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Trethomas Bluebirds were held to a 0-0 draw on the road against Penrhiwceiber Rangers as they fell four points behind league leaders Llanelli Town.

It was a game which, on a different day, the Bluebirds would have walked away with a comfortable win, having missed several golden opportunities.

But it was not to be on Saturday afternoon. However, Trethomas still have three games left in the season to try and catch the pre-season title favourites.

Kick-off

It was a fast start from the visitors, who knew anything less than a win wouldn’t be enough to keep the pressure on Llanelli Town at the top of the Cymru South.

Bluebirds striker Gareth Tedstone looked well up for the battle, and had the first chance of the game when a corner fell to the number nine inside the box. Stretching a bit though, his shot was blocked for another corner.

Corners quickly became a theme of the first-half; Lee Baldock’s delivery, almost without fail from the left and right, was bang on – yet the ball never found the back of the Ceiber net.

For the hosts, they looked determined to get the ball out wide to Joseph Jenkins who was a bright spark throughout.

Still though, it was Trethomas on top, Baldock again asking questions with dangerous crosses. Fellow defender David Vincent had a couple of close efforts with his head, but none good enough to beat Clint Forbes in goal.

A rare chance in open play fell to Thomas Gameson following a well-timed run down the middle. He was ushered wide by the defender though who managed to block behind for yet another corner.

This resulted in probably the best chance of the half when winger Jack Jones leapt highest as one of the shortest on the pitch and flicked an effort towards the top corner.

It looked in from a certain angle, but somehow a defender managed to get across and hook the ball off the line.

The pressure was pretty relentless from the Bluebirds, with the likes of Vincent and Andrew Evans free to head and clear the ball back down the pitch.

A few minutes before the break and looking to capitalise on their dominance, there was yet another mad scramble in the box after a corner; Tedstone with the eventual lunge goal bound, but once more it was cleared off the line.

Head in hands stuff from the coaches and players who couldn’t quite believe they were entering half-time still level.

Second-half

Picking up where they left off, Trethomas were on the front foot instantly, starting with a James Young strike from the edge of the box, which thundered into the woodwork.

Before the frame of the goal stopped shaking, Ethan Edwards was past two defenders down the left and driving into the box. Another great tackle prevented the speedster from getting a shot off.

The first moment of anguish for the visitors came at around the 50th minute when a bobbling ball back to keeper Harry Irving took an awkward bounce under last season’s golden glove winner. It was eventually cleared, but it was a rare moment of panic.

It did seem to result in a bit of a lull across the Bluebirds lineup however. Still early in the second-half but the visitors looked short of ideas and panicky with the ball.

Looking to shake things up, manager Mark Dunford brought recent recruit Joseph Gibson on to add an attacking element.

He had an instant impact off the bench after feeding a lovely ball through to Tedstone, who finished clinically only for the celebrations to be cut short via the linesman’s flag. It looked a very close call.

Still reeling from the offside perhaps, the Bluebirds were almost picking one out of their own net after Jenkins was through down the middle.

He opted for pure power and blasted it at Irving, who got a strong left hand to it to keep the visitors in the match.

Hoping to recompose themselves, young fullback Harvey Selway produced a moment of class when his ball from the right was beautifully curled to find the head of Gibson. Like every effort before it though, it didn’t find the net.

The game was starting to become uncomfortably open as far as Trethomas were concerned. Owen Orford found himself in space down the left before sliding a nice pass inside to Harvey Hughes.

Vincent did just enough to put off Hughes, whose shot fizzled wide.

You could sense the Bluebirds players had stopped believing they could win the game even with a few minutes to go. Probably more exhausted than anything, but everything was quite flat and laboured given the circumstances.

They were lucky to get away with only a point in the end. Irving once more keeping them in the tie – and potentially the title race – when Jenkins was away on the counter with just the Bluebirds number one to beat.

Making himself big, Irving did brilliantly to keep the ball out and the game at 0-0.

Reaction

After the game, Caerphilly Observer spoke to Trethomas Bluebirds manager Mark Dunford. He said: “I thought we played a really decent game, especially first-half.

“I thought that opening 45 minutes was one of our best this season and to not score after all those chances was frustrating, but that’s football sometimes. Away from home especially you might need that bit of luck to fall to you, but it didn’t quite come for us.”

Asked about the second-half, Dunford said: “We asked for the boys to replicate the first and not panic but we probably swayed away from that a bit; making poor decisions here and there.

“That’s probably the biggest negative, but then I think we were maybe robbed of a goal with Tedstone, but you’ve still got to be better in that second period.”

On the message to the team with just three games left in the season, Dunford added: “It’s mathematically still possible, we’ve got nine points to play for and our job is to go and get them all.

“It’ll be really sad if we as a unit don’t pick ourselves up and achieve that and see where it takes us.”

Trethomas Bluebirds will be hoping to pick up three of those nine points at home to Cambrian United on Friday March 28.