Blaenavon Forgeside 22 Gwernyfed Athletic 19 .

GWERNYFED Athletic narrowly failed in their bid to lift the Pontypool and District Cup as they lost 22-19 in the final, with Blaenavon Forgeside kicking a penalty in the last minute of extra time to secure the silverware.

The game started badly for the Powys side when the first defensive kick inside the 22 was charged down and the Forgeside winger followed up to score an unconverted try. With their tails up, Forgeside spent much of the next 20 minutes in the Gwernyfed half but Gwernyfed’s strong defence, a feature of the team’s performance throughout the season, held sway.

The second quarter of the game saw Gwernyfed come more into the game and captain Gareth East, who had a fine game, brought the scores level with an unconverted try. As Gwernyfed won more possession, they started to put Forgeside under pressure with Tom Powell’s barnstorming runs particularly prominent, ably supported by his back row colleague John Davies.

Gwernyfed took the lead with a second try when Gareth Dodd crashed over and then added the conversion so that, at half time, they led 12-5. The second half, however, saw Forgeside secure much of the possession and, on the hour, they drew level with a converted try and, with only five minutes of the second half left, they took the lead with another converted try.

However, Gwernyfed showed great spirit and launched a series of attacks on the Forgeside line and were rewarded as Powell bullocked over the line for a try that Dodd converted, leading to 20 minutes of extra time.

Forgeside continued to win the lion’s share of possession but were held out by Gwernyfed’s strong defence. Both teams had a number of penalty attempts but it was not a night for the kickers until the Forgeside full back eventually secured three points in the last minute for the Gwent side to take the lead.

However, the drama did not end there, as the restart saw Gwernyfed earn a penalty and the chance for three points to draw the game and secure a share of the cup. Alas, Gareth Dodd’s kick sailed agonisingly wide of the posts and Forgeside secured victory in a highly competitive and entertaining match.