By James Dow
We look back at the memorable Phase One encounter at the Carling Oval ahead of our match against Caernarfon Town in Phase Two of the JD Cymru Premier.
Prior to the match
The Bluebirds wanted to maintain their 100% start to the season after a 1-0 victory in their first game of the season against Connah’s Quay Nomads at the Cae y Castell.
The win against last season’s JD Welsh Cup champions left the Bluebirds in 4th place after the first game of the campaign, level on points with Cardiff Met, Penybont and Newtown. A win against the Cofi’s would round off a fantastic start to the season with two away wins against sides who will be rivalling the Bluebirds for the top six spots.
Team News
Manager Tony Pennock made one change to the side that defeated Connah’s Quay Nomads 1-0 in their opening game of the campaign, with striker Ben Fawcett coming in for Dan Hawkins. On the bench, meanwhile, there was a first matchday appearance of the season for defender Alaric Jones, with midfielder Kyle Kenniford named on the bench for a competitive match for the first time since joining the club earlier this summer.
Zac Jones, Iori Humphreys, Lee Jenkins, Luke Tabone, Kyle McCarthy, Jacob Owen, Corey Shephard, Greg Walters, Harri John (Alaric Jones 83’), Ben Fawcett (Owain Jones 83’), Ben Ahmun.
Substitutes not used: Ifan Knott, Kyle Kenniford, Dan Hawkins, Daniel John.
Match Summary
The first half was an even fair between both sides with Ben Ahmun having the best chance heading just wide of the left post from new signing Kyle McCarthy’s free kick.
His delivery from set pieces proved dangerous once again when he delivered a ball into defender Lee Jenkins who headed the ball onto Ryan Sears and out for a corner.
The Canaries did manage one late opportunity to take the lead through wing-back Morgan Owen but his first-time strike flew wide of the left post.
The second period started slow with both sides cancelling each other out, with Zac Jones making his first stop of the match when Darren Thomas broke into the area and released a left-footed effort which was matched by Jones who denied the Caernarfon captain at his near post.
The travelling Bluebirds were given something to cheer about in the final 20 minutes of the match, when defender Iori Humphreys played a defence-splitting ball to captain Corey Shephard who advanced forward and squared the ball to forward Ahmun who made no mistake from close-range to open the scoring.
The Bluebirds celebrations were short lived however, after a ball found its way into the Bluebirds box which was met by Matty Jones who was able to strike the ball past Jones from around 15 yards out.
It would be Pennock’s side who would deal the sucker punch late on, with a goal in added time when Ahmun broke into the area and delivered a pin-point cross to his strike partner Jones who directed his effort past Stephen Mcmullan to bring all three points home to Pembrokeshire.
Where did the result leave the Bluebirds?
The result lifted the Bluebirds into the top two after two rounds of the campaign, with Pennock’s side the only team with two wins from their first two league matches.
Key player in the match
Owain’s last minute goal would be the forwards first league goal of the new campaign, and would be delighted to open his account for the Bluebirds, after joining in the summer from Pontypridd United.
The forward started his career with Swansea City at the age of nine, before playing throughout the ages before reaching both the under-18 and under-21 sides. During his time with the Swans he was sent on loan to Yeovil Town, making two appearances for the Glovers in League Two.
Owain was then suffered a blow being released by the Swans in 2017, before joining Merthyr Town, where he would spend three years and make over 70 appearances at Pendarren Park.
After leaving Merthyr, Owain would get his first taste of Cymru league football, where he would go on to join Aberystwyth Town. His time with the Seasiders was hampered by injury 46 appearances during his time at the club.
The forward moved back down south and joined newly promoted Pontypridd United, where spent two seasons, scoring six goals in 35 league appearances before joining the Bluebirds this summer, following the Dragons relegation to the Cymru South.
