BLACKROCK Rovers ran high-flying Tredegar Athletic close, despite going down 1-0 in the end.

But as Rovers manager Paul Lovell pointed out, only intervention by a Tredegar defender prevented Rovers earning a point.

"It was a hard fought game and in a frenetic first half, Tredegar gained momentum after the first 10 minutes and put continued pressure on our goal," said Lovell.

"They used a series of long, accurate throw-ins and our defence had to be at the top of their game to repel waves of attacks.

"When we did manage to get the ball up to our own strike duo of Ben Smith and Chris Wilson, it gave the defence a bit of respite."

Tredegar took the lead on 40 minutes following a disputed free-kick and in the second half, the visitors appeared happy to sit back and defend their lead.

This allowed Blackrock to gain momentum and apply the pressure to find an equaliser.

Lovell said: "We created two or three clear chances but Lady Luck had deserted us.

"There were none more so than in the last minute when Ben Smith had an open goal, shot, but saw one of their defenders appear from nowhere to deflect the ball wide."

Also playing in Division 2, Mathern FC found the 3G pitch at Ynysddu suited their style of play, making the most of the artificial surface and going on to win 2-0.

Manager Dean Thomas said he was really happy with the performance describing it as "probably our best of the season so far".

"The pitch suited our style of play," he said. "We kept the ball on the floor and moved their bigger players around a lot, which told in the end as we scored our two goals late in the second half.

"We will need to be as good, if not better next week, as we visit high-flying Cromwell."

In Division 3, Caldicot Castle were short of players at Neuadd Wen which cost them dearly.

A seriously-depleted team performed admirably in the first half and kept the score at 0-0 by the break.

But in the second half a mixture of poor concentration and a lack of options from the bench meant Caldicot Castle eventually lost 3-0.

Matt Divers scored Thornwell Red and White's consolation goal as they went down 4-1 at home to Whiteheads.

"We had 75 per cent of the game and we were just unlucky," said manager Steve Bidmead.

"Two goalkeeping errors and one really good goal won the game for them although it was probably our best game in the last five games to be fair."