The first team finally ended their pre-season hoodoo with a much-improved performance against Red Valley of the Bridgend League Premier Division. A second-half double from Liam Griffiths gave Pontypridd a 2-0 win, which goes some way to erasing the embarrassing performance last weekend.
In tough conditions and against a well-organised side that were finalists in the Bridgend Premier Division Cup last season, this was a performance delivered by the entire squad. After a strong first-half performance, Pontypridd were unlucky not to be ahead at half-time. Lewis Taylor and Tom Slater were extremely lively up front. On another day Taylor might have bagged a hat-trick and Slater was unlucky to see one effort bounce off the underside of the bar and another ruled out for offside. Importantly, the defence looked much more composed and the overall team shape much better.
After Red Valley started the second-half in the ascendancy, Ponty overcame the dip in performance and players introduced from the bench made a big difference. One of those replacements, Artur Cegielka, won a penalty, converted by another substitute, Liam Grififths. In the closing minutes, Griffiths bagged his second after being set-up by another substitute, Huw Morgan.
While this was very much a team performance, special mention goes to our man of the match Lewis Roberts. With the first team’s two regular goalkeepers away for this game, Lewis volunteered to go in goal to help the team and produced a magnificent performance that leaves a lot of food for thought.
The next pre-season friendly is next Saturday (3rd August). We welcome Pencoed Athletic BGC 2nds to the Maritime. This will be another tough test against a team that won the Bridgend First Division title last season.
Pontypridd FC Squad (v Red Valley): Lewis Roberts, Daniel Perry (c), Dan Outing, Owain Lewis, Bradley Harris, Adam Davies, Hywel Patterson, Aron Barnes, Aled Evans, Tom Slater, Lewis Taylor, Artur Cegielka, Liam Griffiths, Huw Morgan, Matthew Bennett-Jones, Ryan Jones, Kieron Cook.
