Pembrokeshire Schools Under 12s football squad lost their unbeaten record with a poor team performance away against Aberystwyth. The home side fielded a much-changed side that had been beaten so convincingly by the Pembrokeshire boys at Bridge Meadow last month.
The size and speed of the opposition unsettled the Pembrokeshire side for most of the first-half, with Aberystwyth scoring early on in the game from a corner.
The Pembrokeshire defence found it very difficult to cope with the forwards' speed and constant pressure and it wasn't long before the home side went 2-0 up.
Daniel Richards had to leave the field through injury early on in the match and the side had to readjust.
Chris Bryce and Ethan Hawkins put up a battle in defence, but for a lot of the time it was one-way traffic.
Pembrokeshire were allowed to attack at times and when Luke Beddis put a lovely weighted pass through to Jay Brockway a goal looked certain. But he was thwarted by the home 'keeper who scooped the ball off his toe.
Pembrokeshire had other chances, but these were squandered by poor first touch or off-target shots.
Aberystwyth went further ahead from a well-worked free-kick, but then a flash of genius by Joe Allen resulted in a superb goal, hit in from an almost impossible angle.
This seemed to spur on the away side, but on a counter-attack, Aber scored again before half-time.
The second-half belonged to Pembrokeshire goalkeeper Richard Reed. He pulled off a series of spectacular saves to keep the scoreline down.
Pressure by Joe Jones and Gary Power on the left-hand side of the pitch resulted in a corner taken by Brockway. His accurate pass found an unmarked Josh Bevan, who calmly volleyed the ball first time into the back of the net for a scorching goal.
With the score line 4-2, Pembrokeshire came back into the game for a while. Andrew Kingston and Jordan Harding broke down the attacks and allowed Aaron Goldsmith and Joe Allen to work along the right-hand flank. Several corners followed, but Aberystwyth defended solidly, not allowing Jonathan Hall or Brockway any room to manoeuvre.
Aberystwyth had the last word with a fifth goal just before the end of the game.
Richard Thomas came on in goal for the last five minutes to relieve an over-worked Reed.
Pembrokeshire were well beaten by a very strong Aberystwyth side and they go into their next match knowing that a better all-round team performance is needed.