MORRIS JOY AT SEALING DERBY GLORY
CARDIFF.............................25 NEWPORT...........................28
NEWPORT head coach Ty Morris hailed his side’s grit as they stayed top of the Premiership Cup’s Eastern Conference with a narrow victory at big rivals Cardiff.
Morris’ Black and Ambers have been a surprise package since the Premiership resumed after the pandemic and they now have six wins from seven in the competition.
Valiame Kotobalavu’s dramatic try won it for the visitors at Cardiff Arms Park as the hosts lost James Richards to a late red card.
Morris said: “It was a really good arm wrestle and we knew Cardiff would be very heavy around the contact area.
“I thought they won the first 20 minutes and scored two good tries.
“In fairness to my players, they showed great courage to come back and we finished the game as we have done recently.
“The players never gave up and put their bodies on the line so I am chuffed to bits for them.”
The two sides were locked at 14-14 at the break.
Cardiff’s Theo Cabango – the brother of Wales and Swansea City footballer Ben – opened the scoring with a stunning solo try. He collected a kick inside his own half and scorched to the line. Jacob Beetham converted but then missed a penalty.
Tom Hoppe made it two for Cardiff after Beetham intercepted a Newport pass and found his team-mate in support. Beetham converted.
Newport hit back through Jack Wright with Matt O’Brien converting. O’Brien then levelled the scores as he converted his own try.
Beetham kicked a penalty at the start of the second half, but O’Brien continued his fine evening with his second try which he again improved.
Beetham’s try and penalty put Cardiff 25-21 up, but Newport won it through Kotobalavu after they went through the phases in the final stages.
O’Brien converted for a bonuspoint win and Richards saw red for a dangerous tackle just before Newport’s winning score.
Cardiff’s Beetham said: “I’m sure it was an exciting game to watch for the neutral, but it’s gutting for us to lose by three points. It’s always a hard loss to take when it’s a tight game.”