Tenby Youth, sponsored by PRL Plant Hire, continued their good form of late with a thoroughly convincing win over local rivals and last year's finalists, Pembroke, in this Griffiths Cup encounter at Heywood Lane in front of a very healthy and enthusiastic crowd. Pembroke kicked off and made it clear to the home side that they were in for a hard match and would need to work for every point. However, it was Tenby who threatened first as they gained possession and put pressure on the visitors, with Steve Handicott drilling a penalty deep into the Pembroke half. From the resulting lineout, Ieuan Rowell secured good ball, allowing lively prop Rob Clark to peel off and crash over for an unconverted try and an early well-deserved lead. Stung by this early reverse, Pembroke swung into action and from a lineout close to the Tenby line, captain Rob Jones led by example, catching cleanly and bursting through the Tenby defence for a converted try and a well-worked 7-5 lead. Following the pattern of alternative attacking threats, it was a determined Tenby United side that applied the pressure, with forwards Marvin Thomas, Paul Woods, Rob Clark, Ieaun Rowell, Rob Tuttle, Nick Drewett, Grant Rodgers and Luke Dedman to the fore, leading to Pembroke conceding a penalty. Steve Handicott obliged by dropping a goal from the 22 and restoring the lead at 8-7. Not to be outdone, however, Pembroke restored their lead with half-time approaching via a penalty, taking the scores to 10-8 in heir favour. It was obvious that the home side needed to up their game in the second half and at the same time prevent the visitors from quickly coming back into the game with a quick responsive score. From the restart this urgency was evident in their play when Luke Dedman, Rob Tuttle and Nick Drewett, secured the ball, allowing Rhys Thomas to have a snipe at the visitors' line which resulted in a penalty for offside. BFT obliged and the lead had been restored to 11-10. with the task to keep Pembroke at bay now paramount. The young Seasiders maintained the momentum, with Steve Handicott bringing centres Lloyd Wilson and BFT more into play, testing the visitors' defence at every opportunity. This sustained bout of attacking paid dividends with another penalty for offside being awarded, allowing BFT to stretch the lead out to 14-10. With this sustained period of attack being maintained, Tenby were starting to dominate play, with wingers Ross McKenzie and Nathan Allright linking with fullback Dan Colley to make inroads into the tiring visitors' defence. Changes to personnel saw new signing James Holdsworth take the field and he immediately made his presence felt as Tenby mounted their best attack of the game with Luke Dedman - who coach Chris Williams made man of the match - collecting a kick and surging through the advancing Pembroke defence before handing on to the supporting Ross McKenzie, who took play deep into the visitors' 22. Quick recycled ball allowed scrum- half Rhys Thomas to feed winger Nathen Allright, who obliged by crossing in the corner for a cracking try and a 19-10 lead with less than 15 minutes left to play. From the restart, it was a case of 'same again', with Luke Dedman, from yet another clean catch, making massive inroads into the Pembroke half before setting-up a ruck. Quick ball, this time slowed by Pembroke, gave BFT the opportunity to increase the lead to 22-10. Captain Nick Drewett left the field with a shoulder injury to be replaced by Paul Darling. The home side played out the remaining minutes comfortably and were well worth their win against a much- fancied Pembroke side. This win will see Tenby play the winners of the Fishguard v Pembroke Dock Quins match in the next round later in the year. Tomorrow (Saturday), Tenby play host to Milford, with a 2.30 kick-off at Heywood Lane - support welcomed Tenby fielded: Marvin Thomas, Paul Woods, Rob Clark, Ieaun Rowell, Rob Tuttle, Nick Drewett, Grant Rodgers, Luke Dedman, Rhys Thomas, Steve Handicott, Ross McKenzie, Lloyd Wilson, Dan Colley, BFT, Nathan Allright, Jamie Marden, Paul Darling, Jonah Lewis, Gary Smedley, James Holdsworth, Jammie Robbins, Jack Lawrence.
