Jones had twice missed the chance to give The Foxes the win with a short penalty in the 75th minute and saw an 80th minute drop-goal attempt blocked. Bedlinog did extremely well to recycle the ball as Jones held his nerve to sink the pressure kick.
Penallta wing Ryan Davies had given his side the advantage with a sublime solo effort midway through the second-half before Bedlinog launched their late comeback.
In the opening exchanges both sides struggled to break one another down as the game remained a cagey affair. Matthew Brewer scored a penalty to open the scoring before Ben Grzesica replied for Bedlinog in the 26th minute.
Grzesica had a chance to give The Foxes the lead but his penalty from 40 metres out hit the crossbar and bounced short. A resilient and brutal defensive effort from Bedlinog stopped Penallta from scoring minutes before the break.
The second half continued from where it left off with both teams testing and probing. Grzesica added a penalty but the fly-half soon endured a nightmare 10 minute spell. First a penalty from 35 metres had the length but was inches wide before the usually reliable Foxes kicker squandered a routine kick from a slight angle.
A spark was needed to boot the game into life and Davies found that moment of magic. The speedster intercepted a Sam Farr Evans pass before sprinting 50 metres to slide in by the posts. Brewer added the extras to give Penallta the advantage. Grzesica missed again and Jones soon stepped in to take over the kicking duties and added a penalty in the 64th minute to set up an intriguing finale.
Jones, who was in the Bridgend squad that beat Pontypridd in last year’s SSE SWALEC Cup final, saw a penalty fall metres short late on. The full-back then had his second chance to snatch the win but saw his drop-goal well-blocked. With the ball bobbling all the way to the half-way line, Bedlinog showed patience and powered through into kicking range. And with Jones in the pocket, the second-choice kicker made it third time lucky to give The Foxes the Bowl and keep their league and cup treble very much alive. Bedlinog will play Porth Quins in the final of the Glamorgan Silver Bowl on the 14th May, and are five points clear of Penallta at the summit of the Division 1 East.
Jones hailed his teammates after the pulsating last minute win. “It’s an unbelievable feeling, I’m speechless, and the boys’ effort was all there today. The togetherness in the squad is unbelievable and we’re one big family really.
“I didn’t realise the last kick was over, they were all on me before it went over so that’s just unreal really. I was a little bit nervous – in fairness to Ben we didn’t have time for much kicking before the game but when I took over I tried to keep my composure.”
Losing captain Lee Rowlands applauded the Foxes’ resolve to win the game. “It was tight old game. A big physical battle but from the way we defended we thought we were going to make it.
“Congratulations to Bedlinog they pipped it at the end. It’s the worst feeling in the world to lose to a drop kick but they got more points in the end and deserved it.”
Scorers:
Bedlinog: Pens: B Grzesica (2), L Jones; Drop Goal: L Jones
Penallta: Try: R Davies; Pen: M Brewer; Con: M Brewer
Bedlinog: L Jones, S Farr Evans, T Farr Evans, J Powell, R Walker, B Grzesica, M Clyne; L Jenkins, N Huish (c), C Davies, G Williams, R Blake, A Harris, G Davies, A Murphy
Replacements: R Bow, L Morgan, R Rees, R Thomas, D Pritchard, O Rees, L Bennett, J Thomas
Penallta: M Brewer, R Davies, L Barnett, A Jenkins, E Keep, J Wright, M Flanagan; A Dix, G Haines, K Mahoney, G Capel, L Rowlands (c), R Stephens, R Fitzgerald, G Thomas
Replacements: G Dallimore, Ll Rowlands, A Bidgood, G Wilks, A Soroko, L Edwards, L Purnell, L Bridges
