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Risca United made it three wins in a row with a 3-0 victory over Tredegar Town on a wet and windy evening at the Centre for Sporting Excellence.

Going into the game, just one point separated the pair in fourth and fifth. A win for the Cuckoos would see them leapfrog a few into second after a difficult start to their Ardal South East campaign.

The hosts were determined to have a fast start, and thanks to Jake Morris, that’s exactly what they had. A goal from Harvery Selway later in the half settled them further, before another Morris finish sealed the three points when the pair met on Friday October 20.

Kick-off

Risca were under no illusions coming into this one. Manger Simon Berry spoke before the game about how lucky his side were to only lose 1-0 when the pair met just a few weeks ago in Tredegar.

So with that in mind, a fast start to settle any nerves was the order, and it was delivered inside eight minutes by Jake Morris.

On the slippery surface, a ball was pinged from right to left by full-back Harvey Selway and managed to allude every Tredegar defender before finding the feet of Owen Cuddihy.

Cuddihy ran into the box from the left before firing at the keeper who could have done better; palming the effort out to Morris who tapped into an empty net. 1-0, and just the start Risca were looking for.

Having not really had the ball up until that point, this did nothing to settle the visitors.

They were backing off Risca’s forwards, with the midfield duo of Jak Lewis and Mitchell Palmer having all day to pick out their passes – the latter looked especially comfortable with ball at feet.

In contrast, the Cuckoo’s press was fast and from the front. That meant there was space in behind for Tredegar if they could string a few passes together, but the visitors had rarely kept the ball for more than a few moments 25 minutes in.

There was a further blow for Tredegar when danger man Tomas Lynch went off with what looked like a groin injury.

A few minutes later and the job looked doubly difficult when Risca made it two.

A completely unforced error from Tredegar defender Harrie Griffiths saw the ball shanked into the air from a clearance and went only as far as Selway.

Selway didn’t get the cleanest of strikes on it either, more of a guided lob, but it was enough to beat the keeper and end up in the top left corner. A disappointing one to concede for the visitors.

The rain was really hammering down with about ten minutes to go in the half. It didn’t seem to phase Palmer however, he was only growing into the game with some lovely turns and touches in the centre.

Tredegar were going to need a complete reset if they wanted to get back into this one. The visitors had offered nothing going forward as the half-time whistle blew.

Second-half

There was a fast paced open start to the second-half. Tredegar came into this game having recently beaten Risca at home, so they knew they could match them on the pitch.

Jack Jones looked to be the main threat for them, the 20-year-old had a chance early into the half down the left which saw him skip past a few men before his shot was blocked.

This started a spell for Tredegar where it felt like they needed to capitalise. The last three times the pair had met however there’d been no more than two goals scored.

Down the other end and it would’ve been game over bar the flag of the official.

Top scorer Leon Thomas somehow managed to dig-out a superb cross from the left having kept the ball for what felt like an age.

The ball found Cuddihy at the near post who glanced a half-volley home only to have his celebrations cut short by the linesman. The ball did seem to go backwards from the side line, but Risca’s appeals meant little.

It should have definitely been three however when Selway found himself completely free at the back post to head the ball home. His effort somehow missed wide left with an hour played.

The miss didn’t cost Risca, as another mistake shortly after put the game out of reach for Tredegar.

A straight goal-kick from Risca’s Joseph Massaro somehow missed every Tredegar defender and bounced through to Morris – who did look offside.

No flag though, and through on goal he calmly chipped the onrushing Andrew Hargreaves who was in no man’s land.

Morris should have had another soon after, his effort this time straight at Hargreaves who was looking shaky.

He didn’t do much for his confidence when he took a free-kick and passed it directly to Risca striker, Thomas. With just the keeper to beat, he couldn’t find the angle to score.

The remainder of the game was played in midfield, neither side offering much going forward. It was job done for Risca and a frustrating one for Tredegar in a game where they never got going.

That’s three wins on the bounce for Risca now, after a rocky start they’re back in the mix and will feel good ahead of their two week break in which they play a couple of cup games.

Reaction

After the game, Caerphilly Observer spoke to Risca manager Simon Berry. On the win, he said: “We’re keeping clean sheets and scoring goals which is a good formula to have.

“I thought we were good tonight without being great, but we’re happy with the result.”

Asked if his side had prepared differently against a side they’d failed to beat in their last three meetings, Berry said: “I always concentrate on us and what we can do. I don’t look at the opposition too much and I trust in our ability.”

After three league wins in a row, Berry was feeling good about Risca’s position going into the cup games. He added: “We’re massively positive. From my point of view we’ve had a bad start by our standards but it’s a nice turnaround and now we’ll look to rotate the squad.”