Brynley Toms and his Bedwas teammates hopes of a place in the last four of the Swalec Cup disappeared after a hard fought encounter at a wet Pandy Park, the game frequently punctuated by the referees whistle much to the ire of both sets of supporters.
In a very tight first half Keys probably shaded the possession stats but the Bedwas defense kept them at bay and with Powell kicking well out of hand managed to repel the home attacks. Neither side came close to scoring a try as chances were few and far between.
Keys finally broke through three minutes before half time, Harley Thomson’s clearing kick was charged down and the ball quickly shipped to Leon Andrews to cross under the posts. Ethan Davies conversion attempt was unsuccessful as the ball fell off the kicking tee and his attempt at dropped goal conversion went wide.
The second half started as the first had ended with neither side able to conjure up a match winning move. With nine minutes of the half gone good running by the home side created space for center Phil Williams to cross for his side’s second try, Ethan Davies was again unsuccessful with his conversion.
Bedwas brought on a raft of replacements including the whole front row. The changes immediately paid off with the ball being moved quickly across the line for Mathew John to score a try out wide, Powell added the conversion to set up an intriguing last 27 minutes.
Bedwas’ task was made much harder when replacement Number 8 Dan Crimmins saw a yellow card for a ruck offense turn to a red one for dissent. Ethan Davies missed with the resulting penalty kick. Bedwas refused to throw in the towel but the extra Keys man up front made their mission difficult.
Ethan Davies finally landed a penalty for the home side with three minutes remaining and the home side were able to run the clock down with much further drama.
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