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Despite suffering a 4-2 defeat on the final day of the season, Trethomas Bluebirds were all smiles having already secured the Ardal South East league title.

The hosts were greeted warmly by the fans and opposition, who clapped Trethomas onto the pitch with a guard of honour.

There were no niceties once the whistle went however in what turned out to be a ferocious 90 minutes – with Newport desperate to secure the one point they needed to clinch a playoff spot.

The Bluebirds scored first at the Centre for Sporting Excellence, Ystrad Mynach, through Levi Rees who had his eyes on the golden boot, before Cole Jarvis equalised.

Calum Bateman put Newport 2-1 to the good before half-time only for Rees to draw Trethomas level from the penalty spot.

Newport continued to push however, with goals from Kofi Rowe and Tyrrell Webbe securing a vital three points for the Steelmen on Tuesday May 14.

Kick-off

It was a fast and aggressive start from both sides. Although champions Trethomas Bluebirds wrapped the league-up with a 3-0 win over Treowen a week prior, they still wanted to finish on a high.

The visitors looked keen to prove a point though and were at it early. William Bevan was hit hard by Frederick Stevens after just two minutes played. He entered the book – a sign of things to come.

Striker Gareth Tedstone was out of the squad for the Bluebirds, meaning Jack Jones started down the right and had an instant impact.

After skipping past a defender and drawing a foul on the right of the box, Lee Baldock crossed a lovely ball to the back post where Levi Rees was poised to score his 27th league goal of the season.

Opening his left foot up, the forward volleyed his effort into the far corner to put him a goal in front of Blaenavon’s Chris Ham in the race for the golden boot.

Newport almost answered straight back as Robert Atkinson smashed one onto the underside of the crossbar. It bounced safe though.

Trethomas were not so fortunate next time Newport threatened however. A corner swung into the near post was fumbled in with Cole Jarvis the one celebrating.

Bluebirds manager Mark Dunford was furious with the marking in the box, a sign that the standards which had been instilled all season long were still there even now.

There was still a great pace to the game after 20 minutes or so, with both sides offering bags of quality on the ball.

The next big chance fell to Levi Rees who was about to strike in front of goal before a superb Riccardo Mackenzie last-ditch tackle stopped the shot.

Down the other end, it was goalkeeper Harry Irving who was looking to secure the golden glove in action.

After Stevens somehow broke free down the left, Irving was out quick and timed his tackle perfectly to stop any chance developing.

It was real end-to-end stuff now. Jones played a sublime ball through the middle perfectly weighted to the feet of Rees, who looked a certainty to score. Goalkeeper Cohen Riella got out quickly though to stifle his effort.

After 35 minutes played referee Paul Wiseman had already brandished four yellow cards, which said a lot about the mentality of the players who were competitive until the end.

As was the standard, the first real mistake of the game led to a Newport City goal shortly before half-time.

A cross down the left was fired into the middle where keeper Irving shouted to claim. There seemed to be a bit of confusion between him and one of his defenders though and the ball ended up dropping to the feet of Calum Bateman, who smashed it into an empty net.

The chances were still coming thick and fast for the Bluebirds though. Up the other end, there was a rare poor decision from Rees when cutting into the box on his favoured left foot.

With the goal at his mercy, the forward opted to try and square it to winger Ethan Edwards. The ball was behind him though and it had to go down as another chance missed.

Edwards might have had a chance himself if not for the whistle of Wiseman. A ball over the top on the stroke of half-time, Edwards was away in acres of space.

Wiseman blew to end play to the outrage of Trethomas, who argued that was a clear attacking opportunity.

Second-half

Edwards had the first chance of the half, cutting inside on his left past a few defenders. His shot was well over though.

Injuries and stoppages were really slowing the game down in favour of Newport, who were enjoying feeding off Trethomas’ frustration.

It still wasn’t quite clicking for the hosts, who on a different day might have scored four or five. This time midfielder Thomas Gameson had a chance to play Rees through but couldn’t find the pass.

There was a great move down the left involving Gameson a few moments later though. Some neat passes eventually led to a cross into Rees who was about to strike before captain Louis Caramella-Gerrard made a crucial block.

Substitute Kofi Rowe looked lively for the Steelmen after coming on. He showed some some nice footwork before firing over the bar at around the hour mark.

It was the champions who struck next however, Ethan Edwards using his pace to slow a man down before bursting past him, this time drawing a foul in the box.

The referee pointed straight to the spot and Rees stepped-up to send the keeper the wrong way and move two goals clear of Chris Ham.

The energy on and around the pitch flipped completely. It was now the Bluebirds enjoying themselves and pushing for the potentially decisive third.

Rees almost had a hattrick after Edwards was away down the right once more. His ball inside was flicked-on by Gameson to Rees who at full stretch managed to get a shot off. Just wide on this occasion.

Newport soon punished the missed chances through a lovely finish by Rowe on the edge of the area. Wrapping his body awkwardly to meet the cross, he caught the volley flush and found the far corner past Irving to make it 3-2.

The game got a bit ugly following that goal. Captain Gwion Pugh-Jones entered the field but for all of four minutes before he saw red after flying into a tackle which led to the fourth Newport goal.

A cross to the back post was met by Tyrrell Webbe who put the ball back in the box before it was deflected in. Webbe claimed it and celebrated in style with a couple of back flips.

That was enough for Newport, who absorbed the remaining Trethomas pressure well and celebrated the three points which gives them a crack at promotion via a playoff game.

For the Bluebirds, the loss did little to dampen the mood, as they unveiled the Ardal South East trophy once more and celebrated on the pitch long after the final whistle.