Defeat for Gosport Borough despite having plenty of chances

The visiting side started the game off strongly, taking command of the midfield battle in the opening few minutes.

A quarter of an hour into the match, Joe Lea burst through the Merthyr defence and fired off a shot on his left foot, which went wide of the post.

The home side soon settled into the game but it was then Marley Ridge’s turn to take control.

First, he played a ball in the 30th minute to striker George Barker, whose shot again fell just wide of the post.

Seven minutes later and Ridge found himself in space on the edge of the box, rifling a shot at goal. Merthyr’s keeper Alexander Harris initially fumbled the ball, but recovered well.

Just before half-time a corner from Rory Williams found Sam Roberts, but like Gosport’s other attempts this was also wide of the target.

Going into the second half, Matt Paterson came on for Gosport, replacing Barker.

The impact of his arrival was felt immediately, as he won a corner for the visitors; Williams again floated the ball in but Ryan Woodford’s header was cleared away.

Five minutes later Gosport came close to scoring once again, as a Theo Lewis strike bounced off Sam Argent, forcing another save from Harris.

In the 70th minute Merthyr won a penalty, which was calmly slotted home by Ian Traylor .

As Gosport battled hard to get a goal back, Lewis was booked for a foul on the halfway line.