Sweet: We're not far away

Ashley Sweet was full of praise for the team’s performance as they pushed Ebbw Vale all the way in a feisty Gwent Derby at the CiNER Glass Community Stadium.

The second row enjoyed a memorable return to the ground last season as he helped Pooler to a Championship Cup semi-final victory against Neath but this was his first visit back to face his former side.

The Steelmen had already secured their place in the play-offs prior to kick-off with Cardiff’s victory over Merthyr last weekend ending Pooler’s hopes of a top-four finish.

However, despite the differing fortunes of the two clubs’ seasons, there was little to separate them under the lights on a cold and windy evening.

“We knew it was going to be a tough job but the scoreline showed how close it really was,” said a defiant Sweet, who spent a decade playing for Ebbw.

“I’m proud of the boys for the way they stuck at it and it was the fine margins that let us down.

“We are disappointed not to make the top four but we know we have a job to do every time we come out.

“We do it for the fans, we do it for our families.

“It’s about making everyone proud every time you pull on the jersey and that is what we pride ourselves on.

“We’re not far away.

“We’ll bring that physical edge and hopefully next season we will kick on and really challenge.”

Focus now turns on to the final two games of the season as Pooler look to claim fifth place on their return to the Premiership.

Pontypool have the most victories, least losses, most points scored and least points conceded of all the teams outside the top four and Sweet is targeting a strong finish to ensure they finish where they feel they deserve.

“We’ve got two games to put things right and finish on a high ready for next year,” he added.

“It’s going to be exciting over the course of the next week.

“We’ll take what we’ve learned going forward and put them right next week.

“It’s probably compounding errors. We make one, then we make another and you can’t do that at top-level rugby.

“It’s a learning curve. We’ve learned a lot during that game and it is something we need to learn going forward as well.”