Featured Match:
Manderwood Pembrokeshire Football League – Division 1
Clarbeston Road 5 - Pennar Robins 4
Nine goals, howling winds, and a hat-trick in vain, writes Fraser Watson.
While Clarbeston Road v Pennar Robins in Division 1 may not have been billed as the weekend's premier local fixture on Saturday, it materialised into a memorable 90 minutes with no shortage of entertainment.
When all was said and done, it was Clarby left content after a late Emyr Griffiths goal sealed three points that looked unlikely at 3-1 down in the first half. The visitors, meanwhile, were left ruing blowing 0-1, 1-3, and then 3-4 leads, while Jack Jones was left with the scant consolation of scoring three times only to be on the losing side.
Robins take control but pegged back by 'Rocky'
In the early stages there was little sign of the chaos to come. Ben 'Rocky' John has a low effort pushed away by Pennar keeper Ryeley Clark and at the other end Tom Davies flashed a 20-yard shot wide - but then after nine minutes the game sprung to life as the Robins led courtesy of a terrific team move.
Nicholas Willis made ground down the right, and after linking with both Kieran Smith and Noah Davison, jinked into the area before being tripped by Matthew Ellis. Referee Stefan Jenkins had little choice but to point to the spot, and Jones did the honours from 12 yards.
However, within two minutes Ellis had made amends, heading in Travis Jones' corner at the near post. The end-to-end action continued from there, Smith instrumental as his powerful shot was well saved by Rhys Mansell before the midfielder's through ball led to Davison firing into the side-netting. For Clarby, John fired over from point blank range before the momentum swung firmly to the away side.
Midway through the half Tom Grimwood's in-swinging corner was nodded in by Jones, and the same combination struck again moments later as the winger beat Samuel Hurton before his cutback was duly finished by the No.9 for his treble.
Crucially though, the home side hit back three minutes before the break as Matthew Bowen's cross from the left was brilliantly headed home by John.
Clarby come out firing
Any frustration Pennar manager Craig Butland had over conceding before half-time would have turned to pure anger straight after the restart. With the wind behind them Clarby came out on the attack, and John levelled matters by cutting inside and rifling a low shot home. Home skipper Matthew Davies then had a goal rightfully ruled out for offside, but the pressure continued as sub Josh Woods fired across goal from close range.
But against the run of play, Pennar retook the lead on the 69-minute mark as two replacements combined - Conner Phillips ghosting into the area unmarked to head in an Adam Phillips cross.
Again though, Clarby responded immediately as Jack Ashman took a short pass from Griffiths and hammered high into the net from the edge of the area.
And then on the 78-minute mark the comeback was complete, Griffiths going clean through before keeping his cool to dink his effort past Clark. As the pace finally slowed, the home side played out the final minutes without any major scares for a vital pre-Christmas win.
Man of the match: Jack Jones
Little chance of any defenders getting the nod, but both Smith and Davison were outstanding in the first half and prominent as Pennar pushed forward. John's role was also key for Clarby, before the concerning sight of him limping off with an apparent knee injury.
However, in the end it's hard to ignore a player who bags a hat-trick, albeit in a losing effort.
Clarby player-manager Matthew Ellis: "It was massive three points for us and my head is a bit muddled right now. But when you come off the pitch after nine goals obviously it's ok if you're on the winning side. They changed systems in the first-half and started causing us problems - but second half we turned the tide."
Pennar manager Craig Butland: "It wasn't good enough in the second half. Individual mistakes are costing us and the turning point in the game was Ben John scoring before half-time. They went in upbeat and sure enough, got the equaliser after the break. It's a tough one to take."
Final word: Right, where to start? Perfect for a neutral as both sides mixed positive play with flawed moments. Despite teams below them having games in hand, Pennar have plenty of quality and I don't envisage them being dragged into any kind of relegation scrap - but they need to manage games, and leads, with more conviction. Clarby and Ellis will be content with their fightback, but if they too are to push up the league or challenge seriously for the Senior Cup, they can ill-afford to trail three times in many matches. Given the injury to John, still so vital for them, the festive break may now be timely.
Clarbeston Road: Rhys Mansell, Matthew Bowen, Greg Brown, Matthew Griffiths, Samuel Hurton, Jack Ashman, Emyr Griffiths, Matthew Davies (Captain), Matthew Ellis, Ben John (Jake Wesley 62), Travis Jones. Sub not used: Joseph Jones.
Pennar Robins: Ryeley Clark, Nick Willis (Ryan Walters 80), Alex Wheeler (Adam Phillips 53), Ethan Ball, Bobby Jones (Conner Willis 53), Connor Roberts, Tom Grimwood, Kieran Smith (Captain), Noah Davison, Jack Jones, Toby Davies.
Referee: Stefan Jenkins.