Haverfordwest County suffered a 6-2 defeat at the hands of Bala Town in the Cymru Premier on Saturday, as former Wales international David Edwards netted a brace on a chastening afternoon at Maes Tegid.
The Bluebirds travelled to Gwynedd hoping for a repeat of last season’s dramatic win against the Lakesiders, when Jack Wilson netted a late winner in a 2-1 success, however they found themselves 2-0 down inside 15 minutes thanks to an Edwards header and full-back Callum Woods’ long range effort.
Striker Ben Fawcett headed in at the near post for his fifth goal of the season after 20 minutes to halve the deficit and give the Bluebirds hope. However, this was short-lived, with Paul Rutherford and Edwards netting before half-time to give Colin Caton’s side a comfortable 4-1 lead at the interval.
Wayne Jones’ side knew that early second-half goals were needed if they were to get back into the match, however they conceded for a fifth time five minutes after the restart when defender Nathan Peate powered a header into the net from a corner.
County did manage to pull a goal back with five minutes remaining when Kieran Lewis showed good composure to direct his header into the bottom left corner after a cross from the left touchline by captain Dylan Rees.
However it was the hosts who had the final say, with substitute Bradley Bauress’ first-time shot from just inside the area found the bottom right corner to round off an impressive afternoon for his side.
The Bluebirds are next in action on Saturday 18 September when they host Flint Town United in JD Cymru Premier MD6.