By Blake Bint
UNIVERSITY of South Wales 1sts completed a fantastic comeback to secure a 5-3 victory over East London 1sts in the BUCS Premier South at the USW Sports Park.
A Rhyse Hudson brace, along with Taylor Marsh’s double and Laurent Ngunjoh’s header helped the hosts come from 3-1 down.
After a 5-0 defeat in last week’s season opener, USW lifted off the bottom of the league and earned their first points of the campaign.
USW made the perfect start to their game, as Hudson broke down the right-hand side to fire past the keeper inside three minutes.
East London equalised on 17 minutes through a smart tiki-taka move around the hosts’ box, which saw Ergest Kraja break through to slot past stand-in keeper Tommy Macron.
The visitors’ lead was doubled when Cavan O’Leary’s attempted clearance from Andrio Bandao’s cross was steered into his own net.
Pic: Leah Bower
East London added a third when Troy Walters got on the scoresheet with an attempt from 25 yards, which found the bottom left-hand corner.
USW responded just two minutes later through Marsh, who played a key role in keeping the side in the BUCS Premier South last season, cutting inside from the left to strike off the underside of the bar and into the back of the net.
Ngunjoh levelled on the brink of half-time, heading home from close range to send the two sides in the interval with the scores at 3-3.
USW began to take control in the second-half, a knocks to key East London players allowed the hosts to retain possession with more ease.
Pic: Leah Bower
The hosts completed the comeback with ten minutes to play, as Hudson doubed his tally for the match, following in a rebound after a great save from goalkeeper Qamil Dervishaj.
Taylor Marsh added a fifth with the last kick of the game, as he beat the offside trap to slot home his second and to ensure the three points.