Pontypridd Town 7 Garw Athletic 1
Ponty edged nearer the teams above them with a big win against a plucky Garw side but failed to convince for the first hour of the game.
The Dragons were the first to get a shot on goal when Jacob Daly’s effort was safely held by visitors’ keeper Tom Chorley after three minutes but the visitors showed plenty of enthusiasm and won a lot of ball early on but provided little penetration. However, some sloppy play after twelve minutes gave Garw’s Neil Jones a clear run on goal and he took the ball on before slipping his shot past Chris Golton and into the corner to give the visitors a shock lead.
Ponty were struggling to get their game together at this stage and they didn’t really threaten until the twenty minute mark when Daly’s pace got him clear on the left hand side but he couldn’t get his cross in with players queuing up in the box. However, they only had to wait two more minutes for an equalizer when Cyron Williams (left) burst into the box and planted a good left foot shot into the corner of the net. The home team were now starting to look more menacing and Chorley made an excellent full length save to turn a Daly free kick around the post a minute before he beat away another Daly shot with his follow up flashing across the face of goal.
Ten minutes before the break, Michael Selio put Williams away with a neat through ball and the Ponty player looked certain to score but put his shot just wide. Soon afterwards he was given another chance, this time provided by Daly, and he scored his second of the afternoon with a powerful right foot shot into the roof of the net. Chorley again did well just before the break when he safely held a Rasul Abdul effort from just outside the box. 
The second half started in similar vein to the first with the visitors again looking hungrier for the ball but unable to do much with it until they were dealt a hammer blow after fifty four minutes when Chris Salmon was shown a straight red card for an injudicious remark to the referee which probably could have been heard in the Town centre. It took Ponty ten minutes to take advantage but it was a quality first goal for the Club from Luke Hooper. There did not appear to be much danger when the midfielder picked up the ball outside the box but he wrong footed two Garw players before curling a lovely right foot shot from twenty yards into the top corner of the net.
The goal looked as if it finally settled the home team down and three minutes later, Daly (right) wriggled clear but was once more foiled by Chorley. However, Ponty’s top scorer was now starting to run riot and with fifteen minutes to go, he again got clear but this time finished clinically with a well struck right foot shot into the far corner. It was now a question of how many and Abdul put a header over from an excellent cross by substitute Stuart Parr before fellow sub David Avery netted with a left foot shot after a Daly cross.
A tiring Garw side simply couldn’t handle Daly’s pace and he set up Parr for his first goal for the Club with an inch perfect cross onto his head for the Dragons’ sixth goal with five minutes left to play. Avery then went close with a shot into the side netting before Daly scored his second and Ponty’s seventh almost on time after great work by Tommy Saleh on the left hand side.
Some fluent attacking play in the second half will hopefully give Ponty confidence before a trip to Pontardawe this Saturday but the form of right back Chris Ridgeon, in only his second full appearance following a long injury lay off, was also a big boost. Suspended midfielder Wayne Antoniazzi will return to the squad for the game although recent signing David Blackstock may still be a week away from full fitness.
Pontypridd Town: Chris Golton; Chris Ridgeon, Craig Green, Matthew Phillips, Tommy Saleh, Mike Selio (sub. David Avery), Mark Coles (sub. Peter Evans), Jacob Daly, Cyron Williams (sub. Stuart Parr), Rasul Abdul.