-year-old striker Matthew Thomas from Gwent County League outfit Abercarn United and 18-year Nathan Doe from Newport County Academy.

Barry, who lost 3-1 at this venue in a Division Three fixture in 2013-14, have stuttered somewhat lately with two draws in their last three outings - but remain firmly on course for a second consecutive promotion.

Form guide:

Risca United: D D W L W L

Barry: W W W D W D

The Causeway: Undy Athletic (7) v Tata Steel (Margam) (16).

Undy are one of a number of teams who have fallen behind in their fixture programme and still have 17 remaining from which to secure first-time promotion to the top flight.

That's an improbable rather than impossible task and here they will fancy their chances of stretching their unbeaten league run to a third match.

Will bid to complete a campaign double having won 2-0 at Tata in their fourth league game of the season back in September, when James Barnes and Paul Clayton were on target.

Tata are trying to avoid a second relegation on the trot and after a good start of two wins and a draw, the wheels have dropped off in losing all of their subsequent 12 league matches.

Form guide:

Undy Athletic: L D L L W D

Tata Steel: L L L L L L

Division Three (figures in brackets relate to table positions of 19).

Willows High School, Tremorfa: Bridgend Street (Cardiff) (12) v Treowen Stars (15).

Treowen have 14 points from as many games and given all four clubs below them have yet to reach double figures, victory here will be a huge boost.

Boss Simon Evans' side can play some decent football, but often it presses the self-destruct button and it'll have to shake off ring-rust as it hasn't played since losing 2-1 at Newport YMCA five days before Christmas.

This clash is expected to be a very tight affair and Treowen still start only four points adrift of the hosts and with a game in hand.

Bridgend Street performed well in drawing 0-0 at promotion-seeking Lliswerry last Saturday and the 28 goals conceded is the lowest in the division's bottom nine.

Form guide:

Bridgend Street: W L L W L D

Treowen Stars: L L L D L L

Riverside Ground, Radyr: Cardiff Corinthians (6) v Tredegar Town (3).

There is good and bad news for promotion contenders Tredegar ahead of this important meeting with the capital side, which is only four points behind them.

The good news is former Newport County midfielder Gethin Jones has re-joined following a brief spell away from the game while talented young striker Matthew Saunders has been brought in from a Merthyr League club.

However the bad is joint-leading scorer Tomas Lynch, who alongside Ian Pettit has eight goals, is unavailable because of work commitments.

The Corries were looking good for promotion until a recent run of six defeats from eight fixtures, the most recent of which was 3-1 at unbeaten Ammanford two weeks ago.

Form guide:

Cardiff Corinthians: L L L W W L

Tredegar: D W W W D W

Mount Pleasant Park, Beddau: Cwm Welfare (13) v Newport Civil Service (17).

NCS have recently made several signings while striker Dave Mellon is back after a short break and forwards Aysa El-Doori and Lee Morgan are both ready to return from long-term injuries.

Player-boss Ben Burrows has recruited defenders Lewis Coldrick and Chris Thomas (from AFC Porth and Malpas United respectively) plus goalkeeper Josh Griffiths (Rogerstone) and all are poised to make club debuts

By kick off, it will be 32 days since NCS last 1-0 at Caerau and this game does offer them a reasonable opportunity to end an horrendous run of 10 defeats on the trot.

Cwm have found it difficult to make an impact in their first season at this level and one of the eight reverses they've suffered in 15 starts was 7-0 at table-topping Llanelli Town last time out in late December.

Form guide:

Cwm Welfare: L W L W L L

Newport Civil Service: L L L L L L

Cwmbran Stadium: Panteg (9) v Llanelli Town (1).

This game has been switched because Panteg's home ground is temporarily unavailable and before last Saturday, they would have been massive underdogs against the unbeaten table-toppers.

However Panteg earned a 1-1 draw at Llanelli's Stebonheath Park, where the west Walians only managed to level via a penalty, and manager Mark Taylor's side is 11 points off a promotion spot with five fixtures in hand.

Are without midfielders Jordan Ryan, who still has three of a four-match suspension to sit out, and Chris Erasmus, who here serves the second of a three-game ban.

Llanelli Town have won 14 and drawn three, scoring 64 goals in those 17 starts and have conceded just 13 - the highest and lowest respective totals on the entire league (except Cwmbran Celtic, who've played only 10 games)

Form guide:

Panteg: L W W W L D

Llanelli Town: W W W D W W

Jenner Park, Barry: Rhoose (7) v Newport YMCA (11).

YMCA are sitting reasonably comfortable and are 15 points clear of the drop zone and only 13 off the third and last promotion spot.

Therefore a win here could well end any lingering relegation fears and while no-one is suggesting they will go up, certainly a mid-table position is not beyond them.

Manager Stevie McCarthy-Campbell's men were last in action two weeks ago, when they were beaten 4-1 at home by high-flying Tredegar Town.

However match fitness may be a problem for both as Rhoose, who last crossed the white line on December 27, when they lost 3-2 at Lliswerry.

Form guide:

Rhoose: L L W W D L

Newport YMCA: W L L L W L

GWENT SATURDAY ROUND-UP

19 January 2015

from Terry Daley

LLISWERRY passed over the chance to cement their Division Three promotion credentials after only drawing 0-0 with visiting capital-based Bridgend Street at Spytty Park in Newport.

However there was some good news later when it was discovered the only team above them, unbeaten leaders Llanelli Town, were held to a 1-1 home draw by Panteg.

Second-tier side Caerleon were the only other local side in league action in losing 3-1 at West End, but Division One champions Monmouth Town reached the last eight of the League Cup with a home victory.

Lliswerry's stale-mate, described by manager Adam Corfield as a “bore-draw”, was the first time this season they had failed to score on their 3G playing surface.

And credit must be given to Bridgend Street, who have now twice kept clean-sheets against Lliswerry following a 2-0 home success on September 6 last year.

Indeed the visitors came closest to scoring when they struck the crossbar as Lliswerry returned to action for the first time since beating seeing off Rhoose 3-2 at home on December 27.

The point did, however, take them above county rivals Tredegar Town into second place - although they are not now in action until January 31 at Caerau.

Panteg travelled west to face a Llanelli Town side which has been beaten 1-0 Stebonheath Park by Llanwern in a League Cup tie the previous Saturday, although it was the home team which began clear favourites.

However despite missing five regulars through injury and suspensions, Panteg put in a really good display and on a better day may well have secured a shock victory as both side missed several good chances.

A draw was deemed to be a fair result and Panteg remain ninth of 19 and are 11 points adrift of a promotion spot with five matches in hand.

Jon Butcher scored his sixth league goal of the campaign to put then ahead before the break, but Llanelli levelled matters when they converted a 65th-minute penalty.

In losing at West End, 12th-placed Caerleon failed to stretch their unbeaten league run to a fourth game and they are still just one point above the drop zone - James Francis scoring a league goal for the fifth time this campaign.

Caerleon, though, do have a good opportunity to ease their relegation fears on Saturday, when they are scheduled to entertain one of the four teams below them in the 16-strong table, Ely Rangers.

Monmouth hosted Division Three outfit Pontypridd Town seeking to join Tredegar in the last eight and knowing success would give them an away tie against county rivals Llanwern.

Manager Andrew Smith's men duly produced a 3-2 triumph at Pen-Y-Pound Stadium at Abergavenny, but praise must to to the visitors for making a great effort to upset the odds.

Indeed the visitors enjoyed the majority of the possession and territory after the break and had they scored during that period, then they may might well have gone to to win.

But they didn't and paid the price as striker Nick Harrhy's second goal of the game 10 minutes from time made it 3-1 to The Kingfishers.

Substitute Chris Vardon did mange to poke home a very late goal for Pontypridd, but there wasn't enough time left for the visitors to snatch and equaliser to take matters into extra time.

On a heavy playing surface which in the end held up fairly well given the massive amount of recent rain, Monmouth began the better and took a fourth-minute lead when Harrhy took advantage of a defensive lapse in Pontypridd's rearguard.

Shortly after the half-hour mark, Monmouth's leading scorer Dan MacDonald doubled the advantage when he drove home from the penalty spot after Harrhy had been fouled in the area.

It was MacDonald's 21^st league and cup goal of 2014-15 and that's a fine total considering he didn't appear for Monmouth until September 6 following his return transfer from Merthyr Town.

Pontypridd, though, gained a foothold shortly before the interval when Luke Gullick fired past Monmouth goalkeeper Matthew Johns and the visitors remained in the ascendancy after it.

However Harrhy's killer second effort, taking his league and cup tally to 12, was ultimately the deciding moment as The Kingfishers clinched that meeting with Llanwern on a date yet to be announced.

Credit to all outfield players for producing a very interesting game on such a muddy surface and also to both goalkeepers, Johns and Pontypridd's Ryan Griffiths for some very good saves.

Johns was deputising for number-one choice Keiron Blackburn, who was rested after only arriving back from an overseas holiday in the small hours of Saturday morning.

Goytre's planned round-four tie at Ton Pentre was postponed because of a frozen pitch and the two Division One clubs will try for a third time to play the game on Saturday, when the victors will earn a trip to face top-tier rivals Taffs Well.

Wednesday fixture. 

Division Two (Newport Stadium, 7.30pm): 

Cwmbran Celtic v Tata Steel 

GWENT SATURDAY PREVIEW

16 January 2015

from Terry Daley

WEATHER permitting, Goytre and Monmouth Town will play previously-postponed Nathaniel Cars Welsh League Cup ties in bids to join Llanwern and Tredegar Town in the last eight.

Nathaniel Cars Welsh League Cup round three (1.30pm kick offs).

Pen-Y-Pound Stadium, Abergavenny: Monmouth Town v Pontypridd Town.

Monmouth take a break from the defence of the Division One title and they will begin here with defender Ben Evans available again.

The Kingfishers are firm favourites to progress to the quarter finals and to get this far, they've seen off the challenges of Division Two outfit West End 5-0 and third-tier side Cardiff Corinthians 5-1 at home.

Mid-table Division Three side Pontypridd went through after Cambrian & Clydach had fielded an ineligible player when beating them 4-0 before the defeated visiting Caerleon 2-0.

The winners will travel to face second-tier side Llanwern at Newport Stadium on a date yet to be announced.

Ynys Park: Ton Pentre v Goytre. 

Goytre, competition winners in 2010-11, will want to do far better defensively than in losing their last two league fixtures, 2-0 at Penybont and 5-2 at namesakes Goytre United.

However if strikers Craig Moses and Josh Bull can be given the right ammunition, then the odds are short that player-boss Craig Evans' troops will progress.

This all-Division One clash will start with hosts having won only three of their last 10 outings - although they did emerge 3-2 victors at Goytre in a league match in early September.

The victors will visit to Division One rivals Taffs Well, who lifted this cup in 2011-12 and again in 2012-13, in next round.

Nathaniel Cars Welsh League (all 2.00pm kick offs).

Division Two (figures in brackets relate to table positions of 16).

Recreation Ground: Aberbargoed Buds (3) Penrhiwceiber Rangers (13).

With so many promotion rivals above and below them producing positive results on a regular basis, this is an encounter Aberbargoed can not afford to drop any points from.

Because of a trio of postponements, manager Adrian Needs' men have not played a competitive game since losing 3-2 at home to Risca United on December 20.

A behind-the-scenes shake-up of the club's committee will not affect what happens on the pitch and Aberbargoed should start here as clear favourites.

Relegation-threatened Rangers visited the county on January 7, when they lost 2-0 to Cwmbran Celtic at Newport Stadium, and have won only three of 15 league fixtures.

Form guide:

Aberbargoed Buds: W D L W W L

Penrhiwceiber Rangers: W L L D D L

Jubilee Way: Caldicot Town (2) v Croesyceiliog (9).

Caldicot are seven matches unbeaten, including winning six on the trot, and while they didn't set any scoring records in those fixtures, netting only 10 times, their goals-against total is to be greatly admired - just two.

Striker Jason Thorn has 11 to his name and attacking midfielder Richard Sharratt seven while the team will seek to post a fourth successive clean-sheet.

Croesyceiliog were 3-2 away winners over Margam-based Tata Steel last time out and they've suffered just one defeat in their last six outings.

That was in sharp contrast to their season's start of only one win from the first nine and one of their earlier reverses was 4-0 at home against Caldicot in mid October.

Form guide:

Caldicot Town: W W W W W W

Croesyceiliog: W W W L D W

Station Road, Wenvoe: Ely Rangers (14) v Risca United (6).

Risca haven't appeared since losing 1-0 at home to to Caldicot three weeks ago, although they've strengthened their attacking midfield department by signing six-goal Daniel Battle from Division Three side Tredegar Town.

A second 22-year-old, striker Matthew Thomas, has also been snapped up from Gwent County League outfit Abercarn United while 18-year Nathan Doe has been brought in from Newport County Academy.

Here they have the chance to gain a campaign double having won 2-1 at home against Ely on October 11 and given their hosts' most recent result, they will feel confident of doing just that.

The capital-based side travelled back from Newport Stadium on December 27 as 9-1 losers against hosts Llanwern and have played more games than any other club in and around the relegation zone.

Form guide:

Ely Rangers: L D L L D L

Risca United: D D W L W L

Sports Ground, Margam: Tata Steel (16) v Cwmbran Celtic (10).

With only one defeat from their opening nine fixtures, Celtic are not far off being classed as genuine promotion contenders.

Their latest win was 2-0 against Penrhiwceiber Rangers at Newport Stadium, where they will entertain today's hosts next Wednesday (7.30).

Any striker who can score 18 goals in a relegated side must be of some worth and Luke Lewis has already six to his name for Celtic after joining them from Abertillery Bluebirds, who now play in the Gwent County League.

Tata have struggled all season after dropping out of Division One and given they have only secured seven of 45 points on offer, it's not difficult to suggest anything other than an away win here.

Form guide:

Tata Steel: W L L L L L

Cwmbran Celtic: W L W D W W

Pre Deri Park, Mayhill: West End (4) v Caerleon (12).

Because of postponements and losing a League Cup tie at Pontypridd Town 2-0 on January 3, Caerleon have not played in the league since drawing 3-3 at Cwmbran Celtic five days before Christmas.

That outcome at Celtic took Caerleon's unbeaten league run to a third game, although they are currently only one point above the drop zone.

They have, however, the best defensive record of those clubs in the bottom-nine who've played more than 14 matches - conceding just 28.

The hosts are seeking first-time promotion back to the top flight, but have played more games than any other side in the whole division and after this one, they will have only 11 remaining.

Form guide:

West End: W L W W L W

Caerleon: L L L W D D

Division Three (figures in brackets relate to table positions of 19).

Recreation Ground: Ammanford (5) v Newport YMCA (11).

Given 10 previous sides have all lost to the hosts this season, this is a massive ask for YMCA to gain anything from this trip to west Wales.

But while it's a fact they've lost four of their last five fixtures, it does appear YMCA are destined to secure a mid-table spot by the season's end.

Start here on the back of a 4-1 home defeat at the hands of high-flying Tredegar Town and without doubt, they must bring their 'A game' to this particular encounter.

Ammanford are all-conquering and their 100 per cent record has them just three points off a promotion slot - with as many as six matches in hand.

Form guide:

Ammanford: W W W W W W

Newport YMCA: W L L L W L

Stebonheath Park: Llanelli (1) v Panteg (9).

Only later starters Ammanford (10) have played less matches than Panteg, who still have 25 fixtures remaining and they are currently 11 points off the promotion zone with five games in hand.

Most of those, however, will all be jam-packed into the final few weeks and that could prove to be too much of a hectic schedule for manager Mark Taylor's troops.

Due to postponements, Panteg have played only once since December 6, a 3-1 away defeat at Ammanford three weeks ago, and a lack of match fitness could prove to be crucial here.

Llanelli Town have lost only twice all season, both in cup ties including last Saturday's 1-0 home League Cup reverse against Llanwern, and will be red-hot favourites to land win number 15 from 17 starts.

Form guide:

Llanelli: W W W D W W

Panteg: W L W W W L

Spytty Park: Lliswerry (3) v Bridgend Street (12).

Lliswerry have gone all European in an attempt to maintain their unbeaten home record on their 3G surface, bringing in Polish striker Safian Skupinski plus an as-yet unnamed Portuguese player.

Skupinski, 26, is listed as being previously on the books of Newport County, Cwmbran Town and Monmouth Town and he has also appeared for Clevedon Town.

In Josh Brown, Lliswerry have the leading scorer (19) among county sides in this league while the team's total of 51 is second best only to table-topping Llanelli Town (63).

The capital-based visitors are going through bad patch with only three points gained from the last 18 and their most recent game saw them lose 5-2 at Llanelli a fortnight ago.

Form guide:

Lliswerry: W W W L L W

Bridgend Street: L L L L W L

Shannon Close, Bettws: Newport Civil Service (17) v Rhoose (7).

It's been 28 days since NCS travelled back from Caerau beaten 1-0 to take their losing sequence of games to nine.

But player-boss Ben Burrows has been busy bringing in defenders Lewis Coldrick and Chris Thomas (from AFC Porth and Malpas United respectively) plus goalkeeper Josh Griffiths (Rogerstone).

Striker Dave Mellon is also back after a short break while forwards Aysa El-Doori and Lee Morgan are both ready to return from long-term injuries.

Inconsistency has been Rhoose's downfall so far because on their day, they are capable of beating any team in this league and this will certainly be a tough task for the home side.

Form guide:

Newport Civil Service: L L L L L L

Rhoose: L L W W D L

Sports Complex: Tredegar Town (2) v Bettws (Bridgend) (18).

Tredegar's home mid-week clash against Cwm Welfare fell victim to the weather, so this fixture is the first for the club since midfielder Daniel Battle's departure to Division Two side Risca United.

He scored one of the goals in last Saturday's 4-1 away win over Newport YMCA to take his league tally to six and there's no doubt his drive and commitment will be sorely missed.

However no one player makes a team and Tredegar have a good enough squad to make up for his absence and here they will be well fancied to stretch their unbeaten league run to seven.

Bettws are in deep trouble with only Cardiff Grange Harlequins below them and they'll start without any wins from their last seven league outings.

Form guide:

Tredegar: D W W W D W

Bettws: L D L L L L

Bush Park: Treowen Stars (15) v Cwm Welfare (13).

Only a couple of victories from their previous 10 league match-ups means Treowen are on the brink of entering the battle to avoid being relegated out of the league.

They are, however, eight points above the drop zone and have matches in hand over the bottom two, Bettws and Cardiff Grange Harlequins.

Nonetheless, manager Simon Evans will have marked this particular clash as a 'must-win' and there's little doubt three points would considerably ease the nerves.

Seven defeats in their last nine games suggest the visitors are finding life at this level tough following promotion, although they do hold a reasonably comfortable nine-point advantage over those in the relegation area.

Form guide:

Treowen Stars: L L L D L L

Cwm Welfare: L W L W L L

ABERBARGOED BUDS NAME NEW CHAIRMAN

14 January 2015

from Terry Daley

FORMER Newport County player-boss John Lewis has been appointed as Welsh League Division Two side Aberbargoed Buds' new chairman.

It's a family affair at The Recreation Ground as Lewis' wife Gillian has been named as the club's secretary until the end of the current 2014-15 season.

The pair were have taken over the respective positions from Gary Thomas and Mark Giffard, who both recently resigned.

“I am delighted to take over the helm, although there is much hard work ahead for us to ensure we are operating on an even keel financially,” remarked John Lewis, who confirmed the club needs to appoint a youth-team manager.

“Matters on the pitch are going well as as our firsts are third in the table, the youth are top of their league and we have some very promising young players coming through.

“It's all about managing the running costs. We are a very small committee (six people) and the club runs eight teams.

“One of the things we insist on is every player sells five of our lottery tickets each week and that generates much-needed revenue.

“It's up to the committee to make sure the club is sustainable and I am more than happy to return to this club, which has great potential.”

Tredegar-born Lewis returns after leaving Aberbargoed earlier this season as director-of-football and he has also been a player, player-manager and coach with the club

He began his senior playing career with Aberbargoed in 1974 and was appearing for Pontllanfraith four years later, when he was spotted by Cardiff City for whom he played in 140 Football League appearances.

He went on to play in 153 FL games for County after linking up with them in 1983 and took over from Jimmy Mullen as player-manager in 1986-87.

However Lewis, who gained one Wales under-21 cap, left after just six matches into the following campaign and went onto appear in 25 more FL games for Swansea City until 1989.

He returned to the non-league scene as player-coach with a highly-successful Abergavenny Thursdays side and before holding a similar position for the newly-formed Newport AFC.

He was later associated as either a coach or manager with now-defunct Ebbw Vale, who he twice led into Europe, Merthyr Tydfil (three spells), Rhayader Town, Irish side Bohemians, and Llanelli.

Promotion contenders Aberbargoed are next in action on Saturday, when they entertain relegation-threatened Penrhiwceiber Rangers, kick off 2.00pm.

CAERAU URGENTLY REQUIRE A HOME FRIENDLY ON SATURDAY 17 JANUARY

14 January 2015

Caerau urgently require a home friendly on Saturday 17 January 2015, 2.00pm ko.

Please contact Ian Rees, Secretary, on 07446 657170.

GWENT SATURDAY ROUND-UP AND GWENT GOALSCORERS (LEAGUE ONLY)

12 January 2015

from Terry Daley

LLANWERN produced a brilliant away win to reach the last eight of the Nathaniel Cars Welsh League Cup alongside Tredegar Town, who scored four on the road to move into second place in the Division Three table.

In the only other game played involving a local club, Undy Athletic became only the third of 15 Division Two teams to hold runaway leaders Barry Town United.

Llanwern may have began against lower-tier leaders Llanelli Town with a divisional advantage, but it was the west Walians who were firm favourites to secure a place in the quarter finals.

Llanelli Town are unbeaten in 16 league outings and had previously won 4-2 at home against Panteg and 3-2 at Cwmbran Celtic to reach this stage.

However a 35th-minute Gareth Delve goal at Llanelli Town's well-appointed Stebonheath Park ground was enough to see 2001-02 winners Llanwern through to round four.

Independent reports suggest Llanwern, whose manager Gareth Morgan guided Croesyceiliog to WLC success in 2009-10, should indeed have scored more.

Tredegar defeated visiting Risca United 1-0 last month to gain a last-eight spot and that re-arranged tie meant they were free to travel to Mendalgief Road to tackle Newport YMCA in a Division Three encounter.

And Tredegar took full advantage of the situation to roar to a 4-1 victory to move above Cwmamman United and Lliswerry into the second spot.

The outcome means Tredegar are now genuine promotion contenders and player-boss Gareth Harbord's troops can consolidate their position with success on Wednesday against visiting Cwm Welfare, who are 13^th of 19.

Tredegar started much the better with central defender Liam McCan going close with a header at a third consecutive Daniel Battle corner.

However they passed over a fine chance to open the scoring when Joshua Jones could only shoot straight at home goalkeeper Mark Drew following good approach work by Steven Hughes and James Price.

YMCA, though, could have taken the lead had Ben Lawrence's goal-bound shot not been blocked to safety by visiting skipper Gareth Stevens.

Soon, however, the promotion seekers managed to nose ahead as Battle latched on to a loose ball before firing past Drew with ease on 26 minutes for his sixth of the season.

YMCA's Joe O'Brien smashed a left-footed effort over when a clearance at a corner fell nicely to him before Tredegar clinched a 2-0 interval lead.

A Jones cross was shot back into the penalty area by Ian Pettit and there at the far past was Tredegar's top scorer from last season, Tomas Lynch, to tap home unchallenged from close range to take his campaign tally to seven.

YMCA started the second period far better than they ended the first, but the third goal duly arrived shortly after the hour mark when Hughes headed into the path of Pettit, who banged in his eighth of 2014-15.

The home side, though, didn't let their heads drop and gained a foothold just a minute later when Jamie Martin was first to a long punt by Drew to steer home past Tredegar number-one Kris Morris.

Play became a bit scrappy as the game wore on with Lynch making a meal of trying to get around Drew before the guilt-edged chance disappeared.

But soon, Lynch got it right by doing just that for his side's fourth of the afternoon to confirm Tredegar's 10^th victory in 17 matches.

Undy hosted Barry at The Causeway trailing the table-toppers by a clear 19 points and with only two games in hand - and that's how it stayed as the teams played out a very-entertaining 2-2 draw.

Olly Beckett got Undy off a great start on just five minutes when he drilled home a Marcus Power lay-off into the bottom corner from 12 yards.

Power should have doubled the advantage only for Barry goalkeeper Daniel Bradley to make a fine save before the seaside outfit levelled when TJ Nagi shot under home stopper James Smallcombe on 12 minutes.

However within a couple of minutes, Undy went ahead for the second time as James Barnes shot in from eight yards - although they threw it away just before the half-hour mark when a defensive error let in James Dixon for 2-2.

Before the interval Barnes smashed the ball against Barry's crossbar and in the second period, Dale Howarth did the same for the visitors.

Undy's Gareth Cullimore brought the best out of Bradley when he met a pin-point cross from Barnes and the general feeling was that parity was a fair result as the home club moved up one to seventh.

It was a good outcome for Undy, who were minus regular trio Chris Parry, Ben Davies and Dave Sinden, whose coach Lawrence Owen remarked: “Barry are a real good side with no weaknesses and I believe they will walk away with the title to gain promotion.”

* The Welsh League Cup, round-four draw will take place today and besides Llanwern and Tredegar, it will also include Goytre and Monmouth Town.

The Division One pair had their respective away and home, round-three ties with Ton Pentre and Pontypridd Town postponed at the weekend and they have now been re-scheduled to take place on Saturday.

Wednesday fixture.

Division Three (7.30pm).

Tredegar Town v Cwm Welfare.

Gwent goalscorers (League only).

TREDEGAR Town duo Tomas Lynch scored twice and Ian Pettit once in a 4-1 win at Newport YMCA to move onto eight goals for the season while team-mate Daniel Battle also netted to take his tally to six.

19 - Josh Brown (Lliswerry).

14 - Zac Osbourne (Croesyceiliog).

13 - Tom McCarthy (Aberbargoed Buds).

12 - Jason Thorn (Caldicot Town).

11 - Dan MacDonald (Monmouth Town).

10 - Gareth Cullimore (Undy Athletic), Craig Moses (Goytre), Leo Ross (Chepstow Town).

9 - Dale Cook (Lliswerry), Matthew Hibbs (Llanwern).

8 - Nick Harrhy (Monmouth Town), Tomas Lynch (Tredegar Town), Ian Pettit (Tredegar Town).

7 - Scott Armitage (Aberbargoed Buds), Olly Beckett (Undy Athletic), Matthew Flynn (Llanwern, including seven for Pontypridd Town), Richard Sharratt (Caldicot Town), Niall Simmons (Newport YMCA), Dan Stoneman (Lliswerry), Tony Willis (Risca United).

6 - Daniel Battle (Tredegar Town), Josh Bull (including two for Monmouth Town), Jamie Davies (Caerleon), Luke Dyke (Panteg, including one for Croesyceiliog), Luke Lewis (Cwmbran Celtic), Derice McLean (Newport Civil Service).

5 - Jon Butcher (Panteg), Dan Hooper (Llanwern), Nic Hooper (Llanwern), Steven Hughes (Tredegar Town), Dave Hurley (Risca United), Hishi Lama (Chepstow Town, including three for Croesyceiliog), James Young (Goytre).

4 - Josh Collier (Risca United), Aaron Colwill (Risca United), James Francis (Caerleon), Chris Ham (Monmouth Town), Joe Howells (Lliswerry), Jordan Jones (Llanwern), Chris Quinlan (Tredegar Town), Craig Price (Treowen Stars), Matt Prosser (Goytre), Dan Saunders (Caldicot Town), Kyle Williams (Risca United).

3 - Ricky Amos (Treowen Stars), Wayne Antoniazzi (Aberbargoed Buds), Dominic Connor (Cwmbran Celtic), Luke Cueto (Caerleon), Gareth Delve (Llanwern), Dan Edwards (Lliswerry), Eliot Evans (Monmouth Town), Gary Evans (Treowen Stars), Max Fessey (Lliswerry), Elliott Ford (Monmouth Town), Nathan Hardwick (Newport YMCA), Ryan Hayward (Croesyceiliog), Liam Head (Caerleon), Kirk Hicks (Panteg, including three for Lliswerry), Craig Lewis (Chepstow Town), Rhys Luffman (Lliswerry), Tre Marrett (Newport YMCA), Paul Michael (Risca United), Sam Rushworth (Chepstow Town), Jordan Ryan (Panteg), Liam Shaw (Aberbargoed Buds), Ben Taylor (Panteg).

2 - Michael Bishop (Llanwern), Paul Clayton (Undy Athletic), Lewis Coote (Treowen Stars), Marc Curtis (Llanwern), Ben Davies (Undy Athletic), Mark Dunn (Chepstow Town), Jordan Harding (Goytre), Alex Jenkins (Newport YMCA), Chris Jones (Treowen Stars), Rhys Jones (Aberbargoed Buds), Andrew Larcombe (Cwmbran Celtic), Jordan Maisey (Aberbargoed Buds), James Martin (Newport YMCA), Lee Mason (Panteg), Gavin Meacham (Aberbargoed Buds), Joe O'Brien (Newport YMCA), Mark Organ (Chepstow Town), Craig Price (Treowen Stars), Nick Potts (Chepstow Town), Dean Randall (Treowen Stars), Luke Thomas (Cwmbran Celtic), Gyles Thompson (Undy Athletic), Ben Wotton (Caerleon).

1 - Jack Alderdice (Monmouth Town), Adam Alkysi (Tredegar Town), Gareth Appleby (Panteg), Josh Ball (Tredegar Town), Michael Baugh (Cwmbran Celtic), James Barnes (Undy Athletic), Tom Barry (Llanwern), Joe Bidgood (Newport YMCA), Steven Boucher (Lliswerry), Gareth Cleverly (Newport Civil Service), Dan Clouth (Croesyceiliog), Jacob Cross (Aberbargoed Buds), Tom Dando (Cwmbran Celtic), Aysa El-Doory (Newport Civil Service), Yousif El-Doori (Caerleon), Alex Evans (Goytre), Jack Evans (Treowen Stars), Josh Evans (Treowen Stars), Dean Goddard (Newport YMCA), Jack Harvey (Chepstow Town), Luke Harris (Treowen Stars), Mo Hassan (Newport YMCA), Tom Hooper (Undy Athletic), Rhys Hodges (Cwmbran Celtic), Matt James (Caldicot Town), Ashley Johnson (Lliswerry), Grant Jones (Treowen Stars), Josh Jones (Tredegar Town), Jason Lewis (Newport YMCA) David Lloyd (Caldicot Town), Will McConnell (Caldicot Town), Craig McDonnell (Aberbargoed Buds), Liam Macan (Tredegar Town), Steffan Marchant (Croesyceiliog), Dave Mellon (Newport Civil Service), Adam Meredith (Tredegar Town), Calum Miles (Goytre), Gavin Millar (Panteg), Dale Morris (Llanwern), Ian Morris (Tredegar Town), Mark Morris (Croesyceiliog), Lewys Nash (Aberbargoed Buds), Sam Oakley (Caerleon), Ashley Palmer (Chepstow Town), Stephen Parfitt (Treowen Stars), Rakesh Patel (Cwmbran Celtic), Marcus Power (Undy Athletic), Simon Prangley (Chepstow Town), James Price (Tredegar Town), Anthony Richards (Croesyceiliog), Leigh Sharp (Risca United), Richie Shire (Lliswerry), Jack Sinderby (Croesyceiliog), Mitchell Slape (Caldicot Town), Alex Stewart (Newport YMCA), Lewis Sweetland (Newport Civil Service), Kieron Thomas (Aberbargoed Buds), Simon Truman (Goytre), Alex Waters (Caerleon), Jake Wainright (Goytre), Ben Watson (Caerleon), Jon Williams (Panteg), Steve Wilson (Caldicot Town), Ben Wotton (Caerleon), Joel Worgan (Tredegar Town).

CLEAN-SHEETS:

7 - Caldicot Town.

5 - Tredegar Town.

4 - Aberbargoed Buds; Goytre.

3 - Chepstow Town; Lliswerry; Monmouth Town; Panteg.

2 - Caerleon; Croesyceiliog; Cwmbran Celtic; Llanwern; Newport Civil Service.

1 - Newport YMCA; Risca United; Undy Athletic.

GWENT SATURDAY PREVIEW

9 January 2015

from Terry Daley

THREE local clubs will seek to join Tredegar Town in the quarter finals of the Welsh League Cup while second-placed sides Caldicot Town and Lliswerry continue their bids to gain promotion from Division Two and Three respectively.

Nathaniel Cars Welsh League Cup round three (1.30pm kick offs, unless stated).

Stebonheath Park: Llanelli Town v Llanwern (2.00pm).

Llanwern, winners in 2001-02, will start determined to make a divisional gap count against the west Walians and they will begin on the back of a 9-1 thumping over visiting Ely Rangers last time out.

Manager Gareth Morgan, who guided Croesyceiliog to cup triumph in 2009-10, saw striker Matthew Hibbs grab a couple of goals on that occasion to take his league goal tally to nine for the campaign.

Morgan has this week signed former Caldicot Town forward Dean Maynard, who has returned from a spell in the US, but the Wales Futsal international is not available for this tie

This, though, is an extremely tough task as Llanelli are top of the lower-tier table having gone 16 league games unbeaten since the start of the season.

Pen-Y-Pound Stadium, Abergavenny: Monmouth Town v Pontypridd Town.

Monmouth's patchy league form is threatening their bid to make a successful defence of their Division One title and here they will seek to recover from last Friday's 3-0 defeat at Taffs Well.

They will, however, be firm favourites to progress to the last eight and to get this far, The Kingfishers beat Division Two outfit West End 5-0 and third-tier side Cardiff Corinthians 5-1 at home.

Pontypridd are mid-table in Division Three, were given a pass through to round two after Cambrian & Clydach had fielded an ineligible player when beating them 4-0 before winning 2-0 against visiting Caerleon 2-0 last Saturday

Ynys Park: Ton Pentre v Goytre.

Goytre, who lifted this cup in 2010-11, will certainly have to defend a lot better than they did in losing their last two league fixtures, 2-0 at Penybont and 5-2 at namesakes Goytre United.

However if strikers Craig Moses and Josh Bull can be provided with enough ammunition, then there's no reason why player-boss Craig Evans' troops can't progress.

This all-Division One clash is difficult one to call as the home side have only won three of their last 10 outings - although they did win a league game 3-2 at Goytre in early September.

Nathaniel Cars Welsh League (all 2.00pm kick offs).

Division Two (figures in brackets relate to table positions of 16).

Cold Bath Road: Caerleon (12) Dinas Powys (15).

Caerleon will feel confident of stretching their unbeaten run to a fourth game against a side which has won just eight points of a possible 45.

The home side, however, may be a tad rusty having not crossed the white line since drawing 3-3 at Cwmbran Celtic five days before Christmas.

The prospect of relegation can not be ignored as Caerleon are only one point above the drop zone, making this clash a must-win for them.

The visitors are in deep trouble down near the basement, but will take heart from the fact they actually won 4-0 at Caerleon in a Welsh Cup tie in mid-September.

Form guide:

Caerleon: L L L W D D

Dinas Powys: L D L L L L

Larkfield Ground: Chepstow Town (5) Caldicot Town (2).

Chepstow are only two points off a promotion spot but because leaders Barry Town United and Caldicot are going so well, they may have to settle for going up as a result of finishing third.

However they simply can not afford to drop any points here and with every team below them having played less games, defeat would certainly dent their hopes of gaining top-flight football.

Caldicot will be chasing a sixth successive victory and they will start just a couple of points off Barry - although they have played three more fixtures than the seaside outfit.

Another telling fact ahead of this local derby is Caldicot have kept three consecutive clean-sheets and four in their last five games.

Form guide:

Chepstow Town: W W W D D L

Caldicot Town: D W W W W W

Woodland Road: Croesyceiliog (9) v Aberbargoed Buds (3).

Croesyceiliog embark on the second half of their campaign looking reasonably comfortable in a mid-table position, sitting just nine points adrift of the visitors.

Therefore victory here would give them 'outsiders' status promotion and if striker Zac Osbourne can improve on his 14-goal league tally, anything is possible.

Aberbargoed have their own in-form marksman in Tom McCarthy, who has 13 to his name, and they will begin eight points off Caldicot - but having played three fixtures less.

Only one of their 14 league games has ended in parity. But given they've won only four of their last nine games, a single point here would be a set-back to their hopes of going up.

Form guide:

Croesyceiliog: W W W L D W

Aberbargoed Buds: W D L W W L

Glasbrook Field: Penrhiwceiber Rangers (13) v Cwmbran Celtic (10).

Celtic are now beaten just once in their first nine league games having defeated Rangers 2-0 at a rain-soaked Newport Stadium on Wednesday night.

Luke Lewis now has half-a-dozen league goals and this quick-fire return offers Celtic a good chance to make it win number six.

It was also Celtic's second clean-sheet of the season and with recent goalkeeping signing Giles Cutlan now with the club on permanent terms, the feeling is they will soon join the race for promotion.

The defeat for Rangers was their seventh in 15 league starts and they still sit one spot above the danger zone on goal difference only ahead of Dinas Powys.

Form guide:

Penrhiwceiber Rangers: W L L D D L

Cwmbran Celtic: W L W D W W

Ty-Isaf Park: Risca United (6) v West End (4).

Risca have matches in hand to make an impression on the top three, although their current form guide hardly inspires much confidence.

Part of the problem to date has they have been unable to field leading scorer Tony Wallis enough times, although the return of the highly-dependable Rob Aldridge will certainly help with their attack options.

However Risca failed to win any of their previous four home league and cup matches and if they are to eventually to break into the top three, then that form must be addressed immediately.

The west Wales visitors have re-grouped well following relegation and are a decent side, although first-time promotion could elude them as they have only 11 fixtures left after this one.

Form guide:

Risca United: D D W L W L

West End: W L W W L W

The Causeway: Undy Athletic (8) v Barry Town United (1).

Undy are placed in the mid-table slot and have games in hand over all seven of the clubs above them, but they must start to put far more ticks in their win column to be classed as serious promotion contenders.

On their day, they are capable of defeating any side and the visitors will be aware of just how well Undy played in part when going out of the Welsh Cup against top-level outfit Carmarthen Town.

Forwards Gareth Cullimore and Olly Beckett have 10 goals and six league goals respectively, but they'd certainly both have to at the very least double those totals if Undy are to be playing Division One football.

There doesn't seem anything to stop Barry returning to the top tier and here they will hope to stretch their unbeaten start to their campaign to a 15^th game.

Form guide:

Undy Athletic: W L D L L W

Barry: W W W W D W

Division Three (figures in brackets relate to table positions of 19).

The Willows, Tremorfa: Bridgend Street (Cardiff) (12) v Panteg (9).

This is only the 12^th game of the season for Panteg and with 26 still remaining after it, there are enough points to play to enable them to gain a place in Division Two for 2015-16.

However and especially if they are to have any more matches postponed, the fear is manager Mark Taylor's side will have too many to play in a short period of time towards the campaign's end.

Nonetheless it's been a good effort so far in their return to the league following a 15-year absence and the feeling is they will win more fixtures than they will lose from now on in.

The hosts must start to arrest poor current form if they are to avoid becoming involved in a relegation battle, although the 28 goals conceded is the lowest in the division's bottom nine.

Form guide:

Bridgend Street: L L L L W L

Panteg: W L W W W L

Mount Pleasant Park, Beddau: Cwm Welfare (13) Lliswerry (2).

Lliswerry ended a mini collapse two successive defeats by winning 3-2 at home against Rhoose a couple of weeks ago and start here as clear favourites to gain three more points.

A negative is they've slipped to defeat (5) more than any of the top four while a positive is their 51-goal tally is the second highest in the entire section behind leaders Llanelli's 63.

Striker Josh Brown has bagged 19 of those to lead the charts for players attached with Gwent clubs while Dale Cook and Dan Stoneman on nine and seven respectively.

Cwm have not found it easy in their debut season, have just four victories from 15 starts and have shipped the second-highest number of goals, 54, in the division behind bottom-placed Cardiff Grange Harlequins (60).

Form guide:

Cwm Welfare: L W L W L L

Lliswerry: L W W W L L W

Shannon Close, Bettws: Newport Civil Service (17) v Bettws (Bridgend) (18).

NCS is the one local club above all others which is in desperate need of a win and while I dislike the term 'six-pointer', there's little doubt this basement battle is absolutely crucial to both teams.

There is no leeway here for player-boss Ben Burrows' struggling outfit which has now been beaten in nine consecutive league matches.

Although they have matches in hand over all their rivals, even a draw here would be classed as not enough and it can't be emphasised enough how devastating a defeat would be.

The visitors have won only once in 16 league fixtures, are below NCS on goal difference and were 6-3 losers against Ammanford on Tuesday night.

Form guide:

Newport Civil Service: L L L L L L L

Bettws: L D L L L L

Mendalgief Road, Pill: Newport YMCA (11) v Tredegar Town (4).

Local match-up of which the reward for any would-be winner is so vastly different, the home side being offered virtually a free pass away from the drop zone and the visitors able to take a huge step towards promotion.

On form, Tredegar will be the more fancied side as they have only one defeat in their last 11 league fixtures while YMCA only recently ended a run of three successive defeats.

However and with all due respect to a good Tredegar team, better sides have floundered on the Mendalgief Road playing surface and this is certainly no 'gimme'.

The visitors have the stronger goal power having scored 12 more times from the same amount of matches and it's interesting to note YMCA have yet to draw in 16 starts.

Form guide:

Newport YMCA: W W L L L W

Tredegar: L D W W W D

Jenner Park, Barry: Rhoose (6) v Treowen Stars (15).

This is a difficult task for manager Simon Evans' out-of-form Treowen, who appear to be heading for the divorce courts with Lady Luck.

Precious little has gone right in games they may have got something positive out of and they are currently only eight points above the drop zone.

Because of draws, defeats, cup wins and losses plus postponements, Treowen must look back to October 4 last year to discover their last win - 4-3 at home against now-bottom-placed Cardiff Grange Harlequins.

When in full flow, Rhoose are as good as any other team in the division although their push for promotion has faltered somewhat over their past half-a-dozen outings.

Form guide:

Rhoose: L L W W D L

Treowen Stars: L L L D L L

GWENT WEDNESDAY REPORT

8 January 2015

from Terry Daley

Cwmbran Celtic 2 Penrhiwceiber Rangers 0.

A LUKE Lewis goal double at a rain-soaked Newport Stadium was enough to stretch Celtic's league record to just one defeat in nine games and take them up one place to 10^th.

It was a worthy success for manager Della Cheedy's men, although the result was always in doubt right up until Lewis struck for the second time with just two minutes of normal time remaining.

After a couple of long-range efforts from Andrew Larcombe and skipper Richard Crees sailed high and wide of their intended target, Celtic took a 13th-minute lead.

A slick passing movement with Luke Thomas and Andrew Larcombe linking well ended with Lewis side-footing past stand-in Rangers goalkeeper Gavin Keepings, who is normally a central defender.

Celtic goalkeeper Giles Cutlan was finally brought into action when he was forced to smother away the danger from an approaching Warren Jones before the 'home' side were denied a second goal when Larcombe's shot struck a post.

Celtic non-playing substitute defender Ben Luck picked up a booking for dissent after incurring the wrath of referee Mark Boucher at the dug-out area shortly before the break.

At the start of the second period, Celtic replaced the injured Owen Cook with Rhys Williams and soon Thomas hobbled off with Lloyd Kinsella coming off the bench

Cutlan made his first only genuine save when he pushed away an effort from full back Matthew Glassy as the rain fairly hammered down and at one stage, there were concerns the game may not last its full course.

However Mr. Boucher allowed play to continue, mainly because there was no danger whatsoever to any of the players, with Keepings having to save from Larcombe as Celtic pressed.

Rakesh Patel and Lewis both saw shots go off-target before Keepings did well to thwart Michael Baugh with a smart save.

Just as it looked as thought the game would be decided by a single goal, Lewis struck a low, 25-yarder past the despairing dive of Keepings and into the far corner of the net to round off a workmanlike display by Celtic.

Rangers had quite a lot of shots, but many were widely off the mark as Celtic kept a second clean-sheet of the campaign to follow on from a 1-0 win over Undy Athletic at this venue on November 12.

Weather permitting, these teams meet again at Penrhiwceiber on Saturday - although Crees may have played his final game for Celtic as Division One Goytre have put seven-days notice on the 28-year-old left back.

Cwmbran Celtic: Giles Cutlan, Rakesh Patel, Richard Crees (captain), Luke Jones, Rhys Hodges, Owen Cook (Rhys Williams, 46 - Sean Feeley, 71), Michael Baugh, Luke Thomas (Lloyd Kinsella, 47), Luke Lewis, Andrew Larcombe, Owen Llewellyn.

Subs not used: Ben Luck, Curtis Patel

Goals: Lewis (13 & 88)

Booked: Jones (10, foul), Luck (40, dissent off the bench).

Penrhiwceiber Rangers: Gavin Keepings, Matthew Glassy, Daniel Trampelli, Dean Brown (captain), Ross Leeke, Warren Jones, Alex Jones, Lee Smith (Declan Hansen-Surle, 70), Ryan Buchmann, Jason Hatch, Brandon Hill.

Subs not used: Lewis Bowen, Jack Lockett.

Referee: Mark Boucher

Assistants: Andrew Murdoch and Paul Gobbett.

GWENT WEDNESDAY PREVIEW

6 January 2015

from Terry Daley

CWMBRAN Celtic can take another step towards regaining their Welsh League Division One status with victory over struggling Penrhiwceiber Rangers at Newport Stadium on Wednesday night (7.30pm).

Celtic's well-documented late start to their 2014-15 Division Two campaign has seen them beaten only once in eight league starts under head coach Della Cheedy

Their much-anticipated home clash against town rivals Croesyceiliog on Saturday fell victim to a water-logged pitch at their Celtic Park HQ and success against Rangers will only take them above AFC Llwydcoed into 10^th place of 16.

However three points will mean Celtic will be only 10 adrift of third-placed Aberbargoed Buds - and with four matches in hand.

Goalkeeper Giles Cutlan will return after completing his unusual loan spell with Southern League South & West outfit Merthyr Town.

Cutlan signed from Merthyr last month and appeared against Chepstow Town and Risca United before re-joining the Martyrs on loan when their goalkeeper became suspended and he kept a clean-sheet in a 2-0 away win over Wimbourne Town on December 20.

However with their number-one choice back, Merthyr have since allowed Cutlan to re-join Celtic on a permanent basis and he will take his place in a side seeking to stretch it's unbeaten run to a fourth match.

Celtic were last in action when winning 2-1 at Chepstow Town on two days after Christmas and will meet Rangers in a quick-fire return on Saturday at their opponents' Glasbrook Field home ground.

Another coincidence is Celtic's last three opponents have been the same as Rangers. Celtic beat Risca 2-1, drew 3-3 with Caerleon and defeated Chepstow 2-1 while Rangers lost 2-1 to Risca, held Caerleon to a 1-1 stale-mate before drawing 2-2 with Chepstow.

This is Celtic's third of four scheduled games to take place at the home of divisional rivals Llanwern and the former base of Newport County, who later switched to playing at Rodney Parade in the city centre.

A goal from Dominic Connor enabled Celtic to defeat Undy Athletic 1-0 at Newport Stadium on November 12 before they lost by the same score against Chepstow Town on December 10.

Celtic will complete their quartet of fixtures at the venue on January 21, when current bottom-placed side Margam-based Tata Steel are the visitors.

Rangers are also struggling at the wrong end of the 16-strong table with just three wins from 14 outings and because consecutive away fixtures against Croesyceiliog and Tata Steel were postponed, they've not played since that home draw with Chepstow on December 20.

Form guide:

Cwmbran Celtic: W W L W D W

Penrhiwceiber Rangers: L W L L D D

GWENT WEEKEND ROUND-UP

5 January 2015

from Terry Daley

MONMOUTH Town's hopes of a successful defence of their Welsh League Division One title received a massive blow with a 3-0 away defeat while top-tier rivals Goytre were also beaten on the road.

To cap a losing hat-trick, Caerleon failed to make a divisional gap count in going down 2-0 at lower-level outfit Pontypridd Town in a League Cup, round-three tie.

The trio of games were the only ones involving Gwent clubs as overnight rain caused many playing surfaces to become water-logged.

Monmouth were first in action on Friday night, when they travelled to the outskirts of the capital on the back of a 4-1 away victory over struggling Garden Village the previous weekend.

That outcome meant The Kingfishers began trailing table-topping Cardiff Metropolitan University by seven points and there was nothing in at the interval as the teams headed to the dressing-rooms level at 0-0.

But shortly after it, Monmouth were lucky not to fall behind when a free kick from former Newport County midfielder Aidie Harris struck a post.

However the much-travelled ace was soon successful second time around with a similar effort to put the hosts 1-0 ahead.

Marcus Jones netted a second for The Wellmen before they finished it off in fine style with a goal from ex-Cwmbran Town striker Sam Small to post a third league win on the trot.

On Saturday, CMU were held to a 1-1 home draw by Goytre United to increase their points advantage over Monmouth to eight - although player-boss Andrew Smith's side has played a game less.

The defeat was sixth-placed Monmouth's in 15 games and they start the second half of their 30-fixture programme with a home match-up against bottom-placed AFC Porth on January 17.

Goytre (10^th) visited Bryntirion Park to take on Penybont (5^th) on their 3G surface seeking to recover from a 5-2 away reverse at namesakes Goytre United the previous Saturday.

However a 2-0 reverse means they have slipped to half-a-dozen defeats in 15 fixtures - although they are only nine points adrift of top place while Penybont's win moved them up to second position.

Goytre trailed 2-0 after conceding goals to Paul Evans and Anthony Rawlings before the break and although they played much better during the second period, they'd left themselves too much to do.

Player-manager Carl Evans also confirmed left-sided defender/midfielder Jordan Knott has left the club to link up with Welsh Premier League side Carmarthen Town.

Former Risca United player Knott has become the fifth player in the last two years to leave Plough Road for the Old Golds, who are managed by ex-Wales cap and Newport County defender Mark Aizlewood.

Caerleon knew if they could overcome hosts Pontypridd Town at Ynysangharad Park it would set up a last-16 League Cup clash with Monmouth on Saturday.

But a couple of goals in a 12-minute period before the interval by James Hill and Luke Gullick earned Pontypridd a 2-0 success in adapting to a an extremely heavy pitch much better and they now visit Monmouth at their Pen-Y-Pound Stadium HQ at Abergavenny.

* Risca United acted quickly when their away Division Two clash with Dinas Powys was called off by arranging to face top-tier side Caerau (Ely) in a friendly on a 3G pitch at Ystrad Mynach Stadium.

It was certainly a worthwhile exercise for Risca, who are fourth in the table and a point off the promotion spot with a game in hand.

The Division One side ran out 4-2 winners with Risca's goals coming from Steve Edwards (penalty) and Robbie Aldridge, who has made a welcome comeback after retiring at the end of last season.

Wednesday fixture.

Division Two (kick off 7.30pm):

Cwmbran Celtic v Penrhiwceiber Rangers (at Newport Stadium).

GWENT WEEKEND PREVIEW

2 January 2015

from Terry Daley

NATHANIEL Cars Welsh League champions Monmouth Town start the new year action for local clubs on Friday night with the stand-out game of Saturday being the Cwmbran derby between Celtic and Croesyceiliog in Division Two.

Friday (kick off 7.30pm).

Division One (figures in brackets relate to table positions of 16):

Rhiw' Dda'r: Taffs Well (10) v Monmouth (6).

Monmouth ended a potentially title-damaging run of three without a win when defeating hosts Garden Village 4-1 two weeks ago.

The Kingfishers are seven points adrift of table-topping Cardiff Metropolitan University having played a game less then the students.

Here they face the side they pipped to the Division One championship last season and will seek a campaign double having beaten them 5-2 at home in September.

The hosts have been inconsistent enough to have recently flirted with the relegation zone, but back-to-back wins have eased such fears.

Form guide:

Taffs Well: W L L L W W

Monmouth Town: L W L D L W

Saturday (all 2,00pm kick offs).

Division One (figures in brackets relate to table positions of 16):

Bryntirion Park: Penybont (4) v Goytre (9).

Without appearing to be too negative, the feeling is Goytre will probably miss out again on a title challenge - even though they are only eight points off the top with a match in hand.

Whoever has won the championship over the last five seasons have lost on average the same amount of games and currently Goytre have already been beaten that number of times - and they still have 16 matches remaining.

That's not to say, however, that player-manager Carl Evans' men won't win the vast majority of those fixtures and certainly a top-four spot is not beyond them.

Penybont are a decent side, although their championship bid has faltered somewhat of late with just one win from their last three outings.

Form guide:

Penybont: W W W D L W

Goytre: W L W W W L

Division Two (figures in brackets relate to table positions of 16):

Recreation Ground: Aberbargoed Buds (3) v Chepstow Town (5). 

This is derby neither side can afford to lose, especially the visitors whose form of only two points from the last nine has blunted their promotion ambitions.

Aberbargoed have themselves dropped off the pace in gaining just 13 from 27 and both teams start here on the back of home defeats by county rivals.

Chepstow, who have the lowest goals-for total in the top five, were beaten 2-1 by Cwmbran Celtic while Aberbargoed lost 3-2 against Risca United.

Because they've conceded 10 less goals in two fewer fixtures, the home side will begin as favourites - although a draw, which won't suit either, can not be ruled out.

Form guide:

Aberbargoed Buds: W D L W W L

Chepstow Town: W W W D D L

Jenner Park: Barry Town (1) v Llanwern (7).

This is an extremely difficult hurdle for Llanwern to mount, even thought they were 9-1 home winners over hapless Ely Rangers last Saturday.

Having explained that, Ely are only one of two clubs not to have lost against unbeaten Barry in 14 league games and their 3-3 home draw with the seaside outfit came as recently as five days before Christmas.

Llanwern's armchair-ride success over Ely gave them the chance to get recent signings Ben Burns and Matthew Flynn on as substitutes and the pair look like good acquisitions.

Barry are motoring fast towards the top flight and their 39-goal tally is the highest in the division with only Aberbargoed (37) close.

Form guide:

Barry: W W W W D W

Llanwern: W W L W L W

Celtic Park: Cwmbran Celtic (11) v Croesyceiliog (9).

The winners of this cross-town derby will not only gain local bragging rights, but also an extension to their recent form surges which has taken them away from the drop zone.

Following a delayed start, Celtic have climbed away thanks to only one defeat in eight while Croesyceiliog are one spot below mid-table having accumulated 13 points from their last 18.