Haverfordwest County 0-4 Penybont: Griffiths rolls back the years as Bont see off Bluebirds

Rhys Griffiths scored his 270th and 271st top-flight goals as Penybont secured a third consecutive Cymru Premier victory with a 4-0 success against Haverfordwest County at the Bridge Meadow.

The visitors, who move up to fourth place following tonight’s win, were impressive throughout, and two goals in either half gave them a richly deserved three points.

Dan Jefferies, who was named man-of-the-match for his all-action display, opened the scoring just after the half-hour mark before Ollie Dalton double Penybont’s advantage.

Manager Griffiths brought himself off the bench in the 73rd minute and managed to grab two goals, which ensured the Bluebirds dropped into the bottom two alongside Cefn Druids by virtue of goal difference. 

Penybont dominated the first half at the Bridge Meadow, as a solid platform from the back allowed them to pressurise the home side.

The initial exchanges saw midfielder Ricky Watts breaking up play effectively for Wayne Jones’ side, but Nathan Wood and Dalton began to influence the left side, with some crisp tackles giving an edge to the game. B

Both Wood and Dalton had a calmness to their play, combining well with former Cardiff Metropolitan players Mael Davies and Sam Snaith, who ran the channels well and provided an outlet for the Bridgend side. 

After a host of dangerous balls from corners and free-kicks landing in the Bluebirds’ box, the opening goal arrived when Jefferies hooked home at the far post. It was no more than the visitors deserved and it forced home manager Jones to switch formation in an attempt to get back into the game.

This switch didn’t appear to have worked, however, when Wood and Davies combined to create space down the left side before the ball arrived to Dalton, whose brilliant overhead kick gave his team a 2-0 interval lead.

A double change at the break from Jones saw veteran Nicky Palmer and Jack Britton replace Corey Shephard and Kurtis Rees in midfield.

The hosts enjoyed more possession, but still had to rely on Steven Hall to save efforts from Wood, Kostya Georgievsky and Lewis Harling.

Jefferies was a pillar at the back, challenging in the air and more often than not being in the right place at the right time, having no qualms in putting the ball long and clear of danger.

Griffiths came on for Snaith to add significant experience as Penybont looked to see the game through. The 40-year-old had netted 269 times in the Welsh top-flight before this evening, and is considered as one of the best to have graced the league.

Substitute Marcus Griffiths drew a save from Ashley Morris as the game entered the final 10 minutes, before Penybont’s Griffiths drove the ball home from 10 yards to make the game safe at 3-0.

The Cymru Premier’s second-highest goalscorer of all-time – now 48 goals behind leader Marc Lloyd Williams – made it a brace in injury time to give his team a comfortable 4-0 victory.

Haverfordwest County: Steve Hall, Dan Summerfield, Ricky Watts, Cameron Keetch, Sean Pemberton (C), Scott Tancock, Cory Shephard (Nicky Palmer), Ben Fawcett (Marcus Griffiths), Jack Wilson, Kurtis Rees (Jack Britton), Danny Williams

Substitutes not used: Alaric Jones and Josh LeGrice

Yellow cards: Ben Fawcett

Penybont: Ashley Morris, Kane Owen (C), Ashley Evans, Daniel Jefferies, Mael Davies, Lewis Harling, Benjamin Ahmun (Kostya Georgievsky), Nathan Wood, Oliver Dalton, Sam Snaith, Billy Borge, Connor Davies, Ismail Yakubu

Substitutes not used: Ioan Emanuel and Samuel Goodwin;

Yellow cards: Connor Davies

(Featured Image: Lewis Mitchell)