Following the conclusion of a dramatic 2022-23 season, which ended in success for Haverfordwest County AFC, we’ve taken a look at some of the key facts and figures to help paint the picture of a rollercoaster campaign.

From spending a short period of time at the summit of the table to being in the relegation zone for an afternoon, the season was full of ups and downs for the Bluebirds, but we were able to come good and show real consistency at the business end of the season to end our 19-year wait to compete in European competition.

With top place in the JD Cymru Premier Play-off Conference anyone’s for the taking, County seized the initiative before going on to win back-to-back penalty shoot-outs away from home to achieve their ultimate objective.

Here are the main contributing factors to an ultimately successful season for the Town…

WIN RATIO

Haverfordwest County won 14 of our 32 games in the regular season, which equates to a win percentage of 43.75% – the highest we have ever recorded as a club in a 12-team JD Cymru Premier.

All told, this figure is enough to place us fourth when you view the season as a whole, with only The New Saints (26), Connah’s Quay Nomads (17) and Pen-y-Bont and Cardiff Metropolitan (both 16) recording more victories.

POINTS PER GAME

Tony Pennock’s men averaged 1.47 points per game in the 2022-23 season, with a positive start and a highly impressive conclusion contributing significantly to this figure. This, along with our final tally of 47 points, is also a record in a 12-team top-flight.

In Phase Two alone, we averaged exactly two points per game, as we went on to top the Play-off Conference before coming through the play-offs to book our return to Europe for the first time since 2004.

Since our return to Wales’ top-flight for the 2020-21 season, we have accumulated a total of 122 points, with our seventh-placed finish last season being the highest we have achieved in a 12-team top-flight.

DELIGHT FOR DAVIES

In his first full season with the Town, striker Jordan Davies led the line in impressive fashion, with his 15 goals meaning he ended the campaign as the top-scoring Welshman in the JD Cymru Premier, ahead of Ben Ahmun (13) and Nathan Wood (11).

His strong performances in front of goal helped him to finish joint-third in the league’s overall scoring charts, sharing a place with Ryan Brobbel from The New Saints, while only finishing behind Newtown’s Aaron Williams (17) and The New Saints’ Declan McManus (30).

SQUAD DEPTH TESTED

A total of 29 different players were used across the course of the season, with injuries – particularly in the first few months of the season – dictating that we were unable to select some of our more regular squad members.

On a positive note, there were three First Team debuts for academy graduates, with Harri John, Seth Woodhouse and John Chesters all featuring, with John in particular having something of a breakthrough season as he made 20 appearances overall.

GOALS PER GAME

Our tally of 49 goals in the regular season was another 12-team top-flight record for the club, as the Bluebirds averaged 1.53 goals per game across the course of the season. Pennock’s side finished joint-third in this respective category.

Impressively, Haverfordwest County failed to score on just four occasions in 2022-23, with 17 players chipping in with at least one goal in what was a real team effort.

WIN STREAK

Our best period of the season in terms of consecutive wins came between November 5 and December 2, when we recorded back-to-back away victories over Flint Town United and Airbus UK Broughton, before battling to a more than creditable 2-1 home win against Pen-y-Bont.

Putting numerous victories together is a tough task for any side in the JD Cymru Premier – The New Saints aside – but our unbeaten run in the last seven games of Phase Two, which we carried into the play-offs, was a real testament to how the team came together and showed true grit to get to where we wanted to be.

CLEAN SHEETS

We recorded nine shutouts across the course of the season (play-offs included), with the defence really growing as a unit as the campaign wore on. Upon the conclusion of the regular season, we had conceded 44 times, a number which is also a club record.

Interestingly, Pennock’s men were not involved in a single goalless draw all season, with County being one of the more entertaining sides to watch – whichever way you look at it!

IMPRESSIVE ENGINES

Pennock was able to count on a core group of players who played the vast majority of the season.

In terms of minutes played in the league, the Town’s top five were:

Lee Jenkins – 3,024

Jordan Davies – 2,952

Rhys Abbruzzese – 2,932

Jack Wilson – 2,435

Dylan Rees – 2,376