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Trethomas Bluebirds made it seven wins from seven after a comprehensive 6-0 victory over Lliswerry AFC in the Ardal South East.

The Bluebirds welcomed Lliswerry to the Centre for Sporting Excellence on Saturday September 23, knowing a win would put them five points clear of second at the top of the table.

It was a steady start for the hosts, who managed to breakthrough after 20 minutes with a Levi Rees finish.

The visitors would go on to frustrate Trethomas for large spells, but another two from Rees gave him a hat-trick, and further goals from Thomas Gameson, Liam Fawcett, and Adam Raymond, meant a comfortable 6-0 win for the Bluebirds.

Kick-off

After an 11-0 drubbing in this fixture last season, Lliswerry began the match with a clear game plan of not conceding early.

The visitors were happy enough to see Trethomas keep the ball, sitting deep and compact, forcing the hosts out wide.

The Bluebirds took what they could get, playing the ball through Alfie Jones and Ethan Edwards whenever possible down the left channel.

Edwards managed to round his man and cut into the box for the first time after ten minutes. His ball to Tedstone ended in a 50/50 tackle which saw the Bluebirds danger man come off worse and need treatment.

Lliswerry were yet to see much of the ball after 20 minutes, and when trying to play out from the back for the first time, it showed.

A ball into the feet of winger Benjamin Taylor Junior was bullishly intercepted by right-back Ryan Bolter, he fed the ball into midfield before it eventually came to Alex Newman-Jones.

Newman-Jones fired a decent enough effort goalbound which keeper Jack Jarvis made a bit of a meal of, saving with his feet. The ball came to Levi Rees who made no mistake in punishing Jarvis. 1-0 to the hosts.

No team really kicked-on after the goal. Trethomas continued to control the ball without posing much of a threat.

Any half chances for Lliswerry were quickly dealt with by Bluebirds captain Gwion Pugh-Jones, who was a rock at the back for 90 minutes.

Edwards continued to grow into the game down the left. The 20-year-old bagged three assists and two goals against the Newport based side the last time they met.

Tedstone wasn’t looking himself following that tackle earlier in the half. He can often go without the ball for large spells and still manage to score, however he was clearly struggling.

Thomas Gameson was catching the eye for the right reasons. With half-time approaching, he had a decent chance at the near post from a Edwards cross, but his effort went wide.

The half-time whistle blew with the game at a walking pace. Both sides seemed happy enough, but Trethomas knew the all-important second goal would be key to opening up the visitors.

Second-half

The Bluebirds began the restart with their heads still in the dressing room. Some sloppy passing led to a stern reminder from Pugh-Jones that the game wasn’t won.

Tedstone eventually made way for Liam Fawcett after an hour played, with the smaller profile of Fawcett presenting a new challenge to the Lliswerry backline, who had coped well up to this point.

Bluebirds manager Mark Dunford likes his full-backs to tuck inside and create an overload in midfield whenever possible, but it was the threat of Bolter and Jones down the channels that was proving fruitful on this occasion.

Bolter again winning the ball out wide and feeding Gameson before the midfielder sent Edwards on his way down the left.

Edwards cut in at the byline before rounding the move off perfectly, finding the feet of Gameson who fired home to double the hosts lead.

The dam had burst for Lliswerry, after a solid 70 minutes, they were now all over the place.

Immediately from the restart, Trethomas pressed the Lliswerry defence and the visitors eventually surrendered the ball to Rees whose shot from the edge of the box left Jarvis stranded. 3-0 and game over.

The game wasn’t over for the Bluebirds’ attackers, however.

Edwards grabbed his second assist with almost a carbon copy of his first. This time his cross down the left found substitute Fawcett who finished calmly into the bottom left from the penalty spot.

The Lliswerry defence will be having nightmares about Edwards tonight, this time the winger cut inside before being clipped by sub Ashley Sully. The referee pointed to the spot and Rees got his hattrick with a cool finish past the keeper.

The goals kept coming for Trethomas, who were relentless after the second.

Edwards grabbed his hattrick of assists, and the match ball, as he made another bursting run down the left, crossing to striker turned assistant manager, Adam Raymond, at the near post.

The 36-year-old touched the ball past Jarvis neatly to score his third in as many games. 6-0 to the Bluebirds.

Full-time and Trethomas maintain their 100% record this season. It wasn’t as fluent as they would have liked for large parts of the game, but Lliswerry never threatened the Trethomas goal, and for a 20-minute spell the hosts showed everyone why they are now five points clear at the top and the team to beat.

Reaction

After the game, Trethomas Bluebirds manage Mark Dunford spoke to Caerphilly Observer. He said: “I thought we controlled and dominated the game really well, but that second goal was huge.

“We looked after the ball a lot better than our last match which was something I asked for and that we worked on.

“As much as we controlled the game however, anything can happen when you’re only one goal up so the second was crucial.

“Credit to Lliswerry, I thought they worked tremendously hard and kept a good shape up until the second. There are no easy games in this league, and I think the standard is higher than it was last season.”

Dunford went on to say how how his side looked “brilliant” and a “joy to watch” after the second went in.

Asked about Ethan Edwards’ performance, Dunford said: “He caused them problems home and away last season. I think they defended wide against him and he found joy in the space.

“His decision making and delivery in and around the box was great and he’s difficult to stop once he gets going.”

On Gareth Tedstone’s potential injury concerns, Dunford said the striker twisted his knee but should be okay. He also said how impressed he was with Liam Fawcett after coming on.