Cardiff came out on top in this keenly contested Specsavers National Cup quarter final clash. Llanelli conceded two tries in the first ten minutes, Will Davies King powered over first and then from spilled ball from the restart full back Ed Howley scooped up the loose ball to run unopposed for the second try. With the extras added a 14pt advantage took the edge off the game and it looked like it was going to be a long afternoon for the home side. In the end though, solid defence and some fine attacking play meant that the home side kept in the game but couldn’t quite bring it back to a one score game. Ioan Hughes slotted a penalty after after Cardiff were caught offside, but that was soon cancelled out by Gareth Thompson who slotted a penalty from in front of the posts. The home side kept plugging away and from a neat chip, centre and skipper Jonny Lewis was on hand to touch down for their first try. Cardiff pressed for their third try but the referee stopped play for what turned out to be a nasty injury to Alex Everett who was stretchered off just before the half ended. From the restart, the visitors second row Sam Pailor was on hand to extend the lead with that third try. At the half Llanelli 10-27 Cardiff.
Llanelli came out for the second half much as they did against RGC last week, firing on all cylinders! A break by wing Liam Hutchins put the hosts on the front foot and eventually the ball was moved to the other wing Kalum Evans to score their second try of the game. But soon after, a nice break by James Beal saw him feed Howley for his second try to maintain the visitors lead. A strong finish by Llanelli maybe could have resulted in a couple of tries but solid defence by the visitors won the day. Just before the end, No8 Nathan Hart did cross for Llanelli’s third try, but a last kick of the game penalty goal from replacement Joe Skrivens completed the scoring. Final Llanelli 20-35 Cardiff
Llanelli are back in Premiership action next Friday evening at Parc y a Scarlets when they take on Llandovery.