|
Page 1 of 2 Pontypridd 20 - 16 BedwasBridgend 37 - 36 Maesteg Ebbw Vale 52 - 25 Pontypool Swansea 33 - 41 Llanelli
From ponty.net: Pontypridd made an industrious start to the game, and were rewarded early on as full back Jason Pocock converted a sweetly struck penalty. The home team continued to enjoy a greater share of possession, working off a solid forward platform, but tending to loose the ball in contact and guilty of carelessly kicking straight into touch. With just ten minutes gone, the game was already degenerating into a scrappy affair. Forwards Nathan Strong and Chris Dicomidis were effective in breaking the gain line for Ponty, but Jason Pocock off target with a mid distance penalty attempt. A rare incursion by Bedwas into the home half resulted in a penalty award which outside half Andrew James successfully converted. With the visitors still gaining the favour of the referee’s decisions, James was again on target with a penalty, sneaking Bedwas into a lead of 3pts to 6. Just into the second quarter of the game, Ponty at last seemed to crank up the tempo, with scrum half Gareth Jones sniping away around the fringes, and hooker Leighton Davies following up on the charge. Bedwas were caught infringing, resulting in a yellow card shown to winger Stefan Sankala. An effective line out and drive saw the Ponty pack piling over their opponents’ line for hooker Davies to claim a try, a touchline conversion to follow from Jason Pocock. The home team once more sought to move up a gear, advancing into the Bedwas twenty-two, but without threatening a score. The game was still tending to stagnate in midfield, Bedwas just getting the better of things, applying good pressure in the set pieces. Working off an effective line out, Ponty managed to apply some pressure, allowing home outside half Richard Langmead to slot over a snap drop goal, hoisting his side into a 13pts to 6 lead. The home team continued to look the more potent outfit in attack, and Bedwas losing their flanker to a yellow card offence, but Jason Pocock just wide of the mark with the ensuing penalty attempt. The visitors set off on an opportunist foray down the flank, rounded off with a try for winger Stefan Sankala, the wide angle conversion from Andrew James drawing the scores level at 13 points apiece going into the interval. Bedwas continued to get the better of exchanges as the second half resumed, outside half James just pulling wide a kickable penalty attempt. Ponty’s efforts to put width on the ball came to nothing, generally heading up blind alleys with little creative endeavour on show. An audacious break by Gareth Jones saw the home scrum half darting away for an opportunist try, duly converted by Pocock. With Tom Riley coming on in place of Jason Pocock, Ponty again sat back to soak up a significant amount of pressure, and conceding points as Andrew James slotted over another penalty for Bedwas. A further substitution saw Dafydd Lockyer replacing Paul Matthews, both teams at logger heads with one another in a scrappy and low key encounter. Ponty kept sniping away in attack, but Bedwas breaking away on a length of the field counter offensive which seemed certain to succeed, only for Matthew Nuthall to back track to pull off a last ditch try saving tackle in the corner. Ponty were ringing the changes, bringing on Adam Powell for Lee Evans and Gerald Cox for Stuart Williams, still in defensive mode in a game dominated by the referee’s whistle. A kick and chase rush attack by Bedwas saw winger Craig Hill going close to scoring, as Ponty remained pegged back near their own line, and suffering further as hooker Leighton Davies was dispatched to the sin bin. With Stuart Williams coming back on as temporary front row replacement, and Rhys Shellard departing, Ponty were soaking up a considerable amount of pressure, relying on the booming clearance kicks of Matthew Nuthall to give them some respite. Tom Dickens now came off the bench in place of Gareth Jones, but Ponty plunged into deeper trouble as winger Darren Berry was the next into the sin bin, the home team reverting to dogged defensive mode, being two men down, and with some walking wounded remaining on the pitch. Enduring a torrid period of pressure, Ponty at least showed great spirit in their defensive efforts, with Ben Rose coming on for the injured Chris Dicomidis. There were ironic cheers from the crowd as some of the referee’s decisions finally went Ponty’s way, the home team clearing their lines and finishing strongly with an attack spearheaded by centre Dafydd Lockyer. A poor premiership tie, poorly marshalled by the referee and linesmen, came to an end with Pontypridd hanging on to a lead of 20 pts to 16. Pontypridd
15.Jason Pocock (Tom Riley) 14.Chris Clayton 13.Matthew Nuthall 12.Paul Matthews (Dafydd Lockyer)11.Darren Berry 10.Richard Langmead 9.Gareth Jones (Tom Dickens) 1.Stuart Williams (Gerald Cox) 2.Leighton Davies (Stuart Williams temp) 3.Ryan Harford 4.Chris Dicomidis (Ben Rose) 5.Grant Harrington 6.Lee Evans (Adam Powell) 7.Rhys Shellard 8.Nathan Strong – cpt “Golden Bob” man of the match – Gareth Jones
Main website link: http://www.ponty.net/fixtures_and_results/detail.php?result_id=1071503&scoreboard_id=18610
 Add as favourites (19) |  Quote this article on your site | Views: 831
|
![BBCi: Javascript is not available on this browser](http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/bsp/hi/services/htmlsyndication/img/synd_js_error_js-inactive.gif")
