Fixture

Penallta secured their second successive Swalec Plate Semi Final with a hard fought 16-3 victory on the road against Division 1 West Central outfit Ammanford RFC.
 
The Pitmen travelled West on the Easter weekend for their quarter final tie. With the last competitive game being the league loss against Bedlinog - the squad were intent on getting the season back on track.
 
With several absentees, notably from the pack, the squad was fully tested and included three Youth team players - Lloyd Bodman, Lewis Alexander and Dafydd Rees.
 
The warm up was conducted in a constant drizzle and strong wind that appeared to be blowing across the pitch. With no end to the deluge in sight - both teams steeled themselves for what could only be an attritional game.
 
Penallta started strongly and found themselves camped in the Ammanford half. With the conditions dictating as tight game, the Penallta pack took the game to the home side . Jonny Wright, restored to inside centre, was his usual belligerent, uncompromising self and carried with intent into the Ammanford midfield. But to their credit some robust defence kept the visitors at bay. After 15 minutes the deadlock was broken as Ammanford were penalised in their 22 and fullback Andre Soroko stepped up to make the score 3 - 0.
 
From the kick-off Ammanford began to get a foothold in Penallta territory. Some strong carries, notably from their strong running centre, took its toll on the defence and Penallta were caught offside and the scores were tied at 3 - 3.
 
As expected - there were a lot of errors as the wind and rain continued to make handling difficult. Thankfully the Pitmens set piece was solid - the front row of Mahoney, Haines and Andrew Dix were providing a solid platform in the scrum and with the ever reliable Geraint Thomas and Lee Rowlands providing a steady flow of lineout ball. Aeron Bidgood's service was as sharp as ever and his halfback partner Matthew Brewer was playing the conditions well and steered the Pitmen into opposition territory into several threatening positions. Only some last ditch defence kept the homesides try line intact and again, Penallta only came away with another Andre Soroko penalty for their endeavour.
 
As the half drew to a close, Ammanford had what was to prove their best spell of the game. Some slick handling in midfield opened up the defence and only desperate cover tackling and a dropped final pass prevented a try. More pressure on the visitors 22 saw another penalty but in the difficult conditions, the kick was dragged wide by the strong wind. On the stroke of half time another penalty, in almost an identical position, was awarded but again - the kicked was agonisingly dragged wide. The Pitmen had dodged a proverbial bullet and went in leading 6 - 3 at the break.
 
The travelling supporters were nervous - despite looking the stronger team in the 1st half, a slender 3 point advantage was a slim buffer. A massive 40 minutes lay in store and the coaches didn't need to tell the players what was needed.
 
From the restart Penallta looked to continue to play the territorial game that had served them well in the 1st half. Brewer and the back three of Keep, Davies and Soroko continued to kick well and fielded several tricky kicks with aplomb - all of which kept the game very much in the Ammanford half.
 
After 5 minutes of the second half - the visitors made a double change as Bidgood was replaced at scrum half by Matthew Flanagan and Ross Morgan (Hamstring) made way for Geraint Dallimore. Bidgood had a solid 1st half in tricky conditions and Morgan was his usual dynamic all action self. The replacements did nothing to change the effectiveness of Penalltas gameplan. Flanagan picked up where Bidgood has left off and controlled play well whilst Dallimores presence on the pitch inevitably led to several brutal chop tackles that drew gasps from the more squeamish members of the supporters ranks.
 
Penallta continued to play a solid game that heaped pressure on the homeside and it began to tell. The pack were now making yards with every carry and a typical barn storming run from Jonny Wright saw him bust up the middle and offload to winger Keep who was tackled agonisingly on the line and the referee awarded an attacking scrum. From the resultant scrum Penallta continued to attack and after several phases Flanagan spooted some space on the blindside and offloaded cleverly to outside centre Lewis Barnett to barge his way ofer in the corner. Soroko narrowly failed to add the extras but the two score lead was a welcome relief to the travelling support. With 20 minutes to play, Penallta were in the driving seat.
 
As much as Ammanford tried to get back into the game, the tricky conditions and solid Penallta tackling / tactical play, meant it was proving increasingly difficult and frustrating for them. Aside from a solitary break from deep, they struggled to get into the Penallta half for the rest of the game and the 8 point advantage was looking increasingly decisive.
 
With 5 minutes to go, following further pressure, outside half Matthew Brewer spotted Elliott Keep in space and put in a cross field kick which the winger gathered and managed to shrug off a couple of defenders and squeezed over in the corner for the score that ended the game as a contest. Soroko failed to add the conversion from out wide and the scoreboard showed what would turn out to be the final score of 16 -3. The Pitmen saw out the final throes of the game and secured a hard fought victory against a tough side.
 
To a man, the Penallta Side played to the conditions and kept errors to a minimum. With the solid tactical kicking, game management of the halfbacks and back three and excellence of the set piece throughout the game - the pressure was ultimately too much for the homeside. It was a real team effort and one which the coaches will take great pleasure in seeing with the business end of the season looming.
 
Penallta now have a 3rd semi final to look forward to in 5 years - a remarkable achievement when the turnover of players in the last couple of seasons is considered. For context - Saturdays squad featured only 7 of the 22 man Plate winning squad of 2011/12 and only 9 of last seasons 22 that narrowly lost in the semi final against Newcastle Emlyn.

With the semi final draw due this afternoon - Penallta will face one of the following sides:

Bedlinog

Ystrad Rhonnda or Skewen

Whitland or Cwmllynfel

The two unplayed quarter finals are due to be played on the 9th April - this means that the semis are likely to be played on the 16th April. With no easy draws at this stage of the competition, whoever comes out of the hat will be a tough nut to crack. Good luck boys!