This was the opening fixture of the Seniors' 2015/16 BWWPL. Several players were unavailable for this fixture due to representing Wales' national boys water polo teams in the Inter Regional Championships. As a result, the squad featured an inclusion of loanee players from different clubs, who had played for our junior squad in the match just before this one. With half of the squad made up of loaned players who had already played a full match, this was a significantly under-strength Dragons side. Newport are a vigourous team with strong, physical players. Going into this match without key, regular players was always going to be an uphill struggle for us.
Newport were expected to dictate the match - they certainly showed that in the opening seven minutes. A critical element towards their domination was their physical prowess. Cwm Draig Senior Mens are a youthful squad, even more so today, therefore the sheer brute force and power of the opposition players would prove to be a critical factor towards how Newport played and controlled the match. We had a rocky start, conceding the first two goals in just over two minutes. There was a glimmer of hope when Nick Kerley scored to peg Newport back by a goal. But with the Dragons being under constant pressure, cracks were already starting to show as the away team raced into a 6-1 lead.
The second quarter told a similar story. More domination from Newport exploited our shortcomings as they scored a triple-goal salvo in quck timing before J.Williams, star of the Juniors' match against Newport before this game, grabbed himself a goal here. However, our moments of attacking with aplomb were short-lived once more as Newport went on to score four more goals without reply. The scoreline a half-time was 13-2 to Newport.
In the third quarter, Newport continued their scoring run with another goal to add to their tally. However, the Dragons found a spark and matched their total amount of goals in the first half within the first three-and-a-half minutes of the second half with a brace by Nick Kerley. The away team scored once again before we scored our fifth of the game. We showed signs of improvements, in terms of potency and impetus. We were going forward with more pace, more urgency and taking our opportunities. Newport eventually overpowered us once more to score three goals and giving us a score of 18-5 going into the fourth quarter.
We started brightly in the final quarter, with Nick Kerley grabbing his fourth goal of the game. The opposition scored a quick-fire double as we switched off and showed signs of fatigue. After that, there were four more goals in the reminder of the match - two goals to both teams. We battled to the very end of the match and almost managed to match our opponents goal-for-goal in the fourth quarter with better movement offensively and being more compact in defence. The match finished 22-8 to Newport.
This was a very tough opening game for us, considering how under-strength we were and the strength of the opposition. They are arguably the most aggressive team in the league from past experience - and that is also reflected in the stats as they managed to notch up thirteen major fouls during the match. We showed glimpses of quality without our key, regular players, but overall we were comprehensively beaten by a much more cohesive and powerful squad. Cwm Draig 8-22 Newport.
Cwm Draig Matchday squad (Personal Fouls)
1) Joseph Davies (0)
2) James Williams (1)
3) Thomas Beegan (0)
4) Morgan Taylor (0)
5) Drew Morgan (0)
6) Morgan Griffiths (0)
7) Joe Perry (0)
8) Nathan Geary (0)
9) Steven Epstein (0)
10) Peter Mayne (2)
11) Nick Kerley (2)
12) Matthew Griffiths (0)
13) Gareth Griffiths (0)
Cwm Draig scorers in first quarter (Total)
11) Nick Kerley (1)
Cwm Draig scorers in second quarter (Total)
2) James Williams (1)
Cwm Draig scorers in third quarter (Total)
8) Nathan Geary (1)
11) Nick Kerley (2)
Cwm Draig scorers in fourth quarter (Total)
10) Peter Mayne (2)
11) Nick Kerley (1)