Cardiff Met 3 Aberystwyth Town 1

A CONTROVERSIAL sending off and penalty in the closing stages of an absorbing JD Cymru Premier match finally ended Aber’s stubborn resistance.

Having been fully competitive, the Seasiders were left cursing their luck on 73 minutes when keeper Connor Roberts was sent off, and the resulting penalty was despatched by Elliot Evans.

Roberts climbed up to catch the ball and unintentionally caught Dion Phillips on the way back down with his foot. The spot kick was put away by Evans past sub keeper Alex Pennock.

Credit to the visitors they threatened to draw level when a dangerous free kick by Wes Baynes evaded everyone in the box before Matthew Jones had an effort cleared.

But the points were finally in the bag on 86 minutes when Met broke down the right through Will Evans who finished in style. Dylan Rees nearly made it 4-1 in injury time but his sweetly-struck volley crashed against the bar.

On a blustery day in the capital the hosts started the game with a ferocious wind behind them and consequently dominated possession in the early stages.

Mael Davies fired over, but then at the other end Marc Williams broke through and his goalbound shot was parried by Will Fuller for a corner.

Met then took the lead when a simple long ball through the middle found Elliot Evans who burst through and lobbed home smartly.

Despite the setback Aber went on to defend stoutly, restricting Met to few clear cut chances. Mael Davies, benefitting from a lucky bounce brought out a great save from Roberts, and Will Evans’ looping header was comfortably gathered by the visiting keeper, who denied the same player again soon after.

Despite the tricky conditions Aber were attempting to play football, and just after the half hour Geoff Kellaway went on a brilliant 50-yard run down the left before crossing for Touray Sisay to open his account for the club with an equaliser from inside the box.

Back came the hosts with Will Evans smashing over and then bringing another save from Roberts, but Town saw out the half in a disciplined manner, and a half time score of 1-1 in the face of a strong wind represented a good 45 minutes work for the men in green.

Met again dominated possession after the break, though Aber also created chances: Baynes saw a free kick deflected for a corner, then Williams’ flicked header was cleared to safety. Then Matthew Jones sent in a great ball from the right which Kellaway volleyed wide after a sweet passing move.

Aber were still defending well, with Pavel Vieira an important barrier preventing the hosts from creating opportunities, and Baynes went close on a couple of occasion before the game swung the hosts’ way with the red card.

Although the hosts controlled the ball better, Aber certainly created enough chances to have earned a point

The Seasiders will be hoping for better luck on Friday night when they host Airbus UK Broughton with a 7.45pm kick off.