A frosty saturday afternoon was luckily accompanied by blue skies as Carmarthen faced top 4 rivals Cardiff Met this week. With the sun shining down, the pitch was sufficiently thawed during the day for play to go ahead.
Carmarthen drew first blood when their high press yielded free possession in the D, with a rebound falling into the lap of striker Tom Ferguson, who duly opened his account.
Carmarthen kept their foot on the accelerator, with their front 3 interplay yielding a goal for forward Jonti Merry, doubling Carmarthen’s lead with a silky placed shot.
Cardiff enjoyed spells of possession, with their forays into the opposition D yielding fruit, and despite some wonder tackles from veteran centre back Dave Ferguson, Carmarthen were reduced to 10 men for 2 minutes for a foul too many in their own 25.
Despite this, Carmarthen steadied the ship and added a 2nd goal for Ferguson, who’s placed shot could not be saved by the keeper who had been dragged out of position.
The centre midfield combination of Ollie Shaw and Duncan Ecclestone consistently had the ascendancy and served quality possession to their attacking players.
The marauding runs of wingers Cai Morgan, Josh Gwynne, boosted by a rotating Ryan Carvey, proved too much for Cardiff met, and their deep runs opened up space for the forwards to operate.
Ferguson’s hat trick was assured by half time as he found himself one on one with the keeper, and fired off a vicious strike to find the back of the net.
Carmarthen entered the break 5-0 to the good. Manager Doug Shaw warned the team of complacency, and urged them to remain clinical.
The team clearly took his words on board, and controlled the tempo from the offset. The back 3 of Russell Horsey, Lee Richardson and league debutant James Culf, handled possession well and built up play from back.
Cardiff met continued to press, and Carmarthen found themselves reduced to 10 men once again following a 2nd green card for a desperate tackle. Cardiff produced their best chance of the game in this period, but keeper Lee Jones answered the call and kept the clean sheet intact.
Ferguson added his 4th, equalling the team record for goals in a single game, once again firing off a thunderous shot to the keeper’s dismay.
Carmarthen continued to find chance after chance, with captain Osian Evans coming agonisingly close on several occasion, in what was surely a frustrating day at the office. Young prospect Josh Palmer also found himself centimetres away from converting on the back post on two occasions, thanks to his incredible positional play.
As the game came to an end Carmarthen found one final flourish as the forward triumvirate linked once more for Merry to secure a hat trick of his own.
The game ended 7-0 in Carmarthen’s favour, as they respond emphatically after a difficult two weeks of away fixtures. They now challenge Bridgend 3 next week as they look to build on a truly complete performance.
Man of the match: Tom Ferguson for a virtuoso performance in front of goal
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