Penarth Town B beat Island Marine, plus latest Youth team news (From Penarth Times)

Penarth Town B beat Island Marine, plus latest Youth team news

8:10am Thursday 27th September 2012 in Sport

PENARTH TOWN B 4 ISLAND MARINE 2

PENARTH Town Seconds hosted Barry's Island Marine last Saturday in a Vale League Second Division clash.

Penarth started the brighter and the first chance fell to Jack Stansfield after an excellent through ball from Alex Dodds; unfortunately, he was unable to convert.

Town's disappointment did not last long, however, and Liam Parker made a run down the left flank, cut inside and hit home from distance. The centre of the park was well controlled by Callum Reynolds and Kurtis Shapley and this paid off, with Parker put through again and finishing in fine style to double the lead.

Tim Steadman was working well on the other flank, providing a good service to Stansfield and Jez Millard but they were unable to turn any of this possession into further goals.

The back four of Dodds, James Williams, Ross Dennison and Luke Horwood looked solid and Town goalkeeper Josh Todd had little to do. So 2-0 at the break.

Penarth continued to dominate in most areas iiin the second half and, before long, another good ball over the top from Dodds allowed Parker to complete his hat-trick. Penarth made a couple of changes, bringing on Chris Griffin and Nathan Evans, and the former made an immediate impact by breaking from midfield and scoring from close range.

With the score at 4-0 Town seemed to think the game was over and switched off. They paid the price for this and sloppy defending allowed Marine to score two in the last 15 minutes.

Town managed to hang on, however, and took all three points. They will now face St Athan again at home next Saturday.

SUPER CUP DISAPPOINTMENT

EARLIER in the summer Penarth Town were represented by a youth squad in the annual Super Cup at Trelai Park in Cardiff. It is a national tournament and, as such, attracts good quality teams from all over the country.

Penarth played well in the group stages and managed to reach the final of the Challenge Cup where they faced a very strong Grangetown team. Having got that far, they were determined to give it their best shot and made a dream start with a fine solo effort from Paul Jones to take an early lead.

Town seemed to relax a little then and lost concentration, allowing Grangetown to score two quick goals to take the initiative. Penarth responded with another superb display from Jones to level it up at 2-2. Penarth were then awarded a free kick just outside the box, and Llewelyn Kemp stepped up and struck his kick brilliantly into the top corner to regain the lead.

Just when it seemed Town might hold on for the win, disaster struck when Ellis Davey conceded a penalty. Town's keeper Luke Horwood, however, came to the rescue and saved superbly. Full time was fast approaching when Grange netted to take the game to extra time. Horwood was subbed and Davey went in goal.

He looked tired, however, and Grange struck once more just before the end to snatch a 4-3 victory. It was a huge disappointment for the Penarth boys but they had all played well and put on a fine show.

Penarth are running a youth squad again this season and are always on the lookout for new talent; so, if you are between 16 and 18 and fancy a go, come along to training on a Wednesday night at the Old Penarthians at 6.30pm.