Pontypridd crashed out of the Greyhound Cup with a deserved loss at Talbot Green. A poor, error-strewn, display saw Ponty second-best all over the field for most of the game, despite a positive start with Joe Vellam scoring early on.
After a fortnight since their last fixture, this was the first of a cup double header with a trip to Holton Road in the SWFA Intermediate Cup to come next weekend. Illness meant club captain Ryan James wasn’t fit to play, while Piotr Tolak remained sidelined with injury. There was a boost up front though with Geraint Lewis fit again after a recent foot injury; Chris Salter was in the matchday squad for the first time.
Ponty – wearing their claret and blue away kit for the first time – started the game with a real appetite and desire, finding themselves a goal up inside the first two minutes. Artur Cegielka made a trademark burst from right back through midfield and played a good pass to Geraint Lewis wide on the left. The forward’s low cross was met by Joe Vellam, who steered the ball home from close range.
There was a fantastic opportunity to double that lead two minutes later when referee Tom Bell penalised a Talbot Green defender for handball. Geraint Lewis stepped up, but such has been his fortune in front of goal this season, unfortunately Lewis blasted over from 12 yards.
Despite that setback, Ponty’s control in the opening 20 minutes continued. Gareth Kear was inches from a sensational goal but his 40 yard strike hit the post. Kear had another shot minutes later when played in by Lewis, but couldn’t get a clean hit this time. There were also chances for Hywel Patterson and Huw Ward as Ponty threatened to run riot against their hosts.
For all the good play going forward, there were also some signs of what were to come and twice Talbot Green were denied by good saves, having found it too easy to penetrate Ponty’s defence down their left flank, before they levelled the tie just after the half-hour. It was a goal indicative of the type of error that would cost Ponty on the day; a straight ball over the top not dealt with, allowing a Talbot Green attacker in to score in a one-on-one situation.
Two similar opportunities followed before half-time with the backline looking ragged and disorganised, but on these occasions Pontypridd got away with it. Artur Cegielka might have rectified his errors at the back with his play at the other end, but neither of his efforts on goal late in the first half could find the target; Dan Outing had a decent half-chance on the stroke of the half-time, but couldn’t keep his effort down.
HALF-TIME | Talbot Green 1-1 Pontypridd
A half-time shuffle saw Chris Salter brought on for his Pontypridd debut in place of Dan Outing. It couldn’t have been a worse start for Salter as within a minute Pontypridd were behind, though through no fault of the debutante. A ball across the backline was miscontrolled by Cegielka inside the Ponty penalty area, allowing Talbot Green’s number 6 to pinch the ball off him and score his second goal of the game.
Talbot Green would have doubled their lead a minute later but for a good save as Pontypridd looked shell-shocked and there were appeals for a penalty from the home side after a collision involving Daniel Perry. With the midfield unable to keep hold of possession, the Talbot pressure continued and it was only the performance of the man between the sticks that denied the floodgates opening.
In an attempt to wrestle back control there were more changes in personnel and some tactical tweaks. Hywel Patterson was pushed up front and Geraint Lewis dropped into midfield to encourage more fluency. Unfortunately, it did not come and the individual error total count went higher.
Pontypridd huffed and puffed to no avail in the final twenty minutes, looking short on cutting edge and too often guilty of poor decision-making in the final third. On top of this, every time Talbot Green attacked the defence looked vulnerable. There was a certain inevitability about the defeat before Talbot Green’s third – a free header from a corner – in the second minute of added time put the result beyond doubt.
FULL-TIME | Talbot Green 3-1 Pontypridd
Pontypridd FC: Aron Barnes, Daniel Perry (c), Hywel Patterson, Dan Outing (Chris Salter 46), Gareth Kear (Thomas Slater 80), Artur Cegielka (Fifolu Akinyemi 73), Kieron Cook, Connor Bickford (Calvin Mugadza 55), Joe Vellam, Huw Ward (George Archer 85), Geraint Lewis.
Goal: J. Vellam (2)
Referee: Tom Bell
