M.7 - 22/2023 Season

By Eloise Martin

Pontypridd United secured their first win of the season after a 2-1 win over Aberystwyth on Sunday. Goals from Olivia Francis and Anais Trinci saw the Dragons returning down south with the well-earned three points!

The dragons got off on the attacking front and an early chance nearly came when Carys Bufton flicked the ball over the Aberystwyth defence to Liv Francis, but she was unfortunately called offside. The opposition responded by forcing Maise Jones into making a crucial block when she was 1v1 with the striker close to the goal.

Well into the first half Renee Day’s header was the closest chance yet. She ran onto Anais Trinci’s corner and headed the ball down towards the goal line, it bounced up just brushing the crossbar as it headed over. Not long after inside the 41’ minute it was Olivia Francis who broke the deadlock. The youngster received a through ball from Emily Bayliss and was able to beat the defender. She then went 1v1 with the goalkeeper who blocked her first attempt, but Francis went on to pick up the loose ball and shot across the goal into the net securing her first goal for Pontypridd United!

With the Dragons 1-0 at half-time, the match was turned up a notch. The half kicked off with two more game-changing saves from Maisie Jones! First, she was able to tip away a looping ball before Aberystwyth struck again from distance and Jones tipped it over the bar! The Dragons nearly doubled their lead when Carys Bufton squared the ball to Anais Trinci, who shifted the ball onto her right foot to free up space and struck the crossbar! It would be Trinci who found Pontypridd United’s second of the game with 25 minutes to go. Jasmine Turner executed a brilliant cross putting Trinci through on goal. She took on two defenders before calmly shooting from just outside the box finding the bottom left corner!

All was still the play for when Aberystwyth won a penalty with 12 minutes to go. Louise Wylde shot into the bottom right corner to give her side the chance of a comeback. With the score now 2-1 the last ten minutes were tense. Aberystwyth were close to an equaliser when they collided with the goalkeeper and the ball ended up in the back of the net, but it was promptly called offside. Five minutes into extra time the Dragons were not backing down. Anais Trinci looked to give Pontypridd United their third of the game when she struck across the goal, only just hitting wide of the post!

Despite eight minutes of extra time, the Dragons did well to dig deep and made the long journey home with three points in the bag!

Speaking to a very happy James Fishlock after the game he said:

“I am really happy; we scored two really good goals and could have scored a couple of others!

“Aberystwyth put us under pressure for the final 35 minutes and forced Maisie to make some really good saves. I am happy for the group to get their first three points and they can enjoy their journey home.”