PHOTO:
Luke Raymond and Jordan Griffiths

 

Welsh Development League:

 
 

Haverfordwest County Dev Squad 1 - Carmarthen Town Dev Squad 0

 
Venue: Conygar Bridge Meadow Stadium
Referee: Angus Scourfield
Assistants: Jeff Hurton & Bradley Flood
 
A 61st-minute goal by striker Jordan Griffiths was enough to give Haverfordwest County a narrow win over old rivals Carmarthen Town in an action-packed tussle where there was some good football played on both sides.
 
Griffiths’ goal came after a good build up through Paul Miller, Matty Delaney and Charlie Davies in midfield saw the Young Bluebirds awarded a corner on the left and skipper Luke Raymond’s in-swinger wasn’t cleared by a pressurised Old Gold defence and Griffiths was able to touch the ball in from closed range.
 

Skillful play and one bad tackle

Both teams showed an aptitude for skilful play from the outset but after 16 minutes the visitors lost midfielder Josh Grota for what referee Angus Scourfield, who had a good game, saw as a dangerous two-footed tackle and promptly pulled out his red card.
 
It meant that they had to reorganise but they quickly adapted as Ryan Foschi and Jordan Ellis led by example, with Aled Rees Jones posing a threat up front as he was ever-prepared to fire in shots at Nick Jones from any angle.
 
But Jones and his back four of Leon Luby, Ewan Jones, Chris Brown and Spencer Williams stayed calm and although Griffiths and strike partner Alfie Stottor put in a lot of effort there were few clear-cut chances, other than when Williams did well wide out on the left to whip in a terrific cross from the bye-line – but Miller was unable to get the vital touch that would have sent the ball past Luke Hilliard.

Competitive second half

The second was no less competitive as both teams tried to gain the ascendancy, with Stottor and Davies combining well in the box before the latter could only muster a half-hit shot when the build-up deserved more.
 
Both sides utilised their bench in the final quarter but no further goals came at either end to give Haverfordwest County an excellent win which pleased coach Steve Batty, who told us,
“Sometimes a good team has to graft out what I would call an ‘ugly’ display, rather than scintillating stuff – and that is just what my squad had to do tonight as part of their continued learning curve.”
 
Haverfordwest County: Nick Jones: Leon Luby; Ewan Jones; Chris Brown; Spencer Williams: Luke Raymond; Paul Miller; Mattie Delaney; Charlie Davies: Alfie Stottor; Jordan Griffiths. Substitutes: Rowan Nicholson; Sam Franklin; George Taylor; Taku Padiwa; Dany Raicu; Fraser Finlay.

Carmarthen Town: Luke Hilliard: Bradley Arnold; Liam Testino; Callum Price; Osian Lewis:  Josh Grota; Ryan Foschi; Jordan Ellis; Rhodri Cole: Jack Griffiths; Aled Rees Jones. Substitutes: Callum Sanders; Scott Jones; Steve Evans.