Shellard seals Pontypridd comeback to down the Keys

PONTYPRIDD kept up the pressure on Merthyr at the top of the East Division of the Principality Premiership with a hard-fought victory over Cross Keys at Pandy Park.

The visitors were by far the better team but found it hard to break down a gritty home side.

Ponty won the last meeting 26-12 at Sardis Road in September and should have won by a similar margin.

Keys had their noses in front 7-5 at half-time despite the visitors enjoying most of the possession and opportunities.

The hosts scored a breakaway try, against the run of play, after 14 minutes when wing Matthew Powell finished well for a try converted by outsidehalf Corey Sheppard.

Despite their possession and territory, Ponty had to be patient.

It wasn’t until the final play of the first half before they scored an unconverted try through wing Lewis Williams from a series of scrums on the Cross Keys tryline.

The Sardis Road outfit continue to dominate the opening stages of the second half and finally took the lead when fly-half Diggy Bird kicked a penalty after 57 minutes following a sustained period of pressure.

He slotted another one with a quarter of an hour to go to make it 11-7 to the visitors.

The hard-working openside flanker Rhys Shellard made the game safe at the death when he crossed for an unconverted try.