Strong Winds and heavy rain greeted Bryncethin when they finally reached Vardre, after storm Brian caused havoc on the roads.
The young Bryncethin side showed their intent early on with some good off-loading despite the atrocious conditions.
The Vardre defence was resolute but a strong run from centre Dai Povey almost resulted in a score, only for Povey to be hauled down short of the line, a motion that resulted in an ankle fracture that will leave him sidelined for 6 weeks.
The Cherry and Whites kept battering at the home defence and the pressure resulted in a penalty try when open-side Steve James was held back whilst chasing a kick through.
The home side came back by converting a well struck penalty into the stiff wind, that cancelled out Liam Morgan's 27th minute penalty.
Turning around and playing into the gales 10-3 ahead, Bryncethin found the 2nd half to be more demanding. Vardre used the wind to their advantage, playing the game in Bryncethin territory and putting heavy pressure on them.
Despite the pressure and around 70% possession, the young visitors stood firm and aggressive in defence but eventually with only 7 minutes of the game remaining, the home side finally broke through from short range, scoring a try that was converted to tie the scores.
The game looked to be heading for a draw, but a speculative kick downfield by Vardre resulted in a marginally early tackle being penalised, for Vardre to convert and steal the match, and leave Bryncethin with a solitary bonus point.
There were good performances from many of the Bryncethin side in the absence of senior players, Gavin Parsons leading from the front. Shane Jones and Gareth Evans gave strong performance on their return after injury, with Kyle Morgan and Nathan Hawkins defending gallantly in midfield.
Next week Bryncethin host high flying Rhigos for what promises to be a tough match.
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