Presteigne St Andrews FC lost out in the derby game against Radnor Valley at Llanandras Park on Saturday, 20 February when we went down 5-2.
The game started in good conditions, but it wasn’t long until the heavy rain swept in and this made it difficult for both sides and uncomfortable for the large crowd that had turned out to watch.
But it was to become even more uncomfortable for the home fans as Radnor Valley opened out a 2-0 first-half lead.
Presteigne did get back into the game after the break when Ioan Hughes – on as a substitute – caught out the Radnor defence with a quick free kick and curled it into the bottom corner to make it 2-1.
But Radnor responded well with Joey Price their outstanding player and they scored twice more to open out a 4-1 advantage.
Presteigne again rallied and Rob Williams was on hand to net our second goal, but Radnor had the final say and made it 5-2 before the final whistle.
It could have been worse – Radnor missed a penalty and ‘Rambo’ [Anthony Vernalls] in our goal made a number of good saves.
But, credit to Radnor, they are clearly a very useful side at this level and, assuming manager Steve Pigott can keep them together, they could be a force in local football for several years to come.
Someone told me that when their sub Josh Watson came on, he was the oldest player in their squad and he is only 24, so the future does look bright for them.