Friday the 13th - Superstitious? More Like Super Bluebirds!

Haverfordwest County returned to the Ogi Bridge Meadow coming off two superb away victories against Cardiff Met (2-0) and Briton Ferry (2-0), looking to extend the 100% record in Phase 2 to three. 

It could be argued that playing “bottom six” sides would naturally harbour easier games, however Cardiff Met and Briton Ferry could have made top 6. They are good sides and to have beaten them in back-to-back away games is a great achievement. Bala Town were the next in the firing line for our high-flying Bluebirds.

The evening started as always by sinking a few pints in ‘Spoons before heading over. The group of us were the latest we’ve been as we (and the surrounding fans) were stopped by stewards to make way for the teams to come out. We head over and immediately get the drum going…

Hi Ho Haverfordwest…Everywhere We Go….

The game kicks off and immediately it’s end to end. Both teams took the other by surprise, however with no real quality from either side the game was evenly matched.  Abbruzzese had a free kick that didn’t work the keeper and Kyle McCarthy, who we regard as Mr. Consistent, because of his steady good performances, saw his volley scuffed and went wide. 

Whilst not working Bala too hard at this juncture, we definitely had the momentum. And that would prove decisive…

In the 26th minute Ifan Knott starts the attack with a long ball that surpasses everyone and falls to Corey Shephard after bouncing over a few defenders. He shoots and the ball ricochets off of the knees of the Bala goalkeeper, Joel Torrance. Unfortunately for him, Kyle Kenniford floats into the box, losing his marker and coolly slots the ball into the left inside of the net. 

A beautifully taken goal. 

A goal to the good and it was a fair reflection on how the game settled. 

Immediately afterwards Kenniford nearly had an assist to his name too but a good save by Torrance saw Hawkins’ shot parried away for a corner. 

The resulting corner was played short to Abbruzzese. He plays a looping cross in but misses everyone apart from a defensive header that theatrically clears the ball to Corey Shephard’s feet. Sheppy decided to carry on the theatrics and did Sheppy things by scoring an absolute beauty! 

Shephard took the ball into his stride, shot first time and his powerful shot found the top right hand corner to make it 2-0. To quote Alan Partridge…

“Shit, did you see that? He must have a foot like a traction engine!”

Sheppy loves a screamer vs. Bala!

After half an hour we were cruising and were looking excellent. This is the Haverfordwest we all know and love.

Throughout the rest of the half, the Bluebirds enjoyed a lot of space and possession. In the few times Bala tried to get balls into the box, Ifan Knott comfortably collected the ball, oftentimes in the air.

The second half saw no change in the way the game was played; Haverfordwest enjoyed a lot of the ball. There were multiple occasions where the Bluebirds would pass from one wing to the other, with such precise pitch cutting accuracy you had to applaud. A couple of these led to Abu on the left, cutting in onto his right, shooting and just missing the target. With one of these being stopped by a goal line header away by Nelson Digbeu.

What helped this dominance was the fact that our midfield 3 of Walters, Shephard and Kenniford controlled the game. Kenniford has come on leaps and bounds. He did toward the end of last season, too, but an injury kept him out of a chunk of Phase 1. He’s now seeing such a wonderful run of form that he is imperative to our form. He completes what we call the perfect midfield three. 

This half, Bala did give a better account of themselves but ultimately didn’t come to anything. Apparently Everton legend, Duncan Ferguson was about watching his son, Cameron, who recently joined Bala from Flint Town but he couldn’t give anything to make his father celebrate. 

Greg Walters did have a good curling shot that only just missed due to a super finger tip save by Torrance. 

However the game was dead and buried come the 80th minute. An Abu pass inside the box found Sheppy with loads of space. His initial shot was stopped by Digbeu, however Sheppy’s resilience meant that he wasn’t going to let this good chance go amiss this close to the goal line. He eventually got his shot off and hit the back of the net. 3-0!

A really good Haverfordwest side were just too good for a struggling Bala Town side who uncharacteristically see themselves languishing in the bottom two. After previous manager of 22 years Colin Caton and multiple players departing Maes Tegid last summer, it really is not a surprise to see the Gwynedd side struggling. 

A super performance, a super win and another super clean sheet achieved. Carry on this form and we’ll be in the play offs!

FT: Haverfordwest County 3-0 Bala Town. Attendance 379.