A dramatic comeback at Penydarren Park saw Moors recover from 2-0 down to steal all three points from Merthyr Town.
The hosts gave themselves a two-goal cushion as Kiban Rai lobbed Brad James inside 10 minutes, before substitute Cawley Cox’s deflected strike from close range wrongfooted the Moors number one only three minutes into the second half.
Matty Dolan pulled one back soon after, firing home into the bottom left corner, before a close-range strike from Junior Mondal, and a 90th minute header from Glen Taylor tipped the game on its head.
It took just seven minutes for Merthyr to find their way in front, as Rai got in behind, before lobbing the oncoming James from the edge of the penalty area and finding the back of the net to give his side the lead.
The number 7 had a chance to double the lead eight minutes later when he connected with Lewys Twamley’s cross to the far post. However, he couldn’t guide his header on target.
Both sides saw efforts go begging around the 20th minute mark, first for Moors as Corey McKeown saw his flicked effort claimed by Jamie Cogman in The Martyrs goal, before Lee Lucas’ volley from the right-hand side flew over the bar.
Moors went close to an equaliser twice in the space of a minute, as Taylor tested the goalkeeper. The initial strike was parried off to the right by Cogman, only for the ball to be whipped back in for the frontman, who saw his downward header go just wide of the post.
Tom Handley was unlucky not to see his volley add to Merthyr’s tally, when it smashed off the underside off the crossbar from just inside the area after a well-worked corner routine.
Twamley posed a threat again when he looked to bend an effort into the far corner of the net after cutting onto his left foot on the edge of the area, but saw the strike drop wide to end the first half’s action.
It didn’t take long for Paul Michael’s side to double their advantage after the break though, as Cox’s deflected strike put them in the driving seat just three minutes into the second half. The number 18 carried the ball into the box before striking a low driven effort on goal, which deflected off the foot of Ben Pollock and found the bottom left corner of the net, despite the best efforts of James.
Moors looked to hit back straight away when Olly Dyson burst into the penalty area and let fly, only to see the strike continue to rise and fly over the bar.
Tommy Miller’s men did go on to pull one back on the 53rd minute, courtesy of joint interim boss Matty Dolan. The midfielder grabbed his first goal of the season when he found the bottom right corner from inside the penalty area, leaving Cogman with no chance to deal with the danger.
The tides began to change on the game going forward, as Merthyr struggled to deal with Moors’ pressure. Both Mondal and Taylor tested the keeper just after the hour mark, but on both occasions, Cogman spared his teammates’ blushes.
The pressure paid off in the 71st minute, when Mondal levelled the scores with a tidy finish. Cam Salkeld broke away on the right-hand side before delivering an inviting low ball into the path of Mondal, who made no mistake and fired home from close range to set up an exciting final chapter of the game.
Moors could have been in front just four minutes later, only to be denied by the underside of the crossbar in similar fashion to Handley’s attempt in the first half. Mackenzie Heaney found space on the edge of the penalty area to take aim, but saw the powerful effort strike the woodwork and somehow stay out.
The hosts saw a half chance go begging with 12 minutes to go hen Handley was allowed space in the area to shoot, only for the number 3 to drag his shot well wide of the mark, much to the disappointment of the home crowd.
The pressure on Cogman’s goal continued as the game came to a close, as Taylor swiped an effort wide of the upright with 10 to play, before Rob Ramshaw had his effort claimed by The Martyrs number one.
That didn’t matter in the end, however, as it was that man Taylor who stepped up to secure the three points in dramatic fashion at the start of injury time.
Salkeld once again found space on the right, and this time chose to drive into the penalty area. He guided a cross towards the back post, similarly to the delivery for Mondal’s equaliser, which found the head of Taylor, who thumped home in front of the travelling fans and wrap up a memorable victory.
Full Time: Merthyr Town 2 Moors 3
Merthyr Town: Cogman, Ryan-Phillips, Evans, Harris, Spiers (Xavier-Jones 75), Handley, John, Maddox, Lucas, Rai (Cox 16), Twamley.
Subs not used: Dennis, Williams, Morgan, Caswell.
Moors: James, Dyson, Pollock (Mondal 59), Jones, Sutcliffe (Hill 54), Dolan, Hancox (Salkeld 54), Heaney, Ramshaw, McKeown, Taylor.
Subs not used: Williams, Johnson, Foreman, Nouble
Booked: Dolan (89).
Referee: Harry Warner
Attendance: 1,002
Written by Noah Betts