Friday Night Winner

21/2/25

With us not being able to watch the great point away in Caernarfon it was fair to say we were very much looking forward to this match. The day started with awful weather conditions. The rain was lashing on the windows and the wind threatened to be a great nuisance with Derek Brockway poised in the wings getting excited over a new storm name. 

As days start, this wasn’t a good omen.

The day progressed and the clouds seemed to fade away like Barry’s hope of a top 6 finish. Things were looking up.

Spoons was visited and the Deli Deal and pints went down a treat. We left there and were grateful we put the flags up earlier in the afternoon as the queues to get in were incredible. It was like trying to get into the Canton End in a Wales international match. You could feel the atmosphere brewing. 

It was lovely to walk through and see the big crowd being excited and poised to watch our beloved Bluebirds. We've seen it all at The Bridge Meadow over the years. To barely having 3-digit attendances where everyone knew each other by name and going nowhere in the league below compared to what we have now?

Superb.

Haverfordwest donned our brilliant blue kit that has earned plaudits from a multitude of people and Cardiff Met playing in their signature Bradford-esque strip. We were eager for that whistle to start the match.

The game starts relatively slow. Met had a lot of the early possession but weren’t doing much with it. Cardiff Met are the experts at nullifying teams into boredom usually. I will say that is somewhat of a compliment as they usually come with a gameplan and it is often successful; they aren’t 4th for nothing after all. 

We start to come into the game more with some half-chances being created. A Lee Jenkins shot from outside of the box looked promising initially, but sailed over the bar.

This season I have been so impressed with Jenks’ attacking ability. He is obviously very good at defending, everyone knows that. However, he is so effective running at the opposition and breaking down defensive lines, with either a dangerous cross into the box, a pass that Kevin De Bruyne would be proud of or a shot that always takes us all by surprise. 

Our ginger prince continues to go from strength to strength. Please sign on the dotted line Lee!

Both teams locked horns into somewhat of a stalemate. We then got on to some of our favourite chants featuring,

• The size of Lee Jenkins’ head

• “You’re just a bus stop in Newport”

• "40’s a pass"

• “You got school in the morning”

Among others.

The crowd of us Casuals continues to grow. We did have a quick sing of “Where were you when we were shit?!” but it’s all in jest as this club continues to grow wonderfully and you can see that with the number of willing singers, chanters and noise makers.

Half-time came and went and a few of us got to sample the sweet treats that Lollies Desserts Box provided. This is another great thing about the club at the moment. Local food outlets can showcase what they offer, the club promote buying from local businesses and fans have different alternatives for food which makes the matchday experience better. 

The second half was where we started to really shine. Corey Shephard was dictating play, despite not being next to his super midfield partner, Greg Walters who was suspended for one game. Despite this, and it is no surprise, Ricky filled the void effortlessly. He must have had an extra spring in his step after recently signing a new 2-year contract. Our signature utility player is ageing like a fine wine.

Corey was playing in a quarterback-like position, taking the ball from deep and pinging the ball around like the fellow midfield maestro in one of our favourite chants.

"It’s Corey, you knowww, hard to believe it’s not Scholes”.

As he is a United fan you just know he loves this

Owain Jones was making some lovely runs and Shephard often found him. Abruzzesse and Jones had Joel Edwards on strings and the latter eventually went into the book.

We were looking strong. Every attack we made had all of us excited that we could get the winner. Met didn’t really have anything to give. We had to make the most of this dominance…

In the 67th minute our twice-capped Maltese international Luke Tabone saw Dylan Rees in the final third from his own half taking everyone by surprise, even the Sgorio cameras who struggled to keep up with the ball. All of a sudden the ball finds Ben Fawcett in the middle of the penalty box. There were two Cardiff Met players around him but with Fawcett playing with confidence and in good form this didn’t matter to him. He was able to get a touch to get the ball exactly where he needed it, which was impressive given how fast-paced the sequence was. He slips just after he connects with the shot. The slip didn’t matter a jot as he fired it into the back of the net; giving the keeper no chance!

Well, we celebrated wildly! Glasses were lost in the scrum, hats knocked off and the local lad Ben Fawcett came running to the fans in jubilation. This is what it’s all about. I don’t think anyone knew where we were in the huddle but what a great feeling it was. Ben’s a great lad as he’ll always find the fans to celebrate a goal with. He just gets it. Again, this is where the club is excelling, too. The club is becoming more ingrained in the community and the bond between the club and the fans has never been stronger. 

As the game wore on Met continued trying to play the dark arts and it was going over the Ref’s head a lot of the time. The spontaneous chant of "The Referee’s a Tory" was born and I have a feeling it won’t be the last time we hear this.

As with every game where your team has a one-goal cushion, each attack from the opposition sends chills down your spine. Often watching through the gaps of your fingers and deep breaths. Thankfully our Super Kiwi, Zac Jones was on sensational form yet again and stopped every shot that faced him. He was determined to keep his 14th clean sheet of the season, a great accolade with still 6 games to go in the league.

The full-time whistle goes and we have won. This was a fantastic performance. The Bluebirds were so solid in possession and were playing with such confidence that nothing was going to alter the outcome of the game. 

The attendance was an incredible 1,127, the second time in four home games we have had over 1000 spectators. This time included Haverfordwest Chairman Rob Edwards; who is always so friendly and personable with everyone that he meets. 

The Clubhouse (called The Socially Distant Sports Bar something I need to remember!) named after the Podcast with Ellis James et al was heaving at full-time and the celebrations continued.

As I finish writing and editing this Caernarfon have done us a huge favour by beating second-placed Penybont 3-2 which only leaves us 3 points behind the Bont with them having to travel to Pembrokeshire next month.

Bring it on!

Full Time, Haverfordwest County 1-0 Cardiff Met. Attendance 1,127