Bedwas 21 Ebbw Vale 3

Ebbw Vale squandered a string of scoring chances in the first half of their basement battle against Bedwas, and finally, they slumped to a disappointing 21-3 defeat.

The strong, swirling wind – accompanied by occasional bouts of rain – made handling and kicking conditions very tricky, but Vale must still be wondering how they blew it when they enjoyed the wind advantage before the interval.

The visitors’ outside-half, Andrew Williams, could not find the target with two penalty attempts in the 12th and 15th minutes, although the second was from 43 metres out. But Williams will still be having nightmares about his third attempt after 38 minutes when he contrived to send the ball sailing past an upright from almost point-blank range! The penalty was awarded after Bedwas made a fearful mess of a drop-out 22 kick, so much so that home scrum-half Tom Dickens’ efforts to smother the ball earned him a yellow card.

Vale full back Ed Lewis Pratt also failed with a 35-metre penalty attempt after 22 minutes. So instead of establishing a deserved lead of at least 12 points, Vale found themselves in the uncomfortable position of trailing 6-3 at the interval, Howells having finally kicked a 36th-minute penalty.

Outside-half Gethin Worgan kicked two first-half penalties for Bedwas. Then replacement back Stuart Thomas and former Vale centre Kristian Owen crossed for second-half tries – both converted by replacement outside-half Adam Greendale – to seal the victory. Centre Shaun Powell, inside-half Andrew Jenkins and the breakaway trio of Rhys Jenkins, Simon Pengelly and James Thomas all played with vigour and commitment for Vale. They produced their best attacking move five minutes after the restart when Lewis Pratt intercepted the ball on his own 22- metre line and sprinted to the home 22, only to run out of support with the line looming.

As expected, Bedwas put in a gritty display up front, with props Mathew Pettit and Keiron Jenkins and flanker Phil Sargent outstanding. Others who caught the eye were pacey right wing Jamie Jones before he was sidelined by an ankle injury, centre Tom Cooper and left wing Lee Pearson. Ebbw Vale head coach Matthew McCarthy said: “The final score line certainly did not reflect how close the game was. We should have been 12 points up at half-time but instead we went in trailing. That has a bad psychological effect when you have to go back out and face a strong wind.”

Bedwas: A McLaughlin, J Jones (S Thomas 40), K Owen, T Cooper, L Pearson, G Worgan (A Greendale 58), T Dickens (K Barrett 51), M Petitt, K Crawford (D Goodfield 59), K Jenkins, A Tibbatts (R Carter 80), J Murphy, P Sargent, J. Harris and H Jenkins (capt) (R Mordecai 77).

Scorers: Tries – S Thomas, K Owen; conversion – A Greendale; penalties – G Worgan (2) A Greendale.

Ebbw Vale: E Lewis Pratt, L Johnson, S Powell, N Wilcox, N Jones, A Williams, A Jenkins (capt), A Howell (C Ackford 67), M Williams (O Phillips 70), K Gay (M Jeffries 56), N Eaves (M Amos 61), J Griffiths, R Jenkins, S Pengelly (A Llewellyn 56) and J Thomas.

Scorer: Penalty – A Williams. Referee: Huw Griffiths (Cwmavon).

Argus star man: Phil Sargent,