South Wales FA Senior League Division Two

Cogan Coronation 2 Stanleytown 0

COGAN secured their promotion spot last weekend with a comfortable victory over strugglers Stanleytown.

The two sides’ fortunes couldn’t have been more different this season. Cogan are second in the table only to free-scoring champions Cadoxton, while Stanleytown were already consigned to relegation before this game, having won just two and lost 22 so far this season.

Cogan again had to cope with a first half against a strong wind, but their back four coped easily enough against an attack that didn’t have much to offer. It was, though, a second consecutive time that the back four of Curtis Boddy, Stewart Owadally, Joel Lapton and Leigh Bennett put in a very well-organised shift. Stanleytown looked long, to utilise the wind but the shape of the back four meant every attack was cut off either by smart interceptions, or wily offside traps.

Going forward, the strong wind caused problems too. Cogan’s established midfield of Liam Beddard, Gareth Clarke and Haidn Dibble clearly had the better of the visiting midfield when they were able to get on the ball, but the conditions made that more difficult than it normally would be.

Meanwhile, the attacking three of Josh Bell, Gaz Blyth and Gavin Beddard worked hard to create openings but to no avail.

The best chances came from set pieces. Decent efforts by Bell and Gavin Beddard came close. There was some heroic defending as the Stanleytown defence cleared two shots off the line and Gavin Beddard missed one header in front of goal that he would normally ruthlessly put away.

But Clarke was the closest of all to breaking the deadlock. His clever header from a corner was saved well by the Stanleytown ‘keeper, diving to his left.

Cogan’s first half dominance was fragmented, but finally, the deadlock was broken by a scrappy goal that was nonetheless deserved.

Another corner created confusion in the Stanleytown defence, and a flick-on by Blyth was nudged home in unorthodox fashion by Liam Beddard. It wasn’t the prettiest of goals, but was the midfielder’s second in three games and enabled Cogan to relax as the game went on.

At half-time, the hosts deserved their lead, and had kept the visitors at bay in awkward conditions.

Their patience paid off in the second half as the conditions changed to favour them and Dibble and Clarke in particular started showing what they were capable of. Clarke, man of the match here again, was continuing his fine form, finding passes to Blyth, Beddard and Bell that the visiting defence struggled to deal with. Dibble was dictating the pace, receiving and moving the ball cleverly to build pressure going forward.

They were, by now, in total command of the game. Their patient build-up play kept Stanleytown chasing the ball, while Liam Beddard was ensuring that whenever the visitors did manage to get in possession of the ball, it didn’t last long. Dibble and Clarke in particular were ensuring the momentum of the pressure was kept up. While Blyth was putting in another good performance on the flank, creating chances that Cogan really should have capitalised from.

Josh Bell was his usual dangerous self too, taking on players for fun before shooting or looking for a final ball. But Cogan weren’t as clinical as they should have been.

It was, unusually, a game where Gavin Beddard didn’t score, but his work rate was ensuring that the visiting defence couldn’t rest and the spaces began to open up more and more for the wide players.

Blyth continued his persistent pressing of the Stanleytown full backs, but his fine performance was cut short after a string of heavy challenges forced him off and his replacement Jamie Harris made an immediate impact.

He scored with his first touch, but the goal came from a wonderful pass from Clarke. Picking it up at the top of the centre-circle, he neatly chipped the ball between centre-back and right-back into the path of Harris down the right. The backspin on the pass made it even more perfect for Harris’ run, and the substitute finished with a cool, neat chip over the ‘keeper.

It was one of Cogan’s goals of the season, and they celebrated knowing the game was all but over now.

Stanleytown didn’t threaten in the second half and when an injury took them down to 10 men, Cogan just had the job of passing the game out.

Bradley Munn and Jon Matthews came on as the second half wore on to make sure Cogan remained solid – both Beddard’s making way to stay fresh for the remainder of the season.

A few more chances came and went, but there was no urgency to take risks.

A win was what Cogan came for, and that’s what they made sure they left with, ensuring a crucial promotion before the restructuring of the South Wales leagues next season.

They’ll also be happy to get their first clean sheet for a while, and it was well-deserved by Mark Hussey in goal who dealt well with some awkward long balls and shots in the wind.

Cogan’s season comes to a close this Saturday at 2pm, when they face Penrhiwceiber Cons at Cogan Leisure Centre.