The Saints won for the second time in the space of two days, with a 4-0 away victory at a wet and blustery Newbridge. The hosts frustrated the Saints in the first-period, with a solid defensive display, but once Brendan Hackett netted in the second-half, Hay picked up their game and added three further goals courtesy of a double from Tom Weaver, and Kevin Jones’ close-range finish.
There was little to report in the opening half, with both sides cancelling each other out for the majority. Hackett’s lob was easily caught by the ‘keeper, whilst K. Jones turn and shot was blocked inside the box. Stand in ‘keeper Johnny Daw juggled a shot before eventually gathering in what was otherwise a quiet first-half.
After Hackett had looked to have beaten the offside trap, before round the ‘keeper and netting, he was pulled back after a dodgy looking decision from the linesman. Moments later though, he timed his run to perfection, racing onto a perfectly weighted pass by Chris Preece, and Hackett fired into the far corner to hand Hay the advantage. They pushed on from this, and were soon two up. A cross from the right was guided into the path of Weaver by Preece, and the midfielder lashed home from six yards. Excellent work down the left-wing from Hackett saw him get past his man before cutting back to K. Jones, who fired in confidently. Late on, Weaver put the icing on the cake with his second as he nicked past the ‘keeper to then tap into an empty net. Weaver could have completed a hattrick, but his powerful header from a Hackett corner was tipped around the post.
Like the Bronllys encounter on Thursday, Hay were relatively poor by their standards, but they defended well, and once they found an opener, they pushed on to good effect. Particularly encouraging was the performances of youngsters Stuart Snedden, Rory Hackett and Marc Jones, all of which came on in the second-half and settled in immediately. The Saints have little time to recover, with the games coming thick and fast in the early season; Talgarth Reserves visit Forest Road on Tuesday evening.
Hay: Daw, Bradley, D. Jones, Preece, Williams, Davies, Weaver, S. Jones, Goodwin, K. Jones, B. Hackett.
Subs: Snedden, R. Hackett, M. Jones.