Gritty Aber overcome Crymych

ABER produced a full of determination and character to overcome a rugged Crymych side who neither gave nor asked for any quarter in a full-throated game.
The late withdrawal of scrum-half Llyr Thomas could easily have disrupted Aber’s game. However, his replacement by elder brother Ifan proved no handicap as the latter gave a complete performance in the number 9 shirt.
The game was fiercely competitive, with strong tackling from both sides, and play remained between the 22’s for the first 25 minutes.
The early loss of their hooker, Carwyn Rees, seemed to disrupt the Crymych lineout but they continued to scrummage strongly.
Crymych also lost their outside half, Ifan Phillips, to a bad elbow injury after half an hour. His replacement, Gareth Davies, only lasted 5 minutes before damaging his shoulder.
After 33 minutes, Adam Phillips kicked a penalty for Crymych after an Aber ruck infringement.
Having conceded the lead to their relegation-threatened hosts, Aber wasted little time in striking back.
In the 37th minute, Dorian Jones stole a Crymych line out. After a great kick by Ian Ellis and some neat handling, Adam Carvell crossed in the corner.
Steff Rees kicked the tricky conversion to give Aber the lead.
In the lengthy injury time at the end of the first period, Steff Rees sustained a nasty cut to his mouth and Harry Hewson came on as a blood replacement, while the Aber kicker had strapping fixed to his face.
The second half started with Aber absorbing a lot of pressure in their 22. The visitors’ scrum held firm, however, and Aber weathered the storm, despite having a forward yellow carded.
When Aber worked their way up the field, Paul Stubbs was able to win a penalty by standing strong in the ruck, which Steff Rees kicked.
The setback prompted Crymych to redouble their efforts and they forced play upfield, applying pressure before centre Carwyn Phillips scored in the corner.
The conversion went wide and Aber tried to relieve the storm by introducing fresh legs to stem the Preselimen’s tide.
With 32 minutes gone in the second half, Crymych’s Adam Phillips kicked a penalty after Aber were penalised for not pushing straight to take them into the lead for the first time.
Aber needed to show their character to regain the lead. After battling hard at the breakdown, a smart break for replacement flanker Steffan Rattray got the team into a good position. Further determined running led to Ian Ellis going over in the corner for a score which was well converted by Steff Rees.
Those were the final points of the game. A bruising encounter and tough match. Injuries to key players cost the Preselimen dear, while Aber will go away relieved to have shown real grit to secure a determined away wi