Llandovery 33-17 Pontypridd

Following 2 successive away defeats in the Welsh Premiership (to Llanelli and Swansea), Ponty's title hopes were all but extinguished after this disappointing defeat at Llandovery.

The game began very positively for Ponty, as they exerted the early pressure. A quickly taken tap penalty by Kris Baller almost put Huw Dowden over in the corner after a couple of minutes.

However, it was against the general run of play that Llandovery took the lead in the 9^th minute through a Cerith Rees penalty. Ponty hit back by taking the next scrum against the head.

Ponty had the majority of territory and possession in the first quarter, but were also guilty of lapses of concentration which in the end proved to be very costly. They were also penalised heavily (10 penalties conceded in the first half alone out of a match total of 16). The problems in the lineout also continued as they lost 3 out of their first 4 throws.

Ponty levelled the scores after 17 minutes through a Dai Flanagan penalty in front of the posts, after he was taken out after a kick over the top of the Llandovery midfield.,and subsequent chat moved the penalty 10 yards closer. Llandovery soon hit back, and regained the lead with Rees' second penalty after 19 minutes.

A cross kick by Flanagan nearly ended in a first try of the game for Ponty, but Owen Williams and Nathan Strong could not manage to control the ball. However it wasn't long until Ponty did score the first try of the game after 27 minutes. From a kick and chase ahead from their own half, Ponty turned the ball over in the Drovers 22 and swift passing put Gavin Dacey away under the posts for his 4th try of the season and his 3rd against Llandovery. Flanagan converted to put Ponty 10-6 up.

Ponty continued to give away needless penalties and it was on 35 minutes that Rees put over his 3rd penalty of the game following a high tackle. Within 3 minutes, Rees put the Drovers back in front 12-10 with a 4th penalty. To cap a poor ending to the first half for Ponty, Llandovery scored their first try of the game through lock Matthew Harbut. Rees converted from the right hand touchline to put Llandovery 19-10 up at half time.

The second half began with Llandovery continuing to put pressure on the Ponty defence. After 42 minutes Rees put over his successful 5^th penalty. Ponty were then unlucky not to have conceded a second try when Kris Baller had his clearance kick near his own try line charged down and Llandovery just failed to recover it over the try line. The Drovers kept the pressure on Ponty who continued to give away penalties and on 53 minutes Rees put over his 6^th penalty.

It went from bad to worse for Ponty as captain Nathan Strong was sin binned for what appeared to be a deliberate knock on. The resulting penalty and the 7^th successful for one for Rees, (out of 7 attempts, 8 out of 8 including the conversion) equalled Dai Flanagan's record of seven penalties against Llandovery in September 2007. Ponty fought back with 14 men and nearly scored their second try. Following a break by Kris Dacey (who had come on to replace the injured Wayne O'Connor in the first half), which was continued by Kris Baller, who was brought down and knocked the ball on inches short of the Llandovery try line.

Ponty's night could be summed up after 71 minutes, Chris Dicomidis went on a charge past the Llandovery 22 looked certain that a try would be scored, but had the ball ripped out of his grasp by winger Matthew Jacobs who then proceeded to race the length of the pitch to score Llandovery's 2^nd try. Rees this time missed the conversion (and the chance to equal Dai Flanagan's 25pts scored in September 2007).

From then on, the game went open and scrappy, at times resembling a 7's .Replacement prop Ken Knaggs made a storming 40m run, however this ended due to a lack of support. It was also around this time that Kris Baller left the field with a leg injury and was replaced by Gavin Morris.

Ponty had the final say in the game in injury with a consolation try through winger Lewis Williams (his 4^th of the season), which was converted by Dai Flanagan.

The game ended in a second successive 16pt defeat for Ponty in Llandovery (following a 23-7 loss there last season). The title has all but gone, but there is still the play-offs to play for, starting with Friday's home game with Glamorgan Wanderers, and still a number of home games to play.

Pontypridd:

Mathew Nuthall, Lewis Williams, Gavin Dacey, Gary Williams (rep Adam Thomas 53 mins), Owen Williams, Dai Flanagan, Kris Baller (rep Gavin Morris 67 mins)

Jon Williams (rep Stuart Williams 48 mins), Huw Dowden, Ryan Harford (rep Ken Knaggs 61mins), Grant Harrington (rep Ryan Savage 43 mins, Chris Martenko, Chris Dicomidis, Wayne O'Connor (rep Kris Dacey 29 mins), Nathan Strong (capt) (rep Tom Hetherington 65 mins)

 Scorers

 Tries     Gavin Dacey (27mins), Lewis Williams (80 mins)

Cons    Dai Flanagan (27 mins & 80 mins)

Pen      Dai Flanagan (17mins)