Cardiff and Swansea played out a feisty 1-1 draw in the South Wales derby on Sunday, with Liam Cullen’s opener cancelled out by Callum Robinson’s emphatic finish with 11 minutes to go.

Swans striker Cullen bundled home a rebound in the tenth minute after Ronald’s strike was brilliantly saved by Ethan Horvath. The Swansea.com Stadium erupted and the home side dominated the first half thereafter.

Cardiff, though, rallied in the second period as they played towards the away end. Just as Swansea fans were beginning to pray for the final whistle, Ollie Tanner’s excellent run and pull back found Robinson perfectly.

The former West Brom striker slotted the ball home perfectly beyond Lawrence Vigouroux to square the game and give the away fans something to take back east.

Red Card For Bulut and Plenty of Yellows Elsewhere

Tempers flared in the final minutes after Aaron Ramsey went down under a heavy aerial challenge with Jay Fulton. Cardiff manager Erol Bulut was caught up in a confrontation with Kyle Naughton and was eventually sent off for entering the field of play and delaying the restart.

After 90 minutes of heavy challenges met with stern words, referee Oliver Langford found his cards and was keen to show them off in the dying moments. Joe Allen was first booked for a cynical challenge as the game began to break up.

Perry Ng and Harry Darling were then both booked for a separate incident that left the Cardiff right back on the floor holding his head. Rubin Colwill too was booked for his part in the subsequent melee.

Both sides are back in action on Wednesday evening in the League Cup, with home matches against Southampton and Wycombe Wanderers for Cardiff and Swansea respectively.

Wrexham Win… Again

Goals from Ollie Palmer, Elliott Lee, and Andy Cannon fired Wrexham to a second win of the season as they continued their unbeaten start to the season.

Two wins and creditable away draw at Bolton Wanderers last weekend put Wrexham fourth in the table in this early stage but points to another positive season.

It is a testament to Wrexham’s recruitment that much of the players that took them to League Two promotion are performing well at a step up in quality.

The likes of Lee, Palmer, and Cannon have been with Wrexham since the National League days and are still match winners two divisions later.

With Paul Mullin also returning to action as a late substitute, Wrexham fans can start dreaming of (another) memorable season.

Jardim has Newport firing at home

After back-to-back away defeats to start the season, Newport County have now won 3-1 twice in seven days.

Nelson Jardim’s side took the lead in fortuitous fashion after 12 minutes as Sam McLoughlin’s half-volley deflected off Sebastien Quirk’s body and into the bottom corner.

Accrington levelled before the break, Shaun Walley beating Ciaran Brennan before slotting the ball past Nick Townsend.

Newport restored their lead seven minutes into the second half, Courtney Baker-Richardson scoring from the spot. Aaron Wildig gave the hosts a two-goal cushion 10 minutes later, firing home a volley from inside the area.

Victory moves Newport up to fifth in League Two on six points from three games, a much better position for new manager Jardim.

Wales Away

With Craig Bellamy’s first Wales squad set to be announced this week, there were plenty of hopefuls in fine form over the Bank Holiday weekend.

For Leeds, Dan James scored an excellent goal with a deft dink over the Sheffield Wednesday goalkeeper after a typical burst of pace got him beyond the last man.

Another candidate for an attacking role under Bellamy is Lewis Koumas, who scored his first goal in a Stoke shirt on the weekend against West Brom. The Liverpool loanee equalised for the Potters with a lovely finish beyond the goalkeeper.

The pick of the goals by far was scored by Mark Harris of Oxford United. After a long goal kick was brought down 35 yards from goal, Harris struck an incredible volley over the Blackburn Rovers goalkeeper. Harris has continued his excellent League One form into the Championship with Oxford, scoring three goals in as many games for the U’s.

Across the boarder in Scotland, Wales forwards Rabbi Matondo and Tom Lawrence both scored in Rangers’ 6-0 romp over Ross County.

Both players hit the woodwork before scoring – Matondo the bar before a brace and Lawrence the post before a calm finish – and laid on assists for each other. With both forwards on the fringes of Wales squads, perhaps a change of coach will give them a chance to impress at international level.

Cymru Premier Up And Running

After a somewhat low-key start to the season, with the likes of Caernarfon Town and The New Saints missing from fixture lists due to European commitments, the Cymru Premier sparked into life this weekend with two rounds of fixtures on Friday evening and Monday afternoon.

Four teams remain unbeaten after four games, with Penybont, Cardiff Met, Bala Town, and Haverford West all on eight points.

At the other end of the table, Barry Town, Flint Town, and Briton Ferry all lost both games of the weekend as the latter two still search for their first wins back in the top flight.

TNS sit ominously down in ninth, with only one game on the board, thanks to their European exploits.

Results

Friday 23rd

Bala Town 2-0 Flint Town United

Briton Ferry 1-5 Cardiff Met

Haverfordwest County 0-0 Penybont

Newtown 0-4 Caernarfon Town

Aberystwyth Town 1-0 Barry Town United

Saturday 24th

Wrexham 3-0 Reading

Newport County 3-1 Accrington Stanley

Sunday 25th

Swansea City 1-1 Cardiff City

Monday 26th

Barry Town 1-2 Newtown

Caernarfon Town 0-0 Bala Town

Cardiff Met 0-0 Haverfordwest County

Flint Town 0-1 Connah’s Quay

Penybont 5-1 Aberystwyth

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