PWLLHELI’s excellent run in the national Swalec Plate finally came to an end with a 26-34 defeat in their big quarter-final showdown with visitors Abercarn, in front of a crowd of over 400 spectators at Parc Bodegroes on Saturday.

The efforts of the ground staff had ensured that the pitch was in playable condition for the match, even though it did cut up in the course of the 80 minutes.

One minute’s silence was observed by both teams and the crowd in memory of former Pwllheli player Graham Jones, who died suddenly earlier in the week.

The visitors started well and it was evident from the outset that they would be largely dependent on their beefy pack.

From the kick-off Abercarn took the game to Pwllheli in short bursts, and after only three minutes Pwllheli conceded a penalty, converted by fly half Jamie Baker.

Pwllheli responded well and two minutes on they were also awarded a penalty as Abercarn were caught offside, but their attempt at the goal posts drifted wide.

Both sides were hyped up for the game, and heavy tackles flew in from both sides.

The Abercarn eight initially had a slight edge in the scrum, but the Pwllheli line-out functioned well throughout the game.

Sixteen minutes in Abercarn won the ball on their right, Pwllheli missed a front up tackle and Abercarn made ground.

Winger Rhys Morgan threw a deft dummy before feeding the other winger, Aled Brown, and although the pass looked forward, he finished expertly in the far corner. The touchline conversion was missed.

Pwllheli upped the tempo, with the home backs looking threatening with ball in hand, and on 21 minutes Pwllheli won loose ball in their own half. Forwards and backs inter-passed neatly and flanker Ifan Roberts crashed over under the posts.

Osian Parry Jones’ conversion took the Llyn side to within a point of the visitors.

A few minutes later, Pwllheli’s pack were camped in the red zone, and after a series of penalties for killing the ball, the referee finally lost patience and awarded a penalty try. Parry Jones slotted the conversion for a 14-8 lead at the interval.

The opening minutes of the second period was all Pwllheli, and three minutes in Kallim Kelemete made a break on the halfway line, pierced Abercarn’s cover and kicked ahead. Fly half John Pugh outpaced the cover defence to touch down.

With Parry Jones adding the two points, Pwllheli looked in the driving seat at 21-8.

The hosts were in the Abercarn twenty two when a penalty was awarded against them for offside. Pwllheli queried the verdict and were pulled back 10 more yards.

An excellent penalty touch kick by fly half Baker took them into the Pwllheli twenty two, they won clean ball at the lineout and made ground, before releasing a neat pass to blindside flanker Greg Baker who squeezed in at the corner. The super touchline conversion by Jamie Baker took Abercarn to within six points of Pwllheli

Though Abercarn’s hooker Aaron Davies was yellow-carded, it was the visitors who were now clearly on the front foot.

Twenty one minutes into the second half and Abercarn conjured up a fine try from open play. Fly half Jamie Baker’s excellent pass in midfield found centre Jack Davies, who was running a perfect line at full tilt that enabled him to crash through two tacklers before carrying a third tackler over the line to score a fine try. Jamie Baker added the extras for a 21-22 lead.

Pwllheli responded when the ball was won in Abercarn’s half, and they switched it right, before stretching the visitors on the left - and Berwyn Jones won the race for the corner for an unconverted try.

To their credit, Abercarn came back strongly, with extra weight off the bench to gradually throttle home possession.

They used their rolling maul effectively to make up ground, and when Pwllheli were deemed to have killed the ball, second row Campos was yellow-carded.

Abercarn’s winger Rhys Morgan, normally a scrum half, took a quick tap penalty to expertly beat the defence and squeeze in at the corner to make it 26-27.

With seven minutes to go, Pwllheli took the ball deep into Abercarn’s twenty two but were rocked when penalised in a ruck.

There was no way back for Pwllheli as the Abercarn eight kept the ball tight.

The final blow came when the visitors were allowed to take a quick penalty with the referee’s back turned and scrum half Colin Manning forced his way over the whitewash to score Abercarn’s fifth try.

The conversion by Baker sealed the win for the joyous Abercarn contingent.

The defeat is a huge blow for Pwllheli’s ambitions for the season. They had prepared well for this key fixture, but the vagaries of rugby mean that there are many issues on the pitch beyond their control.

They had played better in earlier rounds of the competition, but were unable to close the game down when they seemed to have achieved a winning scoreline.