Abergavenny home 2nd Dec 06
Croesyceiliog 29 Abergavenny 19
Croesyceiliog move off the bottom of the league after a thoroughly deserved 29-19 win over fellow strugglers Abergavenny. Captain Matthew Entwistle was one of the heroes, running two tries as well as kicking three conversions and a penalty for a personal tally of 19 points.
Croesy made the worst possible start, gifting a try to the visitors inside the first two minutes. Aber's lead was short-lived as Croesy came storming back. A twenty metre driving lineout put Croesy deep into the Aber 22 and after several quick phases of play outside half Gavin Holmes eventually forced his way over with Entwistle converting.
Impressive new signing No 8 Gavin Howells set up the second after a charging run down the touch line from the base of a scrum. The visitors were caught offside at the ensuing ruck and quick-thinking Entwistle took a tapped penalty and powered over for a try which he again converted.
There were several heated exchanges and the referee was forced to yellow card one from either side after one bust up, Croesy second row Jim Sergeant and Aber hooker Gareth Williams the two to go in the bin.
Croesy grabbed their third try just before the break and again it was Entwistle who bagged the 7 pointer. Croesy flanker Chris Williams won good lineout ball just outside the Aber 22 and outside half Holmes made a beautiful clean break before drawing the full back and giving Entwistle the simplest of run-ins.
The game seemed all but over 2 minutes into the second half when No 8 Howells grabbed Croesy's fourth. Wing John Misljen whose opportunities with ball in hand were limited, did well to chase down a kick ahead and tackle the opposition full back. Croesy were quicker to the breakdown and after turning the ball over it was Misljen who was on hand to give the try scoring pass to Howells giving Croesy a 26-5 lead.
From here on in Croesy failed to press home their advantage and it was Aber who scored next with a try from a driving maul after a long period of pressure. With just over 10 minutes to go flanker Williams was harshly red carded for swinging a punch after an Aber forward tried to gouge his eyes. From the ensuing penalty Aber drove over for another converted try to get back to within 7 points. Just when Croesy supporters were getting the jitters captain Entwistle stepped up and calmly slotted over a 40 metre penalty to make the game safe.
Croesy now leapfrog Abergavenny and Pill Harriers who also lost on Saturday to move out of the relegation zone for the first time this season. We now have two critical games coming up over the coming weeks, firstly travelling to Treherbert, who have had an inconsistent season, on Saturday before hosting the Harriers the following week.