Maesteg 20 pts. Narberth 16

Desperate to avoid relegation from Division One West, Maesteg pulled out all of the stops to steal the game from the Otters late into injury time with a converted try.

Apart from a period in the first half when the scores were level, the Otters had been in front throughout the game and it was bitterly disappointing for players, officials and supporters to see the team lose in a similar fashion for the second consecutive week.

After leaving rain-sodden Pembrokeshire, the Narberth contingent were pleasantly surprised to find Maesteg overcast, but free of rain, the ground in good condition and everything set for a good game of rugby.

Two years ago, Narberth travelled to the ground and the pitch was ruled to be unsuitable for play by the referee, and supporters travelling on the bus were very relieved on this occasion to find the ground fit for play.

The visitors took an early lead following a penalty kick by Aled Davies, which was cancelled out after 15 minutes when his opposite number Tom Parry brought the scores level.

The normally reliable Davies was off target with three penalty attempts, but did find the sweet spot of the ball from a penalty kick after 37 minutes to put the visitors in front.

This was after Maesteg had conceded two consecutive yellow cards in a matter of minutes to be reduced to 13 players.

It took a while for the Narberth team to take advantage of the disparity of numbers, but an excellent handling movement enabled winger Steve Martin to find space, cut inside and cross for a try near the posts converted by Aled Davies.

The 10-point lead taken into the second half soon became three points when Parish scored in the opening minutes of the period with a try by flanker Geraint Williams, converted by winger Gareth Goodridge. Williams had supported a clever weaving run by scrum-half Phil Davies.

Fifteen minutes into the second half, Otters fullback Roger Davies kicked a penalty to extend the lead to six points, but the visitors found it difficult to make any further inroads against the solid Maesteg defence and the wind in their faces as it blew up the Llynfi Valley.

The Otters were also on the back foot, finding it difficult at times to prevent Parish making ground from their most effective use of the rolling maul.

Parish clawed back three more points after 29 minutes with a penalty kick by Tom Parry and kept pushing forward relentlessly.

Visiting supporters had that sinking feeling that a try was inevitable and that proved to be the case with a rolling maul from a lineout near the Narberth line, which gave prop Lyndon Davies the chance to touch down for the winning try after 45 minutes of the second half to take the lead and Tom Parry added the points for the conversion.

Commenting after the match, Narberth director of rugby, Jonathan Dodd, said, "It was a very disappointing result against Maesteg, but full credit to them as they kept fighting to the end and they seemed to want the win more than Narberth on the day.

"Some of our senior players, particularly up front, were below par in their performances. Obviously with Whitland coming up next week, it is a big focus for us, so we need to put a few things right. Basically it is more of an attitude thing than a skills thing.

"Centre Lee Glanville had a good game and generally the backs looked sharp at times, but found it harder against the wind in the second half.

"However, there are no excuses as we lost to a team who wanted the result more than us."

Narberth fielded: Roger Davies, Mark Heywood, Richard Davies, Lee Glanville, Steve Martin, Aled Davies, Andrew Davies, Sean Lloyd, Dan Smith, Justin Hughes (capt), Chris James, Alex Jenkins, Gareth Bateman, Wayne Williams, and Lewis Wood.

Replacements: Tom Slater, Chris Scarf, Rob Evans, Adrian Killa and Nick Jones.