Cathays United 1-3 CSKA Sophia Gardens

CSKA Sophia Gardens made it 4 games unbeaten with a dominant 3-1 win versus Cathays United on a horrendously windy and freezing cold Saturday afternoon in the Cardiff Combination League Stage 2 Group E.

The last time these two sides met was a dramatic encounter with CSKA requiring a last minute winner from centre back Owen Lewis to seal a 2-1 win and help guide the team into this group.

This time around it was a similarly tight affair to begin the game as both teams struggled to adapt to the harsh conditions. CSKA arguably looked like the more likely to score but it wasn't until the 27th minute that the deadlock was broken.

CSKA had started to focus their attacks down the right side and it was from one of these attacks that saw winger Cory Mackay release Cai Mckenzie through on goal who finished calmly to grab his 10th league goal of the season.

It was just 3 minutes later when CSKA doubled the lead. A ball into the Cathays United box saw a bit of a scramble before Mackay got his second assist of the game to tee up fellow winger Dan Carter who poked home his shot from close range.

The damage wasn't over from the away side. In the 38th minute, a spell of pressure saw CSKA camped outside the Cathays United box. Rich Hamlett picked up the ball 25 yards out and played a pass across the box for central midfielder and vice captain Ed Lewis to drill home an effort that took a heavy deflection to deceive the Cathays United keeper and fly into the net to make it 3-0.

CSKA saw out the first half with ease as Cathays United attempted to get a goal before half time but just couldn't break down the CSKA defence that dealt with everyone coming their way.

The second half saw the wind pick up making the game almost unplayable. Cathays United attempted desperately to make use of the wind behind them in the second half and it caused the CSKA defence all sorts of grief as the high balls moved ruthlessly in the air.

One of these balls caught out the CSKA back-line and the Cathays United striker nipped in to set himself up for a shot. Captain Jordan Lloyd did his best to get back but his attempt to block the shot saw him catch the striker who went down. The ref had no choice but to give the penalty. The striker duly dispatched the spot kick to bring his team back into the game.

The remainder of the second half saw CSKA defend resiliently against the Cathays United route one attacks. Keeper Alex Skinner playing a heroic role with a suspected severe rib injury to ensure the score-line remained at 3-1.

Centre back Lloyd went a long way to redeeming himself when an almost identical scenario to the goal conceded occurred. This time, Lloyd timed his challenge perfectly to deny Cathays United from getting another goal back in this game and confirm the 3-1 win for the away team.

CSKA Manager Steve Day said "This was one of those games that could have been a potential banana skin with the conditions. At 3-0 up we were cruising but we'd had to keep the ball low to avoid the wind disabling our attacks. The wind combined with the freezing conditions meant it was always going to be a battle.

"Credit to Cathays United, they could have thrown in the towel when we blitzed them in the first half but they came out fighting in the second half and even though their only goal came through a penalty they tested our back-line a lot. I feel our general play wasn't at its best but we'll make allowances for that given the conditions. It's now just 1 loss from our last 8 competitive games and we're moving in the right direction. The lads showed today they can grind out the victories even when the performances aren't quite at their best and the conditions are against them."

CSKA Starting Line-Up

GK: Alex Skinner

DR: Frazer Richards

DL: Huw Williams

DC: Owen Lewis

DC: Jordan Lloyd (c)

MR: Cory Mackay

ML: Dan Carter

MC: Ed Lewis

MC: Tom Frowen

AM: Rich Hamlett

FC: Cai Mckenzie

Subs: Dan Owen and Mike Gaunt

Goals: Cai Mckenzie, Dan Carter, and Ed Lewis

Assists: Cory Mackay (2) and Rich Hamlett

Three Stars: