Haverfordwest County 1 CAMBRIAN & CLYDACH 3 No-one at the Bridge Meadow could begrudge Cambrian & Clydach the win in a game in which the Bluebirds faded after a good start and were well and truly out-muscled by the finish.

The Bluebirds are increasingly having to realize some of the tougher facts of life in the Welsh League, including the ominous truth that the league contains, at its top end, a few sides like Bryntirion and Cambrian who may not have the licences to play in the Welsh Premier but would make a real dent on that league if they should play there. And of course they will see a clash with one of last season’s Welsh Premier sides as a real scalp to take. So Saturday was never going to be easy.

The Bluebirds did in fact make a good start and in the first 20 minutes played some neat attacking football with tempo and a degree of conviction. Dave Evans and Richard Lewis were combining dangerously and well down the left and both Richard Ryan and Ricky Watts were able to bob up threateningly in the Cambrian goal area.

But Cambrian & Clydach had some very good attackers too, notably their striker Jason Bertorelli, who would have been most fans’ man of the match.

In the 22nd minute Cambrian were able to exploit some careless defending and Bertorelli ghosted into the penalty area to convert a cross from Ceri Morgan.

It was very disappointing to see the way in which this goal seemed to knock the heart out of the Blues’ side. Jehu (West) man of the match Gareth Elliott put in another sterling performance in the centre of defence, but many of the side seemed to flag.

Yet there was no further goal in the first half and there was a flurry of excitement six minutes into the second period when Chris O’Sullivan totally foxed keeper Howells with a 20-yard free kick.

But it was typical of Cambrian’s resilience that they should snap back within three minutes, with Bertorelli this time the provider, crossing for his strike partner Mike Evans to score.

This was the time for a Blues’ fight-back and they worked at it very hard. By now all three subs were on and they were clearly feeling some of the effects of a recent spate of injuries, with Ryan and Lewis coming off on the day.

But there was no instance on either side of a really bad tackle, and fans are accepting now that the Welsh League is physically tough. Through most of the second half, Cambrian, with their confidence surging, were always that half-yard quicker to the ball and seemed to be a few pounds heavier in the tackle.

The score-line was in fact given a realistic look when the effervescent Bertorelli poached the third goal in the 83rd minute and the win went to the very good league leaders.

The Blues will hope to pull back points and confidence next Saturday when they travel to play AFC Porth. Porth lie 10th in the table to the Bluebirds’ 10th but this will not be an easy game.

Haverfordwest County: Craig Morris; Kristian Griffiths, Dave Evans, Simon Gilderdale (Dale Griffiths, 31), Gareth Elliott, Ricky Watts, Chris O’Sullivan, Gary Taylor, Richard Ryan (Alex Galdo, 53), Jamie Evans, Richard Lewis (Phil Cattlin, 45).

l Haverfordwest County Youth team entertain Neath Youth this Sunday, September 4th. Kick off at the Conygar Bridge Me