Fixture

The phrase "A game of two halves " is frequently used in reporting sporting events and last Saturday saw Barry nearly press the self destruct button as they squandered a 17 point halftime lead in a game in which their performance in the second half was unrecognisable from the efficient 3 try first 40 minutes.

Barry kicked off with the slope advantage but playing into a stiff breeze and soon found themselves in visitor territory with a swift threequarter movement which threatened a score but saw the final pass fail to go to hand.Not to be denied Barry attacked again from a chargedown where the ball reached Barross who cleverly spotted space on the blindside to easily cross for a try which he failed to convert.

Barry were exerting pressure on the Abercynon defence who were being forced to concede penalties which kept them on the back foot and a further score looked inevitable.It was to come from a driving lineout as Evans burst through the defence and found Hadfield in support to cross for a second try which again went unconverted.

Barry continued to dominate and the little possession that Abercynon had was in their own half and posed no threat to a Barry side playing with confidence.They were however disrupted by the loss of Williams and O'Sullivan to injury but maintained their hold on the game.

They were soon to add to their lead as despite the Abercynon defence appearing more organised, Perry found the space some 30 m. out to scythe through to cross for a try which Barross converted to give the home side a 17 point margin as half time neared.

A Barry infringement from the restart saw the visitors gain a penalty which took them deep into home territory for just about the first time.

They drove the resultant penalty at the heart of the Barry defence only to be denied as the ball was knocked on as the line beckoned.

The pressure was maintained as it was Barry's turn to concede penalties and Abercynon brought their backs into play , but the home defence stood firm.One such attack broke down and saw Barry hack the ball downfield only for a bad bounce of the ball evaded the Barry attackers and the danger was over.

The final minutes of the half saw Abercynon coming back into the game but as the whistle went they found themselves 17 points down.

The second half began with both sides on the attack but still Barry were creating the better chances where a clever Barross chip ahead found space only for the ball to be gathered by the Abercynon outside half who raced the length the field to score an unlikely try but when converted reduced the deficit to 10 points.

Barry were awarded a penalty at the restart and took play to within 10m of the line.A try looked possible as they spread the ball only to overcomplicate the move in midfield and as the ball went loose Abercynon raced away for another 80m try and conversion and in the space of a few short minutes Barry had imploded and were now only three points clear.

Abercynon now had a spring in their step as they smelt an unlikely victory, but the opposite was true as Barry lost their composure and allowed the visitors to dictate and enjoy plenty of possession. They seemed likely to score a further try as they swept through the Barry defence only to be called back by the referee.

Barry were holding on somehow with only occasional relief but the defence was solid helped by errors from the visitors.

The team has the ability to soak up pressure and this was needed as the lineout started to fall apart adding more problems.

Frustrated by their inability to get a further try Abercynon began to concede penalties which helped Barry to get out of danger.

It was finally to become their undoing as a penalty took Barry close to the visitors line where they drove more than once to crash over for a try, hardly deserved, which Barross converted to mean Abercynon needed to score twice with only minutes left.

This score calmed Barry down, and they controlled the ball for the rest of the game, to leave them winners  by 24 - 14.

A stuttering performance overall but certainly in the first half they showed the kind of rugby that we know they are capable of playing.

Doing the basics well is vital but as they found out today failure to do so can prove costly.

Next Saturday Barry will play away to Old Illtydians kick off 2.30pm

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