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Risca United were thumped 8-2 by former Cymru South side Abertillery Bluebirds when the pair met on Friday August 9.

Despite a half decent start by the Cuckoos, the Bluebirds soon imposed their quality on the match, and dismantled a very young and inexperienced Risca side.

The second-half soon got out of control as the visitors attacked at will.

A day to forget for Risca, who will swiftly regroup and turn their attention to their next Ardal South East game.

Kick-off

In front of a crowd of around 100 or so, the Bluebirds were first to get the ball down and show what they could do.

Right back Rakesh Patel looked pretty tall for a player in his position, but showed some neat skill in midfield before crossing to Michael Vagg in the centre. His header sailed over though.

There was a good pace to the game, but a little all-over in terms of the passing. Both sides seemed to be working each other out.

Midfielder and captain Finlay Wood settled nicely early-on. The 25-year-old is always looking to progress the ball up the pitch.

After a solid enough start at the back for the Cuckoos however, the first real chance for the visitors led to a goal.

Striker Iwan John was afforded far too much time on the edge of the area, and dug-out a beautifully waited dink to the far post where Thomas Beynon was running into.

Beynon caught the ball well and put it low where the keeper did manage to get a glove, but palmed it upwards into the roof of the net. 1-0.

The Bluebirds crowd of around 30 in the stands at the Centre for Sporting Excellence were well-up for it now. It was going to be a nervy couple of minutes for the hosts.

Having offered little going forward after 20 minutes or so to the frustration of recent signing Laurent Ngunjoh, Risca were handed a huge break.

Stepping back into the defence to receive the ball, midfielder Jordan Thomas played a very loose ball to Cole Greenhaf on the edge of the box.

With goalkeeper Brandon Powell away from the centre of his goal, Greenhaf had the simplest of passes under him and into the net.

There were a few minutes after the equaliser where Risca looked to build on their goal and applied a bit of pressure. It was soon undone when the Bluebirds were awarded a penalty however.

A cross down the right hit the knee of Terry Francis-Obeng before quite clearly bouncing into his arm.

Referee Scott Brown didn’t blow-up, probably due to the distance between the two body parts, but linesman Blane Bowden flagged, and after a quick chat together, the penalty was awarded.

John stepped-up and dispatched the penalty confidently to make it 2-1.

Before anyone had a chance to blink, it was 3-1 and the Cuckoos were in serious trouble.

Down the left, Ben Taylor Jnr whipped-in a nice ball to Alex Holmes who had about four shots from close range which were all blocked on the line.

Taylor Jnr eventually made it into the box himself to smash the ball home.

It was a case of making it to half-time for the hosts now. They’d really struggled to progress the ball with any speed, a lot of long looping side-to-side passes which killed the game.

Forward Lloyd Oliver has been a bright spark in recent games, he saw little to no ball in the first 45. Just one of many things which needed addressing.

Second-half

It’s fair to say the second-half was most likely the worst 45-minutes the Cuckoos will play this season.

Starting early, Taylor Jnr scored probably the best goal of the afternoon when cutting in down the left.

He picked-out the far corner from distance and curled his effort well above the keeper into the net.

Anything spoken about at half-time had already been forgotten, and within a few minutes it was 5-1.

A good ball through by Holmes sent Taylor Jnr on his way again, looking for his hattrick.

With only the keeper to beat, he rounded him easily and passed the ball into an empty net.

It was a case of damage limitation for the hosts now, but the Bluebirds weren’t done yet.

John this time beat the offside trap and was away down the left, cutting inside to set-up Beynon in the middle. He hardly even celebrated at this point.

A shot from Ngunjoh on the edge of the area was about as good as it got for Risca in the second-half, but his effort was pushed wide by Powell.

The fans were really enjoying themselves now to add to Risca’s woes, and they soon had more to cheer about.

A throw-in to Cameron Williams down the right allowed him to get past the defender and cross to fellow substitute Ryan Meredith in the centre. He grabbed the Bluebirds’ seventh.

As the clock agonisingly ticked down for Risca, the visitors still had time for one more goal.

A good cross from Thomas found the head of Meredith who thumped his effort onto the underside of the bar and in to grab his brace and Abertillery’s eighth.

With seconds left, Risca managed to grab a consolation. Former Cuckoos defender Josh Clayton with the own goal brought a few laughs, but the damage was done. 8-2.

An absolute disaster for Risca United then. However they’re a very young squad who can hopefully put this one behind them.

Abertillery sit atop the Ardal South East, and with more performances like that will be back up in the Cymru South next season.