Welsh League, Division One

Haverfordwest County 1

Monmouth Town 0

This victory was hard-won but well-deserved and the Dale Griffiths header which clinched matters in the 83rd minute keeps the Bluebirds’ precarious promotion hopes alive, writes Robert Nisbet.

There was a very welcome return to the fray for Ricky Watts for the first hour of this game but it was also pleasing to see his former understudy Greg Walters looking very positive in a midfield role.     

The ball was bouncing quite high on the first hard, firm Meadow of spring and there was a blustery wind, so both sides were tending to over-hit the ball at first. Although the Bluebirds were busy in attack in the first half-hour and although Luke Borelli made some sharp runs down the left, the most striking feature at that stage was the eight offside decisions which the Blues conceded.

Monmouth’s Elliott Evans was looking sharp in the visitors’ attack but the nearest the game came to a first-half goal was when Monmouth keeper Matt Johns appeared to drop a ball which Jordan Follows was able to stab in. The referee ruled that the Blues striker had impeded him.

The Blues got more and more on top as the second half proceeded but there were few really dangerous tilts at goal for all the pressure. The match statistics of 2 Blues shots on target and 12 off target (compared with 2 and 6 for Monmouth) tell us much of the pattern. A flurry of corners around the 55th minute gave the Kingfishers something to think about and after the second corner Chris O’Sullivan was able to field a rebound and curl in a wicked lob which Johns had to scramble to tip over.

The deserved goal came from a classic set-piece move in the 83rd minute when Kieran Howard’s corner curled perfectly to the head of Dale Griffiths for the Blues skipper to hammer in his header.

The Blues were well able to break up the inevitable Monmouth rally with several breakaway attacks of their own but the three points were finally clinched by keeper Craig Morris who produced a blinder of a save to turn away a net-bound shot from Dan MacDonald.

On Saturday, April 11 the Blues entertain Cambrian & Clydach.

 

Haverfordwest County: Craig Morris; Ricky Watts (Kieran Howard, 62); Antonio Facciuto; Sam Rodon; Dale Griffiths; Sean Pemberton; Chris O’Sullivan (Steffan Davies, 62); Greg Walters; Luke Borelli; Jordan Follows; Owen Thomas (Steffan Williams, 62)           

Sub not used: Dan Evans (g/k)