By Tom Young
MERTHYR and Beaconsfield had to settle for a share of the points as the sides played out a 0-0 draw on a windy afternoon in South Wales.
The visitors came into the game sitting second bottom of the Southern League Premier Division South but they were full of confidence having picked up a first league win in eight with a 1-0 victory at Poole last time out.
Goals had been the issue for the Martyrs as of late, as they came into the game on the back of consecutive goalless draws at Wimborne and Blackfield and Langley.
Having won the coin toss pre-match, the visitors opted to swap ends ahead of kick-off due to the strong winds circling from left to right, and that decision almost paid dividends after just ten minutes.
A routine clearance from Methyr keeper Alexander Harris got caught in the wind, failing to find it’s intended target and instead falling to the feet of Beaconsfield’s Louis Stead. He fired a low effort towards goal from the edge of the box which beat the keeper, but thankfully for the Martyrs, the post came to the rescue.
The woodwork was proving to be the saviour for both sides early in the contest, as Merthyr struck the crossbar five minutes later. Jack Williams did exceptionally well to hold the ball up in the area and lay off for the onrushing Eliot Richards. He opted for power over placement and saw a fierce effort cannon back of the underside of the bar as the visitors survived.
Moments later the hosts had the ball in the back of the net. Again some fine work from Williams down the left hand side as he fired the ball across the face of the six yard box to Owain Jones. He had the simple task of knocking the ball into the empty net, however the assistant’s flag was raised for offside.
The difficult playing condition’s meant that neither side could gain any real momentum as the first half wore on, although Ian Traylor did have a half chance just before the half-time whilst, but his effort was dragged wide of the goal.
The second half started as the first had ended, with both sides limited to shots from distance as the game turned into a physical, cagey affair.
Some excellent defending from Merthyr loanee Ismail Yakubu helped to keep the scores level just past the hour mark. It was on the back of some great work down the right from Beaconsfield’s Charlie Losasso who looked to pick out James Ewington at the back post, but Yakubu was on hand to turn the ball over the crossbar and deny what would’ve been a certain goal.
The intensity picked up in the last 20 minutes as Merthyr threw everything at the visitors in search of the opener and they thought they had grabbed the opener on the 77th minute mark, but were denied by an incredible save from Myles Bowman.
A corner from the right hand side was only half cleared by the visitors, with the second ball in being met by the head of Jarrad Wright. It looked to be heading for the top right hand corner but Bowan was equal to it, sticking out a big left hand to turn the ball over the bar.
With the full time whistle fast approaching, Merthyr continued to press and almost scored a goal of the season contender five minutes from time. With the wind behind him, Jamie Veale opted from an audacious effort from the halfway line, which had Bowan beaten but flew inches over the crossbar.
There proved to be no late drama at Penydarren Park as referee Jack Clench blew for full time to consign Merthyr to a third consecutive stalemate.