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After suffering their first Cymru South defeat of the season last weekend, the Trethomas Bluebirds responded superbly with a 3-2 win over Pontypridd United.

The Bluebirds made the short trip to Treforest on Saturday September 14 to face a Dragons side who’ve struggled for form this season, despite being newly relegated from the Cymru Premier.

The match itself was as comfortable as it could get for the visitors, who were 3-0 to the good after 80 minutes. Some late goals from the hosts made it interesting, but Trethomas were well worth the points in the end.

Kick-off

After a mistake-riddled start in their 4-1 loss to Llanelli Town last weekend, Bluebirds manager Mark Dunford would have wanted to see his side focused and on the front foot from the first whistle.

That’s exactly what he got, within moments were the Bluebirds through on goal and testing former Trethomas keeper Cameron Clarke.

It was winger Ethan Edwards with a strike from a narrow angle down the right, saved well by Clarke who could only palm wide for a corner.

The corner was cleared only as far as Barry Town loanee Callum Huggins on the edge of the area, whose blocked shot found its way through to Edwards bursting into the box.

He took two touches to clear himself of any defenders and slotted the ball away to grab his sixth of the campaign.

What a start then for the Bluebirds. After ten minutes or so played the Dragons had yet to touch the ball other than to tackle or clear.

There were cries of ‘where’s the movement?’ from Jamie Veale as he looked to play a pass out of the defence but was met with constant pressure and seemingly no white shirts.

This was largely down to Huggins and Leon Thomas for the Bluebirds, who pressed with intent and coordination – something clearly drilled into them during training.

Edwards was continuing to cause problems down the wing as he so often does. There was a moment of concern when he needed some treatment to his thigh, but he ran it off.

James Young and Thomas Gameson were looking bang at it in midfield any time Pontypridd did manage to break the press, Young usually the one making the tackles whilst Gameson looked for the forward pass.

He found himself on the end of one down the right, just about managing to squeeze a cross in before the ball went out. It was flicked goal bound by Huggins and forced another save out of Clarke.

The set piece was again cleared short by the Dragons, with corner taker Lee Baldock getting another chance to whip one in.

His high looping ball was difficult to pick-out, but defender and former Pontypridd United player, David Vincent, leapt the highest and thumped his header at Clarke who couldn’t stop it.

Having already suffered two league defeats this season, the Dragons were getting quite ragged out there. Striker Daniel Griffiths was barking at his teammates over a lack of service.

This marked a change in tactics from the hosts, who up until then looked to build from the back and maintain possession in the late summer sun.

Having had no luck doing that, they went old school and opted to find the forwards with balls in behind, often directly from Clarke in goals.

The Bluebirds looked equally comfortable with this. If anything, it suited the likes of Vincent at his towering height to stand there and head balls away.

Half-time approached and the game became quite scrappy and stop start. The Bluebirds were more than happy to see that, as the whistle went without their keeper Harry Irving needing to make a single save.

Second-half

A half-time change for Pontypridd told you what manager Gavin Allen thought about that opening 45 minutes, as Joshua Stephens made way for Ashley Evans.

The switch didn’t do much to change their fortune however. A great ball by Baldock down the left was aimed at Huggins who managed to control it past captain Jarrad Wright and stride towards goal.

With defenders closing, Huggins picked his spot and fired into the near corner expertly to make it 3-0.

There was a risk the game could have got away from the hosts, who had looked resigned to defeat from the first minute in truth.

It nearly got worse for them when Veale ducked a cross he assumed was going to his keeper, only to find Thomas had gambled in behind.

It was a difficult half volley for the Trethomas winger to control despite being in front of goal. Thomas couldn’t get his foot over it and sent his effort over the bar.

More changes from the Dragons did result in a slight uptick in possession. Still not really threatening though, Dunford made a few himself to match the fresh legs.

With around ten minutes to go and still without a shot on target, the hosts were handed a lifeline when a Luke Cummings free kick took a wicked deflection to send Irving the wrong way.

The game still felt won however, there was no sudden burst of energy from Pontypridd, and Trethomas accepted that goal was just unlucky.

However, the game did spark into life when substitute Kallum Thomas went down in front of the benches claiming an elbow to the face.

Referee Benjamin Williams waved it away to the fury of the Trethomas coaching staff who entered a war of words with Evans in particular – the one involved in the incident.

Pontypridd suddenly looked up for it. Quick passes and bursting runs, they threatened every time they had the ball.

Fortunately for the Bluebirds, they only had to hang-on for another couple of minutes.

That felt like an age however after Williams pointed to the spot following a tangle of legs just inside the Trethomas box.

Griffiths stepped-up and finished emphatically into the bottom corner to make it 3-2 with a couple minutes of injury time still remaining.

There were anxious faces in the Trethomas dugout now, who might have been having flashbacks to both Trefelin and Caerau Ely in which they had to settle for draws after conceding late equalisers.

No such heartbreak on this occasion though. The final whistle went and everyone could breathe again.

A superb display then from the Bluebirds with the score line not really doing the performance justice. Those three points mean they maintain their grip at the top of the league.

Reaction

After the game, Caerphilly Observer spoke to Bluebirds assistant manager Adam Raymond. He said: “To come to a former Welsh Premier side who still have a core of top players and control the game for at least 80 minutes shows we can mix it at this level.

“We’ve still got a bit of learning to do to see these games out. The boys managed it though to their credit and it’s a massive win away to a top side.”

Asked how pleased he was to see a response to their recent loss, Raymond said: “We had to have a look at ourselves this week. It was the first time in a long time where we let ourselves down.

“We have a very honest bunch of lads though who reflected and committed to putting things right. You saw that out there today.”

The Bluebirds have an exciting third round Nathaniel MG Cup match on Tuesday night up against Barry Town in Ystrad Mynach. On that one, Raymond said: “They’re giants of Welsh football and it should be another exciting test for the boys.

“They’ll hopefully bring a good crowd in what will be another huge game in recent years for the club.”