Aberaeron 10 Neyland 10

It was heartbreak at the death at Parc Drefach in this encounter with Neyland sharing the spoils with a last gasp try in the ninth minute of injury time. Both sides had gone into the game undefeated and it is little consolation for the hosts to relinquish the lead at the final whistle. The visitors posed a powerful threat from the outset and Aberaeron were forced on to the defensive for long periods in the opening quarter. But despite majority possession Neyland were unable to breach the home defence and as the half progressed, the game became more evenly contested. There were flashes of creativity from both sides and the visitors went close on more than one occasion. Not to be outdone Aberaeron started to create opportunities of their own and an excellent break from deep in their own half saw possession transferred through several pairs of hands, Leighton Daniel, finding Alistair Severs on his shoulder and the flanker giving the scoring pass to Dylan Evans. Aled Sweeney stroked the extra points to put his side in the driving seat. Neyland continued to fight back, very often seemingly overstepping the mark but with little action from the referee, and they were rewarded with a score midway through the half, but with the conversion going wide of the posts and this remained the score at the half time break.
The second half continued in the same mode with neither side able to break solid defences, the only downside for Aberaeron being guilty of missing too many first time tackles which could have proved costly on another day. The period looked to be heading for a stalemate, but a period of home pressure resulted in indiscretion by the visitors which was punished with a Sweeney penalty. Ironically the restart gave Neyland the opportunity to strike back and it was their turn to push hard, finally being rewarded with the final whistle beckoning and matters could have been worse had the conversion being successful. As it was both sides had to settle for the draw which in Aberaeron eyes was a cruel finale. Nevertheless a share of the spoils was probably a true reflection on the day’s play but a mere point gained will not help either side’s ambitions to remain at the top of the league table.
The club’s youth team also made their first appearance in the league and despite losing to visiting Pembroke Dock Quins, it is heartening to see this development on the playing front, the bloodline for the future.