Danny Williams’ first-half penalty proved to be the difference as Haverfordwest County edged Cardiff Metropolitan 1-0 at the Bridge Meadow Stadium.
The Cardiff City loanee, who extended his loan to the end of the season, scored four minutes before the break with Met unable to respond.
Wayne Jones’ side move into the top six of the Cymru Premier as a result of their win and Caernarfon’s 2-2 draw with Aberystwyth Town.
The first half belonged to the home side, as they dominated the midfield through Corey Shephard, Kurtis Rees and Elliot Scotcher, which allowed Ben Fawcett and Williams to be a driving force for their side going forward.
It was Williams who drew the penalty, his pace and close touch caused visiting skipper Bradley Woolridge to bring him down, and he fired the spot-kick into the top right corner with Will Fuller sent the wrong way.
The visitors had a couple of early opportunities through Tom Price and the fleet-footed Lewis Rees, but struggled with the lack of an outlet in the first-half.The Bluebirds built momentum as the half progressed, with full-back Dan Summerfield linking well with Elliot Scotcher and Williams. Their work off the ball was impressive, giving Christian Edwards’ side no time or space from which to build their play.
Matthew Blake, who joined the Archers on loan from Swansea City on deadline day, was a danger from set pieces, but the away side continued to undermine their performance with off-the-ball tangles which saw them penalised on a couple of occasions.Edwards introduced experienced pair Charlie Corsby and Chris Baker in the second-half, which set the tone for a much higher pressing game.
Eliot Evans emerged as a force in the midfield, and Dylan Rees was the source of some productive play, however all the Students could muster were half-chances and long-range efforts from Blake which didn’t trouble home keeper Wojciech Gajda.Woolridge had an effort blocked from six yards by Kurtis Rees, the dynamic midfielder also put in some crunching tackles in key areas.
Cardiff Met were by far the stronger side in the second half, but failed to make their pressure tell on the scoreline. Their final attempt at an equaliser came when Bristol Rovers loanee Ollie Hulbert pushed a cross along the six-yard line, which just evaded the oncoming Rees moments before the final whistle.
The victory sees the Pembrokeshire outfit move into the top six of the JD Cymru Premier standings, with five matches left to play until the league splits.
Haverfordwest County: Wojciech Gajda, Daniel Summerfield, Alaric Jones, Scott Tancock, Ricky Watts (capt), Cameron Keetch (Sean Pemberton 86), Corey Shepard, Elliot Scotcher (Trystan Jones 81), Kurtis Rees, Danny Williams, Ben Fawcett (Marcus Griffiths 74). Subs: Matthew Turner, Nicky Palmer.
Goals: Danny Williams p 40′
Cardiff Metropolitan: William Fuller, Kyle McCarthy (Charles Crosby 45), Bradley Woolridge (C), Emlyn Lewis, Guto Williams (Chris Baker 45), Eliot Evans (Matthew Chubb, 78), Harry Owen (Liam Warman, 66), Rhydian Morgan, Thomas Price (Oliver Hulbert, 64), Matthew Blake, Lewis Rees.
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