Haverfordwest 1 Caersws 0.

As time passed and the game stayed goalless, Derek Brazil gambled on a 3-4-3 formation.

The move paid off handsomely ten minutes from the end when his three strikers combined beautifully to fashion a lovely winner.

The first Blues player to be scrutinized, both by the Meadow crowd and by the Caersws attack, was new goalkeeper Lee Idzi, on loan from Merthyr. He came through his first test very well, when in the 13th minute he pulled off a fine point-blank save from Mark Griffiths' rasping angled shot.

Despite a few uncertainties, as you might expect with a debutant goalkeeper, Idzi did well.

Meanwhile, the Blues were pressing forward, as Jack Christopher found space out wide and debutant striker Ian Jones started to probe the centre of the Caersws defence.

The mid-Wales Bluebirds had a very efficient offside trap and Jones was picked up half a dozen times in a fairly even first half. He looked like a dangerous player and, with another new signing, Daniel Hooper looking skilful on the left of midfield, it was a good afternoon for debutants.

It was Hooper who created the Bluebirds' best first half chance when he jinked past two defenders in a fluent run.

Experienced keeper Andy Mulliner did well to parry the shot at the near post.

A fourth new signing, Neil Thomas, would have been many people's man-of-the-match as he asserted himself very forcefully in midfield, although a sparkling second half display by Chris O'Sullivan would have made him a contender for the accolade.

Ian Jones narrowly failed to get the right contact on crosses from O'Sullivan three times, but then came the moment when manager Brazil decided to bring on the extra attacker and Nick Woodrow lined up alongside Jones and Christopher.

The move worked like a charm. The three strikers combined in the 80th minute. Christopher rounded the defence out right and his fine deep cross was headed back across goal by Jones for Woodrow to pounce for the winner.

Jack Christopher had a red card in the 83rd minute, which looked harsh, the referee stuck to the letter of the law.

Three minutes after his first yellow, he was told by referee Whitby to walk away from a Caersws free kick, but when the hurriedly-taken kick struck him eight yards from the ball and, walking away from it, the referee gave him his marching orders.

This was a fine start to the season, however.

Next Saturday the Blues travel to play Bangor City, before entertaining Port Talbot Town on Friday, August 31.

Haverfordwest County: Idzi; Cattlin, Wayne Jones, Gilderdale, Elliott (Raymond, 78), Neil Thomas, O'Sullivan (Peter Thomas, 85), Coates (Woodrow, 61), Ian Jones, Christopher, Hooper.