PICTURE BY WYNNE EVANS SHOWS GOALSCORERS ASA THOMAS (GREEN) AND STEVE SMITH GOING HEAD TO HEAD

ARTICLE BY TOMOS WYN JONES

BODEDERN ATHLETIC continued their brilliant start to the 21/22 season with a 7-1 win against fellow islanders Glantraeth at Cae Trefdraeth on Friday evening.

Goals from the in-form trio of Marc Evans (x2), Asa Thomas (x3), Darren Lewthwaite (x2) sealed the victory in what proved to be probably one of the most comfortable wins Bodedern will enjoy this season.

Boded imposed their personality on the game right from the off, with the home side unable to match their quality on the ball as well as their fitness levels. Glan were sent a warning in the 3rd minute, when Sean Pritchard whipped in an excellent free kick from the right and picked out captain Jordan Taylor who was free at the back post, but he headed wide from close range.

It was clear to see what was about to unfold, as Glantraeth were so open at the back and playing into the hands of Athletic’s attacking players, and on the 7th minute the visitors took the lead for exactly that reason. A simple through ball put the experienced Marc Evans in on goal with only the keeper to beat and he slotted the ball home into the empty net.

It was thoroughly deserved for the visitors, who looked like scoring with every attack.

Glantraeth’s only way into the game it seemed was through the counter, and in the 23rd minute they had an excellent opportunity to level the score. Jordan Lees battled well to win the ball in the Boded box, and created a fantastic opening for himself, but his effort was well saved by the well-positioned Carl Jones, who stood his ground well.

Just before the half hour mark the visitors doubled their lead. After being awarded a dubious free kick following a battle between Jordan Murphy and Huw Griffith, Evans took the set piece; his initial effort hit the wall, but his second effort was curled low into the bottom right corner. The visitors were smelling blood and soon made it 3-0 in the 33rd minute. Boded won another free kick in the identical position to the second goal. This time it was ace-striker Asa Thomas who took the set-piece and drilled his effort from the edge of the penalty box right into the top corner, giving Glan keeper Ewan Jackson no chance.

Bodedern were in dreamland and were tearing the Glantraeth defence to shreds and it was soon 4-0 in the 36th minute when Thomas scored once more. Despite Bodedern’s clinical and deadly finishing in front of goal, it was one of the weakest performances Glantraeth had produced in a while, and the embarrassment for the Bodorgan outfit continued in the 41stminute as Boded got a fifth. Joseph Caven played a simple ball across the box to Thomas, who tapped in his his 16th goal of the season in all competitions and his third of the match. A hat-trick in 6 crazy minutes for a man who passed the 500-goal mark for his career in 2019/20.

Half time seemed to make no change to the way the second half was played out and Boded nearly had their sixth just after the restart, but Thomas’ effort from a tight angle was well-saved by Jackson. The 20-year-old ‘keeper was without doubt Glan’s best player on the night and did well to keep the score line down given the number of on-target efforts Boded had on goal.

Glantraeth had only their second effort on goal of the game in the 55th minute, though, Liam Williams’ curling effort was easily saved by the Boded goalkeeper Jones.

Evans thought he had his hat-trick goal in the 71st minute, but it was ruled out for handball as referee Liam Martin deemed the lethal finisher to handle the ball prior to scoring.

Boded’s long awaited sixth goal came in the 77th minute, as substitute Darren Lewthwaite had an immediate impact, his 25-yard effort was struck with power towards goal and Jackson failed to read the direction of the ball. 10 minutes later Lewthwaite scored his second of the game; he dazzled his way through the Glantraeth defenders, kicked and pushed on his way through, and used the advantage well before coolly slotting the ball into the bottom left corner.

Despite Boded’s best efforts to keep a clean sheet, no one could complain about the quality of the goal Steve Smith scored for Glantraeth on the stroke of full time. The ball fell free to the veteran left back, who struck his half volley attempt perfectly into the top right corner, giving Jones no chance in goal. The goal was met with no cheers, though, its quality deserved a standing ovation from all around the ground as it was executed to perfection. Referee Martin soon blew for full-time, ending the pain for Glantraeth.

Glantraeth remain in the 12th place with only 3 points and will look to turn that around next Saturday as they face fellow strugglers Gaerwen at Lôn Groes in the league. For Bodedern, they are in Welsh Cup action next Saturday, as they host JD Cymru North side Ruthin Town in a mouth-watering clash, kick off 2:00 PM.

GLANTRAETH TEAM – Ewan Jackson, Steve Smith, Dion Evans, Shaun Monument, Nikolaos Kontodios, Jordan Lees, Tudur Williams, Tim Cavanagh, Huw Griffith, Liam Williams, Callum Hughes

BODEDERN ATHLETIC TEAM – Carl Jones, Jordan Taylor, Ryan Taylor, Jamie Jones, Sean Pritchard, Asa Thomas, Marc Evans, Joseph Caven, Shaun Jenkins, Ryan Lees, Jordan Murphy

AFE’s Man of the Match – Marc Evans (Bodedern Athletic)