ABERAERON took the honours in their local derby at Cardigan in Division Three West A with a 24-22 win, but they were forced to cling on at the end as the hosts fought back well.

With both sides looking to bounce back from opening day defeats, it was Aberaeron who got away to a flying start, and were in well command in the first half.

Poor Cardigan discipline, which was typical throughout the game, paved the way for the visitors to open their account as the alert scrum half Dafydd Llewellyn, following indiscretion, outpaced the cover defence and claimed a try, which was converted by outside half Rhodri Jenkins.

A strong Aberaeron scrummage was complimented with an effective lineout, with Sion Evans consistently finding his mark, with Tudur Jenkins and Steffan Chairhead proving to be useful targets.

Further woe was to follow for the hosts when outside half Iwan John was yellow carded for getting caught with his hands in a ruck and Cardigan were up against it.

A second Aberaeron try followed soon afterwards, but it was hotly disputed as the ball appeared to be knocked on just as winger Rhodri Thomas dived over, with back rower Colin Davies knocking the ball out of his grasp. The official in charge did not notice the ball movement, and the visitors were 12-0 ahead and coasting.

Fly half Iwan John slotted over a penalty to reduce the deficit, and the hosts created some excellent openings via free running full back and skipper John Lumb, centre Marcus Castle and back rower Tom Taylor, but it remained at 12-3 at the break.

With the wind advantage after the interval, Cardigan resorted to a kicking game and this proved effective as they hit back with a splendid try as right winger Geraint Williams ran in from long range after powering his way around his marker.

They were further rewarded with a try from outstanding No 8 Colin Davies, who ran in at the clubhouse corner from a front peel at a line-out, for a 13-12 lead.

John added a superb conversion from the touchline, and it was delicately poised with little to choose between the teams.

Strong defence kept the visitors’ forays at bay, with debutant Gruff Davies on the wing typifying their effort, and slowly but surely Aberaeron rediscovered their early superiority and regained the lead.

Some sloppy defending by Cardigan changed all this as Aberaeron hit back with a try from powerful centre Tom Slinger, after a slick exchange from Ollie Sawyer, which was converted by Jenkins.

Another try soon followed with Cardigan again a man down following a yellow card shown to young winger Williams.

Left winger Thomas was the man who crossed after an excellent backline move, as he and his colleagues took full advantage out wide with their spare man.

Cardigan looked on their way to a heavy defeat at this stage, but they worked their way back into the game and were rewarded for their resilience when full back John Lumb fielded a clever chip ahead from fly half John to score under the posts.

The No 10 added the extras to set up an exciting last five minutes, and Cardigan had one glorious chance down the left flank in the dying seconds but they were unable to make it pay and Aberaeron held on for a narrow win, which they deserved, having made far less mistakes.

Llanybydder 45 Tregaron 0

LLANYBYDDER welcomed historical rivals Tregaron to Parc OJ for their first home league match of the season and the hosts emerged convincing 45-0 winners.

Tregaron were looking for an improvement after their defeat to Neyland, whilst Llanybydder were struggling after a number of early injuries to key players.

Early exchanges were equal, as Tregaron missed an early penalty, before centre Steff Richards slotted one for the hosts.

That lead was extended after good work from an attacking scrum by No 8 Ricky Davies, and scrum half Llyr James released full-back Dan Garside to cross.

Llanybydder went further ahead as prop Zach Lowther crossed for a rare try, soon followed by a try for blindside Bleddyn Jones, who followed up a quickly taken penalty by skipper Ricky Davies.

Steff Richards slotted three excellent conversions for a comfortable 24-0 lead.

Centre Arwel Thomas was then shown a red card after an incident in the tackle area, reducing the home side to 14 men.

Llanybydder, however, continued to dominate the second half, but credit to Tregaron as they battled right to the end.

There were further tries for captain Ricky Davies, as reward for another fine performance, and fly-half Llyr Tobias, who crossed after an excellent run by Bleddyn Jones, now playing in the centre.

Steff Richards capped a faultless kicking display with another three conversions.

There was further drama, however, as home flanker Liam Fitzpatrick was also dismissed late on following a fracas.

The loudest cheers of the day were reserved for Llanybydder’s veteran replacements Rob Dyer and Adrian Thomas, both coming out of retirement due to the injury situation for the last 10 minutes.

Llanybydder are without a match next weekend as they have a bye in the Cup, whilst Tregaron will be looking to kick-start their season when they host Cefneithin in the first round of the Swalec Bowl.

• LAMPETER were beaten 10-18 in their first home game of the season Division Three West B against Nantgaredig.

Gareth Griffiths and Dafydd Jones went over for tries for the home side, but the visitors edged a second successive win.