COGAN maintain a five point lead at the top of the South Wales Senior League Division Two with a 2-1 win on a blustery day in Tongwynlais.

The men from the Vale dominated for 82 minutes of the match but a late goal for Tongwynlais had the visitors holding on for the last 10 minutes.

This was always going to be a tough fixture and the home team certainly put in a constant stream of brutal challenges, which they continuously got away with.

However, the Cogan men kept from frustration whilst keeping as much discipline as possible and took a deserved lead on the 18th minute mark.

A swift Cogan passing move found top scorer Gavin Beddard who beat a defender in the opposition’s box before firing Cogan into the lead.

The Cogan onslaught that followed lasted until half time with the only answer from Tongwynlais being a string of blatant fouls.

Unfortunately Cogan couldn’t find that cutting edge that would have taken the sting out of their opponents by scoring more goals.

It took until the 70th minute for Cogan to score a second when Jamie Harris belted home after beating two defenders inside his opponents penalty area. But Cogan seemed to lose focus and shape, which allowed Tongwynlais to get more ball possession and launch attacks.

However, a long ball in behind the Cogan defence to a Tongwynlais striker that was clearly stood four or five yards offside wasn’t spotted by the referee and the striker scored to give Cogan a nervy end to the game.

Of course this report is my opinion, but it was one of those days where you could easily end up without all three points despite deserving them after playing some excellent football and having a superb team attitude.

This result shows a team that is strengthening both physically and mentally and was more than equal to the task at hand.

Top scorer and man of the match Gavin Beddard lead the charge and the players responded with strength and honour and refused to be bullied.

Full credit must be given to the high energy work rate, the team spirit and the desire of every single player in the Cogan Coronation squad, it was their will to work for each other that secured an outstanding 2-1 away victory.

Ed Smith was strong and positive in goal, the full backs tireless and the central defenders resolute.

The midfield functioned like an oiled engine with Captain Haidn Dibble putting in a match winning performance at the heart of it, and the strikers were firing on all cylinders.

Others worthy of a mention was the strong performing central defender Stewart Owadally and the energetic central midfield man, Rhys Buckley.

Jonothan Page