Dogged 14-man Dragons fall to last-gasp penalty

GARETH Anscombe kicked a last minute penalty to rob Dragons of a deserved draw in a drab game at the Arms Park.

Dragons hopes of picking up their first Welsh derby win in 24 attempts were ruined when prop Lloyd Fairbrother was sent off in the 31st minute for leading with his elbow before making contact with the head of Dillon Lewis.

Dragons captain Cory Hill said: “The TMO’s are becoming an increasing part of the game to make crucial decisions and we have to leave it there.

“We knew we had one chance this season to come down here and win and we didn’t want to waste it, so defeat in the last minute is tough to take.

“Our discipline was disappointing and we knew we didn’t have enough points on the board at half-time but there was massive belief in the changing rooms and we hung on in there right to the end.”

It was indeed heroic stuff from the visitors and the efforts of hugely committed forwards, Aaron Wainwright and Hill should have been rewarded with a draw. Elliot Dee and Brandon Nansen also emerged with credit as did half-backs, Josh Lewis and Rhodri Williams, who shaded their duel with Tomos Williams and Gareth Anscombe.

Anscombe did hold his nerve to kick the crucial goals but it says much for Blues’ performance that it took them until the last minute to nick a victory against limited opponents, who played much of the game with only 14.

They were lethargic throughout with no trademark bursts from Josh Navidi and Nick Williams, little invention from their potent centres, Willis Halaholo and Ray Lee-Lo and hence only Dan Fish and Olly Robinson played anywhere near full potential.

Dragons suffered an early blow by going down to 14 when Blaine Scully was shoulder charged by Zane Kirchner as he chased a kick ahead with the Dragon picking up a yellow card.

The visitors continued to

leak penalties, six in the first 17 minutes, and from the last of these, Anscombe put his side in front from 30m out.

Kirchner returned from the sin-bin but Dragons soon returned to 14 men when Fairbrother received his red card.

However, Dragons responded to adversity by picking up six points in quick succession. First Lewis fired over an excellent 40 metre drop-goal before kicking a wideangled penalty to give his side a 6-3 interval lead.

Anscombe levelled with his second before Cardiff made their numerical advantage count when a neat pass from Robinson created a try for Dan Fish.

Lewis and Anscombe exchanged penalties before Dragons produced their best move which ended with Jarryd Sage brushing off a couple of tackles to score – but Anscombe’s late goal broke Dragons’ hearts.

Blues head coach, John Mulvihill, said: “Dragons have lost their coach so sometimes that galvanises you but we need to be better against Scarlets next week.

“We left a few tries out there but we didn’t panic and our scrum stood up at the end to get the penalty we deserved.”