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Maesteg Celtic (Home)  We Lost – Sad Faces all round!

 

Merthyr Ath challenged themselves with a stronger opposition. Maesteg Celtic were coming with a second team, it was anticipated a few first team players would be involved, we were not wrong. Despite the thought of a tougher challenge Merthyr Ath were well up for the battle.

Prior to the game it was noticeable there were many players unavailable and with a few late dropouts. Ten players who were key contributors last week were not selected/involved. Despite this Merthyr still had a health 18 players available. This is testament to the commitment of the players and the healthy squad size. With some key league games and a cup game to come it is important we keep the momentum going – Onwards and Upwards

 

Maesteg started better and looked to have a clear advantage at scrum and out wide. Despite this Merthyr offered great resolve. Maesteg scored within the first few minutes and Merthyr seemed shell shocked. However, as the half went on Merthyr fought their way back into the game and enjoyed much territory. A Merthyr try came after much pressure, with switched on wing; Granty, pouncing on a poor decision by Maesteg to score – Cai Jones added the conversion 7-5 to Merthyr and tails were up. Merthyr fought hard throughout the first half with some Robust work from several forwards; Kane Roberts, Greg Burns, Dan Murphy and Rhys Tyler were robust in the physical exchanges and were often coming out on top. Rhys Davies at 8 was exceptionally physical and caused concern for the Maesteg outfit – wind in a couple in contact – like a scene from Topgun – “take my breath away”.

 

Once again impressive flanker Thomas was busy and disruptive and provided serious problems for the opposition while also causing the Merthyr Physio much mileage – only to be told he had been sick – this was washed away with some quality H2O provided by returned to health Water Boy – Mazzo!

 

The backline from Maesteg looked significantly sharper and faster than a second team and ran with pace and elusiveness that caused Merthyr some problems. However, Merthyr where not easily broken down, Hughes and Evans – another new centre partnership stood strong, while the work of Grant and Walsh on the wings ensured Celtic never really broke free. Fullback Jack Wills offered glimpses of inspiration and looked sharp – sadly despite these effort Maesteg held a clear advantage.

 

In the second half Merthyr needed to play with control, this would allow the Ath to stay in touch and force Maesteg to play from deep – sadly this was not implemented and Maesteg were allowed to play at a more hectic pace that suited them much better than Merthyr. Although this resulted in a brace of tries Merthyr never really looked out of it. Butler has successfully increased his game time and player 30minutes plus this week and the inclusion of Richards and Gavin Davies did add some energy towards the end.

 

In conclusion – probably the wrong time to take on a stronger challenge with some key players and squad depth missing, lesson learned. Merthyr move on to a friendly against close rivals Rhymney on Thursday – which will be dubbed the “Battle of the Choppers” as brother meets brother. My Money is on Rhys taking the breath away from Liam – let’s wait and see. We look forward to the debut of Jamie Davies who has recently decided to find his boots and dust them down.

 

Donkey of the Day – Alex Jones loves this award and once again it was awarded for a Crossfield kick just outside his 22 – which miraculously nearly came off as it bounced into the hands of Granty.

 

Man Of The Match was awarded to Kane Roberts – robust, physical, energy and attitude were all mentioned in the after-match talk. Well Done Kane – Well Deserved. The after-match ritual was a forgone conclusion – Alex was the benefactor of our new ritual and is slightly bruised and blushed by the outcome – it is thought he secretly enjoyed it.