By Niall Griffiths
Goals from Andrew Smith, Ellis Tootil and Juan Peralta saw USW avenge a 10-1 thrashing suffered at the hands of varsity rivals UWE a year ago.
Memories of that dark day served as motivation for the return clash on Welsh soil – and a 3-2 win was testament to a staggering improvement.
USW didn’t have to wait long for the opener.
James Johnson made a break down the left hand side straight from kick-off. He beat UWE right back Leo Haywood before crossing low to Smith who made no mistake, smashing it into the net.
Their second wasn’t long coming.
After just three minutes of play it was Tootil who increased the home side’s lead, linking up well with Matthew Pinney to create space for himself before slotting the ball into the bottom left corner and past Oliver Chapman in the UWE net.
The first chance for the visitors came after 10minutes. Matt Cooper made a driving run from midfield but his fierce effort was fired wide of the left hand post.
The 22nd minute saw USW extend their lead to 3-0. Dan Moriarty won the ball back high up the pitch before playing it through to Peralta who fired low to the left of the UWE keeper.
UWE were able to pull one back before the half time interval through a spectacular Josh Archer effort from distance.
As the second half began, UWE came out fighting in the hope of sparking a comeback and after just eight minutes they had their second. Following a short corner, the ball fell to Harry Milton who finished with ease.
But far from a jittery finish, USW were able to control possession for the remainder of the match and see out the victory.