Welsh League, Division One

Haverfordwest County 2

Pontardawe 0

A VERY brisk and positive Bluebirds side outplayed Pontardawe and will be left regretting the combination of bad luck and hasty finishing which denied them the 6- or 7-goal win their performance merited, writes Robert Nisbet.

After a sluggish first ten minutes the red-clad Bluebirds began to work the ball forward dangerously, with Luke Borelli threatening out wide. As the first half progressed, the midfield of Nicky Palmer, Kieran Howard and the re-signed Owen Thomas began to control the game, and with Ricky Watts pushing up on the right, the visitors’ goal was under pressure. Thomas pulled two shots wide and a 25-yarder from Facciuto looked dangerous, but the nearest they came to a goal in the first half was when Borelli met a Watts cross with a stinging header which keeper Reeve did extremely well to clutch at the second attempt.

One warning bell did ring though in the 42nd minute, when a real lapse in defence let in Pont’s Liam Griffiths but he pulled a good chance wide.

The opening goal did not come until the 50th minute and after all the fine passing football had been repelled, it was a Route One goal which did the trick. Strikers Borelli and Steffan Davies latched on to a high ball from the back and Davies’ nicely-weighted square pass saw Borelli in to drive low inside Reeve’s left-hand post.

The attacks continued almost non-stop and the match statistics tell us of the Bluebirds’ 28 unsuccessful shots compared with the visitors’ 6. But with the subs on, and with Greg Walters, in Thomas’ place, looking just as dangerous as his predecessors, a second goal seemed a matter of time. It eventually came in the 72nd minute, when Pont scrambled an attack away and the ball went as far as Howard, 25 yards out, for him to drive into the top corner.

The pressure continued to the end and some of the finishing at that stage was wayward with Declan Carroll scooping a couple of good chances over the bar.

For all that, the important thing was to get the league campaign back on a winning track and the result did that. With Cardiff Met being held to a draw, the Bluebirds’ challenge is now right back in the forefront.

This Saturday, Haverfordwest County are home against Briton Ferry Llansawel in a re-arranged game which will kick-off at 2.30pm, and the following Saturday 17, they are home to Ton Pentre.

The programme sponsors were The Western Telegraph. The ball sponsors were the friends of the late Dai Parker (Carmarthen), who were very welcome visitors to the club once again.

Haverfordwest County: Craig Morris, Ricky Watts, Antonio Facciuto, Sam Rodon, Dale Griffiths, Sean Pemberton (Declan Carroll, 60), Kieran Howard, Nicky Palmer, Luke Borelli (Jordan Follows, 75), Steffan Davies, Owen Thomas (Greg Walters, 60).