Sport
Bluebirds through in thriller
HAVERFORDWEST County scored late on to seal their progress into round three of the JD Welsh Cup on Saturday (Nov 10) as they beat Swansea University 4-3 at the Bridge Meadow.
A good crowd gathered for the game and they witnessed a thriller as the Bluebirds went two goals up only for Swansea to peg them back to 2-2 before half time.
Sean Pemberton grabbed the winning goal late on and the home side will now look forward to their third round tie.
The home side looked to take an early advantage and they made the breakthrough after ten minutes when Lee Trundle played an excellent ball into the middle for Ben Fawcett who fired into the bottom left corner.
Nine minutes later it was 2-0 the ball was played through for Trundle who ran onto it and fired in to the bottom left from the penalty spot.
It looked as if the Bluebirds might go in at half time with the lead but Swansea were soon back into it with ten minutes to go.
The Uni side won a corner and after it wasn’t cleared properly the ball fell to Declan McAde who rifled the ball into the top corner from the edge of the box.
They weren’t done there and three minutes later the ball was played into the box and was touched in by the unfortunate Tim Hicks with the Uni’s Levi Houapeu in close proximity.
There was still time for more first half drama and it came a minute later when Trundle again played the ball through for Fawcett who scored his second of the game.
The Students were then given a penalty after Houapeu was fouled but keeper Steve Hall made an excellent save to keep the score at 3-2.
Hall was called upon in the second half to keep his side ahead with more good saves while at the other end Danny Williams came close to scoring.
With ten minutes to go the Students brought themselves back level as Houapeu put the ball in the net and all of a sudden an upset was on the cards.
It looked as if extra time would be needed but two minutes from the end Jack Wilson threw the ball into the box for Sean Pemberton who drove the ball in.
The Bluebirds saw the game out and the whistle brought an end to a thrilling cup tie.
The draw for Round three was made on Monday (Nov 12), and the Bluebirds were drawn at home against fellow Welsh League Division 1 side Pontypridd Town.
Before that they will return to action in Division 1 on Saturday (Nov 17) as they travel to fourth placed Cwmbran Celtic.
Sport
Clarby stand in the way of Goodwick double
Two thrilling semi finals last weekend has meant Goodwick United and Clarbeston Road will meet in the senior cup final this coming Saturday.
Goodwick faced Pennar Robins in their semi final who pushed the champions very hard. Carl Vincent will be disappointed but proud of the Robins as they gave a great account of themselves. However in the end Goodwick’s quality and experience just was too much for Vincent’s team.
The other semi was an absolute thriller, and after a nail biting game Matthew Fox’ Clarby progressed to the final. A offside call has sparked a lot of debate around the county. However it seems that linesman Jenkins made an absolute perfect call so credit to him for that.
Both teams would have wanted a nice week of preparation for the final, maybe without any games to play. Unfortunately this hasn’t been possible due to the fixture backlog and both outfits have played already this week.
Goodwick will be favourites of course, however if anyone can upset the apple cart Saturday it’s this Clarbeston Road team. Fox’ outfit have impressed over and over this season. Without too much pressure on them, they are in a good place going into the final.
The double at one staged looked like the minimum Goodwick would be aiming for this season. However losses in other cup competitions, means its Senior Cup success or just the league title for the outstanding team of the season. Oddly becoming champions with no cup success maybe seen as a huge disappointment considering their dominance this season. A unique pressure. However if anyone can handle that pressure it’s O’Sullivans outfit.
Sport
Swifts eyes on double.
Monkton Swifts reserves have blown away the second division this season and now have the double in their sights. They face Merlins Bridge reserves in the semi final of the second division cup and lived up to their favourites tag.
Swifts won comfortably with key player Butland getting three assists and Josh Sture grabbing a brace. Waterman and Rhys Sture added the other goals as outstanding Monkton won 4-0.
Herbrandston and Johnston played in the other semi final and this was a much harder fixture to call. The promoted Herbie a younger and perhaps less physical outfit in comparison to the Tigers. Johnston quickly took control of the game when they found themselves two up after just 29 minutes.
However when Scott Murray was shown a red card just eight minutes later, Herbie would have been confident of staging a comeback. Despite being a man light, Johnston held Herbie until the final minute of the 90, when Alex Ouzman gave Herbie late hope. The Tigers held firm however and progress to the final where they will be underdogs. A tag that I’m sure the players and manager Steven Allen won’t mind too much.
Sport
Tenby hit five against downbeat Bridge
On a beautiful day in Tenby, the hosts welcomed Merlins Bridge to The Clicketts, fresh from their West Wales semi final defeat midweek.
The Bridge squad was missing some influential players after picking up some injuries and the visiting team asked questions over the fitness of the pitch, which, according to the Bridge management, was too hard.
The referee waved these away and the game was on, with the Tenby squad clearly thinking they were already in the heads of the Bridge team.
Almost straight from Kick off Tenby set their stall out with some great attacking play, which Jerome Mansbridge benefitted from in just the second minute putting the home team ahead.
The bridge players weren’t at the races and Tenby capitalised scoring a further 4 first half goals, including a Mansbridge hat trick, leaving the away team bewildered and 5-0 down at half time.
What could have been a hugely embarrassing defeat for a team that harboured title hopes at the beginning of the season, turned around somewhat at half time, when Dai Davies, the club captain, almost singlehandedly dragged them to a much higher level in the second half, ensuring his players kept their discipline and worked hard against a very good Tenby team. Undoubtedly Merlin’s Bridge were the better team in the second period, but the damage had already been done in the first half, and despite Bridges best efforts, the score remained 5-0 to the home team.
In a game which saw Tenby jump to 4th in the league, they can be hugely proud of their season and will look to build on that for their next in Division one.
A fantastic game on a beautiful day with a good home crowd watching, the team from the Clicketts will be justifiably happy with their afternoons work.
Tenby 5-0 Merlins Bridge.
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