Chepstow Town 1 Caerau Ely 1

CHEPSTOW Town assistant manager Wayne Samuel praised his side's back line after their sterling display against rivals Caerau Ely on Saturday.

But the second in command admitted to having some concerns about Town's "disjointed" midfield.

Speaking to the Free Press, Samuel agreed he was happy they didn't lose, though was clearly still hungry for Town to start picking up all three points.

"This was a better result, but I still would have liked a win. I guess when we consider we were 1-0 down with not long to go we have to be pleased with the point, but before the match our aim was to claim all three points. I still feel like we have dropped four points from our last two games," he said.

This was a marked turn-around compared to last week when Town slumped to a 2-1 defeat away at Tillery.

Against Caerau they fell to a sloppy early goal, but some dogged defending from Town's rock-like defensive trio - Matthew Owen, Nicky Owen and Steve Patterson - held Caerau at bay as Town began to take the upper hand.

Still 1-0 down though with little time left all hope was placed on the shoulders of substitute Oli Hunt. And he didn't disappoint grabbing a vital goal for a share of the spoils.

"Defensively we played very well and did a great job and it was encouraging to see us looking solid. If you have the spine of a solid side then you have something to work with.

"It was a heartening performance, but we could have controlled the midfield a bit better. To be fair, Caerau packed the midfield out on a small, hard pitch so it made things difficult.

What I think we should have done is maybe move the ball around a bit more and not got involved in a battle," said Samuel.

Town bosses are now trying to arrange a friendly with fellow Welsh League outfit Merthyr for either this Thursday evening or Saturday. According to Samuel, it is important they play, despite the league break because of Wales' game against Serbia.

"We'll stick with the same formula as before in the game. We're nearly there now and the side's looking more settled so it's important we keep playing to keep that consistency,' he said.

Contact the club for more details on the proposed friendly.