O65 WorkwearSupermarket.com League 2025/26

8th October
Barry Town 3, Merthyr Tydfil 2
The first round of games in the O65 WorkwearSupermarket.com League finally got underway after a delayed start as Barry Town narrowly defeated Merthyr...writes Frank Lennon...Barry started well enough and dominated possession but Merthyr keeper, Seago was alert to any through balls and dealt comfortably with efforts from Bobbett, Staddon and Gibb and although he was in no man’s land when Marshall struck the bar, he was rarely troubled. Bobbett was unlucky not to convert a superb ball across the goalmouth by Evans but he made amends minutes later, finally beating the stubborn Merthyr rear-guard, and sliding home when found neatly by Gibb. Merthyr pushed for parity and Barry became ponderous and susceptible to Merthyr’s quick breaks and Challenger was allowed to draw Merthyr level with a strike to the bottom corner. Minutes later the same player seized onto a poor clearance before scrambling the ball home past an inert Barry defence to make it 2-1 at the break. In the second half, Barry, who were missing talisman, Branch, pressed forward but without any real invention. Staddon just failed to convert an Evans cross but they were repelled by O’Sullivan and his stubborn defensive colleagues until Brown equalised after one of his customary mazy runs. Debutant, Davies entered the fray and made an immediate impact shielding the ball from the defenders and bringing the midfield into the game. Merthyr were still confident they could take advantage of their opponent’s hesitant defence and Challenger had two great opportunities to complete his hat-trick, but shot tamely at keeper, Blackie. At the other end there was suddenly more cohesion and Barry were peppering Seago’s goal, finally Staddon converted from 15 yards to seal a hard-fought win for his team.

Pontyclun 2, Newport 1
In the second game of three, Pontyclun secured a hard-fought win against Newport. The latter were missing many of their World Cup winning o70s contingent, but still took a 15th minute lead when Herrin crashed home. Although openings were created at both ends, glove-men, Sully and Ryan, were rarely tested until ‘Clun defender, Fitzgibbon, slalomed through the Newport defence before sliding in Maclachlan, who finished sharply to make it 1-1 at the interval. The game, continued to ebb and flow into the second half and although there was plenty of goal-mouth incident, a second goal by Maclachlan was enough to secure a 2-1 victory for Pontyclun.

Penybont 4, Swansea 3
In the final game of the day, title holders, Penybont edged out Swansea in a competitive encounter between two evenly-matched sides. Steer put Penybont ahead before Leigh equalised for the Swans after a powerful free-kick by Mysercough. A fine shot by Veasey which looped over World Cup winning goalkeeper, Meacham, restored Penybont’s lead and then a mix-up in the Swansea defence allowed Steer to ‘rebound’ the ball into an empty goal for 3-1. Mysercough made it 3-2 at the interval with an astute finish. The end to end action continued into the second half, Newport keeper, Pearce, making a series of fine stops at one end and, Meacham, doing likewise at the other. 75 year old Mike Williams made it 4-2 with a rare goal, and despite Griffiths scoring for the Swans with minutes remaining, last year’s champions got their season off to a winning start.