You wait a while for an away win, then two come along at once
Parkway made the long midweek trip to an in form Merthyr who were on a 6 game unbeaten run looking to extend their own 3 game unbeaten run.
Four changes were made from Saturday’s win at Salisbury with Toby Stephens, Callum Rose, Oscar Massey and Aaron Goulty starting in place of Dan Rooney, Austen Booth (injured), Ben Seymour and Jack Crago respectively.
 Merthyr TownPlymouth Parkway 
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Full Match Report
On a pristine 3g surface in a traditional old type stadium, the hosts made the sharper start with on 4 minutes Alex John seeing his shot deflected for a corner after good work along the left by Frazer Thomas.
They were forced into an early change on 7 minutes with Callum Ryan-Phillips replacing central defender Matt Harris who went down unchallenged off the ball and was unable to continue.
Parkway clearly had a game plan to flood the midfield area and look to play on the counter. The hosts continued to dominate possession with Parkway competing well and working hard in midfield to pressurise the ball and break up play.
On 14 minutes a John free kick was met by Liam Angel whose header went straight to Harry Lee who saved comfortably. On 16 minutes a rare Parkway attack saw Massey go clear along the left and reach the byeline only to be closed down by 2 defenders with the ball going for a goal kick.
The hosts continued to threaten and on 18 minutes Parkway conceded possession in midfield allowing Thomas to go clear along the left and set up Lewis Powell whose rasping drive was saved superbly by Lee who had spread himself well.
Parkway forced their first corner on 19 minutes with the ball being cleared to the edge of the 18 yard area with Goulty’s shot being blocked and cleared away.
Despite the hosts dominance, Parkway remained in the game and on 22 minutes a typically mazy run from Mikey Williams saw him skip effortlessly past a couple of tackles and set up Rio Garside who was quickly closed down and unable to get a shot away. Toby Stephens, Callum Hall and Garside continued to be busy in midfield chasing and closing down the Merthyr runners and on 26 minutes they combined well with Hall’s low shot from around 25 yards going just wide.
Merthyr then had a good chance breaking along the left with John’s curling effort from around 22 yards fizzing narrowly wide with Lee at full stretch covering the shot. Another Merthyr effort on 30 minutes by the dangerous Ricardo Rees was superbly blocked by Rose who alongside Toby Down at the heart of the Parkway defence were providing a considerable barrier with their tackling, blocking and clearing any danger with their solid no nonsense defending.
Ryan Lane became the first player booked after a midfield challenge as Parkway continued to work hard to stem the Merthyr tide restricting them to long range efforts.
Merthyr continued to dictate the pace of the game and control midfield with Parkway continuing to compete and defend well with Lee rarely called into action.
On 39 minutes Tom Handley drove forward looking to release Powell into the 18 yard area forcing Lee off his line to bravely smother the through ball.
Merthyr then forced a couple of corners which were comfortably defended by Parkway as the half drew to a close with 3 added minutes seeing no further alarms for Parkway.
Merthyr were the more offensive side in the first half dominating possession and creating the better chances but Parkway stuck to their game plan denying the hosts too many opportunities with Lee making a couple of important saves to keep the scoreline blank.
As expected Parkway were rarely seen as an attacking force and content to contain and frustrate the hosts which they were able to do as a tight unit in midfield and remaining strong defensively.
Merthyr started the half strongly with Rees creating space just outside the 18 yard area on 47 minutes with his powerful strike going narrowly wide before their next attack on 49 minutes saw a moment of controversy with a contentious penalty decision.
What appeared to be a legal, last ditch covering tackle by Williams when he seemed to clearly win the ball was deemed a foul by the referee with the decision even causing a few raised eyebrows from sections of the vociferous, partisan home crowd.
After lengthy protestations during which Williams was booked, Rees stepped up to take the kick. Lee guessed correctly diving full length to his left to block the well struck kick grabbing the loose ball at the second attempt to prevent it squirming over the line.
A pivotal moment in the game? However the hosts remained in control and on 57 minutes created another chance with John going down in the area and home appeals for a penalty waved away with arguably a stronger case than the one given.
Parkway made a double substitution on 58 minutes with Crago and Rooney replacing Goulty and Stephens both of whom had performed diligently throughout and done all that was asked of them.
The substitutions saw Parkway adopt a more attacking approach and on 63 minutes good link up play along the left between Lane, Williams and Crago forced some desperate defending resulting in a corner from which Down glanced a header narrowly wide.
As play became more open, Merthyr broke clear on 66 minutes with their attack being halted by a timely recovery tackle by Garside.
With Parkway now looking more threatening, an outstanding double save on 67 minutes by the previously untested Jamie Cogman in the home goal kept the hosts in the game. A fine block from Massey’s powerful angled drive saw the loose ball fall to Crago around 10 yards out with the keeper recovering and spreading himself well to block the second effort.
With Parkway having their best period of the game Garside saw his shot from the resultant corner blocked as more clear-cut chances began to be created.
Merthyr regained their composure and on 69 minutes Lane did well to block an effort from Rees with Lee again displaying his confidence and competence in gathering high balls from a couple of corners.
Parkway made their final change on 74 minutes with Seymour replacing Massey who had worked hard throughout ploughing a lonely furrow in an isolated role up front. Seymour made an almost immediate impact after linking with Harrison King along the right forcing Cogman into a fine save from his angled drive from around 20 yards.
Rose, who had been a rock in defence all game, then saw his superbly timed tackle halt a threatening run by Curtis Jemmett-Hutson.
On 78 minutes Alex Bonthron replaced the lively Thomas for the hosts as they looked to break down the Parkway backline in search of an equaliser.
A Merthyr corner on 80 minutes saw Lee punch clear through crowd of bodies under pressure with the young keeper being booked shortly afterwards presumably for remarks made to the referee.
With Rooney tigerish in midfield breaking up play, winning second balls and looking to set up attacking positions, Parkway were now far more threatening, more dominant and continually stretching the hosts defence.
On 84 minutes Seymour and Crago linked well along the right winning a free kick close to the byeline which came to nothing followed by Rooney winning a midfield challenge releasing Garside whose deep cross was headed away to safety.
On 88 minutes a strong run by King saw him cut inside and fire a shot narrowly wide as Parkway finished the game strongly having been the better side for the final 20 minutes. 5 minutes of added time were indicated with Merthyr sending on Craig Norman for Jemmett-Hutson with neither side seemingly settling for the draw.
Lee was forced into a routine save on 93 minutes before the game came to a dramatic conclusion in the final minute.
Seymour raced clear along the right against a tiring defence with his stinging angled drive from around 18 yards crashing against the underside of the bar with the ball surprisingly somehow remaining in play.
Hesitancy and confusion in the Merthyr defence allowed the alert Crago to latch on to the loose ball and gleefully slam the ball home into an unguarded net from close range for literally the last kick of the game with the referee blowing for time straight from the restart.
For once Parkway benefited from scoring a late goal as opposed to conceding one which has too often been the case in the past as they managed to keep a 2nd consecutive clean sheet.
Some may call it a smash and grab but the victory came as a result of a tactically astute game plan executed to perfection by the whole squad with the timely substitutions having a major impact and changing the course of the game.
A disciplined, hardworking display by Parkway against well organised, dangerous and determined opponents in a vibrant atmosphere to secure the 3 points which sees Parkway climb to 16th place as they continue to move clear of the relegation zone.
In addition to cleaning up on the field they also cleaned up off it with Parkway supporter Dave claiming the £131 50/50 winnings! Cheers for the beer Dave.
The relentless schedule continues and Parkway must now look to build on their current momentum as they return to home territory with 2 home games in the next 7 days.
Saturday sees 21st placed Hartley Wintney visiting Bolitho Park with 7th placed Dorchester Town the visitors next Tuesday. Hold tight, see you there.
Match Info
Line-ups:
Merthyr:
1 Cogman, 2 Davies ©, 3 Handley, 5 Angel, 6 Evans, 7 Thomas (Bonthron 78), 8 John, 9 Powell, 10 Rees, 14 Jemmett-Hutson (Norman 90+1), 15 Harris (Ryan-Phillips 7).
Substitutes: 12 Smerdon (unused), 13 Fuller (gk) (unused), 16 Norman, 17 Bonthron, 18 Ryan-Phillips
Parkway:
1 Lee, 2 King, 3 Lane ©, 4 Stephens (Rooney 58) 5 Rose, 6 Down, 7 Williams, 8 Hall, 9 Massey (Seymour 74), 10 Garside, 11 Goulty (Crago 58).
Substitutes: 12 Rooney, 14 Seymour, 15 Crago, 16 Palfrey (not fully fit and therefore unused)
Attendance: 639 (boosted by a kids for a quid promotion)
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