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Several senior players, including Jason Koumas and Simon Davies, have suggested that fixtures against the so-called lesser sides should be taken to grounds such as Ninian Park (Cardiff City), The Liberty Stadium (Swansea City), and Racecourse Ground (Wrexham), rather than have 20,000 fans scattered around the 72,500 capacity Millennium Stadium.

And with Wales’ first three home fixtures coming against Azerbaijan, Liechtenstein and Finland, the players believe have a strong case.

But Gunter feels such moves it could backfire on the Football Association of Wales if they agreed to stage the earlier games around the Principality.

“While I agree it would benefit the players, the supporters could lose out because the domestic grounds only hold around 20,000, which could mean that 5,000-10,000 supporters would not have tickets so the FAW have to take that into consideration,” said the 18-year-old full-back.

“I know the players and the manager would like the idea, because it would help us playing in front of packed grounds and it’s not ideal playing in a stadium that virtually looks empty.

ICW

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Peter Nicholas dedicated Llanelli's FAW Premier Cup semi-final win over Carmarthen to the late Gilbert Lloyd. The Reds saw off a tough challenge from their local rivals, but Nicholas's side overcame an emotional week to earn a place in their second final of the season.

Lloyd's son Gary, a solid performer for Llanelli this season, sat this encounter out, but he watched on full of pride and received a huge ovation when congratulating his team-mates in the dressing room.

"It's been a difficult week for the boys, especially for Gary and his family," said Nicholas.

LS

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FIVE-TIME Welsh Cup winners Bangor will be determined not to become the latest victims of giant-killers Guilsfield this Saturday.

The Cymru Alliance outfit have caused quite a stir in this year’s competition, already knocking out Welsh Premier clubs Airbus UK Broughton, Connah’s Quay Nomads and Caernarfon Town en route to the last eight.

But in Bangor they face their toughest test yet by far at the Community Centre Ground in front of the S4C Clwb Pêl Droed cameras.

City are without a win in five starts and the goals which flowed not so long ago have dried up, but with a place in the semi-finals at stake, Neville Powell’s men are sure to be up for the challenge in mid-Wales.

Guilsfield are currently languishing in 12th in the Cymru Alliance and are not in the best of form, having lost 3-1 at home to Denbigh Town on Saturday on the back of a 5-0 drubbing at Holyhead Hotspur.

But the Welsh Cup seems to bring the best out of Graham Evans’ charges.

Bangor will pose a threat all over the park, especially at set pieces with central defender Lee Webber always a man to fear.

Top scorer Ashley Stott and strike partner Les Davies have not been firing on all cylinders in recent games, but the pair have amassed over 40 goals between them this term.

Key operators for the all-blues could be wide men Marc Limbert and Karl Noon, both very impressive in Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Port Talbot at Farrar Road.

HAM

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The match will be the promotion-chasing Swans' sixth in 19 days as they look to make it 18 games unbeaten in the league and 12 unbeaten on the road.

Huddersfield were the last team to beat the League One leaders back in November and Martinez does not want a repeat.

"We are looking to get something back from the first game we played at the Liberty Stadium," he said.

Huddersfield's Galpharm Stadium has not been a happy hunting ground for the Swans as they have lost all four visits there.

February 1994 was the last time they left the town with any points after securing a 1-1 draw at the old Leeds Road ground, and it was September 1992 when they last won.

Martinez has already ended the winless hoodoo at Yeovil earlier this season and is hoping to do the same on Saturday.

BBC

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After seeing his side’s six-match unbeaten run ended by high-flying Peterborough United on Tuesday evening, the Racecourse boss admitted the club’s relegation battle was entering a new, critical phase.

Rock-bottom Wrexham entertain second-bottom Mansfield Town in their third home match in eight days on Saturday.

And St David’s Day marks the beginning of a month that brings seven fixtures, of which all but two are against teams in the lower half of the League Two table.

And Little is pondering a change in both tactics and his 3-5-2 formation after Wrexham picked up 10 points from a possible 18 in a run that brought unexpected but welcome victories against League Two leaders MK Dons and promotion hopefuls Darlington.

Speaking after Tuesday evening’s 2-0 reverse, a result which saw visitors Peterborough jump into second spot, the Dragons boss said: “Against the better teams we’ve played a system that can frustrate them and has got us points.

“We have to analyse this next phase of games and decide whether we play that system or whether we’re a little bit braver in our play.”

“We’re down a little bit, but we’ll brush ourselves down and get ready to go on Saturday.

DP

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Dennis Lawrence should be set for a first team return in two weeks after a specialist confirmed he would not need an operation on his injured knee. It had been feared the 33-year-old centre back could miss the rest of the season if he required surgery on the injury he suffered at Crewe on February 9.

But after travelling to London to see a consultant, Swansea physio Richie Evans revealed the defender needed only minor treatment.

"Dennis doesn't need an operation. The MRI scan showed some wear and tear in the knee, but that's perfectly normal for a player of his age," he said.

EP

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CT

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With leaders Goytre United tripping up at ENTO Aberaman with a shock 1-0 defeat, the Lido’s own promotion aspirations were given a leg-up.

Lido are now just seven points adrift of Andrew Radford’s Afan Valley side – with a game in hand.

Now Saturday’s match away to third-place Dinas Powys has massive implications for the seasiders. Win this one and seventh place Lido will be serious contenders in the title showdown.

At the end of last year general manager Mark Robinson backed his young side to go on a decent unbeaten run.

Well, that’s just what the Lido have done – seven games without defeat in an uncompromising league.

“The boys are doing pretty well lately,” was an understatement from Lido’s general manager Mark Robinson.

“The average age of the team against Caldicot was 22, they are still learning but winning games which is a bonus.

“Everyone is enjoying training sessions and we are back in the promotion race after being well, well off the pace before Christmas.”

ICW

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Deryn Brace has called for six of the best as Carmarthen Town chase their European dream.

The Richmond Park boss believes his side may have to win half a dozen of their remaining league games if they are to clinch a top-three finish in the Welsh Premier League.

Town were beaten 3-1 at Newi Cefn Druids last Saturday, a defeat that leaves them fifth in the table, just three points behind third-placed Rhyl but having played three games more.

CJ

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Carlisle’s 1-0 win at Crewe on Tuesday night cut runaway leaders Swansea’s advantage to 12 points with 14 games remaining.

But Leeds would be within eight points of Swansea if their punishment for not properly following insolvency policy after slipping into administration was quashed.

Leeds chairman Ken Bates revealed yesterday that the club have been invited to arbitration by the Football League as they look to overturn the deficit imposed on them last August.

The club – now five points off the play-offs – served a High Court writ on the league earlier this month challenging the 15-point deduction and Bates has disclosed the league made their offer of arbitration on the day their deadline to respond was due to expire.

ICW

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ANYONE expecting Rhyl to have an easy passage into the Welsh Cup semi-finals this weekend would do well to remember last season’s competition, says Lilywhites manager John Hulse.

In a major shock, the Lilies went out 1-0 in the 2006/07 third round at Ton Pentre, who play in the Welsh League – the equivalent level to Saturday’s opponents GAP Queens Park.

Currently sixth in the Cymru Alliance, Wrexham-based GAP have a number of ex-Welsh Premier players in their ranks including former Rhylite Ricky Evans, Colin Quirk, Kevin Leech and Steve Cowap.

“People have been coming up to me talking about the semi-finals already but nothing could be further from my mind,” stressed Hulse. “I will be reminding the players this week about what happened at Ton Pentre and stressing there will be no room for complacency.

“I’ve watched Queens Park myself – against Buckley recently – and have had good reports about them off people from their league.

“We will be putting as much effort into preparing for Saturday’s tie as we would if we were playing the top two TNS or Llanelli.”

Hulse was impressed by what he saw of GAP in their 7-1 win at Globe Way on February 13.

“They have a lot of decent players,” he opined. “In Ricky Evans and Colin Quirk they have two capable of turning it on against any side and in my opinion they should, in Ricky’s case especially, still be playing in the League of Wales.

“The way they play I don’t expect them to defend and look to hit us on the counter as some Welsh Premier sides do. They like to play in the opposition’s half and won’t be coming for a draw as there has to be a result on the day. It’s going to be a very difficult test.”

RPV

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COUNTY got their show back on the road with a hard-earned victory in south-east London last night.

Newport boss Peter Beadle was forced to give 18-year-old keeper Scott James his debut and recalled long-term injury victim centre-half Paul Cochlin after more than a year out of the County side.

Newport settled quickly and took the lead with a 15th-minute penalty from Jason Bowen, awarded for a needless handball by Welling’s Chris Moore.

Cochlin added to the advantage on 27 minutes with a glancing header from an Andy Gurney free-kick, but County allowed Welling back into the game when Sam Gargan forced the ball home after a 36th-minute corner.

Beadle said, “We had a good chance after Sunday’s defeat and tonight they all did what I asked of them. I asked the team to go back to basics and we had a little bit of zip back in our game after our recent disappointments.”

ICW

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Another thing that is beginning to bother me is the number of chances Swansea are wasting and I believe there is a simple solution to this problem - bring in Freddy Eastwood. Roberto has assembled such a good footballing side they carve out great chances.

They created three one-on-one opportunities in the first leg against MK Dons and at the start of the second half of the second Fabien Brandy was played in and should have scored.

You can praise the keeper for making the save but for me that should have been one touch, 2-0 and game over.

EP

FEB-27

The Reds overcame Carmarthenshire neighbours, Carmarthen Town at an emotional Stebonheath Park on Tuesday evening, in the first game that the Reds have played since the sudden death of Llanelli legend Gilbert Lloyd.

For Llanelli boss Peter Nicholas, it means that he will relish the opportunity of facing his former club, Newport County in the Final for the £100,000 prize and prestigious Title.

The only goal of the Semi-Final came from former Wales Under 21 youngster Mark Pritchard, who has been a bit-part player for Nicholas in the last few months, but his header would have delighted his boss as it helped his side see off Carmarthen for the third time this season.

Striker Pritchard beat Neil Thomas from Andrew Mumford's free kick in the first half and that was enough for the win. The experienced Thomas produced a series of outstanding saves to give his side hope until the death, denying leading scorer Rhys Griffiths, Wyn Thomas and Mark Jones. The Old Gold also had a near miss as Ryan Harrison was beaten by Tim Hicks, only for his effort to be denied by a post and midfielder Gregg Coombes also went close with a long-range effort. However, it wasn't to be for Deryn Brace's side and Carmarthen were generally outplayed on the night and the full-timers deserve their spot in next months Final. 

FEB-27

Day's 65th-minute opener, a free-kick curled in from just outside the box, was his first goal in 19 months.

Nine minutes from time Day repeated the feat following a foul.

Defeat deepened Wrexham's relegation fears, which were worsened by fellow strugglers Mansfield's 1-1 draw with Bury at Field Mill.

The Stags travel to Wrexham on Saturday in what will be one of the biggest games of the season for both clubs.

BBC

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Caersws fell behind as early as the second-minute as January signing Mike Hartley, who has impressed on the center since his move from Welsh League side, Bridgend opened the scoring for the visitors. The lead was doubled in the Second-Half when athletic striker Jack Christopher added to his growing reputation to double the advantage just after the hour. Neil Mitchell gave the hosts some host by pulling one back on 68 minutes but it wasn't enough as Brazil's Boys held on for the three points.

OWP

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Colwyn Bay's Llanelian Road and Flint's Cae-y-Castell are the candidates as the Seasiders seek planning permission for floodlights at their own Bastion Road ground.
Occupants of houses which fringe the ground, including a local councillor, are against the proposal and the club do not expect to be able to meet the league's May deadline for ground grading.
One solution may be the installation of retractable lights, similar to those used by Airbus UK Broughton, which can be raised and lowered before and after games.

The club's main stand, which started life at Manchester City's old Maine Road ground, also needs extending to meet Welsh Premier requirements and footings are already in place to extend the structure along the length of the touchline.

But the future of top flight football in the seaside town now lies in the hands of Denbighshire County Council planners as much as form on the pitch.

UWP

FEB-27

But first they have to deal with hosts Flint Town United, fourth placed in the Cymru Alliance, tonight in a delayed second round tie.

The winners will take on Denbigh Town in the semi-final, while the other last four pairing will involve Bethesda Athletic and Llandudno Town.

Llangefni’s joint manager Derek Roberts said: “As the last surviving Welsh Premier club in the competition, we fancy our chances and hope to put our league woes behind us briefly.

“If we can pull off a win at Flint, where we have had some memorable battles in the past, it will restore confidence among the lads and perhaps rub off on our other commitments.”

One squad change will involve recent goalkeeper signing Dave Vickers, from Buckley Town, making his debut as stand-in for unavailable Farai Jackson.

Holders Flint Town United welcome back three regulars, writes Mike McEvoy.

Skipper Stuart Hughes, central defender Steve Hughes and utility man Steve Alcock are all added to the squad.

Manager Paul Davies said: “We beat Llangefni in this same competition last season on our way to winning the trophy and we are looking forward to taking them on again.

“We are preparing for a hard game because this is a trophy we are very keen to win.”

DP

FEB-27

But the Bluebirds have suffered another disappointment with Derby manager Paul Jewell turning down the latest approach to bring the Welsh striker back to Ninian Park.

Earnshaw, 26, joined newly-promoted Derby County from Norwich City for £3.5m last summer, but has made only four starts in the Premiership this season.

He has also made 10 appearances as substitute, but has scored only one goal.

The Bluebirds, who also approached Derby during January, are among several clubs keen to sign Earnshaw on loan.

Coca-Cola Championship League one side Nottingham Forest are also interested and have made a strong bid for the Zambian-born striker.

If Jewell could be persuaded to release his striker to Ninian Park, Earnshaw would start alongside Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink with Paul Parry reverting to a wide midfield role.

Earnie, who fired more than 100 goals for the Bluebirds in his first spell, is one of two players Dave Jones has enquired about over the last week – and the City manager is still keen to add a striker to his squad.

ICW

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Manager Roberto Martinez is considering bringing in a replacement on loan after Painter's injury on Monday night.

There is also a fitness doubt about fellow defender Dennis Lawrence for Saturday's league trip to Huddersfield.

But Paul Anderson is now fit after his hamstring problem, while Leon Britton and Ferrie Bodde could also figure.

The midfield pair were injured during last week's 1-0 win over Luton Town, Bodde suffering a shoulder problem while Britton picked up a calf strain.

BBC

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Savage, 33, has struggled for form since his £1.5m move from Blackburn and Jewell told BBC Radio Derby: "Robbie is very low on confidence at the moment.

"He is playing with injuries that he probably shouldn't be.

"He will be an effective player for us, but like a few players at the moment he is ineffective."

Jewell added: "His performances are going to attract criticism. There are no two ways that Robbie has played well.

"He is almost trying too hard, and we might have to say 'let's try and get him properly fit and back to where he has been for most of his career'."

BBC

FEB-26

The Crows have no wins from their last 11 games and have only taken a paltry eight points from the last 42 on offer - relegation form in anyone's book.

They now trail Ton Pentre, who are in second position - the lowest promotion place - by 16 points. However, they are just 14 ahead of relegation candidates Maesteg Park, who have three games in hand, and the Crows' next trio of matches are against higher-placed sides.

Cwmbran's problems were clear for everyone to see - they simply can't score goals.

The stats, failure to score in eight of their last 11 matches, and assistant manager Gary Proctor backed up the synopsis.

"Our performance was the same story as the last few weeks, when we've had plenty of possession, but have done nothing with it in front of goal," said Proctor, back with Cwmbran following a short spell as coach under the late Tony Willcox in the 1990s.

"We just can't seem to convert anything at the moment and we seem to be chasing games after putting ourselves in good positions.

"All of a sudden we find ourselves 1-0 down and we certainly need to work on certain aspects of our play."

SWA

FEB-26

Roberto Martinez has urged his Swansea City players to use their Wembley disappointment to motivate their League One promotion bid.The Swans agonisingly missed out on a trip to Johnstone's Paint Trophy final by losing to MK Dons on penalties in last night's area final.

The Swansea boss said: ''We need to show our character now and bounce back from this disappointment in the league.

''It was so near and yet so far.

EP

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Bluebirds’ youth team coach Geraint Twose, whose side beat Bryntirion Athletic 3-0 in the previous round, had to wait to select his line-up for the tonight’s tie with six players away with the Wales Under-17 squad and Cardiff City hoping to arrange a last-minute reserve match this week.

The six away with Wales in Turkey this week are Adam Matthews, Dean Hudson, James Bloom, Zac Evans, Jon Meades and Craig Mason.

City’s Kye Edwards was also on the standby list for a training camp trip which includes a warm-up match against Austria in Turkey on Thursday.

The Welsh team, coached by Brian Flynn, are preparing for their Uefa Championship qualifying group matches in Northern Ireland next month.

All six Cardiff City players on the Welsh trip appeared for their club in a youth Academy match against title-chasing Leicester City away on Saturday.

Striker Mason was man of the match for the Bluebirds, who fielded a young team, including six under-16 players, against Leicester City opponents who used their full quota of four over-age players.

ICW

FEB-26

Jason Scotland was first Swansea's penalty hero then villain as MK Dons won through to the Johnstone's Paint Trophy final after a penalty shoot-out.

Dons had won the first leg in Swansea 1-0, but Scotland levelled the tie from the spot on 20 minutes after Keith Andrews brought down Andy Robinson.

Both sides wasted good chances and the aggregate remained deadlocked at 1-1.

Cruelly only Scotland failed in the shoot-out, as Dons goalkeeper Willy Gueret guessed right with a fine save.

Having now triumphed in this southern area showdown, the Dons will face either Morecombe or Grimsby in the final at Wembley on 30 March.

Gueret had been superb in the first leg at the Liberty Stadium last week when Dons won 1-0, but could do nothing to stop his former club gaining parity at Stadium MK.

Striker Scotland and Robinson combined with a clever one-two and as the midfielder charged into the Dons box he was clipped by Andrews.

Referee Andy D'Urso pointed to the spot and Scotland sent Gueret the wrong way for his 20th goal of the season.

If the League One leaders thought a winner was only a matter of time they were rocked back by a determined MK Dons assault, the League Two front-runners led by the excellent Jemal Johnson.

Only a brave defensive block by Gary Monk denied Johnson, although at the other end Gueret had to save smartly from Febian Brandy before the break.

Both sides had chances to win it in a frenetic second half, Swansea's Shaun MacDonald and the Dons' Kevin Gallen both guilty of glaring misses as the 90 minutes ran out.

The penalty shoot-out began with four excellent spot-kicks before Scotland stepped up to take Swansea's third attempt.

The striker picked the same spot as before but Gueret read his double-bluff, flinging himself left to stop Scotland's shot with a strong hand.

No more penalties were missed and to add insult to injury it was substitute striker Drewe Broughton - just back from a loan spell at Swansea's Welsh rivals Wrexham - who kept his cool to smash the Dons into the final with the deciding kick.

BBC

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But midfielder Stephen Evans (ankle ligament) and goalkeeper Duncan Roberts (broken wrist) are definitely out.

Carmarthen's only doubts are striker Tim Hicks and full-back Paul Keddle but both are expected to make the squad.

Neil Thomas, Kris Thomas and Jamal Easter are clear to play despite facing suspensions in the Welsh Premier.

Llanelli have enjoyed dominance over the Old Gold in the Welsh Premier this season, but Carmarthen defender Rhodri Jones says past form will count for nothing on Tuesday night.

"Llanelli have beaten Carmarthen twice this year, but since the new year Carmarthen have strengthened and shown their resolve," Jones said.

"There was a good result against The New Saints recently, although it was a bad defeat to NEWI Cefn Druids on Saturday.

"But it's a cup match and we'll give Llanelli a good game."

BBC

FEB-26

The club's biggest creditor Langston wants a £24m debt repaid now, but City officials say it is not due until 2016.

And Jones blamed naming only four substitutes in Saturday's 1-0 loss at Sheffield Wednesday on injuries and finances preventing bringing anyone in.

"Until we sort out the side issues and everything else with the situation we are in, we have to battle on," he said.

Michael Oakes, Steve Thompson, Trevor Sinclair and youngster Jonathan Brown were the four players on the bench on Saturday

"We are that thin," said Jones. "Jonathan Brown is not ready to be fair. He was only there because we haven't got anybody else.

"Trevor shouldn't have been on the bench because he's not ready to go and play in a campaign.

"Basically we were looking at one fit (outfield) substitute for the first team and it's not acceptable, but because of the situation we are in there isn't anything we can do."

Jones said there was no scope to bring any players in on emergency loan and the situation is affecting their slim play-off hopes.

"It's a major thing for us and we're in with a shout (of the play-offs) and we can't help ourselves and that's the annoying thing," he said. "It's hard to swallow sometimes.

"I'm not complaining because it's part and parcel of being manager of Cardiff so we'll just get on with it."

No date has been confirmed yet for next month's court case.

BBC

FEB-26

The Dragons’ goalless draw at London Road just over a fortnight ago was mired in controversy after a collision involving centre-back Evans and home goalkeeper Joe Lewis, who was stretchered off as a result.

Evans was cautioned for his part in the incident, which sparked a melee involving all 20 outfield players.

Posh manager Darren Ferguson later accused his former Wrexham team-mate of head-butting Lewis, but that charge was not supported by TV evidence.

Anxious to play down any suggestions of renewed resentment tonight, Evans said, “It was just a case of handbags on the day and I’ve forgotten it now.

“All we have to do is concentrate on ourselves and make sure we stay focused on the job in hand, which is to try and take all three points.

“They weren’t very happy in the previous game because they probably expected to win, but we frustrated them and were probably the better team on the day.”

Still anchored to the foot of the League Two table, the Dragons extended their unbeaten run to six matches in Saturday’s goalless home draw with Grimsby.

“It was not much of a spectacle for the fans, but it was a third successive clean sheet and we extended the unbeaten run,” he added.

“We know we can’t let our standards slip because there are other lads waiting to get their chance. We are building a sequence of results to keep the points ticking over and hopefully we can go one better against Peterborough and pick up all three.

ICW

FEB-25

A board meeting takes place this week to determine the future of the often-troubled tournament.

And, unless FAW secretary David Collins has a hush-hush new sponsorship deal up his sleeve (which I doubt), there is only one realistic outcome.

Current backers BBC Wales have done their best to trumpet the competition during its 11-year history. But the reality is that, in the eyes of the majority of the Welsh public, the Premier Cup never matched up to its name tag.

On the contrary, far from being premier, too often it has been perceived as second rate.

And that is a shame, because in theory this is a cup competition that has done an awful lot of good for Welsh football.

Most significantly, it brought our game back together again after the huge divides that were created at the start of the1990s when the League of Wales was set up.

There was anger, friction, resentment at the time. We even had the absurd situation of the FAW kicking Newport, Merthyr and Colwyn Bay into exile ... Welsh clubs prohibited from playing their home matches in Wales because they wouldn’t entertain the idea of joining the new league.

Money from the Premier Cup has helped LoW clubs greatly improve their ground facilities.

More significantly, the £100,000 generated from winning the competition has played a part in helping our Big Three to keep going at various points over the past 11 years.

Each of the league trio have faced a financial crisis during that period. Each of them gratefully accepted the money from the Premier Cup... whether to pay summer wages, Inland Revenue bill, sign a new player, whatever.

But, to be blunt, the real pros of the Premier Cup pretty much end there. It has always been a competition fighting on the back foot in terms of winning over officials, managers, top players and, most importantly, the fans.

The most fundamental reason is because the FAW never sanctioned, or could never sanction, European entry for the winners.

That resulted in lifting the trophy meaning diddly squat to the players of Cardiff, Swansea and Wrexham, who rightly thought they had much bigger fish to fry.

ICW

FEB-25

Swansea go into the second leg of the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy southern area final one behind after last week’s loss to Paul Ince’s men.

With nothing to lose, Butler insists the Swans will be looking to even the tie as soon as possible at the Stadium MK and go on to book their place in the Wembley final.

He said, “We are 1-0 down so we will have to go at them, but, whether we are home or away, we have been attacking teams all season.

“If we are still 1-0 down after a while the manager is just going to tell us to go out and attack, attack, attack. As a winger to have that freedom is great because you can really have a go at defenders, and for the other team that must be a nightmare. “When you play out wide you love getting the ball all the time. In this team you are always going to get a lot of chances, I’ve had six goals this season, but I probably should’ve had a few more.”

ICW

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The Exiles looked to have claimed a fortunate draw with Charlie Griffin's equaliser 10 minutes from time but two goals deep into injury time gave the league leaders the win they fully deserved.

A baffled Beadle found it hard to explain the disparity between the fantastic display at Cardiff City and yesterday's woeful effort just five days later.

"There's no middle ground with us, we're either very good or very bad and today we were very bad," he said.

"They could have quite easily been out of sight at half-time. We just didn't turn up.

"They looked like they wanted it more than we did and like they had more know-how than we did.

"We didn't even match them for effort, which was really disappointing. We just got beaten by the better team."

The result, the fourth league game without a win this month, leaves County in eighth position, six points off the play-off positions and Beadle knows they need to improve quickly.

SWA

FEB-25

Neath's superb six match unbeaten run came to a disappointing end at Broughton where they went down 2-1 to improving Airbus UK. The match was a reversal of the Eagles' recent matches where they have stormed to victory in the final 15 minutes.

This time, Andrew Hill appeared to have won it with a 72nd-minute spot kick - his league tally now stands at 13 - but the Wingmakers hit back with goals from Phil Molyneux, 13 minutes from time, and Danny Desormeaux 3 minutes later.

Molyneaux's equaliser came courtesy of a poor headed back-pass by David Burrows, the winner a 25-yard screamer which gave goalkeeper Craig Morris no chance.

EP

FEB-25

Port Talbot's dream of a first European qualification remains on course following a battling 0-0 draw at Bangor City. The hosts maintain a three point advantage over Nicky Tucker's side but have played a game more while Carmarthen have also been egged back to within three points after their shock 3-1 loss at Newi Cefn Druids.

But the Steelmen have two games in hand over their Richmond Park rivals, so the battle for fourth place, which could provide qualification into the Uefa Cup, is really starting to hot up.

Tucker was satisfied with a point which extends the Steelmen's fine unbeaten sequence to five matches producing a 13-point haul.

EP

FEB-25

"But we hope they will allow Drewe to return to us after the tie so he can be in contention for the Peterborough game."

Wrexham are struggling in the striking department as Neil Roberts and Eifion Williams are injured.

BBC

FEB-24

A strike from the much travelled Chris Summers helped the Cynon Valley side achieve a double over their title rivals.

Second placed Ton Pentre, the former champions, had to battle hard to gain the full points against lowly Pontypridd Town. A goal either side of half time from Andrew Pearson earned the points and Rasal Abdul reduced the arrears for Pontypridd.

Bryntirion Athletic kept alive their aspirations by beating third placed Dinas Powys 2-1. Robbie Walters scored from the spot and increased his considerable tally with a header.

Jason Powis replied for Dinas but the story of the day belongs to Alan Founaguin, the Bryntirion goalkeeper who on his return from suspension immediately picked up another red card for exactly the same offence, handling outside the area.

Newport YMCA cemented their mid-table spot with a 2-0 victory over Cwmbran Town, Steve Edwards and Alex Stewart both netting.

Bridgend Town fought out an entertaining 3-3 draw with Croesyceiliog and the honours were also shared at Maesteg Park who drew 2-2 with Cambrian and Clydach.

Taffs Well pulled well clear from the danger zone with an impressive 3-1 win at Caerleon.

Not one of the top three teams in division two gained maximum points yesterday.

Leaders Barry Town were held to a 1-1 draw at home by mid-table Caerau Ely. Rhys Jones scored for Barry and Martin Bridgeman bagged the Caerau equaliser.

Second placed UWIC drew 1-1 at Tredegar Town where Andrew York was the game’s only scorer as he netted for Tredegar and then went on to score an own goal.

Third placed Bettws went down to a shock 2-1 defeat at lowly Troedyrhiw, a victory which lifted the hosts out of the relegation zone.

Cardiff Corries narrowed the gap at the top by winning 4-3 at Briton Ferry with goals from Rhys Yates, Robbie James, Andy Smith and Sam Jacobson.

The Corries were cruising 4-1 at one stage but a late rally from Ferry almost brought them a point.

Ammanford eased their relegation fears with a 2-0 success over Llanwern.

All the top three teams in division three won their matches.

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Just as on October 20 at the Remax Stadium, the rivals fired blanks for 90 minutes in the Farrar Road return, as both rued wasted chances.

For Bangor, until recently free-scoring entertainers, this was their fourth blank in five outings – a bad habit they must shrug off in their Welsh Cup test at Guilsfield this weekend.

City’s concerns also involved goalkeeper Paul Smith, who damaged a knee during the first half but battled on only to take another knock later that caused him to withdraw.

Defender Peter Hoy switched to between the posts and Dave Swanick moved off the bench to complete the line-up.

City were close to finding the target in the opening quarter, when Karl Noon swept a good-looking 25-yarder just wide and captain Marc Limbert tested keeper Kristian Rogers from the edge of the box.

Equally, Port Talbot cursed their luck when Lee John had a goal-bound effort cleared off the home line and the same player lobbed over the bar, after spotting Smith out of position.

Noon put in a close-range shot that deserved to succeed in the second half, only for Rogers to collect, but it was the away side who finished stronger and James Burgin blasted a 35-yard rocket against the angle of the goal frame.

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TNS showed they have no intention of throwing in the title towel after turning up the heat on the leaders with a seven-goal romp against lowly Llangefni.

Having lost two of their previous three league outings, the Saints steadied the ship in style at the end of a week that saw manager Ken McKenna announce he would be stepping down at the end of the season.

And the Saints boss, looking to sign off his 10-year reign at the club with a record-equalling fourth successive league crown, would have been happy with what he saw.

Newcomer Kevin Townson led the charge with four of the goals in this one-sided affair as the defending champions moved level with pace setters Llanelli, although the blitz was not quite enough to take them top on goal difference.

As for Llangefni, the Anglesey men now appear to be hurtling back to the Cymru Alliance after suffering their sixth straight defeat.

Townson was the chief beneficiary with his goal count at Park Hall, but the former Rochdale striker was provider early on, teeing up Paul Henry to make a 13th minute breakthrough from six yards.

Four minutes later, the high-flying hosts doubled the lead when Martyn Naylor’s right wing cross found Jamie Wood, who beat keeper Farai Jackson with a point blank header.

Llangefni were always at full stretch and, after several chances had gone begging, Townson opened his account on 40 minutes when Jackson could only parry Wood’s shot for a another close range goal.

A fourth goal arrived on the stroke of half-time when Scott Ruscoe’s long ranger appeared wide but was headed by Geraint Mitchell into his own net.

The visitors defended valiantly after the break but the Saints made it five on 68 minutes when Chris King’s shot was parried by Jackson for another simple scoring opportunity for Townson.

Carl Lamb nearly added the sixth with his first touch after coming off the bench, while keeper Jackson made a fine save to deny Steven Beck.

But Townson completed his hat-trick after good work from Tommy Holmes.

Then he added his fourth by running on to a through ball.

The Saints, however, would have been disappointed to concede a consolation goal in the last action of the game, from a Craig Hogg header.

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