Newport County AFC fell to a frustrating defeat against Llanelli in the opening round of the Nathaniel MG Cup following their 5-1 win over Undy FC seven days before.
The young Exiles controlled periods of the game and produced a number of great balls and passes down the line but despite pushing Llanelli until the final whistle, they couldn’t find a way past the Reds.
The boys in amber created many chances to take an early lead however, the Reds started strongly under the South Wales sun putting the ball past Evan Ovendale in the 18th minute.
The Reds came back stronger after their first goal with a second 5 minutes later after a corner ball by Miles John found itself in the back of County’s net.
County fought hard to keep possession of the ball however, the Reds continued to play hard scoring 2 minutes later as the sun began to set over the pitch.
With the half-time whistle looming, a last-minute chance from Harrison Bright hit the crossbar to see the score after the first 45 minutes remain 3-0 to Llanelli.
County made three changes ahead of the second half as Ethan Morgan came on in place of Joe Woodiwiss – who had captained the side until the half-time whistle.
A shot on target for the young Exiles was the closest they came to putting the ball past the score line, however, was saved by the Reds’ keeper who hadn’t conceded for the entirety of the fixture.
County applied pressure on the home team as Llanelli began to make changes within their line-up giving the boys a chance to recharge. A foul on Llanelli’s Gavin Jones who was brought down in the box resulted in a penalty which slipped past Ovendale to extend the home sides lead.
Gavin Jones later seeked revenge on the Exiles by slotting a fifth goal for Llanelli past the keeper’s gloves into the net.
It was a foul later on in the game that gave the Exiles their chance to score against the home side. Hillier stepped up for the side to take a penalty straight down the middle but was saved by the keeper.