Welsh League, Division One

Haverfordwest County 3

Penybont 3

WHEN the Bluebirds found themselves two goals and a man down after 25 minutes, the outlook was grim, but a spirited and skilful fight back, led by a brace of goals from Jordan Follows and a real humdinger from Antonio Facciuto, delivered an unlikely point, writes Robert Nisbet.

For the first 10 minutes, the Blues played some sparkling attacking football, with Declan Carroll prominent out wide, but they were then hit by a sloppy goal from Callum Kinsella after 10 minutes. Penybont didn’t even dominate from the 10th minute to the 20th, but at that point, Joseph Hopkins headed in a corner and the Blues were two down.

Matters were made much worse in the 26th minute when Chris O’Sullivan went into a rash tackle on Kinsella and was red-carded. For five to ten minutes the Blues struggled, but, to their huge credit, they slowly began a return to the quick inter-passing with which they’d begun and were rewarded in the 41st minute when Follows darted through cleverly and his shot looped off a defender to beat ex-Blues keeper Chris Curtis.

That was a boost but an even bigger one arrived three minutes later when another passing attack pushed Penybont back and a ball slipped back from the area reached Facciuto nearly 35 yards out, for him to crash in a quite stunning shot which left Curtis totally becalmed.

The broad pattern of the second half saw Penybont pushing forward and the Blues counter-attacking more, but it was in no sense one-sided, as the home side defended resolutely and often threatened on the break. Indeed the Blues went ahead in the 66th minute when Follows latched on to a ball over the top, held off two defenders, rounded Curtis coolly and drove in.

Penybont pulled the goal back seven minutes later through the free-scoring Richard French, but for all the later pressure, there were several occasions when the Blues might have pinched a winner, when Carroll and Ricky Watts threatened with barnstorming runs,

There are several tough games ahead, but the sheer grit and determination which the Blues showed on Saturday, along with the skill displayed, must give evidence that they have the aptitude to come out on top.

Next Saturday the Blues travel to Aberdare Town before they entertain Caerau Ely on the Bridge Meadow on Saturday, December 20, kick-off is at 2.30pm.

Haverfordwest County: Craig Morris, Ricky Watts, Antonio Facciuto, Sam Rodon, Sean Pemberton, Nicky Palmer (Kieran Howard, 48), Chris O’Sullivan, Steffan Davies, Luke Borelli (Greg Walters, 72), Jordan Follows; Declan Carroll.

Sub not used: Spencer Williams.