Goytre United 1 Monmouth Town 1

A LATE Rob Laurie header, his first of the season, wasn’t quite enough to take all three points from a close encounter in Port Talbot as high flying Goytre United grabbed a last minute equaliser to keep their title hopes on track.  

The Kingfishers travelled looking to continue their improvements having stopped some early season rot and looking much more fluid. Town boss Andrew Smith kept faith with the team who had won the previous game and the prolific Nick Harrhy again put in a shift and on another day might have had a better reward.

Harrhy was bought down in the penalty area but was bizarrely booked for diving and had a goal chalked off for a marginal offside.

Smith was however happy to settle for the draw but rued Monmouth’s late lapse.

“A draw was a fair result in the end but having taken the lead so late a bit of robbery was on the cards.

“They had the better of us for long periods but we’re much more resilient now than we have been and a smash and grab on the road is always nice.”

The reserve team continued their good run of form with a comprehensive 3-0 win away at Bridgend Street in Cardiff. Two goals from Tom Maxted and a penalty from Dean Palmer were enough to take all three points.

Meanwhile, Mitchell Palmer’s under 18’s shared 12 goals at the Sports Ground with Caerleon having led 3-0 at half time, whereas Simon Berry’s high-flying under 19 squad consolidated top place in the Welsh League Youth Division winning by a staggering  16-0 against Risca United. They have a 100% record after four games scoring 31 goals and conceding none.

Town are at home this Saturday in a 2.30pm clash with rivals Taffs Well and will say good-bye to chairman Lee Robson after the match. Robson said “It will be a sad day for me. I’ve lived and breathed the club for over ten years.

“We’ve had some great times and some real success. I’d like to thank everyone who has helped us and me and I’m confident we have the people in the club and around the town to keep the club at the top table for years to come.“