Gwent County League Division Three - Crickehowell 2 Caldicot Castle 1

CALDICOT Castle will be playing in the East Gwent Senior League after their relegation was confirmed by a 2-1 defeat at Crickhowell on Saturday.

Despite his disappointment, Castle boss Dave Adamson said demotion could be a good thing for the club.

“I was gutted for the lads,” he said later.

“We were down to a bare 11 with some of them playing with injuries, but we battled really hard and went a goal up through Mike Levett.

“But Crickhowell equalised just before half time and then scored the winner in the second half.

“With the effort the lads put in we didn’t deserve to lose but we haven’t been good enough all season.

“I’ve been encouraged by the attitude of the lads who have all said they are staying on next season to have a real good go at the East Gwent League,” he added.

“It’s disappointing to go down but if I’m honest we’ve struggled for few years now so maybe it will be a good thing for the club in the long term.”

Castle may not be the only East Gwent team to return to their local league as Rogerstone’s 6-3 win over Castle in midweek saw them leapfrog Severn Tunnel who must wait for leagues further up the pyramid to complete their fixtures.

Only then will it be known how many teams are to be relegated from the GCL.

At the top of the table, Sudbrook – already confirmed as champions – drew 0-0 at second-placed Machen.

The point Machen gained virtually ensured their promotion to Division Two as Brynmawr, in third place, would need to win by 20 clear goals in their final match of the season!

In Division Two, Mathern came away from Villa Dino with a creditable point after a late equaliser from Wayne Duffield made it 4-4.

Richie Wood and Billy Jeffery (2) were Mathern’s other scorers.

“It was a great game of football real end-to-end stuff,” said Mathern’s B team manager Keith Tipper.

“There were good, strong, tackles and good sportsmanship from Villa Dino’s players. They will do really well in Division One.”

Mathern were last night (Tuesday 25th April) playing their final match at lowly FC Tredegar and, depending on the result, could finish in fifth place on 39 points, but still some way short of Villa Dino (67).

The runners-up place is still not certain as Ynysddu, currently in second place, have completed their season with 54 points but Fairfield United (53 points) can take the second promotion spot if they take two points from their remaining two games.

Mathern FC will stage their popular six-a-side tournament on Saturday 5th May. For details, contact club secretary Wayne Duffield at wayneduffield@hotmail

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