- Griffiths (80')
- Watts (29')
By James Dow
Haverfordwest County’s penalty shoot-out hero Ifan Knott admitted to feeling nervous before stepping up to convert the winning spot-kick, as the Bluebirds goalkeeper came to the fore to see us through to the last 16 of the JD Welsh Cup at the expense of Ammanford.
County triumphed 10-9 in the shoot-out against the Cymru South outfit for our second victory on spot-kicks of the season, after the success against Trethomas Bluebirds in the second round.
Knott was relieved that his side were able to get over the line, as he showed real character to bounce back from an earlier error.
“The boys did well all game,” he said. “It was probably a 1-0 game. I’m just happy I could make up for the mistake I made, to be honest.
“On another day, we probably score two or three goals, but you’ve got to give credit to Ammanford, they defended really well.
“A slight mistake from me, but I thought the boys did well to hold it to 1-1 and then I was just happy I could make up for it really.”
The Bluebirds have performed well in shoot-outs in the last two years or so, and the young stopper believed this played a part yesterday.
“I was confident in everyone to be honest,” he said. “I knew they’d score, but hopefully I’d guess the right way and make a save, which I’m lucky I did, and they put one over the bar and I put mine away.
“I was really nervous stepping up, but I just looked at their keeper, he went a bit early, so I just changed my mind and put it in the corner.”
The Bluebirds have been in very good form in last couple of months, losing just one of their last 11 matches in all competitions. That one defeat came against reigning champions The New Saints last Sunday.
Knott said the team is full of belief that they can beat any side that is put in front of them.
“Obviously the boys are confident. That’s all we have to do is keep performing, to be honest. We back ourselves against anyone.
“We’ve got a young squad, but we showed a lot of experience out there. We knew when and when not to play, but we’re just happy we got through to the next round.”
A big part of the Town’s strong start to the season is how resilient the defence has been, with the team keeping 12 clean sheets so far. Knott believes the healthy competition is vital, with both goalkeepers helping to get the best out of each other.
“I just need to keep doing what I’m doing,” he affirmed. “We’ve been really solid in the league. If I just cut out a few of my slight errors we win that game in normal time today.
“Me and Zac, we push each other really well. He’s doing incredible in the league this year, and that’s all we can ask really.
“Our defence has been solid, we just need to keep pushing each other and see how the season goes.”
