Date - 13/10
Venue - Pontymister
Crusaders v Pontymister Conditions - Top Drawer!!

With Last weeks dismal performance put to bed the Crue's travelled the short distance to Pontymister for the Local Derby. With Pontymister 2nd in the league this was always going to be a tough game. Having lost Budgie to injury(unusual I know) and Tanny(away on International Duty with his Italian team) it meant recalls for Chris "The Jinx" Jenkins and Steve "Chicken Man" Prosser. Opting for just 2 Subs the Gaffer decided that Dan "The Hitman" Howls would drop to the Bench after his exploits last week and joining him would be Chicken Man.

The Crues started very well and were causing some problems for the Ponty Midfield and back 4. Knowing that Ponty had some quick lads up top it was no real surprise when Scott "The Chopper" Gilchrist clean took out the Right winger and earn himself a Yellow for his troubles. 2 minutes later the Crues found themselves 1 down, the lads got caught by the speed of the attack and a cross/shot to the far post was tapped in from close range from the Right Winger. He had a big smile on his face when he said "Back on the goal Scoring Trail"!! Was he to be made to eat his words??? He was, as the lads didn't use this goal as an excuse to let their heads go down, they kept playing the neat attractive passing game and it paid off on 25 minutes when a poor clearance from the keeper fell to Jamesey who in turn passed the ball cross field to Mark "The Spark" Hughes who then struck home impressively from 25 yards. The Crues then had most of the ball and were working hard to get it back anytime they lost it. On 35 minutes some neat passing saw Dan "Gonzales" Morris beat the keeper to the ball and lob him from the edge of the box to put the Crues into a 2 - 1 lead! The Pontymister bench were going crazy at this point as they'd expected this game to be a walk in the park and the fact that they were being out played by a team 2nd from bottom, was not going down to well.

At half time the lads came in 2 - 1 up and fully deserved to be in front. Then came the potential turning point in the game, having been down to watch Ynysddu Welfare Crusaders for their 1st half, Club Sec Ian Gilchrist decided to turn up for the 2nd half at Pontymister! Bare in mind we were 2 - 0 up and Flying last week against Abergavenny before he showed his mug and eventually lost the game 8 - 2, the lads were keen on him leaving A.S.A.P. With Gilk Jnr struggling with an injury he was brought off as a precaution (for both injury and the fact he might possibly get sent off)! On came Steve "Chicken Man" Prosser at left back.

The second half started with a Crues in full control, the passing and movement was a joy to watch and many of the Crowd were left wondering which side were 2nd Top and which were 2nd bottom!! We created a good few chances and were working the Ponty Keeper at every opportunity. Then came the usual sucker punch, Stand In Keeper Huw "Bobby Charlton" Moseley came out to clear the ball but only managed to head it to the Ponty Midfielder who shot into the unguarded net from about 25 Yards, Captain Fishcake from the "Birdseye Express" did his best to clear the ball but was not able to stop the scores being levelled at 2-2. I have to say that I've witnessed the Crues fall apart after such instances but not this time, we continued to keep attacking the Ponty goal and a smart piece of play down the right flank saw us get the rub of the green for once and go back in front from a Pontymister O.G. The centre half sliced the ball in a Niblo-Like fashion over the keeper and into the back
of the Net. The travelling support went mental and the game was set for a frantic last 15 minutes! Ponty Management decided to switch formation to a 3-5-2 in a hope to get something from this game! It nearly worked straight away as they started applying alot of pressure on the Crue's Midfield and Defence but the Lads stayed solid and Moseley dealt with everything thrown at him! In the meantime we were still creating chances and could have easily increased our lead but a few eager beavers were not reading the off-side trap to well and we got pulled up for it on more than one occasion. With Borat/Rat/Splinter playing at the back for this game he was out to see if he could beat anyone with his "RRRAAAAA" shouts, much to the amusement of the on-watching crowd! With the 90 minutes played the Ref then added 6 minutes of injury time and with the last kick of the game Left Back "Chicken Man" went on a run and unleashed an unstoppable drive from 30 Yards, which left the keeper
with No chance of saving!! The Ref let Ponty take the re-start but blew straight after to end this game and put a dent in Pontymisters Title ambitions. The Crues came away with a Fully deserved 4-2 win and 3 Points!!

A really Solid, Battling performance from the Crues and the passing game was a pleasure to watch.

Man of the Match - Louty/Splinter/Jinx, these were the pick of the bunch but all the Lads were solid on sat!!
Dummy of the Match - Gilk Jnr, although was solid in Tackles if he hadn't come off he'd have been Sent off!!

Caldicot Castle next week, where the lads will be looking to play the same style of play that earned them the Win at Pontymister. A win would also take us above them in the League!!