Six tries not enough for Maesteg in thriller
BONYMAEN ................. 59 MAESTEG .................... 34
IT IS rare to score six tries and 34 points and still lose but that’s what happened in this 15-try fest at Parc Mawr which finished off the season for The Old Parish.
A rejigged threequarter line had no time to settle as the home side capitalised on two breakdowns from Maesteg attacks by shipping the ball wide for Nathan Brookes and Sam Jones to score, both converted by Richard Cunniffe.
Maesteg struck back when a drive by the forwards saw full back Kieran Harris on an outside break to put Grant Epton over. A lost ball saw Bonymaen cross kick into space and Paul Davies scored for Cunniffe to add the points.
Back came Maesteg and Sam Griffiths and Lyndon Davies made inroads in the home defence for the giant Matthew Davies to cross with Iwan Evans converting. If you blinked you missed something and Paul Davies got his second for Cunniffe to convert, and then a Maesteg lineout in the home 22 went badly wrong for full back Lawrence Thomas to score at the other end with Cunniffe converting.
A Maesteg attack saw them awarded a penalty only for the referee to reverse it.
A tap behind the official’s back saw the ball go wide and winger Sam Jones scored with Cunniffe again adding the extra points.
Several phases by Maesteg made inroads into home territory and Matthew Davies got his second for Iwan Evans to convert.
The second half saw Maesteg attacking from everwhere and a Jon Phillips break saw second row Scott Kelly scoring and a few minutes later Steffan Hnatiuk crossed to make it 42-29.
A loose ball saw Nick Clancy score for Bonymaen for Cunniffe to convert only for the rampaging Scott Kelly to finish off a forwards and backs set of moves.
With Maesteg going for gold a few dropped passes were punished by the home side with Nathan Brookes and Joe Yates scoring tries although a length-of-the-field move by Maesteg at the death deserved more than being pushed into touch at the flag.
The final score flattered Bonymaen as the two late tries and Cunniffe’s deadly accuracy made the difference look more than it really was.