tenby uNITED 17 pts.

llanelli wanderers 18

There was frustration all round at Heywood Lane on Saturday as Andrew Price, FBM Holidays and Molson Coors Tenby United were narrowly beaten by Llanelli Wanderers in their National league division three west clash.

Despite the Seasiders coming back from a worrying start and scoring all of the second half points, they weren't quite able to close the game out to snatch the much-needed win.

Alarm bells were ringing early on for the United as, with just 20 minutes on the clock, Llanelli Wanderers had scored 13 unanswered points through two well-struck penalties from fullback Nick Gayle and a Dafydd Daniel try, which was also converted by Gayle.

Skipper Richard Rossiter settled the players and, just one minute after Wanderers kicked their second penalty, Toby Smith crossed the line for Tenby's first try.

It came when excellent pressure from the Seasiders' pack gave scrum-half Jason Scarfe the quality posession he needed to bring the backs into play after they had seen little or no ball in the first quarter. Scarfe got the ball away to fly-half Lloyd Thomas, who foxed the Llanelli defender with a side-step, before offloading to strong-running centre Toby Smith, who powered his way over to touch down under the sticks. Lloyd Thomas successfully slotted the conversion.

Tenby were very much back in the game and began to dominate their opponents and, after a seven-minute spell of sustained pressure and over 15 phases of play, the Seasiders found themselves retaining possession long enough to frustrate the visitors into trying to steal a ruck ball illegally right in front of referee Colin Phillips.

Phillips awarded the penalty and Lloyd Thomas added three points to the United end of the scoreboard, reducing the deficit to just three points at the 27-minute mark.

The Seasiders were reduced to 14 men on the half hour, though, as second row Gareth Edwards found himself in the 'sin bin' for an offence that was a mystery to all concerned.

The Wanderers capitalised on their 10-minute advantage and closed the half 18 points to 10 in the lead following an unconverted try by hooker Dan Nicolson.

Fullback Dan Colley was forced to leave the field for the Seasiders during the halftime interval after injuring his elbow; he was replaced by Dave Meyrick.

The second half showed a marked improvement from the United as they put their opponents under immense pressure in attack and defence and Scarfe and Thomas were able to send strong-running back-rowers into the heart of Wanderers territory, or they would choose to send the ball to Toby Smith, who kept the visitors on the back foot with some excellent positional kicking.

In fact, the Seasiders began to wear Llanelli down up front and provide some good ball for the backs to run, courtesy of either the strong Tenby scrum or the quality lineout ball that was provided by Edwards and second row partner Luke Dedman.

Pressure was turned into points, and well deserved points at that, when a stray Wanderers kick was gathered by centre Jack Guerreiro, who ran it back at them, breaking the defensive line before offloading to Lloyd Thomas, who used his now trademark sidestep to get him in for a try out wide. Toby Smith added the conversion, bringing the Seasiders within a point of the Wanderers at 18-17.

Skipper Richard Rossiter made way for Luke Hansford at open-side on 58 minutes after a superb game, with the veteran flanker leading the team brilliantly.

It was nip and tuck for the remainder of the game, with both sides maybe trying a little too hard at times and squandering countless scoring opportunities.

It did look as though Wanderers fullback Nick Gayle would deny the Seasiders the losing bonus point late on when he broke through the Tenby defence and found himself with nothing but fresh air between him and the try line. However, just as he was about to make his dive for the line, youth team winger Greg Caine caught him and made what most will agree to be the tackle of the season after making it back from the other end of the pitch to deny the Wanderers the score.

As the game closed out, neither team managed to add any more points to their tally, despite a long range penalty narrowly missing for Tenby and the same for the Wanderers.

The game ended frustraitingly for Tenby at 17 points to 18. There were a lot of positives to take from the spirited comeback, though, and the losing bonus point just about keeps them in the promotion hunt.

The Seasiders travel to Llandeilo tomorrow (Saturday) for a must-win game, and will be very keen and determined to return with a victory and have trained hard all week to do so.

Please come along and support the boys.

Tenby fielded: Dan Colley, Simon Stanford, Jack Guerreiro, Toby Smith, Greg Caine, Lloyd Thomas, Jason Scarfe, Pat Roberts, Roy Osborn, Richard Rossiter (captain), Gareth Edwards, Luke Dedman, Rob Clarke, Nicky Guymer, John Palmer. Replacements used - Dai Meyrick, Luke Hansford.