Gwent Premier League Premier Division

Monmouth Town FC 8 Sifil AFC 0

THE Kingfishers hit a great eight past 10-man Sifil at the Sports Ground on Saturday, returning to winning ways in the Gwent Premier's top tier after narrow defeat to the league leaders two weeks earlier, reports JAMES TOWNLEY.

Monmouth Town reaction to 8-0 win over Sifil FC

The game started quickly as Josh Maksimovic opened the scoring within seconds of the kick-off in his first game back from injury – an immediate statement goal from the No 9.

Josh Maksimovic, centre, celebrates scoring in 17 seconds
Josh Maksimovic, centre, celebrates scoring in 17 seconds. Photo: James Townley (James Townley)

The hosts kept the pressure going and Town created promising chances before being rewarded with a second goal on the half-hour as skipper Ashley Ford placed a deflected pass into the bottom corner of Sifil’s net.

And Monmouth got their third almost straight away, Ford again the scorer getting on the end of a corner delivered by Dan MacDonald.

Monmouth create another goal scoring opportunity
Monmouth create another goal scoring opportunity. Photo: James Townley (James Townley)

Sifil skipper Wayne Roberts was then sent off as a result of his over-the-top reaction to the goal.

And it went from bad to worse for the visitors, as a great run past the keeper from Maksimovic saw him pull the ball into the danger area, only for Sifil’s Joseph Norman to knock the ball into his own net for the hosts' fourth.

Town then made it five just before the break as MacDonald tackled an opposition defender in the box and struck the ball past the helpless keeper.

A race for the ball in the Monmouth v Sifil game
A race for the ball in the Monmouth v Sifil game. Photo: James Townley (James Townley)

As the half-time whistle went, Monmouth were able to high-five it, leading by that many without reply.

And with another 45 minutes of play, they looked to extend their already impressive lead following the restart.

Sifil held them at bay for 18 minutes, but Monmouth’s sixth arrived when Rob Laurie set up Ford nicely for his hattrick from a corner.

And the skipper then got his fourth 11 minutes from time, playing a nice one-two with MacDonald who put him through for the team's seventh.

A Monmouth player looks to get the attack going
A Monmouth player looks to get the attack going. Photo: James Townley (James Townley)

As the game came to its conclusion, Town scored their final eighth in added time, Jake Lewis finding Jacob Parrella in the box who squared it to Craig Lewis in front of an open goal.

First team manager Jack Alderdice said: “Obviously really happy. Eight nil. Lots of goals... you can't really ask for much more.

"We scored a goal after 17 seconds or something like that, so we obviously started well and as soon as we got a second and third goal, you could see that the confidence from several of them, sort of drained a little bit, followed by the man being sent off.

"So we've made it a little bit of an easier day than we anticipated, but obviously really, really happy with some really good performances."

Defender Callum Uttley added: “I think we limited them to very, very small chances, and they didn't have a lot when we had the ball.

"We obviously had an early send off, which did probably help us and hurt them, but I think team performance-wise, everyone gave a good seven, eight, if not nine out of 10.”

The result leaves Monmouth fifth with up to seven games in hand on three of the teams above.

This Saturday (March 15), Monmouth are again at home as they host Abertillery Excelsiors and with the two sides so close together in the league, it promises to be a good game.

The 2nds, who didn't have a game last weekend, travel to face Caldicot Castle in an East Gwent One second v third clash, whilst the Youth travel to Abergavenny to face their junior side on Sunday.