MENAI Bridge were left rueing a poor start as they fell to a 24-13 defeat at Machynlleth.

The hosts enjoyed an early breakthrough courtesy of a fine individual effort from Cameron Sandys, but they responded well to the set-back and finally got on the scoresheet when Dion McGrath fired over a penalty.

A handling error from Bridge ensures they went further behind after James Owen intercepted an errant pass to score, and things got even worse for the visitors soon after when Hedd Griffiths barged over the white wash. Iwan Jones added the extras.

After the break saw the home side impose themselves further on proceedings when Steffan Prince rounded off a prolonged period of pressure to notch a try under the posts for their bonus point.

With the game seemingly out of reach, Bridge rallied as conditions worsened following Mach being reduced to 13 players thanks to a pair of sin bins in quick succession, and this was swiftly followed by number eight Sam Williams powering through the rearguard for a brace to round off the scoring.

Bridge must now regroup for next week’s home derby against old rivals Benllech.