| In these days of European Club competition, today City left their national boundary for their one and only game of the season outside of the country. Merthyr Tydfil away, or Merthyr Tudful for the benefit of the home fans. |
| Penydarren Park, one of the few 'proper' grounds that we have to visit has been the scene of two of my best City supporting memories, both in the FA Trophy. In 1991, Graham Withey and John Freegard got the goals in a 3-1 victory and two seasons ago Jimmy Cox netted the winner in our 1-0 win en route to Woking, Southport and Aylesbury. |
| I always have those games in mind when I visit! |
| Cox found himself back in his familiar number eight shirt after hardly featuring over the past month due to a persistant rib injury meaning that featherweight forward Lee Davis dropped to the bench. Chris Burns replaced Marvin Thompson so namesake Chris Thomspon slotted in at left wing back. |
| If you read their fans forum in the summer it seemed that Merthyr were in disarray and would struggle this year, so their lofty position at the nosebleed end of the table has come as quite a surprise. Familiar old faces like Neil Thomas, Adrian Needs and Cortez Belle have gone but their replacements have done well enough to suggest that they won't be missed. |
| One name of note in the Martyr's line-up was that of long time scummer Lee Howells who'd joined the Welsh team on loan last year before making the move permanent in the summer. He didn't feature today because he's shite. |
| A disappointing number of City fans made the trip, but birthday boy Ian 'Taff' Compton (forty-five) and his Tigers by Train had made the journey via Bristol Parkway, Cardiff Central and the Valley Lines. Of course, with hours to spare they searched out refreshments en route and at one pub in town they were playing pool. It was Ian's shot so his mate said, "It's your shot Taff" and everyone in the pub looked round! |
| The previous night had seen the launch of the City Supporters Trust and a welcome band of Merthyr fans had made the trip up from South Wales to lend their support, what a contrast from the bald headed twat and his foul mouthed, un-called for verbal attack on us as we welcomed City to the field. |
| City could've been dealt a ridiculous injury blow in the warm up as Matt Bath inadvertantly saved a Dave Wilkinson punt with his face. Fortunately after an eye watering minute or so Bathy took his place between the sticks. |
It took a while for both teams to settle with the Welshmen not playing the most direct of games and preferring to push their strikers wide to the flanks to open up the City defence. Lee Smith had similar ideas though with his run into the centre and pass that found Daryl Addis onside deserved much better than the hopeless shot high and wide from the former Cinderford man.
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| It was good to see Coxy back in the starting eleven but he had a quiet afternoon following his lengthy absence. Jim gave us a glimpse of what we'd been missing when his raw pace beat the defender and took him one on one with the keeper, but Ashley Morris in the Merthyr goal read the move well and rushed off his line to block. |
| Without having posed any real threat, although that's not to say that they hadn't attacked us, Merthyr were behind. Lee Smith was fouled by Paul Keddle wide on the right wing and without Neil Mustoe in spitting distance of the ball, a free kick was swung in, not cleared propely and Neil Griffiths lashed a superb half volley in off of the underside of the crossbar. |
| Wales nil, England one. |
| Merthyr's right back Steve Williams was hurt in the build up to the goal and was off the field when it went in. He didn't rejoin the game and was replaced by perennial substitute Kris 'Ginge' Whitcombe. |
| The referee, David Hine of Worcester, a forgettable name but his two penalties for Hemel Hempstead against us weren't, failed to book the Merthyr defender for an awful high challenge on Tom Webb on the edge of the box. The boot in the sternum left the City midfielder on the floor but amazingly the foul didn't warrant a caution from the man in black. |
| Although, minutes later, Dave Wilkinson gambled on a loose ball with the keeper, caught him late and was shown a yellow card. Where's the justice? |
| Lee Smith ought've doubled City's lead when Addis, ignoring a shout from Jimmy Cox picked out the wing back with a chipped cross to the far post, but the Tigers' number two delayed and the chance was gone. |
| Merthyr stepped up a gear now and a dangerous ball across the face was blocked, but they seemed more interested in appealling for handball than going for goal. It was followed with a great Whitcombe cross that spent an eternity in the City area being blocked and repeatedly shot back in. We only just survived on that attack! |
| Not as though the referee didn't feel the love from the City fans back at Meadow Park in September, he made further efforts to alienate himself from us when he awarded us a free kick for handball on the stroke of half time, but as Chris Burns was about to swing it in, he blew up for the interval. Wanker! |
During the break it was a toss up which way to wander around the ground, the old boys shed or the baldicoot that had treated us to a shouting fit before the game, we chose the former.
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| As we passed Phil Warren, he punched the air with his clenched fists to show his delight at City's lead. Surprisingly, it wasn't appreciated by the old bastard behind him who told him to "f**k off". Our Taff, not believing what he'd heard asked his fellow countryman what he'd said only to be met with ignorance and an icy glare for a minute or two! |
| As you'd expect, the home team started the second half with a point to prove, or three to win. The lack of pace in City's defence was alarming, but a cool head and great last ditch tackle from Lyndon Tompkins turned what might've been a goal into a corner. |
| Striker Garry Shephard became the first of five Merthyr cautions in the second half when despite being lectured by the Headmaster, erm, ref for a good thirty seconds, he still talked his way into the book. |
| We thought the Martyr's had equalised when Shephard leapt unmarked and headed goalwards only for Matt Bath to pull off as good a save as he's ever done. The ball didn't even go out for a corner and a City defender cleared. |
| Merthyr's Ashley Morris had nothing on Bath and Wilko, obviously forgetting the incident which had seen him booked earlier again challenged the keeper and Morris spilled the ball from an Addis cross. Sadly though, City's top scorer couldn't get a touch on the ball to score. |
| Claims for a penalty from Merthyr after a player was fouled on the edge of the box were turned down, although it didn't matter as Chris Bale drilled his direct free kick around a poorly positioned wall and into the back of the net. |
| Left Back Paul Keddle was one of the better players that Lee Smith has faced so far this season and had the City man weighed up. Lee's tricks didn't seem to be working and every failed dummy, stepover and shimmy saw Merthyr in possession in a dangerous area. One chance saw two attackers clear but Shephard scuffed his attempted lob and City escaped. |
| The ref was starting to clamp down now and Merthyr's blonde bombshell midfielder Chris Holloway found his name in the book following two similar aerial fouls in the space of two minutes. |
| Centre back Lyndon Tompkins came close for City when he headed a few feet wide from a corner kick before Wilko put City back in front with one of the most amazing goals that he'll ever score. |
After Lee Smith had lost the ball the combative midfielder fearlessly won it back and set off towards goal. With options either side, he got the better of a block tackle with a Martyr and then instead of laying the ball off he arrowed in a right footed shot from well outside the box which seemed to take an eternity to find the bottom right hand corner. Critics might argue that the keeper should've stopped it but Wilko deserved the goal for his effort.
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| The cheers had barely died down when Bale, a player who moved from Clevedon in the summer via Mangotsfield without kicking a ball, was afforded too much space wide on the right of the area and he drilled in a shot which Bath could only watch in as the Merthyr fans on the open terrace celebrated. |
| It was end to end now, although the general concensus among the City fans was that we couldn't score again. That said, we really should've got a goal when Smith's spinning cross was just too far for Webby, but indecision from the keeper left an opening for Chris Thompson and the midfielder cum defender cum wing back shot straight at Morris. |
| The corner was easily cleared and turned into a counter attack that needed Matt Bath to race off his line and head the ball clear. The only problem was that Bath didn't connect too cleanly under pressure from the striker and he would've been relieved to hear the referee whistle from at least half a football pitch away as the Welshman slotted the ball into the empty net. |
| The City fans and players breathed a sigh of relief, whilst the the home camp went ballistic. How the referee saw a foul from so far back is a mystery but one we were glad of. Left back Paul Keddle wasn't a happy man and his displeasure earned him a booking. |
| To even things up a little Burnsy talked his way to a card before another ex-League stalwart, Jeff Eckhardt, was cautioned for a foul on Daryl Addis. |
| It was all Merthyr now and if there was to be a winning goal it was going to come from a black and white shirt. The Martyrs came close on a number of occasions but the nearest was a drilled shot that was going wide only to be deflected over by a striker from almost under the posts. |
| The lead in the referee's pencil hadn't run out and double goalscorer Bale was booked for an innoculous challenge on Neil Mustoe that seemed to be more of an effort to slow things down than anything from the City man. |
| To complete an intersting statistic, Neil Griffiths was cautioned for tugging a player back as the home team ran the free kick out of the box on a counter attack. That mean't that the scorers off all of the goals had received cards. |
| It was all over and City earned a good point. Merthyr were happy too as their point took them to the top of the table for the first time this season. |
| The Tigers now travel to Tiverton on Wednesday to face the Devon side that were knocked out of the FA Cup by Doncaster today, maybe we can hit them whilst they're suffering from a cup hangover? |
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| Tiger Roar Man of the Match - Neil Griffiths |
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Neil Griffiths
Star Man |
A competent display at the back from former skipper Griff was aided by a well taken strike, his first of the season with a superb half volley and not his head, his usual source of goals.
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