JD Cymru South round-up | Llanelli Town crowned champions despite draw

Llanelli Town were crowned JD Cymru South champions despite being held to a 1-1 draw away at Cambrian United on Friday night. 

The Reds knew that the title would be theirs if they matched or bettered Trethomas Bluebirds’ result at Afan Lido, but found themselves behind after 21 minutes as Cambrian forward Josh Allen haunted his former club by coolly slotting past Scott Coughlan. 

Yet there was good news to come from the Marston’s Stadium as Jon Hood bundled home from close range to give Lido the lead three minutes into the second half. 

The Bluebirds could not find an equaliser, with their defeat confirming Llanelli – who had kicked off 15 minutes later – as champions despite the Reds still trailing in the Rhondda. 

Nonetheless, Liam Eason sparked wild celebrations in the 89^th minute as he lashed home a loose ball to equalise after Cambrian failed to deal with a corner – the striker’s 10^th goal in 11 league games since joining Llanelli in January. 

Victory for Afan Lido also confirmed survival for Garry Taylor’s side, who have gone unbeaten in their last six matches to avoid the drop. 

In contrast, Goytre United’s relegation was confirmed after they suffered a 3-0 defeat away at Pontypridd United on Friday. 

Dan Griffiths opened the scoring inside just 12 minutes, before the striker headed home from close range to double the advantage on the hour mark. 

Goytre’s woes increased 15 minutes later as Iwan Batcup was shown a straight red card, before Griffiths completed his hat-trick late on by receiving a pass from Josh Backhouse and firing beyond Luke Jones at the near post. 

It means that Cwmbran Celtic and Penrhiwceiber Rangers will battle it out on the final to avoid being the third team to drop into the third tier. 

Celtic were beaten 2-0 away at Newport City on Friday as the Steelmen claimed their sixth consecutive victory.

Danny Hillman fired the hosts ahead in the 12^th minute with a low drive into the bottom corner from the edge of the area, before teenage substitute Mckenzie Thompson – who had only been on the pitch for two minutes – sealed the win in the closing stages as he met Harvey Sing’s cross at the back post and headed home from close range. 

Penrhiwceiber Rangers moved level on points with Celtic following a 1-1 draw at home against Ammanford on Saturday. 

Rangers found a crucial breakthrough on 55 minutes when Harvey Hughes was fouled in the box and captain Warren Jones calmly converted from the penalty spot. 

Victory would have taken Dean Brown’s side out of the bottom three, but Ammanford levelled the contest with 15 minutes remaining as Adam John’s cross-turned-shot outwitted everyone including Rangers goalkeeper Clint Forbes. 

Rangers will start the final day in the relegation zone as they travel to Carmarthen Town, but only by virtue of having a three worse goal difference than Celtic who host Llantwit Major. 

Two late goals earned a 2-0 win for Trefelin over already-relegated Taffs Well at Ynys Park on Friday night. 

The match remained goalless for 84 minutes, but a moment of magic from Callum Saunders put Trefelin in front as the substitute found the bottom corner with a superb free-kick from the edge of the area. 

Tref captain Jordan Davies then sealed the three points with his strike in stoppage time, as Andy Hill’s side remain third in the table ahead of their trip to champions Llanelli on the final day. 

Llantwit Major ended their three-match losing streak as Ioan Emanuel’s stunning strike secured a 1-0 win over Caerau Ely on Saturday. 

The decisive moment came three minutes before half-time as Emanuel scored his seventh goal of the season, while legendary Llantwit goalkeeper Jack Lansdown kept a clean sheet in his final home game for the club to see out the victory. 

Three points saw Major climb back into the top half of the table after overtaking Baglan Dragons, who played out a 1-1 draw at home against Carmarthen Town on Saturday. 

Toby Jones put Carmarthen in front after just 11 minutes as he headed home from Morgan Weaver’s corner, but Artiom Legavec equalised midway through the second half as the Dragons made it six matches unbeaten at Evans Bevans Playing Fields. 

JD Cymru South Weekend results in full:

Afan Lido 1-0 Trethomas Bluebirds
Newport City 2-0 Cwmbran Celtic
Pontypridd United 3-0 Goytre United
Trefelin 2-0 Taffs Well
Cambrian United 1-1 Llanelli Town
Baglan Dragons 1-1 Carmarthen Town
Llantwit Major 1-0 Caerau Ely
Penrhiwceiber Rangers 1-1 Ammanford