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After going a remarkable 24 league games unbeaten, Trethomas Bluebirds lost their first Ardal South East match of the season against Goytre AFC.

The Bluebirds travelled to Plough Road on Tuesday April 23 knowing they were just four wins away from guaranteeing the league title and promotion into the Cymru South.

Fourth-placed Goytre had plans of their own however, and opened the scoring through David Lyon, before Troy Hiscock Greening made it 2-0 to the hosts before the break.

Trethomas fought back to 2-1 thanks to a Levi Rees free-kick, but in truth the visitors never got going, and Goytre’s Isaac Wigley made it 3-1 to claim all three points.

Kick-off

The first blow for Trethomas actually came the night before the match, when striker Gareth Tedstone was ruled-out through illness.

Tedstone had been a real handful in recent games, as well as providing goals. The number nine was sorely missed all match.

Winger Levi Rees had a fast start to the game down the right, he had the beating of his man as he often does with his pace and strength.

An early cross into an empty box became a theme of the night however.

Goytre looked well up for the match having narrowly lost 2-1 in the reverse fixture only a few weeks ago.

There were some early sign of nerves from Bluebirds goalkeeper Harry Irving after his clearance fell short to Goytre’s Josh Graham. Fortunately, nothing came of the chance after a couple of heavy touches from the forward.

Graham’s touch was was perfect when asked the question with a ball down the left a few minutes later however. Picking his head up well, he fired a cross into Elias Youssef whose shot was blocked.

The loose ball fell to David Lyon who held his position well just inside the box, and fired high into the middle of the net to make it 1-0.

On the rare occasions Trethomas had gone a goal down this season, it had never felt like it would remain that way for long – but not during this match however.

There was definitely some nervous energy out on the pitch, not helped by the fact that, with about 25 minutes played, the visitors were yet to create a good chance.

Rees was carrying the load as best he could. He must have won four or five flick-on headers only to find that frustratingly none of his teammates had made a run into the space behind.

Goytre were still looking good when getting forward too, which didn’t help. Youssef had a shot from the edge of the area which deflected over.

At the half-hour mark, Goytre keeper Cameron Clarke went down injured and gave both coaches a chance to discuss tactics.

Almost instantly, the Bluebirds had their best chance of the half through a Rees flick. This time, Thomas Gameson gambled and found himself through – albeit from a narrow angle.

He perhaps took a touch too many and his shot was saved comfortably enough by Clarke.

Any potential momentum was halted by the sheer volume of injuries in the first-half. Referee Benjamin Skuse must have added on around ten minutes because of stoppages.

During that additional time, Goytre were able to double their lead to really put the pressure on the unbeaten league leaders.

A corner taken from the left was met by the head of Troy Hiscock Greening who towered above the rest. His powerful header was above the man at the near post and into the top corner.

The whistle blew with a lot of work to do for the Trethomas coaching staff. It’s rare enough to see the Bluebirds losing at all, but it was the performance which would have concerned Mark Dunford and his coaches more.

Second-half

The visitors came out with a lot more attacking intent in the second-half, and things could have taken a dramatic turn if Skuse decided to show Goytre defender Luke Hooper a red card.

Hooper appeared to be the last man when he pushed Ethan Edwards to the ground on the edge of the area. After a discussion with his linesman though, the referee opted for a yellow instead.

The resulting free-kick from Rees made the yellow card easier to swallow for the Bluebirds.

Rees stepped-up and with his left foot curled a beautiful shot around the wall into the bottom corner, leaving Clarke rooted to the spot.

Suddenly, there was tempo and energy in the Trethomas legs. They were steadily controlling the ball and game as they’re so used to doing.

Goytre hung in well though, and soon had a golden chance to kill the tie themselves.

A moment of madness between William Bevan and keeper Irving saw a ball over the top get past the pair of them and find Aron Davies, who was staring at an open goal.

Somehow, Bevan managed to scramble back and stick a leg out, blocking the Davies shot to stop a certain goal.

The chance seemed to unsettle Trethomas once again, and another misplaced clearance from Irving, combined with some missed tackles, eventually led to the killer third goal.

The ball was hurried wide from midfield to Marcus Jones, who got past one before crossing to Isaac Wigley in the middle who managed to poke the ball home from close range.

With 15 minutes to go, player-coach Adam Raymond entered the field to try and offer something up front, but Goytre had something to hang onto now.

Cooper and Greening were commanding at the back and controlled the rest of the game with their voices more than anything. Cooper in particular stood out.

Goytre had a couple of chances to make it four. A free-kick whipped into the near post was glanced just over from Jones.

Full-time and Trethomas could have no complaints with the scoreline. It was always going to be a tough match on the road, but in the end, it was fairly comfortable for Goytre.

With the ‘unbeaten season’ target now off their back, the Bluebirds will be hoping they can quickly return to winning ways at home to Undy on Saturday April 27.