Division One
Herbrandston 2 Narberth 2
This was a match, which Narberth could have won. Enough scoring opportunities were created but it is clear that the Bluebirds are missing the finishing power of striker David Gillard who has been concentrating on training for the London Marathon recently. Lee Galdo opened the scoring for Herbie after ten minutes from a Mike Turpon Cross and Turpon himself scored two minutes later when he followed up after a shot by another player had been partially saved. The Bluebirds remained in the game and clawed one goal back after 21 minutes when Raff Barnett did extremely well at the far post to control a cross from Jason Jones before beating the Herbie keeper. When play moved to the other end of the field Huw Davies pulled off an outstanding save to prevent Herbie from scoring and shortly before the interval Jason Jones hit the cross bar when an attempted scoring shot. The only goal of the second half came from a bit of magic by Grant James. The clever Narberth midfield player beat three defenders in the box before setting up a scoring chance, which was eagerly grasped by Raff Barnett. For the Bluebirds there were strong performances by Jason Jones and Jonathan Jones.
Merlins Bridge 6 Carew 3
In a very open game the main difference between the teams was that Merlins Bridge took all of their chances to come out on top and the visitors were guilty of not converting chances into goals. Both defences had off days and within five minutes the Bridge took the lead against the run of play when Niko Algieri picked up a long ball to open the scoring. Although Carew had had most of the play in the opening stages the Bridge were able to extend the lead again from a long ball over the top, which Dan Williams headed home. Carew was shell shocked but soon started to play some good football again themselves and Carl Wainwright pulled a goal back after 30 minutes. The Bridge bounced back from yet another long ball when Dan Williams beat Ian Kerrison from 12 yards and shortly before the interval Sean Halpin increased the bridge lead with a goal from short range. The second half got worse for Carew who were still playing some good flowing football and creating plenty of chances. However the Bridge extended their lead through Adam Raymond but Carew's persistence was rewarded with a goal when Richard Bullock met an in swinging corner to head home from close range. It was end-to-end action and the Bridge picked up their sixth goal to take advantage of some sloppy defensive work, which allowed Sean Halpin to score with a well judged header. Veteran player/manager Gerald Hicks came on for Carew in the last ten minutes and made an immediate impact when he scored a superb header from eight yards to pick up the third goal for the visitors. The Carew players will remember this game as a game where too many errors were made in defence and not enough was made of the many chances, which were created up front.
St. Ishmaels 3 Tenby 1
Tenby created all of the chances in the first half with some dazzling footwork. Unfortunately for the visitors the chances went a begging and Tish came out on top. Mike Lindsay and Jack Christopher both came close to scoring before Tenby took the lead through an own goal following pressure by James Thomas and Mike Beynon. Tish fought back and Tenby keeper Christian Phillips pulled off a brilliant one handed save to prevent a goal. Jack Christopher, Mike Lindsay and Dean Evans all had shots or headers saved or just off target before Ashley Findlay equalised for Tish. In the second half Tenby continued to create scoring opportunities and were awarded a penalty following a period of pressure. Unfortunately for the visitors the Tish keeper pulled off a terrific save to prevent Bobby Briers from scoring. Tish edged in front with a controversial goal from Scott Devonald which the Tenby players thought had found the back of the net from his hands and then Tish put the game out of reach with a side footed shot by Jon Roden. Tenby should have sewn this game up by halftime. More chances were created in the second half but again not finished. Overall it was a good performance by the team and the team spirit is good with skipper James Thomas leading by example. There were also good performances by Christian Phillips, Bobby Briers, Anthony Griffiths and Mark James.
Second Division Cup
Haverfordwest County 2 Saundersfoot Sports 0
Two mistakes proved costly for Saundersfoot Sports who were knocked out of the Cup by the division two leaders Haverfordwest County. The first half was fairly even but County took the lead after 30 minutes through a penalty by Matthew Waters. In the second half a defensive mix up after 20 minutes gave a chance to Damien Ellis who scored the second goal for Haverfordwest County from five yards. Gradually Haverfordwest County got on top but the Sports defence prevented any more goals being scored. Although Sports lost in many ways it was their best performance for a month against the league leaders who proved that they are a very strong outfit. Paul Thomas put in a solid performance for Sports at the back.
Division Two
Pendine 4 Kilgetty 0
Pendine deserved to win after being in control for most of the game and adapting better to the pitch conditions following the damage caused by the wet and cold weather in previous weeks. The visitors were slow to start and the Seagulls took the lead with a goal by Lee Waters who cut inside from the left and scored with a left footed shot. His brother Robbie extended the lead with a tremendous shot from 20 yards and the closest that Kilgetty came to scoring was a chip over the keeper by Nick Cope, which hit the posts. In the second half Lee Waters increased the lead with a good finish off a long ball. Sam Coleman came close to scoring for Kilgetty but the Pendine keeper pulled off an excellent save and more pressure by Kilgetty resulted in a shot from Craig Hurst being pushed around the posts for a corner. The fourth goal scored by Pendine put the result beyond doubt. Appropriately it was scored from the penalty spot by Lee Waters to complete a fine hat trick after Robbie Waters had been brought down at the box. It was a good team effort from Pendine who controlled the match through midfield play of Luke Ormond, Mathew Court, Justin Blewitt and Robert Thomas. For the visitors it was a disappointing performance especially as they appeared to be playing better in recent weeks.
St. Clears 3 Pembroke United 1
St. Clears had an excellent home win against Pembroke United and are now in seventh place in the Division Two table. Ollie Thomas, Steve Trevitt and Eddie Wiggins each scored for the Saints and United could only score one goal in reply.
Division Three
Broad Haven 2 Lawrenny 5
Lawrenny produced a quality footballing display to win the match and with three games in hand remain in touch with the Division Three leaders. The visitors created a number of chances earlier in the game with both Steve Lewis and Ben Cole hitting the bar with Cole's efforts coming from a 25-yard shot. Kim Harland put Lawrenny in front with a near post header from a corner taken by Mike Howe. Broad Haven fought back and James Phillips had to show all of his goal keeping skills to prevent Broad Haven from scoring. Eventually Broad Haven equalised when Gavin Young netted from a rebound after another shot had been saved by James Phillips. In the second half Broad Haven went into the lead from the penalty spot with a goal by Paul Johnson. This was a signal for Lawrenny to wake up and the visitors dominated the match for the next 20 minutes. Steve Lewis scored from the penalty spot to equalise and then in a neat finish put the visitors in front when he finished off a good move started by a throw in from Steve Campbell flicked on by Kim Harland. Lewis was in position again to complete his hat trick when he ran onto a long ball to score from 15 yards. Broad Haven were out of the game by this stage and the visitors confirmed their superiority with a fifth goal of the match scored by Kim Harland with a header after good work by both Steve Lewis and Ben Cole on the left. James Phillips pulled off some excellent saves for Lawrenny, Steve Lewis and Kim Harland were a lively duo up front, wing backs Ben Cole and Steve Campbell showed up well with James Buckle and Mike Howe controlling the midfield area.
Reserve Division One
Carew 0 Camrose 0
Anyone looking at the score line would think that this was a boring draw. Far from it, it was competitive and entertaining with both teams creating chances which were not taken. Camrose had the edge for the first 20 minutes but Carew came back into the game and if anything had the slight edge for the rest of the match. Carew created more chances than Camrose as the game went on but were prevented from scoring by some good saves from the Camrose keeper and some shots went just wide of the mark. It was a good performance by the Carew team and Simon Brace performed very well as sweeper in his first game for the club.
Kilgetty 3 Hakin United 2
Kilgetty picked up their first win over the Vikings for many years with a good all round footballing display. Barry Ormond put Kilgetty ahead after 15 minutes and Chris Frearson hit the bar after 30 minutes. Five minutes later Barry Ormond picked up his second goal of the match and at this stage Kilgetty were all over the Vikings. In the second half the Vikings came back with a goal by Aaron Bowles but Richard Griffiths scored again for Kilgetty five minutes later. With ten minutes of the match remaining Kilgetty conceded an own goal, which set up an exciting finish. In the last minute of the match Kilgetty keeper Gareth "Tonker" Gwyther pulled off a cracking save in goal to prevent Hakin United from equalising. In a good team performance Richard Griffiths stood out in midfield for Kilgetty.
Narberth 2 Merlins Bridge 5
For most of the first half the Bluebirds matched the Bridge and the strong defence kept the Bridge at bay. The Bluebirds created a number of chances themselves but just before the interval the visitors took the lead from the penalty spot. Narberth conceded another penalty in the first minute of the second half and the Bridge quickly scored two more goals. Nigel Williams scored from the penalty spot for Narberth after Peter Phillips had been fouled and with ten minutes of the match left young Daniel Howarth picked up another goal for the Bluebirds. Unfortunately for Narberth Merlins Bridge picked up their fifth goal in a breakaway move. For the Bluebirds there were good performances by Johnny Marsden in goal and James Bennett at the back with the experienced pair of Nigel Williams and Nigel Davies also doing well.
Reserve Division Two
Lawrenny 2 Pendine 0
Lawrenny were the stronger team on the day and had a lead of one goal at the interval. It was scored by 16-year-old Paul Brookes, who put Lawrenny in front in a one on one move when he went around the Pendine keeper. In the second half the experienced Barry Phillips picked up the second goal for Lawrenny. Phillips in fact might have scored a hat trick on another day as he had two shots, which hit the crossbar. The Lawrenny back four were solid and teenager Tom Asbury forged a strong partnership with Paul Brookes up front. Steven Cole also played well in goal. Lawrenny deserved to win after taking advantage of some defensive errors by the Seagulls and being on top for most of the match.
Manorbier United 5 St. Clears 2
Manorbier entertained St. Clears on a dry afternoon at the Sports Field in a match of many goals, all of which were scored in the first half. Manorbier picked up a rare win, only their fourth out of 18 matches played in the league this season. The home team started brightly when Simon Bolton looking sharp in an advance role but the Saints took the lead when the towering centre forward Simon Bancroft ran onto a through ball and slotted it passed Ashley Murdoch in goal. Manorbier responded immediately and Simon Bolton soon equalised with a confident finish. Adi Atwell then showed his poacher's instinct to give the home side the lead before Bancroft again showed tremendous power to brush aside defenders before slotting the ball into the corner to equalise. Manorbier then took the initiative and excellent midfield play involving Sam Reeve and Gavin Evans was rewarded with two further goals from Ceri Worcester and Adi Atwell. Both players scored by beating the Saints keeper in one on one situation. Shortly before halftime the lead was increased to three goals when a corner led to an extraordinary own goal by a St. Clears defender. After seven goals were scored in the first half surprisingly the second half was scoreless mainly due to both defences organising themselves well. Not many chances were created with both teams putting in some strong tackles. For St. Clears 15 year old Bobby Webb and 17- year-old Dafydd Page defended well especially in the second half and Simon Bancroft caused problems all afternoon for the Manorbier defence. In the second half the home defensive unit of Paul Oeppen, Richard Scott, Rob Brace and Jo Reeve all played well. After the match Manorbier manager Shaun Lees said, "We were delighted to pick up this win today and hopefully it can be a springboard to better things over the next few weeks".
Neyland 7 Saundersfoot Sports 3
Sports trailed by three goals at the end of the first half all of which were scored by Graham Keen for Neyland. The visitors also suffered a blow when James Caine was injured and taken to hospital for treatment before the interval. In the second half Neyland added two more goals to the score with Gareth Hein and Sean Hannon being on target but the visitors struck back with a hat trick by Rhys Hunt. Neyland pressed forward again and took the match tally to seven with goals by Gareth Hein and Joe Durant. For Saundersfoot Thomas Spencer, Scott Davidson, Rhys Davies and Jamie Nicholas were tireless in mid field.
Tenby 5 Hundleton 2
Tenby kept on track to bounce back to reserve division one with a comfortable win over Hundleton. It was not the Tenby team's best performance of the season but the players did enough to get the result. Hundleton took an early lead but Tenby equalised with a goal taken by Mick Cackett. In the second half Jamie Robinson put Tenby in front before Hundleton equalised again. Tenby created some chances which were not taken but a goal by Steve Williams to regain the lead for Tenby was followed by goals from Mathew Broadhurst and Ben McDonnell. The experience of Mike Cornick showed up at the back for Tenby and there were other good performances by Wayne Callen, Sonny Phillips and Scott Smith.