Gwent Premier Division 2

Machen 3 Mardy AFC 0

WHILE games being called off are usually a source of disappointment, for Mardy AFC at the weekend it was actually a source of relief.

Two fixtures had been scheduled originally, with the first team facing arguably their longest trip of the season, with an away game against top half Machen near Caerphilly in a Gwent Premier One fixture.

The Development Team also had a tough away fixture against Gwent Central One high-flyers Glascoed at their Llanarth pitch.

Nevertheless, despite the unavailability of several players, the club were able to select two full squads earlier in the week, and looked forward to two competitive fixtures.

Unfortunately, as Saturday hoved in to view, the usual problem of players dropping out began to take its toll, to the extent, that by match-day morning, the situation looked grim, with the first team down to only 11 fit players from an original squad of 16 and a long, hard afternoon in prospect.

Fortunately, the situation was then alleviated by the news mid-morning that Glascoed's Llanarth village hall pitch had failed an inspection, meaning that five Development players were available to be called up to complete the squad.

With the rejigged team, Mardy found it difficult to settle into any sort of rhythm however, but were only a goal down at the interval, scored by Noa Barry after 16 minutes, and still very much in the game.

They continued to compete after the break but without making too much impact on Machen before conceding a second just after the hour mark, Sam Williams put in by Dean Cometson.

But a respectable 2-0 reverse given the challenging lead up was rather harshly made worse when the hosts scored a third in the fourth minute of added time through Cai Morton, leaving Mardy 13th.

But, looking for a positive, with the game at least having gone ahead, a rearranged mid-week trip later in the season has been avoided.

Whilst Mardy seem to be suffering more than most clubs currently, many teams seem to be experiencing an inability to pick their strongest team on a regular basis.

In particular, Rhymney were one of the club's opponents in Gwent Premier One, but despite having a bigger catchment area than many other teams to call on, they have been forced to fold because of a lack of players.

As a result, their playing record has been expunged, with Pontypool Town in Gwent Two also having suffered a similar fate.

With Mardy having already beaten Rhymney twice this season, their disappearance has resulted in six points being deducted from their total. making the team's league position in lower mid-table rather more uncomfortable than it would otherwise have been, although they have got games in hand on most of the teams around them.

This weekend, the first team face another away game up the Heads of the Valleys at top-four side Nantyglo. whilst the Mardy Development Team travel to play Panteg 2nds.

At least the U12s were singing at the weekend, securing a 7-5 St David’s Day win over Abergavenny Rhinos, despite only having a bare squad of just nine players.

Anyone with a son or daughter in Year 7 who would like to get involved can get in touch at [email protected]