- Jones (24')
- Shephard (32')
- Fawcett (74')
Haverfordwest County extended their unbeaten run in the JD Cymru Premier to three matches with a 3-0 victory over Llanelli Town at the Ogi Bridge Meadow on Boxing Day.
The Bluebirds were in control for the majority of the first half, and led by two goals at the break thanks to strikes from Owain Jones and Corey Shephard.
Substitute Ben Fawcett – in his final home game for Haverfordwest County – rounded off the scoring inside the final 20 minutes to seal a comfortable victory for Tony Pennock’s men in front of 991 spectators.
County were probably not at their flowing best, but they did more than enough to claim a win which keeps their positive momentum going heading into 2026.
The result sees the Blues close the gap to seventh place Cardiff Metropolitan to just three points ahead of Tuesday’s meeting in the capital, in what will be our final game of 2025 and penultimate outing of Phase One.
Team news
Pennock made two changes to the side that fought back from 2-0 down late on to draw 2-2 with Flint Town United last Saturday, with Kyle McCarthy and Kyle Kenniford coming into the starting XI in place of captain Dylan Rees and Iori Humphreys. Shephard took the armband for the afternoon in Rees’ place.
Haverfordwest County: L. Rees, Hawkins (Humphreys 86′), Watts, Scotcher (A. Jones 18′), McCarthy, Abbruzzese, Walters, Kenniford, Shephard (Watkins 86′), O. Jones (Fawcett 63′), Ahmun (Makwiramiti 86′)
Substitutes not used: Knott, Hughes
First half
The Bluebirds started the game on the front foot, and created two opportunities inside the opening five minutes. First, Shephard squared to Ben Ahmun from the byline, with the striker seeing his goalbound effort blocked, before Shephard again found space to pick out Owain Jones, who also saw his effort blocked on its path to goal.
The visitors had their first effort on goal with eight minutes on the clock when Nelson Sanca collected a loose ball and advanced to the edge of the area, but the defender was put under enough pressure by Ricky Watts so that his shot was well over the crossbar.
The Town came close again not long after when Kenniford chipped a ball into the area which found Owain Jones, but the striker’s header was saved by Alex Pennock.
The home side were forced into making their first change of the afternoon just a minute later when Elliot Scotcher was unable to continue, with Alaric Jones coming on in his place.
The Reds briefly thought they had taken the lead a couple of minutes when the ball ended up in the back of the Bluebirds net from a corner, however the goal was ruled out for an offside in the build up.
Haverfordwest County were still very much in the ascendency, and they made their pressure tell five minutes later when Greg Walters saw his initial effort blocked, with the ball rebounding into the path of Owain Jones who took a touch and steadied himself before shooting low into the bottom left-hand corner of the net to make it 1-0.
County came close to doubling their lead only three minutes later when Ahmun played a ball into the area which found Dan Hawkins unmarked, but the forward – who was playing at right wing-back on this occasion – saw his outstretched effort well saved by Pennock.
With their next opportunity, however, the hosts did doubled their lead when a swift counter-attack ended with Ahmun squaring to Shephard, who made no mistake with his sweeping first-time effort from inside the area which found the net for his third goal in five matches.
Second half
The second period saw far less in the way of opportunities for either side. Indeed, it took until the hour mark for the first moment of note when Reds full-back Harrison Bright played an inviting ball into the area which managed to evade everyone.
Shephard tried his luck with a shot from 25 yards a couple of minutes of later, but Pennock – who had an impressive afternoon – was equal to his effort.
Fawcett was introduced from the bench a minute later to come on for his final appearance at the Ogi Bridge Meadow before he departs for a new adventure in Australia at the start of next month, with 24-year-old replacing fellow forward and goalscorer Owain Jones.
Fawcett almost made an immediate impact just six minutes after entering the fray when Hawkins’ ball down the right touchline played the striker in, but his effort from a tight angle went narrowly wide of the left post.
It mattered little, however, as Fawcett got his fairytale ending five minutes later when he received Kenniford’s pass inside the area and after seeing his initial effort blocked, his second attempt found the net from close range to net his 54th goal for Haverfordwest County.
With the contest all but put to bed, Bluebirds boss Pennock turned to his bench inside the final five minutes as Panashe Makwiramiti, Ashley Watkins and Iori Humphreys were all introduced in place of Hawkins, Shephard and Ahmun.
The away side had an opportunity to get themselves on the scoresheet with less than a minute of normal time remaining when captain Joe Hopkins struck a ball goalwards from the edge of the area, but after going through a number of bodies Luc Rees got down well to make the save and ensure the Bluebirds kept a clean sheet on a satisfying afternoon in Pembrokeshire.
Attendance: 991
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