The Excelsiors were handed only their third loss of the season last night, after a decisive display from Wattsville FC.
The game started off hot, with both teams going 100mph in the early going and playing end-to-end at Pontllanfraith 3G. Jamie Laurent held firm in his midfield role and showed some impressive footwork as he went in for goal early on but was knocked by the home team’s defence. Wattsville drew first blood to make it 1-0 after a pressing attack and struggle in front of goal to break the deadlock. Their second came soon after, the result of a chip-in over goalkeeper Dan Parsons.
The Excelsiors kicked into overdrive then, with the dynamic duo of Jordan Harford and Lewis Jones creating some lovely play to deliver a slick ball to striker Luke Lewis, who was only narrowly beaten to the party by Wattsville’s man between the sticks. Both Lewis Jones and later Rhys Whiteman fired off attempts that went just wide of the mark, with the latter’s pinging off the crossbar and signalling a clear sign of intent that they were coming for goals.
That goal would come as Lewis Jones passed to Dafydd Phillips and the winger crossed a great ball over to Luke Lewis, who buried the ball over the line to make it 2-1. The goals continued to come thick and fast however, with Wattsville scoring a revenge goal a few minutes later, which although not pretty and featuring a messy finish put them to 3-1.
A deflection off a Wattsville freekick unfortunately found the feet of a home team player soon after and again the referee blew to signal a goal as the league leaders went 4-1 at the conclusion of an exciting first 45 minutes.
The second half kicked off at breakneck speed, echoing the tempo of the game in general, with the lads in pursuit of goals. Tyla Preece would close the gap with a sublime header to make it 4-2, which was followed up with a freekick soon after that saw the Excelsiors begin to build momentum in the freezing cold conditions. Wattsville would suck the air out of the Tigers fans in attendance however, as they scored their fifth goal with a strike on the edge of the box to make it 5-2.
The lads again found themselves in damage limitation mode and provided a solid defensive unit against the persistent pressing of Wattsville, counting every Wattsville attack with a rebound of their own. The home side however managed to get one more goal in for the efforts, following a malfunction at the junction in front of the sticks and after a short tussle, the score stood at 6-2. However, midfielder Jonny Morgan would bag a consolation goal to cut down Wattsville’s lead soon after and end proceedings at 6-3, with the referee blowing up soon after. A disappointing result but with 12 league games left and the road to the end of the season undoubtedly full of twists and turns: all is not lost.
The boys return to cup action on Saturday, with a 1:30pm kickoff pencilled in against Caerleon away in the County Motors Cup.
The opening minutes of the game saw both teams locked in a battle of cat and mouse, with Thornwell’s defence holding strong against a rabid Excelsiors attack. A few free kicks, including one from Lewis Jones, came to nothing as time after time, Thornwell were able to deflect the danger in front of goal.
As the final 10 minutes came into focus, things appeared to be clear cut for the travelling Tigers, as the Excelsiors held a firm lead. However, some drama was still assured, as Thornwell picked off the Excelsiors defence to break through the line and pick up a consolation goal against Dan Parsons, who had little to do for much of the game.
draw was cemented with the rocket-like ricochet finish of Luke Lewis, who looked certain to score again thanks to a great cross from Jordan Harford.
