Poor Llanelli no match for super Bluebirds (From Western Telegraph)

Poor Llanelli no match for super Bluebirds

Football: Vauxhall MasterFit Welsh Premier LLANELLI 0 Haverfordwest County 3

Although the Bluebirds could in fact have scored more than three against what was by no means a poor Llanelli side, they will look back with some satisfaction on a good performance.

The Stebonheath pitch was in reasonable shape after the rain and the game, throughout the first half, was quick and fluent, with both sides concentrating on good inter-passing football.

At times, the Bluebirds' game looked very, very attractive.

The first touch was good and they regularly put together sweetly-flowing moves of three and four passes.

For all that, they will be disappointed that they didn't in fact get the ball in the net during the first half, although Tim Hicks did send one shot rasping against the bar.

They will have been aware also that the Reds were passing quite neatly at times and were looking sharp on the break.

The deadlock did in fact last until the 60th minute, when a substitution brought on Richie Adams as sub on the right of midfield and saw Nick Palmer switch to the centre.

At once the Eddie's Snooker Bar sponsored Bluebirds were buzzing even more loudly than before and within minutes had taken the lead.

After two shots had been blocked, a rebound fell to Lee Hudgell who drove in his first goal of the season.

During the second half, Lee Kendall did in fact pull off two quite breathtaking saves, so it was not one-way traffic, but even so it was a fluent Blues side which was now pouring forward.

Colin Loss, perhaps at the moment enjoying his best-ever spell with the Bluebirds, dominated the midfield.

Catlin and Palmer also looked very good, and Adams and Hudgell tied the Reds in knots with their raiding down the flanks.

The second goal came when Hicks crashed in a scorching 20-yarder, and was followed by the third, when Wyn Thomas headed in a corner and a despairing hookback by a Llanelli defender couldn't stop it crossing the line.

By now Niko Algieri, a rapidly-improving player, had come on as sub for the injured Lee Brown, and was winning a great deal of very good ball in the air.

The Blues ended the game well on top, with just time to give a Welsh Premier debut in goal to Ian Kerrison.

Also on the bench was Academy player Lee Palmer, who had impressed the management so much during the West Wales Senior Cup game at Neath on Wednesday, when a Blues side made up largely of youth players went down 2-1 to the Motaquote First Division side, with the Blues goal coming from Algieri.

Next Saturday, the Blues travel to play UWIC in the last 16 of the Welsh Cup, with the next home game against fifth-placed Bangor City on Saturday February 19th.

Haverfordwest County: Kendall (Kerrison, 88); Blain, Brace, Thomas; Nick Palmer, Rossiter (Adams, 60), Catlin, Loss, Hudgell; Hicks, Brown (Algieri, 73). Sub not used: Lee Palmer.