Champions Monmouth Town's stunning recent run came to an end with a disappointing defeat against league leaders Haverfordwest in an intriguing encounter at Pen y Pound. The Bluebirds were on the back of a fine run of form of their own. With both sides scoring 25 goals in their eight matches it was perhaps inevitable that it was to be a rather close affair. Town set up in a 3-5-2 formation to match County in midfield and press further up the pitch and the early signs were promising as Town kept the ball nicely and looked to switch play to stretch the visitors. But the result overall was cagey rather than catchy. Ford saw a decent effort clip the top of the bar and a couple of other good situations came to nothing until Harrhy returning from holiday had two decent chances that he failed to covert. At the other end a defensive lapse let in the visitors and as the ball came to top scorer Jordan Follows from just six yards it was odds on a Bluebirds goal but his strike cleared the ground perimeter. The same player had another effort superbly saved by Blackburn after a jinking run when he should have scored. The less said about a couple of second half efforts the better as perhaps fortuitously for Town the striker had an off day. Town for their part weren't exactly showing killer instincts either and should also have done better with clear goal scoring chances as Harrhy dragged one wide and Evans went round the keeper but his goal bound shot was cleared off the line. MacDonald stung the goalkeeper's hands a couple of times as the game ebbed to and fro. In the second half Haverfordwest took control as first Dale Griffiths and then his brother Dean grabbed goals to seal the win, the first after a run that took a bluebird past a number defenders and the second after more good work finished with a fine glancing header. The Kingfishers did press higher up the pitch after that and gained some ground without really creating any more clear cut chances although a couple of MacDonald free kicks looked dangerous and Bull worked his socks off. The result saw the Bluebirds go four points clear at the top with the Kingfishers remaining in second place. Welsh Cup action returns to Abergavenny next Saturday for the first time since 1993 as Monmouth take on Ton Pentre in first round action (2pm). Pen y Pound was the scene of one of the most memorable Welsh Cup games as 3,500 people turned up to see Thursdays take on Kidderminster Harriers in their hey-day of 1989. The Thursdays lost 2-1 as Kidderminster made it to the final only to lose themselves 5-0 to Swansea City. In a nod to that great day for Monmouthshire football, Monmouth are offering free entry to anyone who brings along a programme from that day.
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