Maesteg Celtic RFC welcomed near neighbors and rivals Maesteg Quins RFC to Garth Park for the first time in nearly ten years and were hoping for better fortunes. When Celtic lost the away game in the very last minute of time, despite dominating the match.
With both sides eager to play after the enforced lay off due to the weather, it was Celtic who started the stronger and had the Quins conceding ground. This was through good play through forwards Ryan Jones,Keiron Power,Rhodri Bwye and the backs outside half Scott Sainsbury and centre Adrian Thomas. But despite the Quins conceding a couple of penalties, Celtic failed to take advantage of the kicks at goal.
After about fifteen minutes of the game in a rare excursion into the Celtic half the Quins took the lead when Celtic were penalised for for entering the ruck from the side and the Quins outside half G Lewis slotted the ball between the posts. 0-3
From the kickoff Celtic again started to dominate through the forwards with again Ryan Jones, Peter Kehoe Connor McDonald making good gains for scrumhalf Ryan Philips to put his backs away,despite the attentions of Quins wiley scrum half Nicky Flay. However the Quins gave away a number of penalties and were lucky not to have players in the sinbin. These penalties resulted in Celtic getting near the Quins try line and strong scrummaging from the Celtic front row of Damion Philips Dale Cook and Rhodri Bwye, saw the defending side drop the scrum on two occasions. Finally the referee lost patcience and awarded a penalty try which was converted by Scott Sainsbury. 7-3
With both sides having chances to score it was the Quins who took their chance when good inter passing between the backs ,broke the Celtic defence for centre Andrew Leighton to cross the line for a well worked try,which went unconverted. 7-10
It was not long before Celtic scored, when good work from flanker Lee Arthur saw the Quins concede another penalty and Scott Sainsbury kicked the goal to tie the scores at 10-10.
With full back Ieuan Morris causing problems with his side stepping skills and the strong running of Richard Hopkins breaking tackles the Quins had difficulty in containing a Celtic side and penalty once again saw the Celtic No8 Ryan Jones take a quick tap and c ross for a unconverted try to take Celtic in front by 15-10. HT
With Celtic having to make a change at flanker with Peter Kehoe dislocating his shoulder,his replacement Jonathan Davies made his first appearance for the first team.
Celtic started the second half as they finished the first, but failed to again use their dominance to put points on the board and once again they allowed the Quns back into the game when outside half G Lewis kicked a penalty. 15-13
Celtic were again forced into another change when centre Adrian Thomas left the field with a twisted ankle and was replaced by Lee Bumford and also made a change at hooker where Ashley Poole replaced Dale Cook.
A shift in play saw the Quins take control with No8 R Roberts using his size to good effect and making Celtic commit more tacklers to bring him down and eventually a mistake in defence saw full back Kane Adams cross for a unconverted try. 15-18
Yet again back came Celtic and from a good move involving wing Gregg Davies, Lee Bumford and Scott Sainsbury, the Quins gave away another penalty and from a line out Celtic forwards took play through a number of phases with hooker Ashley Poole eventually crossing for a unconverted try. 20-18
With only minutes to go the Quins took play into the Celtic twenty two and after a couple of phases,from a resulting scrum outside half G Lewis coolly dropped a goal to take the lead and breaking Celtic hearts. 20-22.
Into the last play of the game Celtic were awarded a penalty after the Quins forwards were penalised for killing the ball, after missing a couple of easier kicks earlier in the game, from forty mtrs out it looked beyond Scott Sainsbury. But up he stepped confidently and with the Celtic supporters with their hearts in their mouths, he coolly slotted the ball between the posts with room to spare.To earn Celtic a well deserved victory and make up for the away game.
Credit must be given to both sides for providing both sets of supporters a game played in the right spirit. 23-20

This was a well contested local Derby played in good spirit by both teams at Maesteg park.

A great team effort from the Celtic side saw them dominate Nantyffyllon despite the poor handling conditions. Celtic opened their account from a quick penalty taken by Christopher Rees and  passed swiftly along the line for Laim Mullally to score, converted by Arron Jenkins. A  strong drive from the Celtic pack and a fine break by  Oliver Petty resulted in a try by Rhys Fisher.
Nanty backs making an attempted break out from their line when prop forward Michael Coombs intercepted and had an easy run from a claimed 50 yards to the line.
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A clasic break from Lloyd Jenkins backed up by Mathew Francis and Oliver Petty resulting in a fine try by Liam Parry at the corner post. Celtic went from strength to strength in the second half,  Captain Oliver Petty finished off a fine display of running rugby with breaks from lose play taking advantage of the possession from a driving maul and charging over the line from 20 metres, converted by Mathew Francis.
Use of the bench during the second half gave everyone a chance to contribute to the fine performance and participate in this fine win .
Final score Celtic Youth 27 Nanyfyllon 0.

Any new players are more than welcome to turn up to the all weather playing surface at Garth Park at 6.pm on Monday for training

This was a well contested local Derby played in good spirit by both teams.

A great team effort from the Celtic side saw them dominate Nantyffyllon despite the poor handling conditions.

Nantyffyllon opened the scoring with three penalties. From the kick off after the third penalty

Anthony Beecham got to the ball first, hacked through and won the foot race to score in the corner leaving Celtic trailing 9-5 at half time.

Celtic went from strength to strength in the second half, playing with the wind and rain on their backs. Captain Oliver Petty took advantage of Celtic forward power by picking up from the base of the dominant scrum and charging over the line from 20 metres. Not to be outdone Lloyd Jenkins got on the score sheet with a lovely floating trademark run beating the defenders to touch down. Oliver Petty consolidated his performance with a barnstorming run from the base of the scrum to get his second try. Robert Knight finished of a slick move from the backs to touch down in the corner. Use of the bench during the second half gave everyone a chance to contribute to the fine performance and participate in this fine win.

Matthew Francis added to the score with 3 difficult conversions bringing the final score to 33-9.

Any new players are more than welcome to turn up to the all weather playing surface at Garth Park at 6.pm on Monday for training

Following on from the well earned win against Kenfig Hill in the league, Celtic hosted division 2 east side Fleur de Lys who were relegated from division 1 last season and currently lay in mid table.
Celtic made a number of changes from their last game,with the key position of scrum half being filled by the skillful Ieuan Morris,who has resigned from Maesteg RFC and who has played in what will be his fourth position for Celtic this season.With both wing and centre positions being changed completely and Lee Arthur being the only change in the forwards.

Fleur de Lys started strongly and for the first ten minutes or so, it looked as if the bigger and more experienced forwards would eventually overwhelm the young Celtic side with them trying to batter through the Celtic defence. However they underestimated the steel and determination of this Celtic side who were well led by captain Matthew Bater who led by example and along with his other forwards surprised Fleur with the ferocity of their tackling. Celtic came more into the game in an attacking sense with the forwards through No8 Ryan Jones charging into the opposition at every opportunity,with flanker Lee Arthur ever present in support along with second rows Chris Everett and Keiron Power also providing good support play.
With Celtic using their possession wisely through the kicking of outside half Lee Bumford and scrum half Ieuan Morris the pressure was now all on the opposition but were unable to capitalize on a number of penalties awarded to them. However Celtic after winning good ball through Chris Everett in a line out set up a rolling maul but despite being brought down, the ball went out to the backs and after making good ground through centres Liam Barry and Scott Sainsbury the move ended up with fullback Sean Raymond crashing over for a unconverted try. 5-0 With this score it seemed to spur the opposition into life, but Celtic were in no mood to concede any score and this was shown by the committed tackling of centre Liam Barry who put is body or should I say his head on the line on more than one occasion through out the game. HT

The second half started in much the same way as the first, with the opposition trying to use their big forwards but were again met with stubborn resistance from the Celtic side. It was not until twenty five minutes into the second half that after move by the backs saw wing P Morris being put away and although he was pushed into touch by the cover defence the Fleur touch judge was still back in their own twenty two and as a result did not put his flag up, with the referee awarding a disputed try which was converted. 5-7
This score made Celtic work even harder with the front row of Damion Philips,Ashley Poole and Rhodri Bwye getting the better of their bigger counterparts. But Celtic were dealt a devastating blow with fifteen minutes to go ,when after Fleur forwards an backs combined to send in flanker N Jenkins for a try again converted by centre B Green. 5-14
This score however did not mean that Celtic had given up as once again they come back at the opposition fighting for every scrap of possession and were rewarded when centre Scott Sainsbury put over a well taken penalty. 8-14 Back again came Celtic and Fleur resorted to killing the ball which resulted in their flanker N Jenkins being sin binned. With just under ten minutes to go, Celtic captain Matthew Bater felt that there was a try on the cards as the opposition forwards were tiring and opted for a kick into touch from the penalty. Although winning the line out Celtic knocked the ball on and as a result there was a series of scrums and with pressure being put on, saw the Fleur scrum half being caught over his line and knock the ball on and as a result Matthew Bater touched the ball down to score, only for the referee to award a Celtic scrum five metres out. With time now running out and despite a valiant effort from the whole Celtic side, Fleur were able to hold on to their lead. But for a couple of decisions going against Celtic, it could have been the home side going into the fourth round of the cup. With this sort of form taken into the league, Celtic should have very little problem improving on their league position.

Maesteg Celtic played Kenfig Hill in their first encounter since the
demise of the Wistech Central Glamorgan District League. Celtic once again made a number of changes to their starting line up from the previous weeks cup match against Alltwen RFC. In came Rhodri Bwye to prop, Leon Evans at scrum half. Peter Kehoe at flanker, Chris Everett at second row, after playing for Maesteg on permit against Carmarthen Quins and Ieuan Morris moving from centre to wing to
accommodate Swansea centre Adrian Thomas playing as a duelled registered player with Celtic and Lee Bumford playing on permit from Nantyfyllon.

For about the first fifteen minutes Celtic had it all to do in holding out a Kenfig Hill side intent in running the ball at every opportunity and it was during this period that Celtic went behind to a fine individual effort from outside half N Giles. He received the ball just inside the Celtic 22mtr line and chipped the ball behind the Celtic defence to score under the posts, unfortunately he missed what was to be a crucial conversion. 0-5

This score only spurred the Celtic side on and as a result excellent work between the backs and forwards saw flanker Peter Kehoe go over for a try and Lee Bumford kicking the conversion. 7-5

Celtic were now totally on top winning good lineout ball through Chris Everett, Keiron Power and Matthew Bater through once again the accurate throwing in of hooker Ashley Poole. Also at the scrums where
the front row of Damion Philips,Ashley Poole and Rhodri Bwye having a slight edge on their opposite numbers. Kenfig Hill were also having trouble in containing the strong running of centres Adrian Thomas and Rhys Garfield with good distribution of the ball coming from the sniping scrum half Leon Evans and outside half Lee Bumford. With Celtic putting all the pressure on, it seemed obvious that that a further score would come and this came by the way of a try from centre Rhys Garfield. After a side stepping run from co centre Adrian Thomas, he passed the ball to Rhys who fended off two would be tacklers to
score, with the conversion coming from Lee Bumford. 14-5 HT

Celtic continued the second half as they finished it and Celtic were unlucky not to score after scrum half Leon Evans made one of his sniping runs, only for him to receive a short arm tackle from a opposition second row going for the line. But Celtic failed to capitalize on the penalty and field position.
As the second half wore on Kenkig Hill started to come back into the game and but for Celtic's strong defence and some poor handling by the centres, they would have been back in the game. Also losing their
captain and second row to the sin bin following his second warning for foul play did not help their cause. But eventually another individual effort saw Kenfig Hill close in on the Celtic score when N Giles
crossed for his second try which again went unconverted. 14-10

With less than twenty minutes to go Kenfig Hill were in their 22mtr
area and in possession of the ball when again poor handling by the centres saw the ball going
loose and wing Greg Davies receiving the ball to out pace the defence to go over in the corner for a unconverted try. With about ten minutes to go plus injury time Celtic lost second row Chris Everett to the sin bin for killing the ball in the ruck and as a result Kenfig Hill were able to use their one man advantage and once again N Giles was able to cross for his second try which this time he converted. 19-17

With time ticking away and Celtic defending resolutely, the Celtic supporters still biting their finger nails hoping that this was not to be another game lost in the dying minutes. However with the last
move of the game Celtic's seven forwards turned the ruck ball over and full back Sean Raymond kicked the ball dead to end what was a very exciting game.

Credit must given to the forwards with Peter Kehoe, Keiron Power putting in some telling tackles and No8 Ryan Jones with his charging runs, who made inroads in the opposition defence.
Celtic are pleased to announce that former Newport coach Ian Hembrow has agreed to rejoin
the club as Head Coach and Mark Titely in charge of thr backs, with captain Matthew Bater
stepping down as forwards coach but still being an active member of the coaching team.
Maesteg Celtics next game will be at home in the Swalec Cup ko 2-30pm
on November 15th against second division 2 east team Fleur De Lys.

Following last weeks disappointing loss to local rivals Nantyfyllon in the league, Celtic were still confident of a win at division 5 leaders Alltwen. in the Swalec Cup 2nd round.
Celtic were forced to make a number of changes from last weeks game with changes at prop ,hooker,second row wing full back and scrum half, where the experienced Mike Kehoe came in for his first game in the first team for a number of seasons.

The game was into the fifth minute when a combination of forwards and backs saw wing James Jones cross for a try in the corner, converted by Scott Sainsbury. 0-7
With Celtic playing good rugby, Alltwen were having difficulty in containing them and as a result conceded a penalty for Scott Sainsbury to put between the posts to make the score 0-10.

Despite being under pressure for long periods, Alltwen played their part in a entertaining game by running the ball at every opportunity,but good defencive work by the back row of Keiron Power, Matthew Bater and No8 Ryan Jones, along with Liam Hopkins in the second row and centres Iuean Evans and Rhys Garfield putting in some telling tackles. But once again it was Celtic who scored, when good running from the backs saw centre Rhys Garfield break through two tackles to pass on to fellow centre Iuean Evans, who put wing Greg Davies clear to cross for a unconverted try. 0-15

Celtic went even further ahead when a good take in the line out on the Alltwen 22metre line by Matthew Bater, saw the forwards drive up to the try line for Liam Hopkins to force his way over for Scott Sainsbury to convert. 0-22
As the referee played injury time Celtic crossed for another try which went unconverted through wing James Jones, who scored his second try. HT 0-27

Alltwen made a couple of changes for the second half, bringing on two experienced players in the forwards, which helped for a period of time. Celtic seemed to be trying to hard to run the ball from inside their own half and a number of mistakes were made although not costly. Alltwen restricted any further score until midway through the second half when full back Sean Raymond crossed for a well worked try which went unconverted. 0-32

Celtic had to wait until late in the second half to score their final try, when the elusive Iuean Evans side stepped his way through a number of defenders to round the full back and despite being over the try line passed the ball to Scott Sainbury who scored under the posts and convert his own try. 0-39

With scrum half Mike Kehoe showing all his experience throughout the game it would be a bonus for Celtic to have him in the first team squad on a regular basis. Other player to show up well were centres Rhys Garfield. Iuean Evans and Scott Saisbury in the backs. with Liam Hopkins,Keiron Power, Damion Philips and Connor Mcdonald in the forwards and also a mention to hooker Ashley Poole for his accurate throwing in in the line outs, which allowed Celtic to play good rugby.

On Saturday 1/11/08 Celtic entertain Kenfig Hill at Garth Park 2-30pm and are still confident of doing well in division 3 South West.