Haverfordwest County AFC manager Tony Pennock was pleased with the way his side dug deep in testing conditions to grind out an important three points away at Briton Ferry Llansawel on Tuesday evening.

Goals in both halves from Owain Jones and Lee Jenkins, either side of Kian Jenkins’ equaliser, earned the Bluebirds a hard-fought three points as we maintained second place in the JD Cymru Premier.

With the rain lashing down throughout the contest, County were posed with a difficult challenge against a game Ferry side, but the Town’s experience eventually told as we managed the game well in the second half to see out the victory.

Here’s what the manager had to say in full after the game:

On the result

Really pleased. It was an extremely tough game tonight. I thought Briton Ferry were very good and, on another day, could have come away with three points, never mind the draw, but luckily we got the second goal and were able to hold onto the lead.

On our development

We keep saying it. It was a game that we would have lost previously. I think it just shows how mature the boys have got. The lads we brought in during the summer just added a bit more experience and calmness to us in those situations, and I think that told tonight. I think their experience in the division just edged the game, and once we got the second goal Briton Ferry had a number of set-pieces which I thought we dealt well with, and we limited the opportunities they had. So on a tough night in tough conditions, it’s always pleaaing to get the win.

On the strikers

All of our strikers have been doing well in fairness. I know Ben [Fawcett] has only got the one so far this season, but he’s done fantastic for the goal to get down the side and deliver the ball on a plate for Ows [Owain Jones]. He did it again a bit later on in the first half, and unfortunately he just couldn’t get on the end of that one. But Ben Amun and Dan Hawkins coming off the bench, I thought they were excellent. Ben has run his socks off. He held the ball up for us and was a constant threat. When we’ve got the options to bring people on and to rotate them, it can only be good for us as a club and for the team moving forward.

Bluebirds battle in the rain to grind out hard-fought victory at Ferry

Match Reports2 months ago

On the depth in the squad

If we look at Dylan Rees and Abu [Rhys Abbruzzese] both coming back from long-term injuries, they’ve played the last couple of games, but I just thought tonight it was too soon after Saturday for both of them to be in the squad. I’m in a fortunate position where I’m able to leave them out, and the team and the group is still as strong as it was on Saturday. We might have picked up a couple of niggles tonight, which is understandable with the amount of games we’ve had in a short space of time, but now Dylan and Abu will be straight back in the squad for Saturday and lads are fighting for their place in the team. Again, it gives me a problem, but it’s a problem I haven’t had at the club for two years, and it’s a problem I’d rather have.

On our performances to date

We were always going to have a dip, and there’ll be games that we will lose this season, but we’ve only conceded five in 13 games. 25 points after 13 games is a fantastic amount of points that we’ve accumulated already. It’s far more than we’ve had in my previous two seasons at the same stage. We just tick one game off at a time, and hopefully we pick points up along the way and guarantee ourselves a place in the top six. But we’re still some way from doing that, and until we do it the boys won’t rest because, first and foremost, our aim is to be in the top six in January and still be in the Welsh Cup. We know how tough it’s going to be on Saturday, so there’s a lot more work to do, a lot more points to gain and football games to win, and all we can do is take one game at a time.

On the JD Welsh Cup

Historically, the club hasn’t done great in the Welsh Cup, we know that, we’ve only ever been in one semi-final. We’ve been knocked out early in both of my seasons in charge. I like being at the club, and it’s something we want to address, but we know how tough Trethomas Bluebirds are going to be on Saturday, and all we can do at the moment is prepare as best as we can for that game and look forward to another tough challenge.