MANORBIER 2

KILGETTY 1

With seven or eight minutes remaining of a scrappy division two tie, Kilgetty were trailing by two goals and pushing desperately to gain some form of parity in the match.

But in their exuberance to get forward they were left a little too stretched, as the Manorbier defence foiled yet another clumsy advance and were able to break through their opponents' midfield at speed.

Sensing possible danger, Ceri Stone, usually a steadying influence in the side, darted forward to foil this threatening move in its infancy.

Unfortunately for him, his tackle was mis-timed (Ferguson vernacular for late) and, instead of stealing the ball, he awkwardly clipped his opponent's legs and sent him tumbling to the ground.

Even more unfortunate was that his lunge was right in front of the referee. The referee sighed and Stone's heart sank like a lead balloon as he was told that he "had to go" and a red card was shown.

Stone trudged off disconsolately to round off an ignominious performance both personally and for Kilgetty, thus scuppering his family's Corinthian record of never having anyone cautioned in 76 years of village football.

Fortunately for the blues, the dismissal didn't have any bearing on the outcome, partially because it came so late in the game and also because Stone had been an ineffective lynchpin in an inept team performance.

Many people at the club pity the role of angst-ridden boss Alan Hurst, because it is difficult to know which conflicting face of his 1st XI will turn up, despite having a consistent group of talented players at his disposal.

This week, to his utter despair and the detriment of his greying mop, he was in charge of a side who didn't want to tackle; couldn't run and seemed to be apparent strangers on a lush green playing surface that was in tremendous condition for the time of year.

Paul Mansbridge, the only absentee from the previous week's heroics, was sorely missed in midfield, leaving Michael Scale desperately exposed and the side short of a leader in the middle of the park.

It was no surprise then that Manorbier took an early two-nil lead, courtesy of individual errors of Fabien Barthez proportions.

Firstly, an innocuous looking through ball should have been cleared by Richard Griffiths, but he lost his footing, let the ball slide through his legs and as the home supporters called a taxi for him, Manorbier's unmarked striker deftly slotted the ball past Christian Phillips in goal.

Secondly, a speculative effort from 25 yards caught Phillips out of position and he was left dancing in the wind as the ball struck the underside of the crossbar, bounced behind the line and returned back into open play, only for the more alert Manorbier forwards to bundle the ball over the line a second time to ensure Kilgetty were punished and to further deepen Hursty's anxieties.

Remarkably, Manorbier didn't record another goal in the remaining 70 minutes, which was largely down to a lot of good fortune on Kilgetty's behalf combined with the only two decent performances in the side by the reliable 'Ginger' Prout and James Bessant.

Even then, Manorbier still had a goal disallowed midway through the second-half, when the ball was adjudged to have crossed the bye-line before being parried back into play and then nudged over the goal line into an empty net.

But somehow the villagers kept the score to a respectable level, despite playing a side they should have been looking to compete with.

However, the midfield was lacklustre, the defence disorganised and the forward line played like 'Lovejoys' and never looked like breaching the Manorbier backline.

But they did manage a consolation goal, thanks to a 'Trojan' Jones volley in the dying minutes, but by then the result had been secured for the home side and Stone was already in the shower, preparing himself for a plethora of red-card related jibes.

Kilgetty fielded: C. Phillips, C. Stone, J. Bessant, A. Prout, R. Griffiths, M. Scale, L. James, T. James, P. Jones, A. Bevan, O. Griffiths. Subs - Dan, Benji and Dai.

ST. ISHMAELS 2NDS 1 KILGETTY 2NDS 0

Kilgetty travelled to Tish for this first round cup-tie. The pitch looked in good order, but was still very wet and the going heavy.

The game was very even, with both sides creating some early openings and Jamie Morgan proving a nuisance working hard up and down the left side of midfield. The pace of both Thorne and Ormond up front was also a constant threat.

It was Tish who took the lead after 22 minutes, however. When a nothing ball over the top was mis-timed, their striker was first to react and he did well to shrug off two last ditch challenges, before placing the ball past Walwyn in the Kilgetty goal.

Kilgetty continued to work hard as a unit, with Bevan and Williams having the better of the centre midfield battle, and Gamble putting in some brave tackles on the right - not realising he had dislocated his shoulder in one such challenge until he was substituted late in the second half.

Kilgetty came in at half-time well pleased with their efforts and unlucky to be the one goal down.

Considering the state of the pitch, both sides played good football and accepted tough challenges like grown men, and got on with the game.

The defensive backs on both sides continued to have the upper hand, protecting the keepers to nothing more than half chances.

That was until the final few minutes, when Gwyther, under pressure, laid a back pass wide of Walwyn in the Kilgetty goal. As Walwyn adjusted his feet, he slipped, giving the Tish striker the advantage, but when he pulled the ball back into the six-yard box, a strike on goal was deflected wide off the back of Gwyther's heels.

From the resulting corner, Kilgetty won a goal kick. The ball was quickly played to Williams, who found Cope just beyond the centre circle. A neat little pass, which split the Tish defence, then found Lloyd, who had made a good run down the left. His first time cross fell at the feet of Thorne, who slipped the ball past the oncoming 'keeper, only to be denied by the inside of the post, with the ball rebounding to the safety of the Tish 'keeper, who had the final kick of this enthralling game.

Kilgetty fielded: R. Walwyn, G. Gwyther, D. Hughes, D. Marklew, I. Lewis, L. Gamble, R. Bevan, A. Williams, J. Morgan, A. Thorne, B. Ormond, G. Prince, R. Lloyd, A. Cope.

MONKTON U10s 4 KILGETTY U10s 6

After a long hard week of rain, Kilgetty travelled to Monkton for this away tie, quietly confident after a convincing win at home.

Kilgetty kicked off and were soon on the attack, Ross Gray getting in behind the Monkton defence and putting his shot just wide.

Soon after, Kilgetty won several corners as Monkton failed to clear, and when the ball was deflected out to Mathew Dick, hovering on the edge of the box, his low drive found its way through the crowded goal mouth and into the net.

Kilgetty were soon on the attack again and a neat one-two put Tom Baker through who tucked the ball away nicely.

Monkton struggled to get into the game and could only manage some half chances, with Ryan Howells in the Kilgetty goal having little to do.

Monkton then scored a goal from nothing; the ball was cleared by their defence and was collected by Dylan, their skilful midfielder. Kilgetty had good cover and looked in control, but a neat turn and some fast footwork saw Dylan go clear and he made no mistake, bringing the score back to 2-1.

This seemed to inspire Kilgetty again. Chris Millward linked up well with Gary, who shot across the goal and Richard Cope came flying in at the far post to extend their lead.

Matthew Smith started the next move, linking well with the ever-present Owain Evans. Owain played the ball out of defence to Callum Proctor, and with one touch Cope was through and fired the ball into the net to take Kilgetty into half-time with a 4-1 lead.

Kilgetty made several changes during the break. On came Courtney Harland, Jake Proctor, Shaun Lewis and Matthew Wall.

After the changes, Kilgetty found it hard to settle and Monkton grew in confidence, picking up two quick goals to close the gap to 4-3.

Kilgetty rallied, Lewis setting up J. Proctor who broke down the left and his ball in found Harland who finished in style.

Monkton again reduced the lead to one, but as the excitement increased and the play moved from end to end, Kilgetty finally sealed the game with a brilliant individual goal from Callum Proctor. Picking up the ball on halfway, he shrugged off two challenges and with superb control approached the Monkton goal. As he shaped his body to cross, the' keeper moved, and seeing this, Proctor quickly readjusted and tucked the ball into the near corner.

This was a good, exciting game, enjoyed by those lucky enough to watch.

Kilgetty fielded: R. Howells, O. Evans, M. Smith, C. Millward, R. Gray, M. Dick, C. Proctor, R. Cope, T. Baker, M. Wall, J. Proctor, S. Lewis, C. Harland.

CLARBESTON RD U13s 1 KILGETTY U13s 5

After their first league defeat and an early cup exit, Kilgetty, sponsored this year by Dils Services, were determined to bounce back with a top three finish in their sights for this season. Clarby were always going to be a difficult team to get a result out of, as past form has shown. The pitch was near perfect, even after substantial overnight rain; the grass was short and the weather was dry - all the ingredients for a good football game.

The football complemented the conditions as both teams worked hard for the all-important opener, but it was deadlock for at least 25 minutes. Both defences shut up shop, making life hard for the strikers.

Midfield would build well, but that last shot on goal became blocked or a sliding tackle would fly in to put the ball dead.

Adam Morgan, back from injury, mopped up everything that came his way, often turning the tables and firing the ball upfield. Paul Hodge had a safe game at the back and almost scored with a couple of powerful shots on goal.

Kilgetty were slowly getting the upper hand and consolidating more of the possession in the opposing half. Robert Whitfield, Jack Bevan and Josh Bevan worked tirelessly and Dan and Rob Colley were both unlucky with early chances.

Kilgetty had to be completely focused as Clarby were always dangerous on the break and with the likes of Gethin Salter doing his old team-mates no favours counter-attacking at pace, things were always in the balance.

Bobby Bevan's nerves were calmed after Whitfield played a through ball for Dan Colley inside the box. Colley converted from close range.

Soon after, the visitors were two up, Colley again scoring after his brother Rob put him through.

Not a team to give up, Clarbeston Road pushed forward. A good shot was saved by Kilgetty 'keeper Sam Foster, but a second just rounded him as the half-time whistle went with the game poised at 2-1.

Kilgetty put the game to bed in the second-half when some excellent work in midfield by Edward Merriman and Geraint Thomas kept the home side on the back foot. Winger Paul Brookes also had a superb game and must have taken 20 corners in the second-half alone.

Brookes set up the third goal for Kilgetty with a lofted cross that found Josh Bevan just inside the box; he broke one tackle and placed the ball beyond the talented Clarby 'keeper.

Jack Bevan kept running at the defence causing problems and putting in some probing shots. Thomas got on the end of one that deflected and found Dan Colley in space who hammered home for 4-1.

Nathan Proctor came into the game, made a run up the left wing and crossed to Jack Bevan outside the box, and after one bounce, he struck the ball into the top of the net.

The last word went to 'keeper Sam Foster who pulled off the save of the match. As Salter let go with a volley from outside the Kilgetty area, Foster leapt up and backwards to deflect the shot with his fingertips, denying Clarby their second.

This was a solid performance from the 13s who impressed in every department.