Newtown 2 Carmarthen Town 3
NEWTOWN crashed to a disappointing defeat against Carmarthen Town who staved off relegation for another week with a surprise victory at Latham Park.
The Robins were playing for the JD Welsh Cup semi-final starting berths and raced ahead with a 13th minute opener from Ethan Jones.
Clever footwork from the January signing allowed the ex-Shrewsbury Town youngster to skip past Lee Surman and fire a low shot beyond an advancing Lee Idzi.
The Robins maintained their bright start with Jones and Craig Williams linking on the right with the latter crossing for Luke Boundford to head wide at the far post.
However Carmarthen were back on terms on 20 minutes with Mark Jones brushing past a succession of weak tackles to square for Liam Thomas to blast past goalkeeper Dave Jones.
Newtown looked to restore their advantage but struggled to break down a well drilled Carmarthen defence.
On 35 minutes Joe Kenton’s left wing cross fell for Nick Rushton on the far post whose shot was smothered by Idzi.
Once again the home side’s defensive frailties were highlighted with the outstanding Mark Jones giving Carmarthen the lead for the first time minutes later.
Disaster struck for Newtown three minutes after the break with Kieran Lewis breaking from the halfway line to slot past Jones and all but settle the contest.
Newtown introduced Neil Mitchell and Craig Williams in an effort to unlock the packed Carmarthen defence but despite dominating the remainder of the game the hosts could not force their way back into contention with the visitors content to soak up the pressure.
By the time substitute Callum Roberts scrambled home following a goalmouth scramble the match was already six minutes into injury-time and beyond saving as the Robins were left to raise themselves for next weekend’s JD Welsh Cup semi-final against Aberystwyth Town.
NEWTOWN: D Jones, TC Williams, Harries (Roberts), Sears, Mills-Evans, Goodwin (Mitchell), Fletcher, Rushton, E Jones (C Williams), Boundford, Kenton. Subs: Perry, Evans
Att - 253
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