AFTER the previous week's disappointment in the Summer Cup semi-final, Penarth went all out to get it out of their system and lay down a marker for the remaining games in the SW Casual Summer League.

There opponents this week were Aberystwyth Exiles FC.

The Wanderers had played them in a friendly back in April and were on the back end of a thrashing so complacency was never going to be a problem. Going into this game, again, with some enforced changes due to injury and unavailability, Penarth soon benefitted from the returning Darren Scanlan to score and settle any nerves. The defence of Gary Ato, Antonio Cersosimo, Mike Kean and Nathan Self were rarely troubled, but when they were goalkeeper Mark Lewis was soon off his line to gather the ball.

Then came a goal avalanche as Martin Chick scored the second, third, fourth and fifth goals.

The Wanderers were on the ascendency and half-time couldn’t come quick enough for the battered Exiles.

Manager, Ronnie Rahman, gave the half-time talk, telling the team to keep focussed and play as they were in the first half. Even though Penarth had lost the previous week he was happy with the way they had played and the first half had proved that all they needed was to be more ruthless in front of goal. This was being carried out perfectly.

The midfield of Mike Roberts, Scott Ato, Nathan Turpitt and Chris Rodd were keeping the Exiles penned in their half and playing a quick, passing game, switching the ball from side to side and stretching the Exiles defence. It wasn’t long befors Scanlan was on the score sheet again with his second and Penarth’s sixth.

Chick then fired in his fifth goal of the game. 7-0! It’s either famine or feast for Chick, the previous week nothing went right, this week nothing was going wrong!

With this cushion, Rahman was able to make a few changes, bringing himself, Cem Aydin and Simon Davies into the game for Ato, Turpitt and Roberts.

The scoring hadn’t stopped and when Scanlan was chopped down he quickly, a bit quicker than Cersosimo, stepped up to plant the penalty firmly past the keeper - 8-0!

The final goal of the afternoon was scored by Chick, when he bravely headed in, bravely beating Matt Rowley, the towering Exiles keeper to the ball.

For the final twenty minutes Rahman sent on Alan Robinson, the oldest of old campaigners, to make himself a nuisance up front. Needless to say, there were no more goals. The final score 9-0 to the Vets!

Credit to the Exiles for keeping going on what was a torrid afternoon for them.

The Wanderers now have two games left, against Thornhill Legends and Cardiff St Pauli, with each team having a say in where the trophy ends up.