Ardal South East League

Monmouth Town 1 
Newport City 7

TEN-man Kingfishers fell to a 12th straight defeat as fellow basement boys Newport City walloped them 7-1 at the Sports Ground on Saturday, reports STUART TOWNSEND.

Monmouth Town’s 1st team haven’t won a point in five months, since a 2-1 win over Treowen last November, when they were riding high in the top half of the table.

Some battling performances recently had given them hope of reversing the slump, and Saturday’s home match was a golden opportunity to secure some points at the hands of their lowly city rivals.

But the football boot was firmly on the other foot as James Greaney was given his marching orders three minutes before half-time with the score tied at 1-1.

City scored again before the break to make it 2-1 and the floodgates opened in the second half.

The visitors opened the scoring after 15 minutes when Dean Clifford saw his header come back of an upright but was alert enough to find the back of the net from a tight angle.

Monmouth fought back to level on 37 minutes when Jake Bevan was found in space on the left by Greaney before cutting back inside and drilling a low shot into the far corner of Marcel Nzarora’s goal.

However, that was as good as the afternoon got for the Kingfishers as Greaney was shown a red card five minutes later by referee Darren Adie for his challenge on an opponent.

And matters turned from bad to worse in the final minute of the opening half, when Rhyse Hudson was on hand on to volley home Adam Kaplan’s cross from out on the left flank.

Newport City made it three inside the opening minute of the second half following a break down the left as Hudson was on hand to convert a James Hill cross past Daniel Keane from close range.

The visitors extended their lead to 4-1 in the 57th minute when Hudson latched on to a through ball from Hill before cutting inside and sliding home to complete his treble.

Newport City added their fifth when Ethan Wynne headed a 65th minute long throw over the head of Keane before Newport City substitute Ryan Brunsden headed home Hill’s cross to the far post.

The scoring was completed in the 85th minute when Brunsden netted his second goal of the match as he swept a through ball from Hill into the far corner of the net.

Second to bottom Monmouth were hosting derby rivals Chepstow Town last night (Tuesday, April 11) and have five games after that, including an away trip to Caldicot Town on Saturday (April 15), to pull off a great escape, with a six-point gap to safety.

Monmouth Town 2nds didn’t play at the weekend, but are in action tonight (Wednesday, April 12) at home to Cwmbran Celtic, before hosting Caldicot 2nds on Saturday afternoon.