Haverfordwest County 1 Cardiff Met 0

JD Cymru Premier Championship Conference

THE Bluebirds picked up another big three points under the Ogi Bridge Meadow Stadium lights on Friday evening with a determined display against Cardiff Met.

Played in front of a bumper 1,127 crowd, County fashioned the first chance after a slow start when Ricky Watts latched on to a Dan Hawkins through ball but curled his effort just wide under pressure.

The hosts were finding it difficult to break down the visitors’ stubborn defence but went close again when Lee Jenkins’ right-footed effort from the edge of the area drifted wide of the post.

A fine team move involving Rhys Abbruzzese and Dylan Rees set up Iori Humphreys on the right but his shot was comfortably gathered by Kelland Absalom.

At the other end, the students’ best chance stemmed from a corner, Gruff Morgan just failing to get his back post header on target.

The Bluebirds continued to press after the break and were finally rewarded on 67 minutes when Luke Tabone’s lofted pass into the area was controlled by Ben Fawcett before drilling the ball past Absalom.

He nearly bagged his brace with an audacious chip but Met nearly drew level when Joel Edwards’ header was gathered by home keeper Zac Jones.

Daniel John nearly added a second for the hosts in stoppage time but the one goal and another clean sheet was enough to see the job done.

County boss Tony Pennock said: “We’ve got to give the boys credit, we weren’t at our best tonight, we know that.

“We can play a lot better than we did but it just shows how far the boys have come in keeping another clean sheet. That’s three against Met this year, who we know are a fantastic team.

“We ground out the result, Fawcett’s goal was fantastic. He’s come off the bench, disappointed not to start as are other people. It’s a great finish to beat Kelland who is a very good keeper.

“14 clean sheets in 26 games is fantastic and maybe last year or the year before that wouldn’t have been a game which we’ve come away with three points.”

Haverfordwest confirmed before the game that Ricky Watts and Greg Walters had both agreed new two-year contracts with the club.

Watts is in his 14th season with the Bluebirds, having made his first team debut in 2009, and he brought up his 400th appearance for his hometown club away at Cardiff Metropolitan back in August.

He has made 23 appearances in all competitions so far this season, netting in the 5-1 victory away at Carmarthen Town in the Nathaniel MG Cup, away at Aberystwyth Town and also in the JD Welsh Cup victory at Ammanford in November.

Midfielder Walters returned to his hometown club last summer after a spell up the A40 with Carmarthen Town.

He has made 23 appearances in all competitions so far this season, contributing goals in the wins over Flint Town United and Briton Ferry Llansawel in Phase One.

Currently in his third spell with the Town, Greg – who is a product of the Academy setup at the Ogi Bridge Meadow – has used his experience to great effect this season, passing on his knowledge to and helping to guide what is a young first team squad.