Merthyr were in the ascendancy for the majority of this enthralling encounter, but Aberavon stole victory from the jaws of defeat in the very last play of the game. The Ironmen held the upper hand physically, and Gareth Thompson opened the scoring from the kicking tee.
It was nip and tuck for most of the game with Chris Banfield levelling the scores, before Thompson nudged the visitors back ahead. With the first half drawing to a close Aberavon began to apply a significant amount of pressure in the Merthyr 22. There was nothing subtle about the Wizards’ first try as No 8 Andrew Waite powered over from short-range after a series of powerful scrums from the hosts.
Banfield added the extras, but Merthyr forced the hosts into conceding another penalty soon after which gave Thompson the opportunity to knock over another three points meaning Merthyr were behind by a mere point at the interval.
Merthyr came out of the blocks firing in the early stages of the second half as they lay siege to the Aberavon try line. And they turned their pressure into points when left wing Ashley Norton squeezed in at the far left-hand corner after some nice tip on passes from the Merthyr forwards. Thompson added the extras, but this game was far from over with both sides fighting hammer and tong as the game approached its final quarter.
Aberavon found a new lease of live as they desperately tried to force their way back into the game. Merthyr’s Sam Jones got sent to the sin bin, which allowed the hosts to apply pressure on the visiting try line for the final 10 minutes.
Despite Merthyr’s heroic defence Aberavon were awarded a penalty try for their scrum dominance to claim a dramatic win.
SCORERS
Aberavon: Tries –A Waite, Penalty try A Conversions – C Banfield Penalties – C Banfield
Merthyr: Tries – A Norton Conversions – G Thompson Penalties – G Thompson (3)
