Year 9 progress to Welsh Cup last 32.
Blwyddyn 9 Penyrheol: 5 Blwyddyn 9 Tregwyr: 29.
Penyrheol yr 9: 5 Gowertonyr 9: 29.
Lukas Kelly bursts away.
Tregwyr hyderus ynrhy gry’ i’w cymdogion.
Confident Gowerton too strong for neighbours.
Gowerton travelled to Penyrheol with one eye on a last 32 place in the U14s Welsh Cup. The game was started at a ferocious pace with both teams applying themselves to the tackle area with tenacity and vigour. The initial exchanges saw possession and territory change hands several times and with most of the game being played in the middle third of the pitch.
Gowerton looked the slightly stronger of the two with some strong running early on from Lloyd Dudley-Jones and Ewan Brown setting the standard for the remainder of the game. They were well supported by Callum Batcup and Lukas Kelly.
Hooker Ben Brown tries to evade a Penyrheol defender.
Gowerton eventually sneaked into the lead when centre Lloyd Dudley-Jones crossed after some strong defensive work. The front row of Cooke, Brown and Evans proved solid around the fringes while the work of Callum Evans and Will Griffiths was also evident as Penyrheol could not find their way through.
Tom Ham was pivotal to everything that Gowerton created with swift passing and sniping runs keeping the defence on their toes. Ham is really growing into the role of scrum half and has improved with each game there.
Before half time Gowerton added two further tries from wing Sam Knight and flanker Ewan Brown, one of which fly half Kieran Charles converted.
Despite Gowerton taking the lead by three tries to nil at half time Captain Griffiths was able to keep his team focused and ensured the victory and a place in the later stages of the Welsh Cup was achieved through some continued pressure early in the second half.
Sam Knight decided to help Penyrheol and tackled Said Mohamed.
Fresh legs were called for and in the form of Jamie Jones and Aaron Davies they arrived, both players very unlucky to miss out on starting selection and have created some selection headaches for the next game with robust tackling and enthusiastic link play.
The game was put out of sight when the introduction of the other subs brought new impetus, Kevin Cheung, Chris Hughes and Sam Cambriani bolstered the backline and added some sharpness to the defensive effort. While Carpanini, Morris and Hughes gave the forwards some further energy that resulted in a final try.
Gowerton’s second half scores came via further tries for Brown and Knight, the first of which was converted by scrum half Ham.
Man of the Match was a close call between Will Griffiths who showed exceptional leadership qualities throughout and Kieran Charles who controlled the game well from outside half. Kieran was the eventual recipient largely for his controlling influence.
Captain Will Griffiths secures possession.
Gowerton were disappointed to concede a try right at the end of the game and need to be a lot tighter in defence for their next challenge; Gowerton now face Pencoed in the last 32 of the Welsh cup. This is a home fixture and is due to take place during the week of the 21st January 2013.
Report: Mr. W. Thomas.
Photographs: Rhys Hughes, Joseph Morris (year 9)
