Meek’s penalty meant the visitors claimed a 23-22 victroy having earlier led 17-3 after half-an-hour’s play. As good as the Steelmen were in that period, Ponty hit back to take the lead and despite being pipped at the death emerged with a losing bonus point.
“We were really pleased at half-time even though it was only 17-10. We were direct, simple and composed with the ball, although we left a few points out there and should have been further ahead,” said Ebbw Vale head coach, Jason Strange.
“We had to remain composed in the second half and keep doing what we were doing. We won the big moments in the last 10 minutes and that was the key.”
Three first half tries for the visitors from Ethan Phillips, Carrick McDonough and Morgan Richards gave them a comfortable lead. Ben Burnell’s penalty was the only response for the home side.
Then came the fight back from Ponty as two tries from hooker Rob Jones, one each side of the interval, hauled them back into the contest. The latter came after Ebbw full–back Richards had been sent to the sin-bin for not rolling away at a breakdown.
Burnell improved the first Jones try to cut the gap to two points, but then Ponty saw a player go to the sidelines or 10 minutes, centre Ceri Morris, after he saw yellow for a high tackle.
Even so, the home side still managed to pick up a try bonus point following a dominant set piece that allowed No 8 Aled Ward picking up and dotting down after an Ebbw Vale scrum had gone against the head.
A touchline conversion from Burnell gave the hosts a narrow advantage on the scoreboard. As the nerves starting jangling, visiting No 10 Evan Lloyd put a penalty effort wide before Meek came up with the winner.
Scorers: Pontypridd: Tries: Rob Jones 2, Aled Ward; Cons: Ben Burnell 2; Pen: Ben Burnell. Ebbw Vale: Tries: Ethan Phillips, Carrick McDonough, Morgan Richards; Con: E Lloyd; Pens: E Lloyd, K Meek
