The second half of the National League Division Four West campaign kicked off with a tough away trip to Ystalyfera and Tenby got off to the worst possible start, going three points down in as many seconds following what can best be described as a pantomime of errors after receiving the ball from the Ystalyfera kick-off.
The error-ridden start set the scene for the first 15 minutes of the game as both sides struggled to string together any worthwhile attacks, and dropped passes, knock-ons, wrong options and forward passes dominated.
A Bleddyn Evans penalty put Tenby on level terms during this initial phase of the game and eventually the visiting forwards got their act together, with Paul Broaders crashing over for a try (converted by Evans) following some good support play by the hard-working Ben Armstrong.
In response to this concerted effort, the home side vented their obvious frustration, butTenby avoided being drawn into a running battle, and restricted their aggression to winning and maintaining possession which saw them going into the interval with a hard earned 10-3 lead.
The second half started with the home side continuing to show plenty of aggression, but they struggled to come to grips with the competent and controlled Tenby performance.
The United forwards started to dominate the set-pieces and loose play and the backs attacked and defended with a skill level the home side were unable to match.
Their only worthwhile attacking ploy seemed to be restricted to placing high kicks aimed at Darren Rees, hoping that the late afternoon sun would restrict his attempts to field the ball. As the sun sank lower in the sky, however, the performance of the Tenby fullback improved to such an extent that the United were able to turn this Ystalyfera ploy into a very productive attacking option.
The home side slotted a penalty on a rare visit to the Tenby line and this score was quickly followed by an excellent Justin Richards try, following a handling move involving half the Tenby side.
The excellent support and defensive work of the entire Tenby team only resulted in an increase in the home side's seemingly over-vigorous tactics and when the speedy Jonathan Dodd scored their fourth try, following a clever kick by Dylan Lawrence, it signalled the start of some ugly scenes.
Indeed, the referee brought proceedings to an early close as the game disintegrated into a confrontation involving all 30 players. Nevertheless, the self-control shown by the Tenby players when facing this situation was exemplary and spoke volumes for the team spirit.
After the game, coach Gareth Thomas was full of praise for his team and the excellent start to 2003, stating that despite any pre-match concerns or doubts that might have been voiced about starting the second half of the season with a tough away fixture, this 'team performance' had set a marker for the remainder of the season.
Tomorrow (Saturday) Tenby are at home to division four leaders Maesteg Celtic
Tenby fielded: Darren Rees, Neil Powling (Andrew Dennis), Gavin Brace, Sion Brace, Jonathon Dodd, Bleddyn Evans, Dylan Lawrence, Lee Tucker, Richard Rossiter, Scott Payne, Phil Broaders, Ben Armstrong (Mark Badham), Nicky Allen (Robert James), Justin Richards, Anthony Griffiths (Chris James).