“We need to be far more ruthless and clinical in the red zone. We had some harsh words at half-time because it wasn’t good enough,” admitted Sankala.
“Neath certainly played for the badge and there was a bit of tension out there, which was more about frustration at not being able to convert our pressure. We needed to be more accurate.
“That simply won’t be good enough if we have to face Pontypool in a play-ff to hold onto our Premiership status. We face a tough trip to Ebbw Vale this weekend and still have to go to Aberavon before finishing against Swansea.”
With relegation rivals Llanelli coming out on top at Bridgend, 25-20, it means Bedwas are hovering just above the four automatic relegation places and are in the play-off position against the WRU National Championship winners, Pontypool.
Llanelli moved a point clear of the five bottom places, but have played one game more than Bedwas and three more than Bridgned, who are now eight points below them. It is going to be a fight to the end to see who survives.
For once the Llanelli coach Paul Fisher was delighted to “win ugly” as his side won a crucial relegation battle at Bridgend to move eight points clear of the bottom four.
“Every game from now on is a cup final for us and we’ve got a couple of games in hand over Bedwas and Llanelli,” admitted Bridgend lock Ben Jones.
“We got a point in the end, but we’re gutted not to have won. We were all over them in the first 10 minutes, but those couple of yellow cards cost us.”
Llanelli head coach Paul Fisher also pointed to the yellow cards issued by referee Ben Breakspear to prop Gheroghe Gajion and centre Jamie Murphy as vital turning points in the first half. That allowed Llanelli to build up a 10 point interval lead.
“I was delighted to get the result, although wasn’t so good for the old heart. It was a massive game in the context of the league and we were delighted to get over the line in the end,” said Fisher.
“The two yellow cards were key turning points in the game and in the end it was an ugly win. They stopped us from playing in the second half, we didn’t get any speed of ball and they really challenged us in the contact area.
“We’ve built up momentum over the last four fixtures, taking 18 out of 20 points, and we’ve got another big game against Swansea this week. We always said we six cup finals to play and it will probably go down to the last weekend of the season.”
Bridgend’s bid to snatch victory at the death from an injury-time line-out five metres from the Llanelli line failed as the visitors stole the ball to hang on for a crucial victory. A few minutes earlier the former Wales wing, Tom Prydie, one of 10 Scarlets in the visiting ranks, had conjured up a bit of magic to send Paul Asquith over for a third try to create some breathing space in this high pressure relegation battle.
But back came the home side with a second penalty from Owen Howe and then they had one final shot at glory at the death. The line-out went astray and now Matt Silva’s side are left with five games to save their season and their Premiership status
Rob Howley gave the Bridgend players a rousing pep talk before kick-off and it worked wonders as they dominated the opening quarter of an hour and came up with a corner try from Dewi Cross and Howe converted.
But by the break Llanelli had worked their way into a 10 point lead playing into the stiff breeze thanks to two Prydie penalties, a controversial penalty try and a corner try from Kalum Evans that Prydie also improved.
Bridgend found themselves down to 13 men for a while after Gheorghe Gajion was sent to the bin for side entry at the maul that resulted in the penalty try and then Jamie Murphy departed for not releasing.
Howe kept his side in touch with a penalty and then used the upright to converted a driving line out try from Owen Thomas. Then came the Prydie moment of magic and the dramatic last line-out.
Meanwhile, earlier in the day at Neath, the home side had made life as difficult as possible for as long as possible in their penultimate home game in a season to forget. The first of the Bedwas tries took the home side’s points against tally through the 1,000 mark in their 26th game of the season and they still have four to go.
After an early miss in the corner by full back Tom Benjamin, who knocked on as he went over the line, Bedwas got on the board with a try from Wales U20 wing Deon Smith on the narrow side of a five metre scrum. Joe Scrivens added a superb touchline conversion, but it wasn’t all plain sailing for the visitors.
Callum Hall got three points back for Neath with a 35 metre penalty and it wasn’t until Gavin Evans picked up a yellow card for not rolling away five minutes before the break that Bedwas were able to increase their score. Adam Williams took full advantage of the extra man to cross for a try that Scrivens converted to make it 14-3 at the break.
Six minutes after the re-start Lewis Bowden went over and the bonus-point finally arrived in the 56th minute when hooker Mike Dacey was driven over from a five metre line-out.
