WITH the fixture pool failing to provide the hoped-for Cwrt-y-Vil action for the First XV, Old Penarthians found themselves restricted to the solitary Second team fixture away to Sully last Saturday.

To their chagrin, even the presence of a handful of senior players in their ranks was not enough to provide the Old Boys with much-needed Cardiff and District league points as the hosts proved to be the better organised side and were full value for the margin of their 13-0 victory.

Centre Rhys Regan hung his head in horror as he fired wide from barely 15 yards when Sully were awarded a penalty only two minutes into the game.

Such a miss could well have proved costly but the hosts held their nerve and number eight Martin Best opened their account 17 minutes later when he barged over for a try that was converted by outside half Paul Follon to put the side seven points clear.

Penarthians were forced into reorganisation when lock Tony Kemp succumbed to a knee injury similar to that which sidelined him at the end of last term, Jamie Croll slotting into the vacancy.

Mark Bow spurned a chance to reduce the arrears when he fired wide with a 25-yard penalty but the outside half redeemed himself soon after when his dummy enabled him to slice through the Sully defence on the left.

Centre Nigel Boucher supported well to take the pass but found himself thwarted as he attempted to make it to the line.

Sully were forced on to the defensive at the start of the second session with a superb tackle from Mark Lloyd threatening to shake the lengthy locks of the home centre out from their very roots.

Penarthians, however, became increasingly at odds with the decisions of the referee and the discipline of the side progressively fell apart, a situation that served only to harden the attitude of the official against them.

Decision reversal and loss of yardage became the order of the day and the Old Boys found themselves unable to instill any continuity into their play.

The hosts, meanwhile, gained in confidence with ex-Penarthian centre Paul Follon cleverly calling the shots from the fly half position.

Centre Regan fired wide with another comparatively simple penalty shot but then deservedly earned the plaudits of his colleagues with the excellent drop shot that extended the home lead to ten points.

The Penarthian cause was not helped when Mark Bow was sin-binned in the 21st minute, Follon kicking the resultant penalty from in front of the posts, whilst the subsequent bout of fisticuffs that marked the tension on the field saw Stuart Gunnarsson, together with a Sully player, replace Bow in the bin.

This was yet another disappointing performance from a Penarthians squad that never succeeded in quelling the spirit of well organised opponents.

The early loss of Tony Kemp meant that lineout possession was limited despite the efforts of Stuart Gunnarsson and Mark Smart while Spencer Haus, Nick Vagges, and Mark Curtis found themselves well matched by the Sully front row trio.

Skipper Mark Lloyd, celebrating the latest addition to his family, was quieter than usual but Richard Smith spared no effort with good support from Mark Smart.

Nick Barry clearly relished the prospects of playing against his former Sully colleagues but the partnership with Mark Bow lacked fluency and this limited the efficiency of the Penarthian back division where James Williams nevertheless contrived to put in a number of elusive and speedy bursts whilst the power of Jon Howell's boot often gained acres of much needed ground.

Saturday sees the Firsts back in league action but facing the daunting task of entertaining runaway leaders in unbeaten Porth. The Rhondda men have won all of their matches this term, their free-running style producing an average of more than 40 points per match.

This game kicks off at 2.30pm, the same time that is scheduled for the Seconds game away to Cowbridge.