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Goodwick United, hot off the back of their impressive 4-1 victory over fierce rivals Hakin United, continued their march towards the championship with a 3-1 win over Clarbeston Road at Phoenix Park.
The hosts were forced to make several key changes to their lineup, with 46-year-old Carl Woodhouse making a remarkable return between the sticks for the first time in over a decade, replacing regular goalkeeper Nick Jones. Steven Dockerty stepped in for Luke Hayward in midfield, while Alex Thomas replaced Rhys Dalling in attack. These rotations should help keep the Phoenix Boys fresh ahead of next week's Senior Cup quarter-final rematch against Hakin.
Clarbeston Road, currently sitting third in the table, have struggled to replicate last season's form, which was crowned by their memorable 3-2 Senior Cup triumph over Goodwick. Plagued by player availability issues and struggling to field a consistent team, Clarby remain in a decent position but have played four more games than both Tenby and Pennar, who are expected to overtake them in the standings.
On a wet and windy Saturday afternoon at Phoenix Park, the match started cautiously until the 29th minute when Jonathan Horgan scored to put the hosts ahead, thanks to an assist from Alex Thomas. Clarbeston Road entered the second half with confidence, and Ben John created an early chance but was thwarted by solid Goodwick defending.
The hosts then doubled their lead through Rhys Jones with thirty minutes remaining. Clarby were handed a lifeline when Ben John was fouled by Scott Delaney and Sean Pemberton just outside the box. Matthew Davies stepped up and converted the free-kick brilliantly to reduce the deficit to 2-1.
However, Goodwick sealed the victory late on when Nathan Greene headed home the rebound after an initial shot had struck the crossbar, securing a 3-1 victory for the league leaders.
Whilst Goodwick hosting Hakin, Clarbeston Road are also in Senior Cup action next weekend, welcoming Tenby on Saturday 22nd February.
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