The Blues were looking to build on last weekend's victory over Zebre as they faced the reigning RaboDirect PRO12 champions at the Liberty Stadium.
The Blues kicked off and applied early pressure on the Ospreys but their defense kept the Blues at bay. A turn over ball and break by the Ospreys flyer, Eli Walker, hinted the creativity in the Osprey’s back line as they spent more and more time in the Blues 22.
The first points went to Ospreys when Matthew Morgan kicked the penalty. From an Ospreys line out, Bearman came through on the blindside to keep the ball alive to see King cross the Blues line to score the first try of the game. Morgan went on to convert the try 10-0.
Ospreys looked to test the Blues further with quick ball and pace in the backs to keep the Blues pinned in their 22. Another penalty soon after saw Morgan attempt to add a further 3 points to the scoreboard but he kicked wide of the posts. A scrum close to the Blues try line spelt danger for the away side but this was cleared by Patchell resulting in an Ospreys line out. From another misdemeanor, Morgan finally got the chance to add another three points to the board giving the Ospreys a 13 points lead.
The Blues came back into the game when they were awarded a penalty after a break by Patchell and recycled ball saw the young full back stopped just short of the line. Ceri kicked the first Blues points of the evening with a good penalty to make it 13-3.
The Blues came more into the game in the last ten minutes of the first half. Although it was fairly equal in the loose, the precise kicking of Morgan and Fussell had kept the Blues pinned back in their half for much of the game.
Another penalty given away at the scrum resulted in three more points to Morgan. In the last few minutes of the half, a promising attack by the Blues ended with the Ospreys being off side. Leading to Ceri answering with a penalty making the score Ospreys 16 Cardiff Blues 6.
Half time Ospreys 16 v Cardiff Blues 6
The Ospreys started the second half the same way they did in the first half, when Full Back Fussell scored after catching a deft chip over the top of the advancing Blues defence. This was converted by Morgan.
The Blues made some changes as Patchell moved to 10 and Tovey joined the team as a replacement for Ceri Sweeney. An infringement at the scrum, after some sustained Blues pressure resulted in a penalty in front of the posts which was taken and converted by Patchell.
The Ospreys went down to14 men when Sam Lewis was given a yellow card for being off side at the ruck. Patchell went on to score the resulting penalty from the near the half way line. The Blues were beginning to show a more competitive side at the break down while Patchell was starting to dictate play and put the Blue on the front foot.
The Blues showed their strength as they worked through the phases getting into the Ospreys 22 on a number of occasions but the Ospreys’ defence stayed strong. With less than ten minutes to go, the Ospreys were once again in the Blues 22 and close to the try line. Tovey managed to find a good kick to touch near to the half way line to relieve the pressure. But another break by Walker showed his pace and led to a yellow card for Josh Navidi for not rolling away. A great tackle by Lloyd Williams stopped Walker as he was held short of scoring the Ospreys’ third try. With minutes to go, the Ospreys continued to push the Blues defence and were rewarded with a try by Morgan Allen from a catch and drive after a line out. This was again converted by Matthew Morgan.
Ospreys
Tries J King x 1, R Fussell x1, M Allen x1
Con M Morgan x3
Pen M Morgan x 4
D/G
Cardiff Blues
Tries
Con
Pen C Sweeney x2, Patchell x2
D/G
Cardiff Blues 15. Rhys Patchell 14. Tom Williams 13. Gavin Evans 12. Dafydd Hewitt(59off) 11. Owen Williams 10. Ceri Sweeney( 45off) 9. Lloyd Williams
8. Robin Copeland(5off ) 7. Josh Navidi (c) 6. Rory Watts-Jones 5. James Down 4. Michael Paterson 3. Taufa’ao Filise (40off) 2. Marc Breeze(59 off) 1. Sam Hobbs( 74off)
16. Andi Kyriacou (59on) 17. Nathan Trevett( 74on) 18. Benoit Bourrust (40 on) 19. Macauley Cook 20. Andries Pretorius (5on) 21. Lewis Jones 22. Gareth Davies(59 on) 23. Jason Tovey (45on)
Ospreys: 15. Richard Fussell 14. Ross Jones 13.Tom Isaacs 12. Andrew Bishop 11. Eli Walker 10. Matthew Morgan 9. Kahn Fotuali’i (c)
8. Joe Bearman 7. Sam Lewis 6. George Stowers 5.James King 4. Ian Gough 3. Cai Griffiths 2. Scott Baldwin 1 Duncan Jones
16. Matthew Dwyer 17. Marc Thomas 18. Dmitri Arhip 19. Lloyd Peers 20. Morgan Allen 21. Rhys Webb 22. Sam Davies 23. Jonathan Spratt
Yellow Cards: Sam Lewis, JoshNavidi
Attendance: 8,169