Cardiff rallied in the second half to defeat the Cheetahs 26-10, with Josh Adams scoring twice to lead the team to their first Challenge Cup win
Cardiff: The team really turned things around in the second half against the Cheetahs. They clinched a 26-10 victory at the Arms Park, thanks to Josh Adams, who scored two tries.
At halftime, Cardiff was trailing and it looked a bit grim. They only had Adams’ try to show for their efforts, and they were mostly on the back foot. But wow, what a comeback!
In the second half, they scored 21 unanswered points. Adams got his second try, and Tom Bowen even scored on his senior debut. It was a great way to kick off their European campaign.
After a tough start last week in Lyon, this win pushed Cardiff up to second in Pool 1. They’ve got some momentum now, even if the performance wasn’t perfect.
It was also a big boost for Cardiff and Wales to see Taulupe Faletau back on the field after being out for eight months. He played for 52 minutes and looked good.
The Cheetahs came in strong but lost a few players to injury early on. Despite that, they dominated the first half, keeping Cardiff pinned back for most of it.
Cardiff managed to score first, with Adams crossing the line after a slick move. They really needed that to get some confidence going.
Even though the Cheetahs were in control, Cardiff held their ground. They had a chance to score just before halftime but couldn’t get it over the line.
In the second half, Cardiff really found their rhythm. A great pass from Corey Domachowski set up captain Liam Belcher, who made a big run into the Cheetahs’ half.
Belcher got dragged down, but Cardiff kept their cool and spread the ball wide to Bowen, who scored a fantastic debut try. That really got the crowd going!
After taking the lead, Cardiff made some changes, and one of the subs, Alex Mann, helped set up Adams’ second try. They were really building on their momentum.
They even earned a penalty try later on, which sealed the bonus point. It was a bit chaotic towards the end, but they held on for the win.
Adams almost had a hat-trick, but a crossfield kick didn’t quite work out. In the end, it didn’t matter much as Cardiff secured a solid victory.