SEASIDERS MUST-WIN AT CEFN
With six games remaining for the Seasiders to retain their position in Div 3 East Central A and avoid a second relegation in successive seasons, they all have a ‘must win’ label attached to them.
Three of these are against clubs already below them in the table and next Saturday’s opponents, Cefn Coed, have yet to win at all this season.
Having finally slipped back into the relegation zone for the first time since the middle of October, the Penarth club should not only be targetting a win, but also a bonus point. Cefn Coed are not only the only side in the division to have shipped more tries than the Seasiders, Penarth have score nearly twice as many.
The reason for the dip into 10th place was also a match played up at Cefn Coed, where Clwb Rygbi Cymry Caerdydd, the Seasiders clear rivals for the vital 9th place in the table, completed a postponed fixture and came away with a 26-8 win.
Clearly Penarth can return the favour and return to 9th place, as Clwb Rygbi face Cowbridge at home, who have finally been overtaken by Treharris, now in 2nd place after a 48-0 win over Gwernyfed.
There’s still no clear idea of how the WRU proposes to decide from which divisions three clubs will be relegated instead of two, so there’s no point trying to guess. The only sure way of avoiding the drop is to regain and hold on to 10th place.
The corresponding fixture at the Athletic Field against Cefn Coed back in December yielded a 22-10 win for the Seasiders. This was, coincidentally, also their last league win, having lost six in a row since then. Despite the low score, this was a bonus-point win for the hosts, with tries from Kevin Maddox, Tom Smith and a brace from Alan Doyle securing the maximum. Tight-head prop Doyle was sadly to play in only one other game before succumbing to an injury that has kept him out of the team ever since. Another key player who can’t come back too soon.
The other five games remaining also include a home and away pair against fast-fading Gwernyfed, currently five points adrift of Penarth, having played one more game. A double in these two games would go a long-long way to securing safety, but first things first and a win on Saturday is absolutely crucial.
