Merthyr Town 6, Willand Rovers 1
Teenage striker Momodou Touray and former Cardiff City youth player Jaye Bowen led Merthyr Town to victory in their Emirates FA Cup tie against Willand Rovers.
Touray’s touch, awareness and movement were first class and he scored with a neat near post finish, while the creative Bowen netted with a clinical finish and could have had more.
Bowen was denied by several outstanding saves by Willand goalkeeper Mike Searle.
Touray (2), Substitute Kerry Morgan (2), Kyle Patten and Bowen were the scored in this first qualifying round tie at the Loadlok Community Stadium, while Luke Mortimore scored a consolation effort for the visitors.
Former Swansea City winger Morgan scored twice in quick succession in the last couple of minutes to complete the scoring and then smashed another shot at goal only to see the effort blocked thanks to the sharp reactions of Searle.
Western League Willand worked hard throughout, but were forced back by free-flowing Merthyr football. Their one-touch passes and ability to use the width of the pitch gave Rovers a lot of problems.
The Martyrs scored six goals and could easily have had more.
Manager Gavin Williams made changes to his starting line-up and will be delighted with the form of Touray, who is on loan from Newport County, and Bowen.
Full-backs Ben Watkins and Cameron Pring both caught the eye with their charging runs to link up with Merthyr attacks, while Stuart Fleetwood was always a threat.
There is clear evidence that this new-look Merthyr squad is developing into a solid unit. A number of last season’s players moved on, including Keyon Reffell to Hereford and Kayne McLaggon to Barry, but there is still an awful lot of quality in their 2017-18 squad.
Former Cardiff City striker Fleetwood has been a major arrival, while the return of goalkeeper Oliver Davies after he had trial spells at Hereford and Yeovil Town was a massive boost.
Merthyr are unbeaten in the Southern League Premier Division and there are signs that they have the talent to sustain another big challenge for promotion.
They missed out last season after qualifying for the play-offs and are intent on going one better this time.
Their next Southern League match is against Bishop’s Stortford at home on Saturday (3pm).
Merthyr Town: O Davies, C Pring, B Watkins, A Evans (capt), K Patten (J Wright 46), S Tancock, J Bowen, E Richards, M Touray, K Copp (K Morgan 62), S Fleetwood (C Jenkins 62). Subs not used: M John, A Davies, L Baldwin, R Patten.
Referee: Phil Staynings (Swindon).
