Fixture

Senghenydd RFC | 1st Team 11 - 20 Dowlais RFC | 1st Team

Match Report
06 February 2023 / Team News

28/01/23 Senghenydd v Dowlais Admiral National League 1 EAST Match Report

Dowlais VS Senghenydd 28/01/2023 Match Report

Score:

Dowlais: 20

Senghenydd: 11

A great win this week for Dowlais with a 20-11 victory away at Senghenydd.

The game was a closely contested one throughout the majority of its duration, and the first half was the most prominent example of this, with neither side ever pulling more than a try’s worth of points away from the opposition.

The first strike on the score board came with a penalty for Senghenydd which they successfully kicked. Things would calm down for a few more minutes from there until one of the home side’s mistakes would cost them dearly with a yellow card, cutting their numbers down to fourteen.

This gap in their lines would prove invaluable to Dowlais, as the visitors would strike while the iron was hot and get their first points with the first try of the game, touched down by Morgan Powell. Although the try didn’t get converted, Dowlais had brought themselves into the game in a big way, earning themselves a 5-3 lead.

However from there, things would start to slip somewhat for the visiting side, messing up further opportunities for tries to shoot ahead and giving away some silly penalties.

It looked like these mistakes would culminate in a big way when Senghenydd made a break for the try-line following an interception, but the effort was stopped at the twenty-two. However, Senghenydd wouldn’t return to their half empty handed, getting themselves another successful penalty kick out of the visit.

From there, things looked like they were on the verge of spiralling away from Dowlais, with Senghenydd scoring their own unconverted try to push their lead up to 11-5, a concerning gap starting to form.

But thankfully, nothing else would come for the home side that half, with Dowlais getting in a penalty – kicked by Sion Martin – to somewhat thin the gap before half time, ending the first half at a fairly balanced 11-8 to Senghenydd.

While the game and the score gap were by no means out of Dowlais’ control or unsalvageable by this point in the game, some nerves were starting to settle in for the supporters following the dip their side had taken following their try. With how things were going, it felt like Dowlais needed to score next.

And much to their relief, that is exactly what happened with the second half. Emerging from the changing rooms and back onto the field, Dowlais seemed invigorated for the forty minutes ahead.

Despite the half playing an essential role in their victory, Dowlais didn’t do anything that fancy in the second half. Truthfully, all they did was tighten up what they already had in place and take extra care to ensure that they made the most of any chances brought before them.

Dowlais’ defence seemed a lot sturdier from the very beginning, and their penalty count was noticeably lower with greater discipline all around. This led to the fantastic result of Senghenydd not gaining a single point during the entirety of the second half.

But of course, that would have meant nothing if they hadn’t been able to score themselves, which they certainly did. All it took were two wonderful moments of play to secure Dowlais’ win.

Dowlais’ first try of the second half came from an excellent bit of teamwork between Morgan Powell and Will Thomas, a partnership that culminated in a run down the wing that spanned over half the length of the pitch, with the resulting try being touched down by Thomas and converted by Sion Martin.

Their second try of the half and final try of the game came in a similar way, with some excellent running and passing through the lines – this time down the opposite wing – culminating in a lovely try touched down by Cameron Trowbridge, albeit an unconverted one.

With these two tries, Dowlais shot away from Senghenydd for the first time in the game towards a very respectable 20-11 victory.

Although they weren’t quite able to get a last try in to secure a bonus point, and the latter parts of the first half left a bit to be desired, this was overall an excellent performance from Dowlais.

From the low lulls of the end of the first half, the boys managed to really pull themselves together for a great little second half, with some solid defence, a not-too-bad penalty count and some truly fantastic tries on top of it all.

Although the Six Nations will be interrupting things and scattering the games around for the following month or so, let’s hope for more of this when they return after a two-week break to play Blaenavon at home.

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