Clevedon v MERTHYR

scamp wrote:DEC  16th  is a bad date in merthyrs  history  anyone know why

Wanderin' born a few centuries before BC? Merthyr rising? Kumars/Holloway/insert any other previous owner took control of the club?

Like I HaveSaid Previously - you try contending with the blasted wifi on the Chilton line!

Reports coming in that Cliffy Boy is still in the clubhouse drinking Thatchers Gold will he make it back........  

Yes, the first goal was offside. Clevedon players protested long and hard and surprising that at least one of them wasn't booked. And one decided to applaud the assistant ref later when an offside decision was given!
Clevedon probably created more chances in the opening half than Merthyr did and we had a few narrow escapes.Their goalkeeper dropped a few balls and perhaps we could have put him under more pressure.
At times they stopped us playing the flowing football we can produce. We were strong in the back and in the middle Ryan Newman worked hard.
We upped the gear after the interval against a physically strong side.It was good that we snatched a second goal so no-one could say Merthyr won through a dubious goal.
A good result from a hard encounter but once the first goal arrived, there was only going to be one winner and we weren't far off getting a third to kill the game off.
So Merthyr Town are on top after EIGHT wins in a row.All credit to the management and players. A good turn-out from the Merthyr fans.

therovingsheep wrote:Reports coming in that Cliffy Boy is still in the clubhouse drinking Thatchers Gold will he make it back........  

Yeah just got in midnight, had a drink with a Yate Town fan in a city centre pub after leaving Clevedon - see you all at Mangos Saturday

Beer probably cheaper than the £3.50 a pint at Clevedon.

The lads reached top spot in the Calor League, South & West with a hard fought victory over a physical Clevedon side who were lucky to still have 11 players on the field at the end of the game – 12 if you count the referee who gave us no protection on the night.

We were unchanged from Saturday with Marcus Griffiths continuing at right back and Leekie only fit enough for a place on the bench along with Kerry, Ryan Charles & Gilo. On a heavy pitch we kept the ball well early on with some neat passing and Marcus was released down the right and initially I thought he’d overrun the ball but got a cross in which was blocked by a Clevedon defender for a goal kick – the first of many mystifying decisions on the night. Traylor picked the ball up from a throw and had a shot from about 25 yards which was deflected for a corner which Pross got his head to but it rebounded of a Clevedon head for another corner and this time Pross got in a good header which went into the side netting. At this stage Clevedon were under pressure with confusion reigning and when the ball came off Dunn, the Clevedon keeper, to Traylor on the right hand side of the area and he ran in and shot which the keeper pushed out and a Clevedon defender tried to head it clear but it rebounded off the back of another Clevedon defender for yet another corner. Clevedon were under the cosh and their initial attempt at goal came when they got themselves a free kick which was sent into our 18 yard area and a Clevedon player headed it against one of his colleagues and away for a goal kick. Prosser then got in a shot from about 25 yards which was palmed out by Dunn who managed to gather it at the second attempt. Dunn again fumbled – this time from a cross by Matthew Harris and it was cleared for a corner which was taken by Newman from which Prosser got in a looping header which came off the top of the bar with Dunn beaten. Prosser then set up McLaggon for a shot at goal from about 25 yards which was safely gathered in by Dunn. Prosser again picked the ball up on the right and he pushed it inside to Cornwall who in turn sent it through to Traylor and his right footed shot was pushed away at his near post by Dunn for a corner which was cleared by the Clevedon defence. We lost the ball in midfield which allowed Clevedon the break and they had a shot across goal which was well saved by Craig Morris. A long ball up was headed on by Prosser and he found Newman who was fouled but nothing was given and the ball went back into the Merthyr half where it was pushed forward to Traylor who played a one two with Prosser but the keeper managed to clear from outside his area just beating Traylor to the ball. Traylor was set up by Mclaggon but his shot was well saved by the keeper for a corner which was aimed at the far post & Tubbsy came in but his header came back off a Clevedon defender out to Traylor whose shot was deflected off Prosser causing Dunn to make a good reflex save. Cornwall was taken out on the halfway line by Teale (Clevedon #2) who earned himself a yellow card and shortly after that, on a rare break, Clevedon made progress down their left and Adams sent in a good cross which was met by O’Sullivan whose point blank header hit the bar and bounced away to safety. We were attacking well with Mclaggon, Traylor & Prosser linking but we just couldn’t find the end product and Clevedon almost made us pay when O’Sullivan sent in a good cross which was headed by Teale but Morris made a good save, pushing the ball up high to his left which he safely collected. Merthyr had a shout for a penalty when Prosser put through a ball for Traylor to run onto who was challenged by Dunn in his area and he went down but the lino pointed for a goal kick. Prosser picked up on a poor clearance by Dunn and he sent it wide to Cornwall who sent in a cross which Prosser just failed to reach at the far post. On a Clevedon break, Alun Griffiths lunged at Adams just inside the Merthyr half earning himself a yellow. Cornwall won the ball on our right hand side and sent it up to Traylor who as he collected the ball was scythed down by Barnes in a very deliberate cynical challenge who also went down like a sack of spuds in an attempt to earn a sympathy vote from the ref. Naturally he did and only got a yellow. Shortly afterwards the ref blew for half time with the score at 0-0.

Clevedon made 3 substitutions at the start of the 2nd half and it was no surprise to see that Barnes was one of those replaced before he got sent off. We started with similar passing moves as we did in the first with no Clevedon players able to get a touch and eventually Prosser crossed the ball into the area which was fumbled by Dunn and it fell to Newman but Dunn redeemed himself by pushing Newman’s shot wide for a corner which came to nothing. Clevedon had a chance when a long ball up the field was allowed to bounce, putting Tubbs under pressure but the ball was put over the bar by Clevedon. Shortly afterwards Newman and Vahid were involved in a 50/50 tussle for the ball on the halfway line both making clean attempts to get the ball and it broke clear. The referee was allowing play to go on but Vahid defender went down clutching his leg and the ref stopped play, awarded a free kick to Clevedon and gave Newman a yellow. Vahid limped off the pitch after treatment but returned 2 minutes later running around like a 2 year old. It was either a case of a clever con on the referee or the physio had magic water in his bag or I’ll leave you to guess which one! We were still pressurising Clevedon without creating clear chances although Prosser headed the ball just wide of Dunn’s left hand post from a Cornwall cross. Matthew Harris was starting to exert authority in midfield making some shrewd passes and devastating tackles and he rescued a poor ball from Cornwall with tackles on 2 Clevedon defenders and he found Newman who put it out to Alun Griffiths on the left and he looked up and crossed the ball into McLaggon who headed it onto Traylor who was in a suspiciously offside position on the right hand side of the Clevedon area but he took it on and his seemingly deflected shot went past the keeper and into the net to give Merthyr a well deserved lead. Virtually the whole Clevedon team surrounded the ref and lino but to no avail – nor any bookings either – and the goal stood. We were still passing the ball around on the sticky pitch and the Clevedon defenders were chasing shadows. We made a substitution with Kerry replacing Ryan Newman who was on a yellow in a combative midfield and he quickly got into the action although not before Thorne, who to me was Clevedon’s best player on the night, broke into our area but sent his shot high over the bar. Shortly afterwards, Leekie replaced Cornwall and he found Kerry on the right hand side and he came inside halfway into the Clevedon half and he found McLaggon who got it back to Morgan and his shot from 18 yards went just wide of Dunn’s left hand post. Shortly afterwards Kerry got himself needlessly booked for a foul on a Clevedon player on the halfway line when he was going nowhere. Prosser was still causing all sorts of problems and he robbed a Clevedon defender but was in turn challenged by Adams who under pressure pushed an awkward bouncing pass back to Dunn whose clearance was charged down by McLaggon and away for a goal kick. Ryan Charles replaced McLaggon and played down the right and shortly afterwards Rewbs was booked for a push halfway inside the Merthyr half but the free kick was wasted. We were still holding the ball well and after a series of passes it reached Traylor who attempted to thread the ball through but it was prodded forward and Matthew again made 2 superb tackles to win the ball back and he got it out to Alun on the left and it reached Traylor deep in the Clevedon half but as he attempted to turn inside he was the victim of yet another attempted scything tackle which luckily he managed to avoid but it was dangerous enough for Adams to receive a yellow. If he’d caught Trayls he could have been very seriously injured. Kerry Morgan took the free kick and whipped it into the far post where Prosser came hurtling in and sent a bullet header into the Clevedon net to make it 2-0 and ample retribution for the attempt to slice Trayls in half. An excellent cross and a superb header. The scoreline now gave a true reflection of our superiority and we toyed with Clevedon for the rest of the game keeping them penned in their half. They were a well beaten side and resorted to more physicality to keep the score down – Kerry was pushed into the fencing around the pitch but the ref gave nothing and Charles was fouled from behind and again nothing given. Kerry then sent a long ball over the top but he was a victim of a late tackle on the halfway line, long after the ball had gone, resulting in a free kick but no other punishment. Traylor did have a chance when after a series of passes involving Prosser, Leek, Griffiths, Charles who was another victim of a late tackle he broke into the area but his shot was palmed wide of the goal by Dunn and Prosser just couldn’t reach it. Fortune was booked for the tackle on Charles. We were still on the attack when the referee put Clevedon out of their misery.

It was a hard game – we tried to play football on a heavy surface whilst Clevedon resorted to long ball and poor challenges. Prosser had yet another excellent game and it’s between him and Matthew, who had a another superb game in midfield as to my MOTM. For his tackling and passing I think Matthew just about shades it. Over the last few weeks we have won playing good passing football on good surfaces but we’ve also had to dig in and fight as we did in Stratford and to a certain extent last night to come away victorious and it shows the versatility of the players Shep & Danny have to call on. We’ve got 3 games left this year – Mangos (a), Cinderford (h) & Tivvy (a) and it would great if we could remain top of the pile for the rest of 2013 and onwards and upwards into 2014.

Yes,Clevedon's real asset was their physical presence as they tried to stop Merthyr playing. Their tactics worked to some extent but we still deserved the points, regardless of the controversial opening goal.
Mangotsfield and Tiverton will  not be easy encounters so we need to get some rewards there to keep us on top. North Leigh seem to be slipping away lately.
Our home record is superb so the Cigg-e Stadium matches with Cirencester, Paulton and North Leigh will be interesting.
Let's hope that we can get the Merthyr people behind the side and complement the good following we have of fans from outside the borough, which include those from Bristol, Caerphilly, Abergavenny, Pontypool, Tredegar, Brecon, Blackwood, Port Talbot, Aberdare, Hirwaun, Brynmawr, Carmarthen, Newport, and apologies for places not listed! add Rhymney, London and Reading

Just seen the report on the Clevedon site. Apparently Clevedon claimed offside for Prosser's goal & not Traylor's which is rather strange.

One thing that did annoy me last night was the number of balls coming over the stand from the 3G training pitch next door which could have seriously disrupted the game. Clevedon need to sort that out either by pitting up a net to stop the balls coming over or not to allow pitch hire whilst games are in progress. At times it was a bit like playing parks football where balls regularly encroach on other pitches.

Yes the number of errant balls arriving was confusing. At Cwmbran training is not allowed while a game is in progress on an adjoining field.

Clevedon website says Traylor "nodded" in his goal....it was a shot...

Old Sod wrote:Just seen the report on the Clevedon site.  Apparently Clevedon claimed offside for Prosser's goal & not Traylor's which is rather strange.

Perhaps their reporter didn't have the aid of a Dictaphone.

Tim Drummond wrote:Let's hope that we can get the Merthyr people behind the side and complement the good following we have of fans from outside the borough, which include those from Bristol, Caerphilly, Abergavenny, Pontypool, Tredegar, Brecon, Blackwood, Port Talbot, Aberdare, Hirwaun, Brynmawr, Carmarthen, Newport, and apologies for places not listed! add Rhymney, London and Reading

Cheers Phil!
Technically, with my season ticket, I am there every home game!

True, Solihull. I did apologise for any places left out. Some locals say they can't afford to watch Merthyr and others travel from other places..

Merthyr Imp wrote:

Old Sod wrote:Just seen the report on the Clevedon site.  Apparently Clevedon claimed offside for Prosser's goal & not Traylor's which is rather strange.

Perhaps their reporter didn't have the aid of a Dictaphone.

I know - I got Rewb's goals @ Bishops Cleeve the wrong way round last season - hence the purchase of my recording device!

Yes, good to see the importance of accuracy.