National League North - Matchday 3
Attendance 1,795

Smalley 41’

A superb Brandon Smalley goal and a Jaimie Cogman masterclass were not enough to save Merthyr from their first defeat of the campaign against Marine under the floodlights at Penydarren Park.

Paul Michael made one change to the lineup from last week's away win at Peterborough Sports, with Kieran Evans slotting into midfield & Lee Lucas dropping to the bench.

It was Merthyr who started the strongest, dominating early possession with the usual brand of fluid passing which has become the ‘norm’ under Paul Michael and his staff. Livermore was everywhere in the middle of the park & Smalley made himself a real handful on the right, consistently putting the pressure onto the Marine defence. The first real chance fell to the visitors on the 8th minute, with Fielding picking up the ball outside of Merthyr's area and was able to get a long range shot off, which Cogman saved well with a low diving right hand.

The home fans were almost celebrating in the 12th minute as Ricardo put Butler under real pressure, resulting in his back pass being under hit to Spinelli. Ric was on it like a flash, knocking it around the onrushing Spinelli to place himself in front of an open goal. Wardle was able to slide in with a last ditch tackle and save a certain opening goal for Merthyr. From the resulting corner, Smalley had a shot cleared off the line but the pressure was building.

Despite the early Merthyr pressure, Marine continued to trouble Cogman, with him pulling off a crucial double save on 30 minutes, after good work from Hunter on the left, followed by a strong diving right hand against Sinclair-Smith, who was growing into the game. The momentum was certainly with Marine at this point but it was Merthyr who broke the deadlock first.

In the 41st minute, Handley picked the ball up on the right hand side and lofted a ball into Ricardo, who was battling with Butler on the edge of the box. He was able to knock the ball down to the incoming Smalley, who took it on the bounce and curled in a shot on his weaker left foot around Spinelli. A fantastic goal and his 2nd of the campaign. Merthyr 1 - 0.

Despite going a goal down, the visitors continued to push forward and their perseverance paid off on 49 minutes, with a dangerous freekick deep into Merthyr’s box and Cogman producing another fine save, but Wardle was on hand to put the rebound in off the crossbar. A disappointing goal to concede so late for the home side, but a fair reflection of a decent first half of football. Merthyr 1 - 1 Marine.

After the break it was the visitors who stepped up a gear, particularly with Sinclair-Smith on the left & Bell on the right causing real problems for Handley & Smerdon. The visitors took the lead early into the second half, with a long diagonal ball over to Sinclair-Smith who was wide on the left. As Handley pressed, he was able to shift the ball onto his right foot and unleash a curling shot from 25 yards out. Despite Cogman getting a hand to it, it nestled in the back of the net. A cracking goal. A few minutes later Marine were lucky not to be pegged back, following a mazy run by Kieran Evans from the left, where he was able to take on 3 defenders and square the ball to Ric, who saw his shot saved by Spinelli’s foot preventing a sure equaliser.

With Merthyr pushing forward for an equaliser, the visitors were continuing to put pressure onto the backline and dominating the middle of the park. Newell was able to get behind Ryan-Phillips and shoot straight at Cogman, and was then put clean through for Cogman to again pull off another brilliant save. Merthyr were living dangerously and it only felt like a matter of time before the visitors scored their third.

On 73 minutes Bell showed his pace against Smerdon on the outside and drove into the box, before cutting back onto his left foot and slotting past Cogman. A goal that had been coming and there could be no complaints. A triple change for the home side followed, with John, Williams & Sambu coming on and moving to a back 3, with Jarvis proceeding up top.

There was one final chance for Merthyr late in the game from a Ricardo free kick, following Twamley being hacked down on the edge of the area. Ric’s freekick was deflected off the wall and cannoned off the bar.

Final score Merthyr Town 1 - 3 Marine

A first defeat for the Martyrs this season but 6 points from 3 games is a great start. Next up is a trip to Curzon Ashton, a big test for the Martyrs following Curzon just missing out on the playoffs last season via GD.

Star Men
Merthyr - Cogman & Livermore - Jaimie once again(!) produced some outstanding saves to keep Merthyr in the game. Nye was a real dog in the middle of the park and certainly dictated the pace in the first half, can’t help but feel we missed that when he went off.

Marine - Sinclair-Smith - became a real handful on the left and continued to give Tom Handley problems time and time again. Took his goal really well and probably should have scored 1 or 2 more.