Goytre - 3

Croesy - 3

FORMER Croesyceiliog player Mark Jones dealt a bitter blow to his old club last Saturday after scoring two cracking goals in the space of ten minutes during his Plough Road debut.

In the last of Goytre's pre-season friendlies, Jones was joined on the park by fellow new signing and ex-Croesy player Carl Evans in what was a solid all-round performance against a Welsh League Division One outfit.

This latest 3-3 draw is another positive result for Goytre in what has been an encouraging string of friendlies as they head into their sixth consecutive outing in Welsh League Division Three.

Club chairman Paul Greenhalgh told the Chronicle, "To date our pre-season encounters have seen us record a 4-1 win over Caldicot Town and a 2-0 victory over Cwmbach Royal Stars.

"We lost 4-1 to Neath, but to be fair they are a premier outfit made up of semi-professional footballers, so the fixture in itself was a good learning curve for us."

Alongside Jones and former Thursdays manager Carl Evans, Goytre have also strengthened their hand for the coming season with the addition of Matthew Cameron from Pontnewynydd United, Lee Grimes from Cwmffrwdoer and Fairfield United goalkeeper Gareth Williams.

Andy Walsh also returns to the fold after a spell with Pilcs, and has already heralded his comeback with an impressive four goals in two games.

Greenhalgh said, "Obviously with the new arrivals on board we hope to make more of a dent in the division this time around. Saying that, this division is one of the hardest to get out of. It's one where the bottom team can beat the top at any time of the season and vice versa.

"For example, last season we were sitting in sixth place in February, and then for eight games on a trot we didn't pick up one single point and just plummeted.

"It's very much a case of swings and roundabouts, and you always need the little extra bit of luck that the fall of the ball and the rub of the green can sometimes give, if you are hoping to make a proper impact."

On Saturday, after a 20 minute deadlock, it was Mark Jones who broke the ceasefire with a quicksilver brace. However, Goytre's lead was short-lived after Croesy bounced back with two goals of their own before the stroke of half-time.

The second-half was only minutes old when Lee Waddon should have put Goytre back on the front foot. Unfortunately, his unchallenged header from a Kevin Wallace free-kick went wide of the goal.

It was substitute Adam Roberts who eventually reclaimed the lead for Goytre, when poor marking by the visitors allowed him a free header which he dispatched into the net as the Croesy keeper made a desperate dive.

However, Croesy equalised almost immediately after Goytre conceded a penalty, which was ruthlessly fired into the back of the net, giving keeper Gareth Williams no chance.

With a draw looking like the only outcome for both sides, Goytre's were gifted a golden opportunity to claim a Division One scalp when Phil Melville was upended in the box by the Croesy keeper.

Looking for his hat-trick, Mark Jones stepped up to the plate, but a superb save by Croesy keeper John Bradley redeemed his earlier foul and saved the day for his club.

Greenhalgh added, "Overall the club is in very good health at the moment. Performances have been pleasing and spirits are high.

"We've fortified our first team, strengthened our Gwent Central side by taking on 15 of Cwmbran Town's disbanded reserves, and we've also founded a new under-18 side.

"It's involved a lot of hard work at the club in terms of securing sponsorship for the new strips and organising the training sessions, but it's a long-term strategy. The youngsters we've got coming through now will hopefully be playing for the first team in years to come, so we see it in terms of sowing the seeds of future success."

This Saturday Goytre will battle it out with a newly-promoted Newport Civil Service in the FAW Welsh Cup.

This will be a testing encounter for Goytre, as Civil Service will be a team with everything to prove, after finally graduating to Welsh League football after winning the Gwent County League outright for the last couple of years.

Goytre on the other hand will be looking for an impressive start to what could be their most successful season to date.