Match Reports 2009/10
Tredegar (19) Merthyr (15)
April 3rd, 2010
Five penalties from the boot of Merthyr's, Neil Burnett could not prevent Tredegar running out worthy winners in a hard fought muddy encounter at the Recreation Ground. Lying precariously close to the relegation zone the win for the men in red boosted their chances to avoid the drop and with three home games left out of the six league fixtures remaining their fate remains in their own hands.
On a heavy pitch, Merthyr never looked like scoring a try and Tredegar's Wes Cunliffe who had a good game on the wing was unlucky not to get an early touchdown. However it was left to livewire scrum half Matt Taylor to score the first of Tredegar's three tries.
With an inconsistant display from the man in the middle Tredegar were depleted when Daffyd James spent 10 minutes in the bin with the ref ignoring the indiscretions of the visitors and paying no attention to them continually encroaching offside. However with the Tredegar pack having the upper hand prop Brendan Sullivan dominated his opposite number and with the Iron Men's pack buckling under the pressure Tredegar were awarded a penalty try which Pierce converted.
Just before half time Jason Price received a yellow and went to the bin whilst the inconsistancy of the ref caused great frustration to the home team. Matthew Jolly and Rhys Hallet handled well despite the conditions and their defensive endeavours kept the Iron Men at bay. At the break Tredegar led 12 points to 6 despite being reduced to 13 players.
The second half saw Tredegar on the rampage with Merthyr having no answer to Tredegar's dynamic forward play and Jordan Williams capped an outstanding display with a fine touchdown converted again by Pierce. With Jack Dawson & Kristian Smith putting in the hard yards and Chris James competing for everything on the deck Tredegar's win was made possible by the stability of the set piece where Derby and Edwards proved far too strong up front.
Tredegar's substitutes Dave Ford, Darren Hughes, Dewi Ventor and Marc Titcombe ensured Tredegar kept up the pressure and secured the vital win, gaining another four valuable league points.
Tredegar have a busy week ahead searching for more league points, with an away game against Rumney on Saturday followed by two home fixtures against Blackwood on Tuesday 13th April and the home game against Rumney the following Saturday.