Llanelli Town lost ground in the race for the JD Cymru South title as they were held to a 1-1 draw away at strugglers Abertillery Bluebirds.
New Bluebirds goalkeeper Brandon Powell saved Sean Cronin’s penalty midway through the first half but he could only parry it straight back into the path of the Llanelli defender, who made no mistake at the second time of asking to put the Reds ahead.
Lee John’s side remained on top for the majority of the second half but the hosts levelled in the 79th minute when Kyle Williams tucked away Chris Mbongompasi’s assist.
It meant that Briton Ferry Llansawel went seven points clear at the top of the table as a result of their 4-1 victory over Pontardawe Town on Friday night.
Alex Gammond opened the scoring for the Reds in first half stoppage time before Tom Walters doubled the lead just after the hour mark.
Tyler Aylward pulled a goal back for Pontardawe from the penalty spot, but a late strike from substitute Jasper Payne and a stoppage time Tyler Brock penalty secured all three points for Ferry.
Jack Lansdown was the hero for Llantwit Major as they claimed back-to-back league victories for the first time this season by defeating Ammanford 1-0 at The Rec.
Tom Tweedy’s strike from the edge of the box gave the Major the lead in the 62nd minute, but Ammanford were presented with the opportunity to equalise when they earned a penalty in stoppage time.
However Lansdown, who returned to Llantwit from Ammanford at the beginning of this month, haunted his former side as he saved Lewis Reed’s spot-kick to secure victory for Ben Stait’s team – a result that could prove crucial in their battle against relegation.
Baglan Dragons ended their four-match losing streak with an impressive 2-0 victory away at fourth-place neighbours Afan Lido.
Two smart finishes in the space of 12 minutes from Tom Davies and Jordan Evans put the Dragons in control in the first half and they held on after the break to condemn Lido to a third defeat in five matches.
The highest-scoring game of the weekend came at Cwrt yr Ala Road as Caerau Ely clinched their first victory of 2024 with a 4-2 win over Cwmbran Celtic.
Jack Turner’s early header for the hosts was cancelled out by Isaac Powell’s remarkable goal directly from a corner midway through the first half as both sides went into the break all square.
The Young Guns then came firing out of the blocks at the beginning of the second half as a Brandon Griffiths netted twice in the space of five minutes to give his side a cushion.
Celtic’s lethal frontman Alex Bonthron was on target once again to half the deficit, but substitute Dan Bowen put any Caerau nerves to bed with his 81st minute strike.
Noah Daley scored the only goal of the game as third-place Carmarthen Town earned a narrow 1-0 win at home against Cambrian & Clydach Vale.
A tight affair was expected prior to kick off, and it was Daley’s 11th goal of the season shortly after the half hour mark that made the difference as the Old Gold extended their unbeaten run in the JD Cymru South to seven matches.
Trefelin picked up three points on the road for the first time since October as goals from Connor Goldsworthy and Dylan Edwards completed a 2-1 comeback victory at Taffs Well, whose nine match unbeaten streak came to an end.
Ben Parry was on target for the Wellmen on 31 minutes, but January signing Goldsworthy drew Trefelin level before 17 year-old substitute Edwards popped up with an 87th-minute winner for the away side, who climb up ninth place following a third win in four matches.
Abergavenny Town earned a hard-fought point as they played out a battling 1-1 draw at home against top half side Goytre United.
Goytre have proved hard to beat of late, but they fell behind in the 18th minute when Pennies captain Joe Cashman netted for the first time since August. It was Rhys Thomas who provided the equaliser for the visitors as he steered the ball home midway through the second half.
JD Cymru South results
Abergavenny Town 1-1 Goytre United
Afan Lido 0-2 Baglan Dragons
Briton Ferry Llansawel 4-1 Pontardawe Town
Caerau Ely 4-2 Cwmbran Celtic
Cambrian & Clydach Vale 0-1 Carmarthen Town
Abertillery Bluebirds 1-1 Llanelli Town
Taffs Well 1-2 Trefelin
Ammanford 0-1 Llantwit Major
