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Last Sunday, Haverfordwest County AFC Women returned to Dynamite Bridge Meadow to play Penydarren BGC Women in the reverse fixture. The last time the two sides met, Penydarren won 5-0.
Haverfordwest won the toss and kicked off. The first 15 minutes saw Haverfordwest match the intensity of the away team and, at times, look in control of the game. After that spell of battling, Haverfordwest created the first major chance in the 18th minute, when a chipped ball over the defence from Bethan Chapman got winger Ffion Kirk into plenty of space. Kirk dribbled out wide, looking to get the ball into the box, but as she did, quick reactions from the Penydarren goalkeeper saw her run out and catch the ball, stopping a big chance.
The next chance came in the 28th minute, when Kirk’s great work rate took her down the left wing and she played the ball inside to Lily Owen. Owen showed great footwork to beat the defender, but her effort only resulted in a great save from Penydarren’s keeper. In the 36th minute, Kirk ran through the defence again from a good pass from midfield, but she was met one-on-one by the keeper, who made the save.
Going into half-time, it was 0-0, but it had been a great half of football between two sides playing exciting football. Haverfordwest County looked the team more likely to break the deadlock, but some fine sweeping from the Penydarren goalkeeper, plus several key stops, kept her side in it.
Penydarren kicked off the second half, and the first big moment came in the 51st minute. Bethan Chapman played a long pass to winger Jasmine Bramhall-Thomas, who made good ground down the wing before playing an early cross into the box. It went past the striker and the defender and fell to Kirk, who was just outside the six-yard box. She took a touch, but as she went to shoot, the keeper came out and made the save. Two minutes later, another ball found Kirk, who had plenty of space to run into. As she got one-on-one with the keeper, she tried to square it across the goal, but the keeper got low and dived at it to make another important stop.
In the 55th minute, Penydarren took the lead. Unfortunate miscommunication from Haverfordwest forced the keeper to come out to clear the ball, and as she did, she was met by Penydarren’s number 7, who charged the clearance down and blocked it, leaving herself with an open net to score. In the 60th minute, Penydarren’s goalscorer intercepted a pass high up the pitch, but an important stop by Erin Frost foiled a big chance. Shortly after, Penydarren’s number 16 had her name taken by referee Gareth Elliot after a foul on the halfway line, which was Penydarren’s only booking of the match.
Haverfordwest then quickly brought it back to 1-1 in the 62nd minute through captain Ffion Kirk. They won a corner, and as it was taken, a header from Chloe Thomas deflected off the head of a Penydarren defender and found Jasmine Bramhall-Thomas, open on the edge of the box. As she took the shot, the keeper tried to catch it but could not hold onto it, leaving Kirk an open goal from five yards out. The game continued to flow quickly and Penydarren almost went ahead again in the 65th minute when, from a corner, their number 4 who played the ball into the box found number 7, whose header went narrowly wide.
The quick play continued in the 68th minute, when Haverfordwest had a big chance to take the lead. A volley from the edge of the box deflected to Kayla Jones, who hit it first time, but the goalkeeper’s good positioning, making herself as big as possible, led to a fine save. Two minutes later, after a questionable free kick awarded by the referee, Penydarren’s number 22 played in a fine curled ball from some distance. It was found by the head of their number 4, who made a good run into space and scored to make it 2-1. In the 78th minute, Haverfordwest scored from their own free kick. From around 35 yards out, a well-struck effort from Lily Owen beat the Penydarren goalkeeper to make it 2-2 in remarkable fashion.
Given the nature of the game, it was no surprise that Penydarren made it 3-2 two minutes after Haverfordwest’s goal, in the 80th minute. Their number 5 showed off some great footwork as she drove down the left into the box, and she then squared it to number 4, who put it away. In the dying embers of the game, with not much time left, Haverfordwest won a corner. It was taken short by Lily Owen to Erin Frost, who nutmegged the defender and took a shot that came agonisingly close, hitting the crossbar and going out.
The full-time score was 3-2 to Penydarren BGC Women in a highly competitive second half. It was another week of Haverfordwest being agonisingly close and unlucky not to get at least a point. But it was a massive improvement on the last league meeting, which ended in a 5-0 win for Penydarren, so there were positives to take away from this loss.
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