Bluebirds draw another blank (From Western Telegraph)

Bluebirds draw another blank

Vauxhall Masterfit Welsh Premier football Haverfordwest County 0 Caersws 0 It's unusual to say this of a game with no goals and relatively few shots on goal, but this really was a very entertaining match.

Bluebirds fans will look back on the match with some disappointment, chiefly because the wave of second half attacks didn't provide the goal which would have settled matters.

Dan Duffy's pitch turned out nice again after the atrocious Friday weather and was the right surface for a good footballing encounter.

In the first quarter of an hour, though, both sides sparred with each other warily and there were moments when the Blues defence, without Wyn Thomas and Wayne Jones, seemed to be reading one another uneasily.

It looked like it was only a matter of time before Caersws, a fine counter-attacking side, would hit them quickly and tellingly.

Their striker Graham Evans looked dangerous throughout and his tussle with Rob Jones and Dave Barnhouse was one of the highlights of the game, with Jones in fact running Lee Kendall very close as man-of-the-match.

As the first half wore on the Bluebirds began to muster more and more strong attacks. Particularly prominent were Richie Adams and Lee Hudgell.

The latter, coming in at left wing back for the injured 'Wolvesey', was a revelation. He had probably his best game for the Blues and was very close to grabbing a goal.

For all that, the nearest the match came to a goal in the first half was in the 41st minute, when the ball broke to Caersws' Chris Venables on the right-wing corner of the penalty area, and his rasping shot, which looked a goal all the way, was superbly parried by Kendall.

The visitors started the second half in similar vein, but mercifully so did Kendall. In the 55th minute Andrew Davies curled in a beautiful cross from the left and, with two Caersws attackers waiting on the far post, Kendall did brilliantly to tip the cross away.

For the last half hour, though, the Blues really looked as though they could win this game. Dylan Blain and Nick Palmer both got right into the match as attacking forwards and the side, even without Colin Loss to orchestrate matters, played some lovely attacking football.

A splendid move involving sub Lee Brown, Palmer and Blain led to a corner. That corner, from Brace, saw first Tim Hicks' header and then Barnhouse's shot being blocked on the line.

A brilliant Hudgell run saw his cross just crowded out. Finally, another splendid Palmer run put Hicks through and the striker played a sweet cross to the onrushing Brace whose first time blast whistled over the bar.

Match sponsors were Celtic Inns. Next Saturday the Blues are away to Airbus UK. In the Bluebirds' Tote there was one winner - Austin Price c/o Narberth. The numbers were:10, 17, and 29. The prize next week is £500.

HAVERFORDWEST County: Kendall; Brace, Hudgell, Catlin, Rob Jones, Barnhouse, Blain, Hicks, Adams, Rossiter (Brown, 68), Palmer. Subs not used: Loss, Algieri.