Sport

Nicky Hayen: European football is the goal for Haverfordwest County

Published

1 year ago

January 20, 2022

HAVERFORDWEST COUNTY return to action this weekend as they take on Newtown in the JD Cymru Premier.

Football in Wales had been suspended following the announcement of Welsh Government restrictions but they have now been relaxed and football can once again get underway.

The Bluebirds face a tough test against the side that sits in second place in the table but new manager Nicky Hayen will not be in charge for the game against Newtown as his work permit has not come through.

He will be watching on though as Gary ‘Waggy’ Richards takes temporary charge and Nicky told the Herald that he is fully confident that his assistants can get a good result.

When the sides last met in October the Bluebirds came out on top with a 1-0 win thanks to a goal from Alhagi Touray Sisay.

Speaking ahead of the game on Saturday Nicky told us about his plans for the team, his ambitions and how he wants to work closely with grassroots teams in Pembrokeshire and with the community.

Nicky may not be able to take charge just yet but he has already been observing training sessions and been gathering information on the other teams in the JD Cymru Premier.

Asked what attracted him to join Haverfordwest County, Nicky said: “First of all, the ambition of the chairman, this is the most important thing so he had a project for three years to reach European football. I like projects and when you’re digging into stuff from the club, you can see that is a good combination.

“I saw some games of the team and I saw two different teams, one team who play with confidence and played the football that I like, building out from the back and trying to find the football solutions on the ground, and I saw a team that didn’t have confidence that was clearing every ball and wasn’t winning contests so I saw that they have the skills to do what I have in my mind.

“So this combination, the ambition of the chairman, the team that is playing at this moment, I think we have to be capable of performing better than the position in the league at this moment.”

The ultimate aim for the club is to reach European football but Nicky isn’t thinking about that just yet.

“The ambition is to make it to the first six positions, it will be almost impossible for this season so we want to avoid relegation and then have a good pre-season and we’ll see what happens next season but finishing in the top six is a nice goal.

“To reach this you have to win your first game and then your second game, I just take one game at a time, starting with the game at Newtown, we’ll try to win and then I hope I can be on the bench for the Penybont game.

“The short term project is staying in the league, but the project is much bigger and it includes building bridges with the grassroots teams with the Pembrokeshire League, with the community so what we want to do is to create an environment over here that is more than football.

“The academy is something that is really important, we want to improve our players and everyone can see that we give chances to players to develop in the squad and this is what we are already doing now.

“The one thing I don’t want to do is change the club culture. We have to keep the culture but we have to add some value and create an identity that is clear for the next fifty years.”

Nicky is settling in well in Haverfordwest and is looking forward to seeing more of the area but says he is focussed on the football for now.

Haverfordwest’s game with Newtown takes place on Saturday, January 22, kick off at 2:30pm.

Related Topics:Football Haverfordwest Haverfordwest County pembrokeshire

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Cup semi-finals and more league action this weekend

Published

4 weeks ago

March 2, 2023

James Hemingray

THERE are two Divisional cup semi-finals this weekend as well as the usual league action across Pembrokeshire.

The first of those semis is in the Division 3 Cup. Letterston will take on Lawrenny at Carew with that game kicking off at 2pm.

Letterston beat holders Clarbeston Road seconds on penalties in the last round while Lawrenny beat St Florence.

The other semi-final sees Haverfordwest CC taking on Camrose with that game taking place next weekend, March 11.

There is also one semi-final in the Division 5 Cup this weekend and it sees Cosheston seconds taking on Milford Athletic seconds with that game being played at Pembroke Boro and also kicking off at 2pm.

Cosheston beat Pembroke Boro seconds 5-1 in the quarter finals while Milford Athletic beat Broad Haven seconds 4-3.

There is a game in the Division 2 cup too as Herbrandston host Solva, with that game again kicking off at 2pm.

In Division 1, leaders Goodwick United host Kilgetty in what will be a good game between two in-form teams. Goodwick earned a 2-0 win over Kilgetty in their last meeting. Both sides go into this game on three-game unbeaten runs (in all competitions) and it promises to be a close encounter.

Second placed Merlins Bridge have suffered three straight defeats in all competitions and they will look to get back to winning ways when they take on Fishguard.

Clarbeston Road take on Neyland and the league’s bottom two also meet as St Clears travel to St Ishmaels.

Monkton Swifts are on a four game unbeaten run and they face local rivals Pennar Robins who themselves have won their last two games.

All Division 1 games will be kicking off at 2:30pm.

In Division 2, second placed Milford United host fifth placed Johnston. Milford were beaten last week by Tenby and they will be keen to get back to winning ways.

Johnston are unbeaten in three games and they will be looking for another win to close the gap on the top four.

Narberth have won their last three games and they take on Carew seconds. A win for the Bluebirds will take them closer to their opponents in the table.

Tenby will be bouyed by their win over Milford last week and they host Broad Haven on Saturday.

Pennar Robins seconds earned their first win of the season last weekend and they now host rivals Monkton Swifts seconds.

In Division 3, Cosheston host Camrose, Haverfordwest Cricket Club host Goodwick United seconds. Milford Athletic host Pendine and Pembroke Boro visit St Florence.

Fixtures for Division 4:

Angle v Newport Tigers
Camrose II v Tenby II
Carew III v Prendergast Villa
Kilgetty II v St Ishmaels II
Neyland II v Herbrandston II

Fixtures for Division 5:

Broad Haven II v Pembroke Boro II
Johnston II v N Hedges & Saundersfoot
Lawrenny II v Letterston II
St Clears II v Monkton Swifts III

Sport

Bluebirds beaten on the road

Published

1 month ago

February 27, 2023

James Hemingray

HAVERFODWEST County suffered defeat on Saturday (Feb 25) as their hopes of finishing seventh took a blow.

The Bluebirds had beaten Flint Town United last time out and were hoping to pick up another win but they came up against a Pontypridd side bouyed by their late show against Aberystwyth in their last game which saw them earn a 3-3 draw.

There was a chance for Ben Fawcett early on as he latched on to a long ball but his shot from the edge of the area went just wide.

In the 24th minute, Jordan Davies crossed the ball to the back post for Jazz Richards whose header back towards proved too hot for the Ponty keeper to handle who palmed the ball into the net.

However, nine minutes later the home side were back level as Kieran Lewis’ corner was headed in by Jarrad Wright.

The game remained 1-1 at the break with both sides keen to make a good start to the second half.

For the Bluebirds, it was anything but. Four minutes in, Oscar Borg was sent off for pulling down Ponty’s Ben Ahmun, giving the home side a free kick on the edge of the box.

Lewis stepped up and curled a brilliant effort into the net to put the home side ahead.

Ponty nearly added a third late on as the ball was sent through for Danny Williams but he could not beat Bluebirds keeper Zac Jones. The rebound fell to Owain Jones but he sent his effort over the bar.

The win for Ponty moves them back out of the bottom two and they now sit three points behind the Bluebirds.

The sides now have a two-week break before their next league game.

On Saturday, March 11, Haverfordwest travel to Aberystwyth Town while Pontypridd host Caernarfon Town.

Sport

Division 2: Johnston, Tenby and Hakin seconds earn victories

Published

1 month ago

February 27, 2023

James Hemingray

THERE were wins for Johnston, Tenby and Hakin United seconds on Saturday (Feb 25) as the race for promotion to Division 1 hots up.

Hakin United seconds remain top of the table after they beat Monkton Swifts seconds 2-0.

Leon Davies scored after half an hour and James Trueman added a second with twenty minutes to go as the Vikings earned their thirteenth win of the season.

Their gap to second placed Milford United increased to four points as the Robins were beaten 4-0 by Tenby.

After a goalless first half, Dan Storer put Tenby ahead before Scott Ferney added a second. Jerome Mansbridge added a third before Ferney put the result beyond doubt with an 82nd minute penalty.

Herbrandston missed the chance to close the gap to Milford after they were beaten 2-0 by Johnston.

Craig Bendall scored a 17th minute penalty and Joey George added a second ten minutes before the break. There were no more goals and Johnston held on for the win which moves them five points behind Herbie.

Narberth earned their third league win in a row on Saturday as they came from behind to beat Merlins Bridge seconds 2-1.

Rhys Corney put the Wizards ahead but two quick goals from Jordan Williams and Morgan Preece gave Narberth victory.

Broad Haven earned their sixth win of the season on Saturday as they beat Solva 6-1.

Jack Thornton put Solva ahead in the thirteenth minute but Thomas Lawrence equalised a minute later.

Spencer Le-Petit then scored either side of half time to make it 3-1. Ian Harvey added a fourth before scoring a further two goals in the space of four minutes to seal a comfortable win.

Pennar Robins seconds earned their first win of the season on Saturday as they beat Carew seconds 1-0. It had looked as if the game was heading for a 0-0 draw but a late goal from Bobby Jones earned Pennar a welcome win.

Fixtures for Saturday, March 4:

Second Division Cup
Herbrandston v Solva

Division 2
Milford United v Johnston
Narberth v Carew seconds
Pennar Robins seconds v Monkton Swifts seconds
Tenby v Broad Haven