Rusty Saints take till second half to find their form - Penarth Saints 6 The Knap 2 (From Penarth Times)

Rusty Saints take till second half to find their form - Penarth Saints 6 The Knap 2

SAINTS" first game for three weeks saw them back to winning ways, but also back to their Jekyll and Hyde routine - twice going behind before putting on a show for the last 20 minutes.

Rusty would be a polite way of putting it, but whatever it was, they just weren"t at the races for the first half hour, lacking any cohesion.

That Knap took advantage of this was not a surprise: that they only got one goal in the opening period was.

What a sloppy goal, too, with the ball played across the penalty area, which the Knap forward won and slammed home.

Even this didn"t wake Saints up, the Knap having another clear chance before Saints finally roused and scored from their first attempt.

The ball was worked down the right between Damien and Ben, for Damien to put a pinpoint cross into the box, which Murray headed home, much to the annoyance of the visiting back four.

Next, the ball was laid off to Jim in the middle, who struck the ball perfectly, only to see the Knap keeper pull off an outstanding save to tip it round the post.

At least Saints were playing now, but once again a slow start could have cost them dearly and 1-1 at the break was a fair reflection.

The second half followed the same pattern as the first, with the visitors the first off the mark when their striker found himself alone on the edge of the box and made no mistake.

This seemed to rouse Saints from their slumber, at last, and a good move saw Ginger Johnny burst into the box and draw the foul, allowing Wayne to add to his tally from the spot.

Pembo then gained his side the lead with a well-taken strike, before Wayne got his second when the ball was crossed in from the left and he volleyed home from close range.

Damien then got to a cross first and made it five, three of them in quick succession as Saints began to dominate and the visitors began to crumble after making Saints work hard for an hour.

Little Johnny came on with 20 minutes to go and showed what a prospect he is for next year, showing some fine touches and having a shot, before Jeffo and Ginger Johnny made way for Brett and Lee, who held the fort for the last ten minutes.

Pembo got another from just inside the box.

Saints could have thrown this one away, but showed great resilience to come back twice and they will need to show it again to keep up their fine run, which has seen them win five and lose just one in their last seven games.