Barry steered ever closer to Admiral League safety following a 17-3 win over lowly Porth Harlequins in Division One East Central.
This was a hard-fought and hard-earned victory - Barry’s third on the bounce.>
With both teams fighting for survival this was, perhaps predictably, a scrappy game at times, but with other results going their way, there is now a little less pressure on the Bombers.
But the first half was tight and error-strewn.
“The players are so committed to not making mistakes that they make more mistakes instead of relaxing and getting into the game,” said head coach Mike Morgan. “Sometimes it’s difficult to find your groove, and in the first half we couldn’t.”
While Barry’s scrum was rarely troubled throughout, and gradually became more dominant, the lineout stuttered in the first half. “There were too many mistakes in the lineout,” said Morgan, “and uncharacteristically, we were losing lineout ball, causing us to go backwards too much.”
“In the second half the boys knew what they had to do. It was still a little bit tense, but the lineout started working, and we were keeping the ball well on their line. We kept knocking on the door.”
Cavan Slade gave Porth the lead with a penalty in the third minute, and much of the first half was, in Morgan’s view “a bit of a dogfight”, but towards the end Barry began to get on top.
Their pressure and good phases was being rewarded in the last minute of the half when Evan Prosser went over with Jack Davies converting.
Rhys Powell extended the lead with a 56th minute try as more pressure paid off. Barry squandered the chance of points when Porth gave away a string of penalties before nerves were finally calmed when a good handling move saw Jack Davies get the third try two minutes from time.
“In the huddle at the end, you could have heard a pin drop,” said Morgan. The players were disappointed with their performance “but we won. We haven’t been in that space for a long time.”
Barry host Abercwmboi on Saturday, and will be looking to extend the winning run as they seek to avenge the 22-21 last-gasp defeat in November.
*Prior to the Porth match a minute’s silence was held in memory of Peter Oxenham, who played in the second row for Barry in the 1950s and 1960s, and was always a staunch supporter of the club.
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Penarth not only retained top spot in Division One but they also extended their day in what could prove to have been a pivotal day in the title race.
The Bears beat Llanishen 37-15 at the Athletic Ground - with captain Miles Jones scoring his 200th club point - while their rivals St Joseph's were held to a 20-20 draw at Llanishen.
Cowbridge remain a distant second in Division Two following their 31-24 victory at Cilfynydd.
Llantwit Major suffered a narrow 29-28 defeat at home to Wattstown in Division Three, while Division Four leaders Dinas Powys were held to a surprise 19-19 draw at Ferndale.
Old Penarthians' poor run of form in Division Five continued with a 45-0 defeat at Tref y Clawdd.
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