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Trethomas Bluebirds extended their win streak to five and moved to the top of the table after a 2-0 victory over Tredegar Town at the Centre for Sporting Excellence on August 23.
The game kicked-off with the sun still shining on a Wednesday evening, and it wasn’t long before Trethomas striker Gareth Tedstone opened the scoring for the hosts. Tedstone grabbed his second just before the half and the Bluebirds closed the game out as comfortable winners, moving them to top spot in the Ardal South East on goal difference over Goytre.
Kick-off
The Bluebirds are typically fast starters, but it was the visitors who had the first chance of the game.
Owen Thomas turned his man and drove to the byline before whipping in a perfect ball to the feet of Jack Jones. Jones had the goal at his mercy but volleyed wide. A huge opportunity missed so early on.
Tredegar were fast and physical from the outset. They pushed high up the field onto the Trethomas backline, who were under some initial pressure.
The hosts delt with it comfortably however. Fullback Ryan Bolter tucked inside as the extra man in midfield and was an outlet for the rest of the defence all night.
It didn’t take long for the Bluebirds to engineer their first chance. Lee Baldock with a chipped ball into the left hand side of the Tredegar box found the chest of an inform Gareth Tedstone.
Tedstone used his size and strength to roll the defender and fire up and over the onrushing Tredegar keeper. That was Tedstone’s fifth goal of the season as he put his side 1-0 up inside 15 minutes.
Far from breaking the visitors’ spirit however, they continued to try and win the ball high up the field.
Trethomas didn’t look phased, a ping into the feet of midfielder Charlie Loss was held up superbly under pressure with a cross eventually finding Tedstone once again.
The 31-year-old glanced a volley that needed saving, leading to a corner. A great example of the versatility of this Bluebirds outfit.
From the corner nearly came the second goal of the evening. A header clear found Thomas Gameson on the edge of the area who had time to set himself and shoot. His effort thundered against the inside of the post but didn’t cross the line.
The Bluebirds were in full control now. Everyone was finding pockets of space and being allowed to turn, it felt as though the second was inevitable.
Equally as inevitable was Tedstone grabbing his brace. This time a ball was slipped in wide left of the Tredegar box, heading away from goal.
Somehow, Tedstone managed to round keeper Andrew Hargreaves and slot home from the most acute of angles. A great finish from a man who can do no wrong at the moment.
The half-time whistle blew with Trethomas looking good to maintain their 100% record this season.
Second-half
If there was one glaring problem that needed addressing by the visitors it was the amount of time Bolter had to turn out of midfield.
This continued to go unnoticed however and he chipped another lovely ball over the Tredegar backline that eventually came to Levi Rees. Rees had more time than he thought when he slashed at a half volley that went wide right.
A few moments later and there were shouts for a red card when Loss lunged into a tackle and went through his man. Referee Joseph Gibson instead gave him a good talking to before showing a yellow.
The Trethomas front three were relentless with an hour played, Rees especially was pressing with intent, as well as chasing every hopeful ball into the channel with ferocious speed.
Thomas remained the greatest threat for Tredegar, he looked tricky again down the right, getting a shot away that began a spell of possession for the visitors.
A series of no less than ten corners/freekicks from Tredegar put the pressure on Trethomas at a pivotal time in the match. A goal here could have changed the mood completely.
There was no chance of that happening however, the Bluebirds’ sheer size and physicality meant they won every header and cleared every cross.
After managing that tricky spell, substitute Alex Newman-Jones had the chance to kill the game with only a few minutes left but his shot was saved from close range.
Trethomas killed the clock for the final few minutes in what was a very accomplished performance from the hosts. Perhaps they could have scored a couple more but they never looked in any real danger of conceding.
For Tredegar, they can take a lot away from the match. They looked tough and defended well against a side who are flying. Their press was well organised and on another day could have led to goals.
Post-match reaction
Despite the victory, Trethomas Bluebirds manager Mark Dunford was far from impressed with his side’s performance. He said: “I thought that was one of our poorer performances to be honest. We kept a clean sheet and won so that’s something, but I didn’t think we were great tonight in many aspects.
“We didn’t create as many chances as we usually do and when we did our decision making was poor in the final third.
“I also have to give a lot of credit to Tredegar tonight who I thought were excellent and gave us a lot of problems to solve.”
Still “delighted” with the win however, Dunford commented on the Bluebirds’ perfect start this season: “It’s a really impressive start, a lot better than last season both performance and results wise. Overall I’m over the moon with how we’ve begun.”
Trethomas’s next game will be a league-cup fixture away to Abercarn United on Saturday September 2.
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