Penarth started the better and dominated possession and territory for the first 20 minutes, but couldn't find the opening goal until a deflected Dave Watkins shot pass eventually gave them the lead. The slightly fortunate breakthrough was followed relatively quickly by a second goal as Paul Thomas, having been supplied by some good work from Sam Salisbury, finished clinically, picking up on the rebound after his first shot was blocked by a Gwent defender.

The Bears, despite being caught by a few quick Gwent breaks, seemed likely to go into the interval with a two-goal lead, but were pegged back before the whistle as a wayward penalty corner was inadvertently deflected over a helpless Mark Harris by the flailing stick of defender Rob Harrison.

Despite being only one goal up at half-time, Penarth remained satisfied with their opening period performance, and expected more of the same after the restart. With the solid midfield pairing of Mark Robinson and the combative Nathan Townsend stopping any real Gwent attacks, and the few that got through being cleaned up expertly by the defensive combination of Simon Wilkinson and James Davies, the home side looked the more likely to score, even if clear-cut chances were hard to come by.

Significant territorial possession resulted in a string of penalty corners for the home side and, despite the set-piece remaining one of the weakest parts of Penarth’s game, Dave Thomas eventually managed to force the ball home with a flick into the bottom corner to double the Bears’ advantage.

The game was finally wrapped up by a well taken Sam Salisbury strike to make the final score 4 -1, a result which keeps Penarth well clear in the second promotion spot in De Cymru 3.

Goalscorers: Dave Watkins, Paul Thomas, Dave Thomas, Sam Salisbury