- Abbruzzese (90+6')
Tony Pennock was delighted with the way his Haverfordwest County players battled right until the final whistle to secure a last-gasp point away at Barry Town United on Friday evening.
Rhys Abbruzzese’s stoppage-time header denied the Dragons all three points, and earned County a valuable one in the process which sees us maintain top spot in the JD Cymru Premier Playoff Conference.
On the whole, Pennock was pleased with his team’s display, and felt a point was more than deserved after a competitive tussle under the Jenner Park lights.
Here’s what he had to say in full after the game:
On the result
“I’m really pleased with the boys. They kept going. We looked strong as the game progressed and we were disappointed to go a goal down in the second half. But in fairness to the boys, they kept going and we didn’t panic. When we had opportunities to play, we played. When we had opportunities to go in behind, we did that.”
On the goal
“With the people we’ve got starting out there and the people who come off the bench, we’ve got legs in the team, and Rio’s ball in was fantastic and for Abu to get in at the back post, very similar to what Wattsy did earlier in the season, Abu’s taken his goal really well. So it’s a point on the road, we’ll take that and we’ll move on to next week.”
On the takeaways from the game
“There’s loads of positives from tonight’s game. Loads of positives. I thought we looked a threat when we went forward in the first half. Obviously the penalty is a penalty, but then Luke’s header from the corner, Mike makes a good save from that. We had one or two little opportunities, a couple of shots that were deflected, went for corners.
“Zac made a couple saves first half as well, which we expect away from home, and then second half Jack has put two great balls in the box, they could have ended up in the back of the net but we just couldn’t get on the end of the two crosses that went across their six yard box.
“But as I said, give the boys credit. They’ve been working really hard in training. It makes a big difference when you can make subs and there’s still other boys on the bench that didn’t get on this evening who are eager to get opportunities. The squad is vital at the moment, and hopefully we all stay fit and keep going for the last seven games.”
On competition for places
“The squad is competing for places. They know they’ve got people breathing down their neck to come in and take their place. The boys who start the game have to do their best to stay in the team, and while you’ve got competition for places, that’s healthy. It gives you a good competitive environment in training, which we’ve had for the last few weeks, so long may that continue and hopefully we can pick a win up somewhere along the line that gives us even more confidence. But it’s two games, two draws, and we just look forward to next week.”
On maintaining our place in the table
“That’s all we can do. All we can do is take care of ourselves, play the teams we’re playing against and whatever happens, happens. As long as we come off the pitch knowing that we’ve given 100 per cent, and whether you’re coming on as a sub or starting the game, that’s all I ask of the group of players is that they compete and work hard for each other – and they certainly did that this evening and got what they deserved.”
