Chris Sergeant’s hat-trick sent The New Saints back to the top of the table after Bangor City slipped at home to Barry Town United.
The Saints started the day trailing Bangor by two points but a ruthless display saw them despatch Carmarthen Town with ease.
In North Wales, Bangor City suffered their first home defeat of the season when Kayne McLaggon’s snatched a late win for visiting Barry Town.
McLaggon netted his fifth goal of the season to secure Barry their first away points of the season and snap the Citizens 100 per cent home record.
That defeat sees City trail The New Saints by a single point and slip to third in the table after Connah’s Quay climbed above them, winning in controversial circumstances against Newtown.
The Nomads edged past Newtown by a single goal with Callum Morris’ goal not appearing to fully cross the line before being cleared.
CALLUM MORRIS!
Gôl ddadleuol i Gei Connah. | A controversial goal for @the_nomads – was it over the line?
Y Drenewydd 0-1 Cei Connah pic.twitter.com/FrDGw0JbBK
— Sgorio ⚽️ (@sgorio) September 30, 2017
At Richmond Park, two goals late in the first-half put The New Saints firmly in the driving seat as the defending league champions claimed a comfortable three points at the expense of Carmarthen Town.
Carmarthen, playing their first home game of the season following the installation of their new 3G pitch, started well enough with Lewis Harling drawing an early save from Paul Harrison but with ten minutes on the clock, The New Saints scored on their first real foray forward. Hudson, picking up a loose ball in the Carmarthen area, to fire past Hall.
Dave Vincent spurned the opportunity to put his side level from a Carmarthen corner, directing a point-blank header straight at Harrison to the relief of the Saints defence.
Ryan Brobbel, back in the Saints line-up for the first time following injury, saw his shot from outside of the area split by goalkeeper Stephen Hall, Fletcher was first to the ball but his backheel across the box was intercepted by the Old Gold defence.
Carmarthen did show signs of troubling the Saints in the final third however and after winger Kostya Georgievsky had done well to get the better of Simon Spender, his delivery narrowly evaded Kieran Lewis who was poised to shoot.
The tempo picked up as Carmarthen sought an equaliser and Liam Thomas should’ve done better when the ball fell to him unmarked from ten yards but his off-balance attempt failed to trouble the Saints goal.
There was always an element of risk in Carmarthen’s approach, with the high-line inviting The New Saints to counter. Jamie Mullan carried ball into area but his attempt was pushed over and as the visitors continued to counter with pace and purpose they were unable to unlock the Carmarthen defence on the 38th minute as Wes Fletcher and Chris Seargeant combined, with the latter floating a measured chip over Hall into the Carmarthen net.
Brobbel then almost scored an identical goal moments later but opted for the shot rather than the chip and steered his strike narrowly wide across goal.
The Saints managed to carve out a third goal late into first half added time, another break forward saw Spender toy with the Carmarthen defence, cutting the ball across to leave Seargeant with an easy finish to claim his second of the afternoon.
No sooner had the second half started, the Saints continued to torment Carmarthen’s rearguard and add to their lead. Brobbel dribbled round Hall with all the time in the world and apply a simple finish to make it 4-0 and effectively wrap the game up.
Carmarthen captain Lee Surman might’ve done better when his powerful volley was beaten away by Harrison but not even the staunchest Carmarthen spectator could deny that the game was already a forgone conclusion.
The Saints continued to add to Carmarthen’s woes when Hall clipped Fletcher inside the area leaving Mark Petch with no choice but to award the penalty. Chris Seargeant’s hat-trick was never in doubt as he stepped up and dispatched the ball low into the bottom left corner to complete his hat-trick.
The New Saints are now unbeaten since the opening day of the season; Carmarthen Town’s return to Richmond Park a miserable one.
Results
Bala 1-1 Aberystwyth, Bangor City 0-1 Barry Town, Cardiff Met 2-1 Prestatyn, Carmarthen 0-5 The New Saints, Llandudno 1-2 Cefn Druids, Newtown 0-1 Connah’s Quay
Featured image courtesy of Brian Jones / The New Saints FC / Welsh Premier League
