Barry 28 Llanharan 31

BARRY entertained fellow Division 2 side Llanharan in the opening round of the cup last Saturday in an entertaining game which saw the lead change hands frequently before the visitors ran out winners by 31-28

The Dairymen started brightly and were soon on the attack with the backs clearly showing they possessed pace Barry were forced into conceding an early penalty which took play close to their line.

The resulting lineout saw Llanharan drive to cross the line for an unconverted try

They continued in this vein, but when a move broke down Barry countered, with the ball finding Dylan Robertson who raced in for a unconverted try to level the scores.

A further break from the restart looked promising only to end in a penalty Llanharan played for territory using driving lineouts to try and break Barry down, but the home scrum looked quite comfortable

One such drive saw Barry steal the ball and move quickly upfield, where again a try looked on but for the final pass not going to hand.

They did however manage to stay in the Llanharan half forcing them to concede a penalty which Dylan Robertson cooly kicked to give the lead.

It was the turn of the visitors to test the Barry defence which they did successfully when on the second attempt to drive over they finally breached the defence for a converted try and the lead at 8-12.

Barry responded immediately as virtually from the restart Llanharan conceded a penalty for Dylan Robertson to reduce the deficit to a point.

Another Llanharan move broke down in the Barry half allowing them to hack the ball upfield, however the defence recovered well to clear the danger.

There was to be no let up from Barry as a 50m break from Luke O'Sullivan took play into the 22.

A solid scrum saw them retain the ball and swift recycling saw Tom Lee slip through the defence for a try.

Dylan Robertson's conversion now took Barry into the lead at 18 - 12 with half time fast approaching

An immediate response from Llanharan as a couple of Barry errors gave them a good field position in the 22 and yet another forward drive saw them cross for a converted try and now they went ahead 18-19 as the half-time whistle blew.

After a first half which was entertaining with plenty of good rugby from both sides, the opening minutes proved anything but with errors creeping into the game.

One such error saw Llanharan intercept a pass forcing the home defence to concede a penalty.

Opting for the scrum the visitors secured the ball to spread wide to cross for a converted try and a lead of eight points.

It was not surprising that Barry came straight back on the attack forcing a penalty and then a second allowing Dylan Robertson the kick to reduce the deficit.

Buoyed by their success they maintained the pressure again forcing the visitors to concede more penalties and after a series of forward drives tied in the defence for James Hollister to crash over giving Dylan Robertson an easy conversion, and again it was Barry in the lead 28-26.

The game see-sawed with both sides attacking but being met with tight defences.

Llanharan finally put together a move by their backs which outpaced the home defence to give them an unconverted try but more importantly the lead by three points with the clock running down.

A last ditch effort saw Barry force their way into the 22 but were met with a resolute defence determined to hold onto their lead.

Desperate for a score Barry's last attack was foiled as they conceded a penalty which brought the final whistle to end the game.

While they may well be disappointed with the result, bearing in mind that again changes in the side particularly positional, had to be made their were plenty of encouraging performances, further evidence that the squad is beginning to develop.

On Saturday it's back to league action when Barry entertain Cardiff Harlequins, kick off 2.30pm.

The Club Lottery rolls over again this week to £2,700 as nobody managed to match last weeks numbers which were 07 - 10 - 11 and 20.There were no £10 winners this week.