PONTYPRIDD'S Christian Martin was sent off just 30 minutes into his debut for his part in an ugly brawl as the United States Eagles finally got their tour off the ground with a 15-13 win.
The Argentinian tight head prop, a student at the University of Glamorgan, was given his marching orders by English referee Stuart Piercey for throwing a punch, but it wasn't until late in the game that the Eagles made their advantage count.
A crowd of 2,000 braved freezing conditions to see the Eagles, who meet Wales in the big game of their tour at the Arms Park on Saturday.
The Eagles had to wait until the 70th minute for the deciding score when replacement Richard Tardits intercepted a Simon Enoch pass and ran more than 40 yards to touch down. Williams kicked the conversion to give the Eagles a much needed morale booster following their 39-15 mauling by Neath on Saturday.
Eagles coach Jack Clarke said: "Our opponents came to intimidate us a little today, but we weren't going to be intimidated."
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