BALA 26

NANT CONWY 24

HOW on earth did Bala secure a weekend triumph?

The men from Maes Gwyniad appeared to be dead and buried when they trailed visitors Nant Conwy 17-0 after only 20 minutes of Saturday's fiercely fought WRU League Division One (North) contest.

However, Bala bossed the second half of the contest to grab a trio of converted tries and secure an epic triumph to open 2020.

"In the first half, we were second best by a long way," said Bala chairman Tony Parry.

"But we got to their half once and we scored a try.

"We scored at the beginning of the second half and they didn't get into our half in the second half.

"I was definitely a game of two halves."

Jac Ellis, Gethin Roberts and Morgan Dafydd scored the Nant Conwy tries, with Ellis converting all three of them.

Garan Davies scored an unconverted try in the first half to get the home side on the scoreboard, while Bala then took control in the second period.

Ilan Rowlands crossed the whitewash soon after the restart, with Argentinian player Luis Prieto nudging over the extras.

It was game on once again when Iestyn Jones scored Bala's next try and with Prieto converting, the gap between the teams was down to just five points.

Then, with two minutes to go, Ilan Rowlands capped a man of the match display by stretching just far enough to grab his second try.

It was now level and with the crowd silent, Prieto's conversion dramatically went over off the upright to seal a cracking victory.