Haverfordwest County AFC extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to nine matches after a comprehensive 4-1 victory over Flint Town United at LHP Stadium on Saturday.

Ben Ahmun’s early penalty and a goal from Greg Walters put the Bluebirds in a strong position before Florian Yonsian struck back to leave the score at 2-1 at half time.

Ben Fawcett came off the bench in the second half and netted a brace to ensure victory for County, who took real control after the restart to run out comfortable winners in Carmarthen.

The result sees the Town remain in third place, while also ensuring we equalled our record points tally for a Phase One campaign in the JD Cymru Premier, opening up a five-point buffer to fourth place Cardiff Metropolitan with seven games remaining before the split.

County are now unbeaten in their last eight top-flight matches, which beats our previous 12-team JD Cymru Premier record of seven that was achieved at the end of the 2022-23 campaign.

Team news

Tony Pennock made three changes to the side from last week’s draw with Caernarfon Town, as Alaric Jones, Dan Hawkins and Owain Jones replaced Rhys Abbruzzese, Jacob Owen and Fawcett. On the bench, there were returns to the squad for Ricky Watts and Kyle Kenniford.

Haverfordwest County AFC: Z. Jones, Hawkins (Humphreys 72′), Jenkins, Tabone, A. Jones, McCarthy, Rees (C, Kenniford 72′), Shephard (Watts 85′), Walters, O. Jones (Fawcett 54′), Ahmun

Substitutes not used: Knott, H. John, D. John.

First half

The Bluebirds raced out of the blocks and created their first chance inside the opening two minutes, with Kyle McCarthy winning the ball high up the pitch and playing the ball to Ahmun who sent stike partner Jones through on goal, but the forward saw his left-footed effort saved low down by Jack Flint.

Just three minutes later, Jones won a penalty for the Town when he was played in behind the defence and capitalised on an underweighted header by Harry Owen to beat Flint to the ball before being brought down by the goalkeeper, as referee John Jones pointed to the spot. County’s top scorer Ahmun stepped up and sent Flint the wrong way to give the Bluebirds the perfect start to the contest.

Owain Jones continued his bright start as tested Flint once again, this time seeing his strike from distance palmed away by the goalkeeper for a corner.

The Bluebirds doubled their lead with 16 minutes on the clock when Owain Jones’ header from Kyle McCarthy’s corner was saved by Flint, with the rebound falling to Walters who tapped the ball in from close range to ensure the Town’s bright start to the contest was reflected in the scoreline.

The visitors halved the deficit just after the half-hour mark when a direct ball upfield from Izaack Lambert found Elliott Reeves, who took the ball down well and played a precise pass to his strike partner Yonsian who slotted the ball past Zac Jones to keep the Silkmen interested.

Second half

The Bluebirds started the half on the back foot in terms of possession, but had a great chance to add a third goal 15 minutes after the restart when a galloping run from Lee Jenkins saw the defender advance high up the pitch before playing in substitute Fawcett, but his effort was straight at Flint.

County dealt with the pressure Flint put on them during the early parts of the half, and Pennock’s men landed a telling blow shortly after the hour mark when Ahmun broke down the right before playing a low ball into the box which was on a plate for his strike partner Fawcett to finish first-time and open up a two-goal cushion once more for Haverfordwest County.

The Bluebirds started to control proceedings after the third goal, with Shephard looking to add a fourth when he drove through the Silkmen’s midfield and unleashed a shot from distance flew past the left post.

Another chance fell to the Town minutes later when McCarthy whipped a free-kick into the area which was met by the head of Fawcett, but he was unable to direct the effort on target and saw it fly just over the bar.

With the game very open in the closing stages, Fawcett was able to capitalise and find the net for the second time when he picked up a loose ball and won a 50-50 battle with Jake Phillips before transferring the ball onto his left foot and producing a pinpoint finish into the bottom right corner past the despairing Flint.

Phillips had a good chance to add a consolation goal for the Silkmen late on when his free-kick from 20 yards out was well saved by Zac Jones to ensure a three-goal winning margin for Pennock’s side, who can now look forward to heading to Park Hall to take on The New Saints next Sunday with a positive mindset after notching our eighth league victory of the season.

Highlights

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