INJURY-HIT SEASIDERS LET IT SLIP

Fairwater 27 Penarth 16

This was a weird and ultimately disappointing game which Penarth should have won, despite all the problems they had stacked up against them. It all started on a brilliantly sunny day over at Waterhall Park with a stiff breeze in the Seasiders’ faces. They took a little time to settle and, by the time eight minutes were up, trailed by fourteen points.
Not a great start; home flankers Ryan Evans and Luke O’Brien registered a try apiece, the second from a charged-down clearance and Penarth had yet to get out of their own half. The restart brought better news, though, as Fairwater were done for crossing and James Docherty pulled back three points from the penalty.

The wind continued to do most of the hosts’ work for them, but the Seasiders refused to wilt and despite constant pressure they conceded only a further six points while being reduced to 14 men and scoring another penalty of their own. Just as they returned to full strength, Fairwater lost one of their own players to the bin and Penarth lost lock Jon Boland to a leg injury. The penalty was kicked to touch and although Aaron Ellis took it well at the front of the line-out, the drive was held up. A five-metre scrum to the Seasiders and the ball was worked out wide to Ben Donovan who applied the usual finishing touch to score in the corner. Docherty converted from the touchline and the sides turned round with the hosts a manageable 20-13 in the lead.
Penarth continued in the second half where they’d left off and the third quarter belonged to them in no uncertain terms. Docherty reduced the arrears to four points as the Seasiders sent in waves of attacks, but without further reward. Andy Pyman replaced Tom Gent and the one-way traffic continued, but with the addition of a further injury as Tom Luck was stretchered off.
The turning point was probably the bewildering yellow card awarded to Owain George with fifteen minutes to go. Fairwater were simply not in the game and tiring rapidly, while the only thing that was preventing Penarth from scoring and probably running away with the game was a string of handling errors.
While the perplexed scrum-half was cooling his heels, Fairwater were able to raise the siege and were starting to play in the visitors’ half. The Seasiders might yet have won and probably should have, only they needed to avoid conceding a further score. This duly arrived fully seventy minutes after they’d scored their previous try as hooker Michael Andrews squeezed in for the winning points.
Having started with a much-changed fifteen, it was doubly unlucky t o lose a further three players (Andy Pyman had limped off with three minutes to go), but even so, this was a game that was there for the taking and Penarth, having played well over the four games so far find themselves with ground to make up with 11th-placed Nantymoel visiting the Athletic Field this coming Saturday.
PENARTH Rhys Morgan, Ben Donovan, Tom Luck, James Candy, James Crothers, James Docherty, Owain George, Sean O’Sullivan, Joe Page, Tom Gent [Andy Pyman], Aaron Ellis, Jon Boland [Mike Clare], Scott Mackie, Alex Thau, Matt Sutton

Swalec League Division 3(SE)
Saturday 29th September 2012
PENARTH v Nantymoel
The Athletic Field, Lavernock Road
Kick-off 2.30pm