MATT WILLIAMS ON THE MARK AGAIN FOR CIRENCESTER TOWN

Cirencester and Haverfordwest played out a pre-season friendly, at The Corinium Stadium on Saturday, which had the intensity and combativeness of a league match.

Cirencester Town 1

Haverfordwest County 1

Thanks, in the absence of our usual reporter, to Danny Hall, Wilts and Glos Standard for much of the content of this report.

The standard of football on a bright, breezy afternoon was, at times, excellent and augured well for both sides’ league campaigns.

Cirencester cancelled out a 16th minute opening penalty from the Welsh Premier League visitors with a spot kick of their own five minutes before the break.

It was nothing more than Town deserved. Indeed, they could have gone beyond recall in the opening ten minutes but for the agility of the Welsh side’s keeper Lee Idzi.

He could do nothing about a Julian Alsop shot in the fifth minute which went just the wrong side of the post, but then did well to keep out crisp, goal-bound efforts from both Adam Heath and Steve Davies.

Lee Spalding’s clumsy challenge inside the box allowed Jack Christopher to give Haverfordwest the lead from the spot with virtually their first meaningful attack.

Otherwise, full back Spalding made an excellent debut in a Town shirt, snapping into his challenges with relish.

With Kes Metitiri and Gary Thorne breaking down the Welsh attacks and young Dan Thompson enjoying a tidy game at right back, Town’s new back four looked untroubled.

Midfield triallist Ryan Shugar was not averse to letting fly from distance and on another day may have bagged a goal or two, while Alsop also saw a headed chance drift wide before a rather harsh (handball) penalty decision allowed Matt Williams, on 40 minutes, to score his fourth goal in two games.

Haverfordwest introduced Luke Bowen in the second half and he proved a handful for the home side, who were not helped when first Thompson and then Metitiri went off with injuries.

Ciren could still have taken the lead on the hour mark when Williams picked up an Alsop headed flick, played it to Davies who in turn laid it off for Heath only for his shot to be well saved.

Ten minutes later, though, Tom King, who so far had only been involved through his excellent kicking, made a tremendous point-blank save from another 'County sub Luke Robinson, which he somehow managed to turn over the bar from inside the six-yard box.

There was still time for lively Ciren sub Tom Dingle to put a chance wide before King made another save from the dangerous Bowen with six minutes left to leave what was, on the day, a fair result for an excellent match.

Cirencester: Tom King, Dan Thompson (Aaron Stevens 54), Lee Spalding, Gary Thorne (capt), Kes Metitiri (Andy Minturn 58), Welsh Triallist (Harry Etheridge 62), Steve Davies (Oggy Hunt 90), Nathan Haisley, Julian Alsop, Matt Williams (Steve Robertson 68), Adam Heath (Local Triallist 62). Unused sub: Adam Miller.

Att: 99 not at all bad on a breezy day with showers in the air