SEASIDERS LOSE A CLOSE ONE
Brecon 14 Penarth 3 – Saturday 13 April 2013
The Seasiders dominated a close game up at Parc de Pugh in poor conditions, but ultimately lacked the guile to turn possession into points and lost a game they should have won. A low-scoring game started with a flurry of points as the teams exchanged penalties for a 3-3 score after five minutes.
The absence of further scores in the following twenty minutes wasn’t for the want of trying and as Ben Donovan ran on to a smart garryowen from Mike Hurley, it looked very much as if Henry Mitchell was going to squeeze in at the corner, only for the wing to be tackled into touch.
However, as Brecon moved it upfield, referee Matthew J Thomas flourished the first of what would turn out to be a fistful of cards to dismiss Chris Mortimer for ten minutes and scrum-half Dan Edwards charged down a Rhys Morgan clearance to score the game’s only try.
Now the cards started to be waved in the direction of the hosts and as openside Osian Davies followed outside half Gari Davies on to the bench, Ben Donovan was forced into touch just short of the line in the opposite corner. Having tried the open game, Penarth moved smoothly into Plan B and drove a line-out over the line, only for the referee to find himself badly placed and declaring ‘held up’.
As the second half opened, the Seasiders simply repeated the dose, but again the referee failed to position himself correctly and declined to award the score. Although Penarth laid siege at this point, the hosts’ impressive line speed allowed them to tackle the ball-carrier some way behind the gain line on a regular basis and Plan C never quite materialised.
Now Scott Mackie followed his back-row colleague on to the bench and although a seven-man pack was able to keep their try-line intact, Brecon nevertheless completed the scoring with a brace of penalties.
With more than twenty minutes remaining, the Seasiders took the game to Brecon and another Ben Donovan burst as the centre came in at a devastating angle was only stopped by a finely-judged ankle tap and although they ended up with an attacking line-out, the throw was adjudged not straight.
A fourth Donovan break looked as if it would reap some reward with only eight minutes left, but Brecon scrum-half Dan Edwards found himself in receipt of the fifth yellow card of the afternoon in a game bereft of niggle and involving no violent intent throughout.
Still Penarth laid lengthy siege and yet they could find no way through an aggressive Brecon defence that strangely managed to avoid straying offside when it mattered. The stage was set for a last-minute break-out by the hosts and although Gary Power skilfully snuffed out the threat covering back, the final say went to Mr Thomas, who decided that James Crothers was deserving of a straight red card.
PENARTH Rhys Morgan, Henry Mitchell, Ben Donovan, Mike Rowe , James Crothers, Mike Hurley, Gareth Clancy (Adan Cole), Richard Merrett, Joe Page (Sean O’Sullivan), Gary Power, Richard Ball, James Beaton, Chris Mortimer, Scot Mackie, Matt Sutton
