PENDINE 1 KILGETTY 4

Winston Churchill once said we'll fight them on the beaches and Pendine were obviously instructed to fight them in a quagmire, as some slack refereeing threatened to allow this hard fought Pembrokeshire League division two match to degenerate into a battle royal.

Thankfully tempers remained in check and Kilgetty eventually climbed out of the trenches with the bigger grins as they emerged deserved 4–1 victors in this keenly contested local derby, with three first half goals being the difference at the end of a combat-weary 90 minutes.

Paul Jones, who worked like a Trojan down the right flank, using his long rubber legs to seemingly snatch the ball from his opponents toes and then leave opposing defenders trailing in his wake, opened the scoring with a finely taken goal.

This settled early Kilgetty nerves and Paul Mansbridge was able to dictate the pace of the game from there on in, as he strolled through a water-soaked midfield.

With him in charge, his troops worked with all hands to the deck and the defence looked solid, thus providing a good shape and balance to the side, and it wasn't long before two more goals followed in quick succession.

Prompted by the often-exuberant encouragement of Christian Phillips in between the sticks, Kilgetty won a corner, which resulted in a hotly contested goal, Richard Griffiths arguing that he made contact with the ball before it crossed the line, whilst Anthony Bevan claimed that he had scored direct.

It was a moment worthy of Andy Gray's virtual reality machine, but there were no doubts over who tucked away the third.

Ollie Griffiths's tireless skill and effort was rewarded when he connected superbly to rifle the ball like a bullet beyond the keeper's reach from all of two yards out, and the away side went in much the happier after the earlier stages of the battle.

At the restart, Pendine came out with all guns blazing and looked like making a match of it, but most of their attempts at goal were restricted to long range efforts.

Christian Phillips proved he was equally adept at using his hands as well as tormenting the referee and he produced a string of fine reaction saves.

Eventually though, the barriers were breeched as Pendine reacted quicker to a shot that came back off the crossbar and they pulled one back to line up a potentially rousing finale.

However, this seemed to shake the away team out of their temporary slumber and they again matched their opponents in the battle.

Christian became even louder, the defence regained its shape, Mansbridge spurred his troops on to greater endeavours and Paul Jones finally settled the nerves with a well-taken header, 20 minutes from time.

The 'Trojan' was imperious throughout and it seemed fitting that it was he who sealed the victory.

All that remained was for Kilgetty to batten down the hatches and hold on to receive the spoils of a Churchillian victory.

At 10 pm that night, Anthony Bevan and Richard Griffiths were still involved in an argument over who had scored the keenly contested second goal.

Man of the Match: Paul Jones.

Hursty's comment: "It's been emotional!"

KILGETTY 2nds 1 PENNAR ROBINS 2nds 5

Kilgetty met league leaders Pennar Robins at the Kingsmoor ground for this top of the table encounter.

Kilgetty started well and had several opportunities to take the lead. However, it was Pennar who broke quickly down the right and a low ball driven across the six-yard box was met at the far post by the incoming Pennar striker.

Pennar went further ahead when they again broke down the right and did well to pull the ball back from the by-line, the cross beating the retreating defence and giving the Pennar striker an easy tap-in.

Kilgetty came close to getting a goal back when Wright fired a shot to the near post, bringing a fine save from the Pennar 'keeper.

The visitors went further ahead when a cross from the left saw a Pennar player rise above the Kilgetty defence to claim their third goal.

Kilgetty pulled a goal back just before half-time when Wright was hauled down in the area, Williams making no mistake from the penalty spot.

Lifted by this success, Kilgetty dominated the first 10 minutes of the second half, but could not convert the pressure into goals, and then conceded a soft goal themselves against the run of play.

Although Kilgetty battled on well, they knew it was not going to be their day when Bevan was clearly pushed to the ground from behind while trying to clear the ball on the edge of the area, the referee ignoring the Kilgetty appeal and enabling Pennar to complete the day's scoring for a 5-1 win.

Kilgetty fielded: R. Walwyn, I. Lewis, R. Bevan, D. Hughes, G. Gwyther, B. Frost, A. Williams, L. Gamble, D. Wright, A. Thorne, B. Ormond, C. Frearson, D. Marklew, R. Davies.

TENBY U10s 2

KILGETTY 10s 2

This keenly awaited return match between these two talented young sides had finally arrived.

Kilgetty were looking to overturn their earlier defeat by Tenby, while the Seasiders were seeking to maintain their impressive unbeaten record.

A good crowd was entertained by some thrilling football, as both sides seemed evenly matched.

Kilgetty had the first opportunities to open the scoring, but Tenby defended well and cleared the danger.

Both sides continued to make chances, Matthew Wall pulling off some good saves, with Owain Evans, Matthew Smith and Ross Gray working hard to keep Kilgetty on level terms.

However, minutes before half-time, a super run by Daryl saw him avoid two tackles before firing a low powerful shot which beat Wall and provided Tenby with a 1-0 lead.

The second half restarted where it left off with good passing and movement on and off the ball.

Tenby extended their lead when Brad Jenkins connected with an unstoppable strike from 20 yards out which flew into the roof of the Kilgetty net.

Kilgetty continued to work hard and their efforts were finally rewarded after Tom Baker was brought down 15 yards out, and an indirect free-kick awarded. Cope tapped the ball to Baker who beat the Tenby 'keeper with a fine strike.

Only a matter of minutes remained. Ryan Lewis took over the goal-keeping duties, and Jake Proctor and Chris Millward came back on.

A quick throw out from Lewis released Callum Proctor who beat three tackles before being awarded a free-kick. The resulting effort was well blocked by the Tenby defence, only for the ball to fall to Proctor whose instant control enabled him to turn, and his subsequent shot found the roof of the net, giving the 'keeper no chance.

The game was played throughout in a fine sporting manner, which was a credit to both sides. The game was well refereed by Remi Page.

Kilgetty fielded: Matthew Wall, Ross Gray, Matthew Smith, Owain Evans, Tom Baker, Ryan Lewis, Callum Proctor, Richard Cope, Chris Millward, Jake Proctor.

THE THESAURUS