Fixture

Oakdale 15 Aberaeron 3

The dream of a visit to the Millenium stadium has faded for another season for Aberaeron  as they went down to defeat at Div 3 East Oakdale. Backed by a huge following the Seagulls were hopeful of extending the run which has included admirable successes over some quality sides. Sadly on the day this was one step too far as a competent home side took full advantage of limited opportunities to progress to the semis. Remarkably the result was  settled  in the first half with  Aberaeron dominating possession and field position to such an extent that Oakdale only ventured into away territory a couple of occasions,  but with clinical finishing  they were to take full advantage  to cross the whitewash both times. A try in the first minute was followed by a second near halftime but in between the hosts hardly ventured into away territory. On the other hand Aberaeron were unable to capitalise on their superiority where captain Alex Danton and his fellow forwards dominated the set pieces only to be repelled by a dour defence. Strong running by the midfield combination of Ollie Sawyer and Tom Slinger continually made progress and full back Morgan Llewelyn was unfortunate not to capitalise on more than on occasion. Their only reward however came from the boot of Rhodri Jenkins with a well struck penalty. Having survived the first half, the unlikely advantage proved a considerable  psychological boost for Oakdale, which resulted in a far more evenly contested game. As in the first half they again were first out of the block and crossed for their 3^rd try in the opening minutes. There were opportunities for both sides as the half progressed, especially for Aberaeron in the closing quarter where once again a combination of solid defence coupled with some unfortunate handling errors proved to be frustrating and denied what would have been a deserved consolation try. In the end coach Justin Lloyd and his fellow coaches can be justifiably proud of the effort by the whole squad of 23 and the impetus will now provide a major boost as we revert to the league with much to play for to season’s end.