A spirited forward performance was not enough to prevent Tenby United slipping to another home defeat last Saturday.
After a confidence-boosting win at Hendy the previous week, the Seasiders welcomed fourth placed Llanelli Wanderers to Heywood Lane, keen to gain their first home victory of the season.
Things began brightly enough for the home side in conditions more akin to May than October. Looking to keep the ball in hand at every opportunity, Sion Brace looked to orchestrate matters from stand off and the United were rewarded early on with the change of a shot at goal after Wanderers were penalised for a high tackle.
Right wing Owen Thomas stepped forward and struck the kick well, but the ball sailed just wide of the uprights.
The visitors had a similar chance with 12 minutes gone, the Seasiders being punished by referee Colin Davies for going beyond the back foot at a ruck.
Llanelli number nine Thomas made no mistake from 35 metres to give the Carmarthenshire side an early lead.
To Tenby's credit they hit back immediately, flankers Sam Smith and Stuart Tyrie, showing up well in a series of concerted drives. But hard won possession could not be converted into points by the threequarters, whose lack of penetration and patience when opportunities arose was to cost the United dear.
The home side continued to press and when winger Will Crockford was taken out late after a chip ahead, there appeared top be three points there for the taking. Some quick thinking by Stuart Tyrie, however, made it five, the openside crashing over from the tap penalty for an unconverted score.
The advantage was short-lived though as the Seasiders were penalised virtually straight from the restart, Mr. Davies adjudging that they were guilty of a double movement on the floor. Thomas again made no mistake with the boot to give the visitors the slenderest of leads.
As the game entered its second quarter, the United eight attempted to up the pace and take the game to the Wanderers, Justin Richards, Sam Smith and Crockford, combining well down the right.
But the visitors always looked dangerous on the counter, their back three constantly posing questions of the home defence. The young United side defended bravely, however and didn't allow the league high fliers to cross the whitewash.
Their cause was not helped when prop Jonny Lane was forced to leave the field on 35 minutes to be replaced by Steve James.
As the half drew to a close, the United were awarded a penalty 20 metres from the line and Sion Brace opted for the kick to the corner.
Unfortunately, the referee ruled that hooker Mike Lewis's throw into the line was not straight and gave the visitors a chance to clear their lines.
The home side continued to put pressure on the visitors, scrum half Neil Duffy putting in a well placed grubber kick to force them back into their 22. The pressure seemed to be telling as the visiting stand off fumbled a pass from the ensuing lineout, giving the United a superb attacking platform.
But a rare mistake from hooker Lewis saw the visitors take a strike against the head at the resulting scrum and the kick to touch was the last action of the half.
After the break, the home side would have been hopeful of using the wind at their backs to keep the Wanderers pinned down in their half, but the visitors had other ideas.
After a scrappy opening, the United gifted the opposition a try. After defending so valiantly for the first period, some shoddy tackling saw fullback Francis-Rees burst through for a score seven minutes after the break. Thomas made no mistake with the extras to put the visitors eight points clear.
Again Tenby looked to get a foothold in the Llanelli half, a fine move from the base of the scrum saw skipper Anthony Griffiths feed Duffy, who released right wing Thomas. The speedster made good ground before being bundled into touch deep in the visitors' 22.
The Seasiders maintained the pressure, but some uncertainty amongst the backs saw the ball intercepted and within seconds, Tenby were desperately defending their own line.
From a lineout, the visiting back row combined well for openside Mayze to crash over in the shadow of the posts. The conversion was a formality, opening up a daunting 20 points to 5 lead.
In spite of this, the home side continued to keep the ball in hand whenever possible, winger Thomas again making good ground, but his inside pass did not go to hand and the visitors were able to clear. As the half wore on, the home side's lack of penetration and composure in the threes became more evident, as a number of scoring opportunities went begging. Their misery was compounded still further when Llanelli were awarded another penalty on the 22-metre line. Thomas gratefully accepted the penalty to further stretch the visitors' lead.
As the game entered its final 10 minutes, Justin Richards was replaced by Nicky Guymer. The United eight continued to drive bravely at the heart of the Wanderers defence, Duffy doing his best to encourage his pack.
The United got just what their endeavours deserved as the game entered its final minutes, stand-off Sion Brace just managing to cross for a try to the right of the posts after some good support play between the forwards and another quick tap penalty from Tyrie. Thomas added the two points.
The Seasiders pressed on to gain a second score but were defeated by Mr. Davies's whistle.
To their credit, the United battled bravely and never gave up in what was always going to be a difficult encounter. They will be hoping that they can turn the possession gained into more points and gain a first home victory soon.
Match sponsors were Buzinet Solutions, while the match ball was sponsored by Mike Fry and mascot for the day was Will Grover. United man-of-the- match, rewarded with two T-Bone Steaks from J. V. Rowe and Sons, was number eight and skipper, Anthony Griffiths.
Tenby fielded: Llewellyn Rose (Tenby Auto Centre Car Sales); Owen Thomas (Tenby Glass); James Davies (N. D. Toy & Partners Ltd., Independent Financial Advisors and Mortgage Brokers); Rob James (Anne and Jeremy Rossiter, of Londis Stores, Manorbier); Will Crockford (W3 Designs, Affordable Web Design); Sion Brace (Rossiters Funeral Directors, of Tenby and District); Neil Duffy (Pam Pam Restaurant, Tenby); Mark Badham (Lewis, Lewis & Co Solicitors); Mike Lewis (John Boot, of Lydstep); Jonny Lane (The Bay Tree Restaurant, Tenby); Gareth Edwards (Alan Jones, Tenby Utd. RFC chairman); Justin Richards (Rumbleway Caravan Park); Sam Smith (Gavin and Dudley Scotcher, Capital Roasters Coffee Company); Stuart Tyrie (Neil Findlay Car Sales); Anthony Griffiths (capt.) (Mike Brace Home Maintenance Service.) Replacements used Steve James and Nicky Guymer.