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   Tonyrefail 10 - Cefn Coed 11

 

 

                                    League leaders Cefn Coed were the visitors for this Div 3 East Central B fixture and Ton supporters could have been forgiven for expecting the worst as their team struggles with a small squad but as it turned out the home side could have won the game had they shown a little more discipline. With both sides struggling to come to terms with the referee it was Ton who were to suffer the most with three yellow cards, to one for Cefn, in what was not a dirty game. 

                                     Ton began the game on the front foot and it soon became obvious that they were not going to be pushed around by the much heavier Cefn pack and it set the tone for for the whole game. The slippery conditions made handling difficult but with Ton's front row creating havoc for the Cefn eight at the set scrum it gave Ton the edge and they kept the visitors in their own half but failed to turn pressure into points. 

                                     Cefn came back at them using the driving mauls from line-outs to gain ground and although they got close to the try line Ton kept them out but with scrums taking an age to set the referee then decided to yellow card a prop from both teams for technical offences. This was followed shortly after with another yellow for Ton so they were down to thirteen players but they were still able to keep Cefn away from the try line until well into stoppage time when another driving maul took them over to lead 0 - 5 at half time.

                                     In the second half Cefn started well and they upped the pace of the game, taking play into the home 22 but they had to settle for three points from a penalty to increase the lead but Ton were quick to reply when a kick chase put Cefn under pressure and a dropped ball allowed Sam Christopher to get a foot on it and follow up to touch down under the posts. The extra points were a formality for Owen Lewis and Ton were one point behind.

                                     The game continued at a hectic pace but neither side could gain control and another yellow for Ton made no difference to their shape as they kept Cefn out. On the hour Cefn kicked a penalty goal but Ton responded with a surge that took them up field where they remained but they could not break the visitors defence. With five minutes left Owen Lewis kicked a penalty for Ton to make the score 10 -11 but in effect they were able to clear their line from the restart and that was the end of the game. 

                                    This was a huge performance from Ton which belies their lowly league position and shows what they are capable of when the right players are available.If they had not fallen foul of the referee then they could well have been celebrating a win. Hopefully they can go on from here and move up the table.