Pontypridd AFC men’s reserves left Tonteg Park empty handed, the fifth consecutive game they have found themselves on the wrong end of the result.
Due to an injury niggle, team captain Dai Llewellyn had to start on the bench, giving a start to former team captain Dan Outing in central defence.
The home team started very strong, putting the Black Sheep under immediate pressure and it eventually made its mark. A good slide-rule pass from Dos Santos Caroll gave Harry Postlethwaite a chance to score in the middle and he duly planted his finish beyond Jake Ormson’s grasp.
It didn’t take long for the blue of Llantwit to be celebrating again. A similar goal to the first, this time Rosie-Jones the beneficiary of a good pass from Hussey.
Even though results haven’t been favourable so far this season, the Black Sheep have been competitive in every game and that tenacity was shown again. Captain on the day Brad Harris halved the deficit before the half hour mark with a thunderbolt free kick that was too hot for the goalkeeper to handle.
Any hopes of a fightback were damaged though when Rosie-Jones added his second goal and Llantwit’s third before half-time.
The scoreboard was untroubled in the second half but Ponty didn’t let their heads drop and the second-half performance showed this team is capable of playing positive football.
Outing was denied by a good save from the home custodian after a sharp corner delivery from Leo Wilson. Sub Karwan Jawad then went on a trademark marauding dribble, bouncing defenders off him like a prize bull, setting up a chance for Michal Krawkow, but his effort hit the bar.
Ultimately, the quality wasn’t quite there in the final third to match the overall second half performance and the goals needed to salvage something from the game eluded the visitors.
As always, the coaches will look to the positives and believe the team isn’t far away from achieving better results if a consistent level of performance can be maintained. Ieuan Bell was the Black Sheep’s man of the match.
