The joy of six – Town turn on the style in back-to-back wins

Ryan Green got on the score-sheet as Port Talbot hit Lido for six (Gareth Elms).

Port Talbot Town signed off their festive run-in in style on Saturday with a convincing 6-1 win over Afan Lido to power their way into fifth-place in the table.

Buoyed by Boxing Day’s convincing win, the Steelmen again made light work of their local rivals to record back-to back victories over Afan Lido for the first time since the 2000/01 season.

David Brooks led the wrought with two strikes, including a classy free-kick to take his tally for the season into double figures.

Lewis Harling squeezed his shot in at the near-post to give Port Talbot a ninth-minute lead but Mark Jones bundled the ball over the line to put the visitors back on level terms soon after.

After Brooks restored the lead with a cool finish, Carl Payne’s snap-shot opened up a three-goal margin before Ryan Green and Leigh De-Vulgt weighed in with late goals as Port Talbot took another step towards securing a top-six finish.

“I said to the players before Christmas that it was important we took six points from these two games to keep us in the top six,” said manager Scott Young.

“We’ve won a local derby 6-1 so we’ve got be happy – at times it was a little frustrating as I thought we could’ve put them to the sword a little bit more, but 6-1 in a derby is a result we’ll take all day,” he added.

Amidst suggestions that the recent Boxing Day clash between the two sides had been a more tepid affair than in previous years, this encounter was anything but. The game was littered with cautions and dismissals throughout as the competitive edge between the two neighbours boiled over amongst the flurry of goals.

Port Talbot went from strength to strength after David Brooks, through on goal, coolly stroked the ball past Curtis to regain the advantage, with the game, until that point, becoming increasingly scrappy.

But it was the instant dismissal of Lido defender Paul Evans for his rash challenge on Jeff White, nine minutes into the second-half, which opened the floodgates.

Brooks made no mistake from the resulting free-kick, curling the ball around the wall and beyond reach of the despairing Chris Curtis in the Afan Lido goal from twenty yards out.

And worse was to follow for Afan Lido when Anthony Rawlings became their second player to see red after raising his hand to Brooks in an off the ball incident.

With a two-man advantage, Carl Payne made sure of the points with Port Talbot’s fourth, arriving late in the box before crashing home a first-time shot.

Not even the 80th-minute dismissal of Jeff White, for a second bookable offence, threatened to break Port Talbot’s stranglehold on the game.

And with 90-minutes already on the clock there was still time for the rampant Steelmen to inflict more damage.

Ryan Green added a fifth with a deflected effort from close range before Leigh De-Vulgt met Sacha Walters’ cross from the left with a low diving header.

Back-to-back wins leave Port Talbot in the healthy position of fifth in the table with 28 points, with two games remaining before the league split.

A win in Saturday’s crucial game against Bala Town at the GenQuip next Saturday would see the Blues record three-straight wins for the first time since April 2010.

PORT TALBOT TOWN 6-1 AFAN LIDO
Lewis Harling 9’, Mark Jones 17’, David Brooks 26’, Paul Evans sent off 54’, David Brooks 55’, Anthony Rawlings sent off 61’,Carl Payne 69’, Ryan Green 90+1’, Leigh De-Vulgt 90+3’

Port Talbot: 1. Craig Richards, 2. Daniel Sheehan (26. Jake Parry 82′), 7. Lee John, 12. Leigh De Vulgt, 24. Ryan Green, 11. Daniel Thomas, 23. Matty Crowell (18. Adam Wright 72′), 8. Lewis Harling, 14. Carl Payne, 39. David Brooks (21. Sacha Walters72′),19. Jeff White

Afan Lido: 1. Chris Curtis, 2. Dean Hudson, 4. Paul Evans, 6. Lee Hartshorn, 7. Chris Hartland (14. Luke Borrelli 70′), 9. Mark Jones, 10. Anthony Rawlings, 11. Kieran Howard, 12. Gareth Phillips (8. Matthew Thompson 70′), 17. Alex Gammond, 28. Callan Bowden (15. Gavin Jefferies 78′)

Attendance: 260 Referee: Kevin Morgan

All images courtesy of Gareth Elms

About these ads