Haverfordwest County 1-3 Bala Town: Venables scores hat-trick in six-minutes
Oswestry, England 08 July 2021. UEFA Europa Conference League First qualifying round match between Bala Town and Larne. Credit: Will Cheshire / Clwb Peldroed.
Chris Venables scored a six-minute hat-trick in the early stages of the second half to set up a 3-1 Welsh Cup success for visiting Bala Town at Haverfordwest County
Haverfordwest were decimated before kick off as striker Touray Sissay was missing alongside youth goalkeeper Josh LeGrice, Wales international Jazz Richards absent for personal reasons, reserve goalkeeper Lee Idzi also away, meaning just two incumbents were named on the bench.
an injured Kieran Lewis and teenager Iori Humphreys, another teenager Kieran King summoned from the hinterland to fill the goalkeeping berth on the bench but failed to arrive at the stadium.
There were few chances in the opening half-hour of the encounter, Gadja saving early from Venables before the Polish keeper flapped at a corner and Kurtis Rees cleared it off the line, Jones-Thomas rifling the Bluebirds first salvo wide from 20 yards after half an hour, keeper Lloyd saving from a tamer effort five minutes into the second half.
The Bluebirds were brighter in the opening second-half exchanges, Wilson driving a cross just beyond Williams and a crunching tackle on Kurtis Rees earned Peate a yellow card for Bala and Fawcett one for reacting to his colleagues’ predicament. Patten received a third home yellow card for a foul tackle and from the resultant free-kick ace marksman Venables got across defender Jones to opening the scoring, the same player doubling the lead two minutes later with a simple finish at the far post. A six-minute hat trick, the third with a rifle header put the game to bed, the prolific striker rightly acknowledged in the Welsh circles as one of the greatest of all time.
Home manager Wayne Jones talked himself into the referees notebook midway through the half, his side mere passengers in the game as Colin Catons side rolled the ball around the pitch at will, Sang replacing Edwards with twenty minutes remaining. Jones Thomas worldie gave Haverfordwest hope, Caton replacing Southern with Shannon a minute later which had the desired impact to restore the equilibrium, teenager Humphreys replacing Jones in defence for the Pembrokeshire side with ten minutes remaining.
Gadja saved well with his fingertips from man of the match Venables and gain with his feet two minutes later, the final action apart from Walker-Rice replacing Bauress just ahead of three minutes of extra time from referee Markham- Jones.
