Haverfordwest County captain Dylan Rees has warned that his side are ready to battle for European qualification as the Bluebirds bid for JD Cymru Premier Play-Off Final success once again on Saturday (KO 17:25).
County travel to Penybont having successfully booked their place in Europe through the Play-Offs just 12 months ago.
After finishing third in the JD Cymru Premier last season, Tony Pennock’s side were made to sweat in Phase Two this time around before eventually securing a seventh-place finish that put the Pembrokeshire club back into European contention.
Penybont clinched their Play-Off berth with a top-six finish at the mid-season split, and after eventually dispatching Barry Town United on penalties in last weekend’s nerve-wracking semi-final, Rees hopes Haverfordwest’s experience can help them overcome any underdog tag.
“It’s a tricky experience being underdogs but hopefully we can break through again,” said the skipper. “Our experience is one of the biggest things we can rely on. They’re a brilliant side and they’ve already beaten us twice this year, but we’ll go into it and give a good account of ourselves and hopefully that’ll be enough to get to Europe.”
A slow start to the Bluebirds’ campaign raised questions over whether they would be in European contention at all by the league split. At that stage, they sat ninth in the JD Cymru Premier with only six wins from 22 matches – but the side rallied in Phase Two to reignite their European aspirations.
“There’s a lot of excitement in the group and it’s what we set out to achieve at the start of the season,” Rees said, reflecting on their early struggles. “We had a bit of a sticky start for various reasons, but it was always the aim.
“We had players coming back from injury which was a big boost, and we started to put a string of performances together and take our rewards from games. We started clicking little by little and now we’re raring to go.”
“We’re expecting a battle – they’re pretty physical. They’ve got some fantastic players and they’ll be bang up for it, and we’re really looking forward to it.
“It’ll mean everything if we qualify. It’s not something we’ve done as a club before and if we can keep breaking through the ceiling, it’ll be a fantastic experience.”
