|
Merthyr
Tydfil 1-1 Rugby Town
Southern
League Premier Division
Saturday,
20th August 2005
Merthyr
Website
Attendance
| 412
Starman
| Rory Squire
Photo
Gallery
| Entertainment |
|
Captain
Chris Tullin prepares for a cross-field pass
Rugby
Town were denied their first victory of the season against
early leaders Merthyr Tydfil by a late deflected goal
at Pennydarren Park.
Rugby
were largely dominated by their hosts during the first
half and at the beginning of the second, and it wasn't
until the introduction of young striker David Stone
that Valley looked dangerous.
Merthyr's
direct tactics almost brought them joy very early on
as the home side had a flurry of corners, however, they
failed to test Stevie Wilson between the sticks.
The
only real glimmer of hope in the first half came when
Rory Squire's deflected effort fell into the path of
Kevin Slinn who tucked the ball into the net from eight
yards only to see the assistant's flag has been raised
for offside moments before.
As
the half went on, Rugby became a little more relaxed
as Rob Gould and Delroy Gordon dominated the aerial
battle.
During
the second half, it was clear that Merthyr were finding
problems unlocking the Rugby defence although they did
have their chances to go in front.
However,
it was Rugby who took the lead just thirteen minutes
from time when David Stone charged down a defender's
clearance leaving Rugby with a three on one situation,
but Stone took the ball on himself and after composing
himself drilled a low shot from twenty yards into the
bottom corner.
The
home side were clearly shocked by the goal and had seemingly
gone to pot, as Rugby started to play some decent football.
A
golden opportunity fell to Kevin Slinn when the Merthyr
goalkeeper mis-kicked his clearance directly to him
on the edge of the area, but after a good first touch
the goalkeeper did well to recover and save what seemed
a certain goal.
Merthyr
got their glimmer of hope just two minutes from time
when Andy Peaks was forced to concede a corner, and
from it the ball was headed clear to Dane Williams
and his deflected shot from the edge of the area
found the back of the net. |
