PENARTH 2-2 Swindon

After an emphatic 6-0 drubbing of West Wilts in their opening league encounter the previous weekend, Penarth’s 1st XI returned home to welcome Swindon to the ‘Bears Den’ at Stanwell School amid rumours that the visitors had made significant additions of their own during the off-season.

As predicted, the game proved to be very different to week one of the season and, from the start, Swindon proved to be a very solid team with no weak links for Penarth to expose. The match was played at a frantic tempo with the visitors flying out of the blocks and, even though Penarth gradually managed to wrest control after the opening exchanges, it was Swindon that broke the deadlock, with a reverse stick cross finding an unmarked attacker at the back post to give them the lead midway through the first half.

Penarth refused to let their heads drop, however, and continued to press for a goal of their own. While their efforts were to no avail before the half-time whistle, the Bears came out strong after the break and, once again, their tough pre-season preparation paid off as they looked the fresher team pushing forward.

The Vale side had a gilt-edge chance to equalise from the penalty spot after a Ben Croxall shot was illegally stopped on the goal line but, despite David Joyce sending the Swindon ‘keeper the wrong way, his effort was somehow clawed off the line by the netminder’s flailing stick.

Again, Penarth refused to let the setback deflate them, knowing that, as their pressure mounted, it would only be a matter of time before they’d get the chance to level the scores. Sure enough, the opportunity arose via another penalty flick after Swindon again illegally prevented a shot from crossing the line and, this time, Croxall stepped up and made no mistake from the spot.

Penarth could now sense victory and went for the jugular but, attacking with reckless abandon, left themselves open at the back, allowing Swindon to strike on the counter-attack, with an excellent reverse stick shot regaining the lead for the visitors. With little time remaining, Penarth threw caution to the wind and went all-out in attack in an effort to rescue something from the game. With just minutes on the clock, captain Tom Haran sent a long pass up the right wing, allowing Chris Baker to leave his marker for dead before driving into the D and smashing the ball into the bottom corner with unerring accuracy and composure.

The Bears almost snatched all three points’ right at the death, as Joyce shot narrowly wide, but it was not the Vale side’s finest performance, at times panicking when they fell behind, and it took all the spirit and fight that took them to a division title last season to come away with a share of the spoils.

Goalscorers: Ben Croxall (pen), Chris Baker