BALA 6
LLANGEFNI 12
BALA are still on the hunt for that one victory which will rubberstamp their Division One (North) status for another season.
It was a real war of attrition in Saturday’s rearranged home match with Llangefni, but the Anglesey side were the happier of the two teams after they edged to a 12-6 scoreline, which should be enough to secure their Division One (North) survival.
“They were there for the taking,” admitted Bala chairman Tony Parry.
“It seemed like we were being penalised for not retreating, but they were doing the same thing and the referee wasn’t penalising them.”
Hard grounds have been great friends for Bala’s lighter players this season, but the men from Maes Gwyniad are struggling on the current heavy fields of play.
“The heavy grounds have really bogged us down,” added Parry.
The boot of Carwyn Milburn proved to be the difference between the teams.
Llangefni were never behind after Milburn kicked them in front after only a minute of play and the fly half proved to be a dependable figure as he slotted over four penalties on the day.
Bala outside half Owain Aled responded with a couple of penalties to keep the home side interested.
The hosts were camped close inside the Llangefni 22 for the closing 10 minutes, but despite a few close calls - and some questionable refereeing decisions - Bala failed to secure a match-winning score.
“They were out on their feet, because they had such a heavy team,” said Parry.
“We tried to move it as much as we could and we could have kept going for another half-an-hour.”
The result sees Bala drop down to seventh in the league, with Llangefni up to sixth spot in the standings.
However, there’s no reason for Bala to panic as they have a healthy 12-point lead over second-from-bottom Mold - and they’ve still got to play Mold and basement side Llandudno before the end of the season.