Fixture

Nantyfyllon came to Parc Bedw today sitting proudly on top of Division 1 and left in the same position having put in a herculean defensive effort and shrewdly taking their limited chances to register a second league win  8 – 13.

Birchgrove playing in to a strong wind started the stronger side and were soon putting the visitors line under some pressure.. Going comfortably through the forward phases scrum half Scott Hawkins chose a wide option and Adam Rowlands quickly transferred to Adam Percival before completing the perfect wrap around to take and give to Ross Fender who touched down for the first try of the game. 5-0.

Nanty though were quick to counter and after a period of concerted home pressure the visitors broke out in to the home 22. A defensive recovery saw Birch back in charge but some risky inter passing led to an away penalty and from the resultant line out Nanty wing Owen Lyons levelled the scores 5 – 5 with a Rhodri Davies conversion adding the extras 5 – 7.

Birch though continued to dominate possession and forward drives led by Liam Richards, Lewis Cox and Kyl Thompson came frustratingly to nothing as the final ball disappointedly went astray giving the visitors the opportunity to harness the wind and clear their lines.

It was in fact Nanty who were next on the Score Board and although not necessarily taking advantage of the conditions out of hand Rhodri Davies stepped up to slot two wind assisted penalty efforts over to take the visitors in at half with a 5 – 13 lead.

With the wind now in their favour Birchgrove were soon in to their stride with No 10 Adam Rowlands looking to test the  Nanty close defence with some success at every opportunity. The wind cruelly though was easing and a long range penalty attempt was missed. Birche however were getting the upper hand at scrum and even stole a couple of line outs and you felt it was only a matter of time before the defensive line was breached.

For the first 20 minutes of the second half the game was centred exclusively in or around the visitors 22 but the wind had dropped and for some reason even though the phases were being completed , sometimes as many as 6, 7 or 8 combinations the final pass was going to ground or the referee was finding an indiscretion and somehow the Nanty line remained intact.

A well taken Leigh Di’lulio penalty did reduce the deficit to 8 – 13 but the game continued in a frustrating vein of home dominance and away defence. With the clock ticking away and the frustration of chasing the game becoming more and more apparent and manifesting itself in some forced play the visitors managed to break the stranglehold and move play to the safety zone of the home half.

Birchgrove did manage to recover possession but the clock eventually beat us and the game had gone much to the delight of the visitors and the disappointment and surprise of the home team and supporters.

But we learn and move on and next week no doubt meet the formidable challenge of Glynneath away head on and with the usual optimism and vigour.- See you there lads !