The Cymru Premiership is already wrapped up, The New Saints have won it all once again but that doesn’t mean that all the excitement is over. In the Championship Playoff group there are still much coveted European spots up for grabs. Cardiff Metropolitan University FC versus Penybont FC saw two of the teams competing for a place in Europe next season.
The game was on Friday evening, the perfect setting for a fiery game of football. Cardiff Met hosted Penybont at their Cyncoed campus, a smart ground integrated within one of the University’s campuses. Admittedly I arrived a minute or two after kick-off but I was met with a long line of people waiting to go through the turnstile. A better turnout than I expected even for this relatively local matchup. The Penybont fans were in fine voice all match- congregating in one of the corners of the ground- their drum sporadically beat out the odd chant here or there. The Met fans in attendance, although larger in number, were expectedly quieter.
Yet they did have something to cheer about. The first half was strongly contested although little of substance was ultimately created. In injury time of the first half Cardiff Met broke the deadlock, Lewis Rees managed to poke the ball home after a scramble in the goalmouth.
Before some had even taken their seats for the second half Met found another. Just thirty seconds into the half Harry Owen found the back of the net after a save from ‘Bont keeper Kelland Absalom. Penybont looked a bit stunned. Two quick goals either side of the half put Cardiff Met in a comfortable position despite the hard work Penybont had done.
But Penybont struck back, through what can only be called a stroke of individual brilliance. On 64 minutes Nathan Wood picked the ball up less than ten yards away from his own penalty area. The midfielder then skipped past two defenders, shrugging off one and hopping over the other’s flailing leg. Making his way down the middle of the pitch Wood shrugged off two more defenders, evading a tackle from behind for the second time. Nathan Wood found himself one-on-one with the Met keeper and cooly slotted the ball home to make one of the best goals I’ve seen this season and certainly a contender for goal of the season in the Cymru Premiership.
The team from Bridgend found their equaliser in the 72nd minute, Ryan Reynolds fired a low, powerful shot from the edge of the box. As the ball flew between legs the Met ‘keeper was unable to latch onto it and it crossed the line. Celebrations were raucous from the Penybont fans but a bit more muted from the players- you could see it in their eyes they wanted a winner. You could smell another goal in the air- feel it in the ferocity that Penybont played.
And a winner they got. Just 7 minutes after their equaliser Lewis Harling rose higher than all the rest and was able to head it home at the back post from a cross by Keyon Reffell. This time the celebrations were worthy of such a comeback. Players and coaches alike pumped their fists, savouring the moment.
The standout player on the day was not Nathan Wood with his incredible, gut-busting goal but Penybont’s skipper Kane Owen. As always, Owen was fantastic. The captain was composed even when two goals down and kept his cool when they were ahead, urging his teammates to be the same. His ball playing was superb, as good as anyone else in the league would have to offer and his vision was unmatched.
Penybont had real determination to come back and win the game, lesser sides’ heads would have dropped at two-nil but not the ‘Bont. They fought harder than the students who dropped off in pressure when they got their two goal cushion and never really adapted when things weren’t going their way. For Cardiff Met this loss widens the gap between themselves and third place. This win means Penybont are now 12 unbeaten in the league as they desperately battle for that much coveted European spot. If they keep their fantastic form up, Rhys Griffiths’ men could be able to bring Bridgend one of its finest footballing moments.
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