Dragons determination leads to a 1-0 victory over port talbot

A frustrating 90 minutes away to Port Talbot led to a 1-0 victory for the Dragons on Sunday. The late win was grabbed by Carys Bufton in the 81st minute.

A loss against Swansea City last week with a score of 2-0 made the three points all the more crucial. Port Talbot Town Ladies had suffered two heavy losses of their own in their previous two fixtures against Cardiff City and Cardiff Met meaning they too were keen to get the win.

The first chance came from Alison Witts whose ball from the edge of the box landed into the keeper’s hands. This was followed by Bufton’s lob which went just over the bar. The first half saw Ponty create many chances but both teams suffered from a lack of precision in the final third. Neither team was ever really able to test the opposition’s keeper. Port Talbot maintained their reputation as a physical side and were able to frustrate the Dragons and break up the flow of play.

The second half brought further frustration as the Dragons increased the pressure on the opposition. Carys Bufton came close to a goal in the 77th minute with a ball that made it past the goalie but trickled just wide of the post. In the 81st Ponty finally proved their grit and determination. Ellie Gunney crossed the ball from the right finding Witts whose first and second shots were blocked but the ball found Bufton in waiting who was able to poke the ball into the back of the net! Excellent game management from the team and goalkeeping from Maisie Jones meant we were able to hold onto the lead in the final minutes of the game securing the three points.

Sunday’s game also came with an impressive debut for 15-year-old Efa Jones. She played a crucial part in the play making in the second half. Speaking to the manager Fern Burrage-Male said: “She was brilliant… at 15 years of age to come on against a team in the middle of the game to perform the way that she did I am incredibly proud of her.”

Fern’s post-match thoughts were: “It was frustrating, Port Talbot is a difficult place to come … they are a physical side, and they didn’t allow us to play the free-flowing football that we usually would.”

“What I am most proud of is that we came here and we dug deep, we have ridden the wave of frustration and we are walking away now with three points,” she said.

This game has left us with 6 points so far in the season matching Cardiff Met and goal difference puts us 4th in the table. Overall it has been a good start to the season having only dropped points against league champions Swansea City. This week we go on to play Aberystwyth at home kicking off 14:00 on Sunday 26th September which will be a challenging competitive game and one not to miss.