Swansea Hawks 3-25 Cardiff Harlequins
Zenith West Division 1
16th January 2010
In Britain it seems, the weather rules OK. After a month and a half without a match, thanks in part to opponents failing to raise a team but mainly due to a winter of heavy rain followed by heavy snow followed by heavy ice, it was with great optimism that Cardiff made the short trip along the M4. A late rally in temperature staved off the threat of a frozen all-weather surface, but could do little about the persistent low cloud in which Swansea’s Townhill pitch was immersed throughout.
Harlequins warmed up with the gusto of a team who hadn’t thrown a ball in anger for seven weeks, and started the game already in full flow. James ‘Hamish’ Tiley won the opening face off and after a brief period of possession, attackman Will Barrett capitalised on space left by skipper Adam Grey to open the scoring. With one eye on their crunch Flags 2nd round match the following week at Croydon, Quins were disciplined in sticking to an offensive game plan that yielded six more goals in the quarter including a cameo from goalkeeper Casey Hughes. The Wales keeper ran the length of the field before playing a quick give-and-go and slotted home his first goal for Cardiff with an extravagant finish between his opposite number’s legs. The mist also cleared momentarily at the end of the quarter to give the Cardiff backline a clear view of a clinical fast break started by long-stick defenceman Andy Ford and finished by Rhodri Stanford, with a succession of sharp passes long the way.
Despite the onset of rain, and the return of the cloud, Cardiff continued in this vein in the second quarter. Tiley, Grey, Stanford and Andy Morgan all got themselves on the scoresheet with goals originating from an offense that seemed happy to switch between swift passing and isolation plays almost at will. Indeed, more clinical finishing could have seen the lead extended further still, although the visitors were more than content with the halftime score sitting at 15-0.
By now, talk was beginning to focus on preparing for that impending Flags match against Croydon, but a combination of cold muscles and a healthy lead saw Cardiff relax a little too much and Swansea grabbed their chance. A mistake at the back put Wales u19 attacker Chris Webborn in on goal for the hosts, and he took his opportunity well to get Swansea off the mark early in the third. It was a brief moment of respite for Swansea’s backline though, as Quins laid siege to the goal and bombarded the hapless goalkeeper, adding four more to the lead. The hosts grabbed another just before the whistle to trail 19-2 going into the final period. Cardiff stepped up a gear again in the fourth quarter, and notched up a further six goals to record their highest scoreline of the season and although the hosts managed one in reply, it was little consolation.
The final score of 25-3 is a clear demonstration of the improvement at Cardiff since the last time these two teams met, when Quins were held to an 11-2 win at home. However, it also suggests that a degree of papering of cracks may have taken hold; cracks that will be exploited far more successfully by a strong Croydon side who will be hoping for a reversal of last season’s defeat at the hands of Harlequins.
