Rugby Union – Division 2 North (N)
Bethesda 12 - Bala 13
Bethesda’s players have only themselves to blame for losing their first match this season. Indiscipline and poor decision making meant that they lost a match which was well within their compass to win.
They were 7 points down with only 2 minutes of the match gone. Indecision at the back let in Rhydian Jones for a gift of a try which was converted by Gareth Owen for the visitors.
To their credit, the home side battled back imediately and outside half Gareth Roberts slid through the Bala defence for a try which was converted by scrum half Mathew Parry.
Bethesda lost their way after a touchline incident in which the Bala hooker was involved and for a time, they gave away a number of penalties one of which was kicked by Owen to gain a slender lead for his side. On the half hour mark Bethesda were again penalised well within the Bala half but they yielded a further 10 metres by throwing the ball away giving Owen another scoring kick.
Bethesda finished the half strongly but they inexplicably refused kickable penalty opportunites by chasing the game too early and the half ended with Bala in the lead by 13 points to 7.
Bethesda seemed to be in a much better frame of mind in the second half and they dominated possession and territory. However, their handling let them down on a number of occassions and the Bala defence was very well organised.
In the last quarter, Bethesda were again on the attack in the visitors’ 22 and were awarded a penalty right in front of the posts. They spurned the opportunity to come within 3 points of Bala’s score but their attempted move came to nothing. With the end of the match looming Bethesda gained a scrum close to the Bala line and a well timed blind side move saw wing Martin Williams cross in the corner. The conversion would have given the home side a one point lead but Parry’s attempt from wide out failed.
The better side on the day lost but Bethesda could learn a lot from a Bala side that showed a lot of composure and organisation under pressure.
Both sides have now lost a match each in the league but Bethesda stay top of the section by virtue of having scored more tries than Bala.
Bethesda host Bangor University next week in the second round of the Swalec Bowl.
