The fast and the furious (From Western Telegraph)

The fast and the furious

Tenby 2 Melins Bridge 2

A piece of subliminal magic by Tenby replacement Scott McGlaughlin guaranteed the Seasiders a well earned point with just a few minutes left of this intriuiging, hard fought clash.

Leading 2-1 in the dying moments, the points looked to be going back to the Racecourse, when Tenby were awarded a free-kick just outside the box and McGlaughlin stepped up and curled the ball around the wall for a finish that David Beckaham would have been proud of.

A draw was probably a fair result in this often bruising encounter, although the Wizrds will feel that they should have taken the spoils, especially considering that they were down to ten men for the majority of the game.

Since a number of their players have returned from Haverfordwest County, Merlins Bridge have suddeny become a team to be reckoned with and providing they can hold on to these players for the next couple of years or so, they could very well dominate local football like their predecessors did in the late 80's and early 90's.

The same can be said for Tenby. They are a team brimming full of talent and on their day, they can beat most teams but on Saturday, they were forced to dig deep as Merlins Bridge came at them strongly in the opening 30 minutes.

They were unlucky not to score as they used the wind to their advantage and played the ball deep in Tenby's territory. Although they didn't create any clear cut chances they did force Tenby into conceding a couple of free-kicks and corners but fortunately their defence held firm . Nathan Thomas looked sharp up-front for the Wizards although he sometimes overstepped the mark a little in terms of aggression and this attitude seemed to make its way through the visitor's ranks. Gareth Williams was booked for retaliation on Phil Catlin while another incident led to Peter Jones being dismissed just before half time for using abussive language at referee, Phil Cook.

Tenby then started to impose themselves on the game and Ryan Lawrence was unlucky not to score after shooting just wide following an excellent build-up involving Anthony Griffths and Mike Lindsay.

The game was starting to open up and it was only a matter of time before a goal was coming. Despite the Bridge going close on many occasions, it was Tenby who grabbed the first as a ball was played in from the right by David Day and Steve Williams controlled well in the box, turned and volleyed the ball into the back of the net for an excellent score.

To compound the Bridge's misery, Jones received his marching orders just minutes later.

Fortunatley the half time whistle blew and they were able to re-group during the break. Whatever was said it certainly worked as within minutes of the restart, they were awarded a penalty when flying winger Lee Hudgell was brought down in the box. Peter Thomas then calmly scored from the spot to bring his team level.

Pushing hard to take the lead Tenby created plenty of chances. Lawrence scooped the ball over the top when he only had the keeper to beat, Williams' specualaive chip went over the bar while a powerful shot by Scott McGlaughlin forced Appleby into making a brilliant save. Soon after and he was at it again when Lindsay unleashed a thunderous shot which Appleby did well to stop. In fact if it wasn't for him then the Bridge could have conceded two or three goals.

And then came a killer blow for Tenby when against the run of play, Dylan Lawrence conceded a free-kick on the left. The cross came in and although it looked innocuous enough, it wasn't cleared properly by Tenby's defence. The ball found it's way out to Peter Thomas who somehow hooked the ball through the melee of players in the box for an opportunist score which knocked the stuffing out of the home side.

With just a few minutes left they had no alternative but to push forward in the hope of getting a score. This was proving difficult as the Bridge were defending so deep but then they were awarded a free-kick and McGlughlin did the rest.

The Bridge were distraught while Tenby were ecstatic. With their tails up they went for the kill but just couldn't find a way through although James Mackay could have snatched it, but his shot went just wide.