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MERTHYR made it four wins on the bounce following a hard-fought victory over Swansea at the Wern.
It was the home side who were on the front foot from kick-off when Adam Hoskins made a break from a scrum, but he lost the ball forward under little pressure.
Swansea were able to work their way inside the home 22 when the Merthyr pack was penalised for offside, although a probable try-scoring pass to Nathan Trowbridge sailed into touch.
Hoskins made a break through the middle on a counterattack, but the promising move came to an end when the Swansea defence regrouped.
The visitors took a surprise lead when Callum Carson caught Merthyr asleep by taking a quick tap penalty from his own 22 to race clear of the defence to score.
A late tackle by R Rhys Williams on opposite number Matthew Jarvis gave Merthyr a penalty, but Josh Martin failed to find touch.
But the home side ran straight back at Swansea through Jarvis and Lewis Williams and earned a penalty, which Martin kicked to the corner. The Merthyr pack was unable to recycle possession from the maul, resulting in a turnover for Swansea.
The visitors responded with a styl- ish try for Jay Baker when Hoskins spotted a gap in the middle and found second row men Patrick McBride and Craig Locke in support, before the ball was fired out wide for the centre to score.
It was end-to-end rugby with Baker racing through a couple of tackles up to the Swansea 22, before Ryan Griffiths picked up a loose ball to sprint deep inside the Merthyr half, but the exciting passage of play came to an end when Lewis Williams got back to make the tackle.
The home side took the lead when Martin ran at the Swan- sea defence at pace and fired out a clinical long pass out to Evans, who sprinted clear to score.
And it got even better for Merthyr when Jack Perkins collected lineout ball and fed Hoskins, who dummied past a tackler to score under the posts.
Swansea hit back when R Rhys Williams found touch with a penalty and Tudor Hughes rose high to claim possession.
The Whites inched closer following a high tackle on Trowbridge, which ended his part in the game. From the lineout, a powerful maul by the visitors resulted in a try for Charlie Davies.
Then, Swansea were able to regain possession and race upfield, with Josh Guy squeezing over at the corner.
And Swansea were handed a lifeline when a loose pass was intercepted by Carson, who raced clear from his own 22 to score.
The home side had the final say, though, when an advancing scrum five saw Phil Rees touch down under the posts to calm the Merthyr faithful’s nerves and seal a well-earned victory.