My thanks to first-team manager Shaun Harris for forwarding his thoughts on the excellent 6-1 win at Newbridge-on-Wye on Saturday, 16 February.
Shaun would probably agree the result came as a shock to most although, to be fair to him, he has been saying for some weeks that if things did click then he felt they had the ability to put a team away with a bit to spare.
“We travelled with 12 men so expected a tough afternoon especially as Newbridge had a full squad of 16 players,” he said.
“Presteigne took the lead through Tommy Murphy after Ewan Rhodes was brought down when through on goal.
“Newbridge equalised with Liam Tomkins turning into his own net after good work and cross by Newbridges right winger.
“I would say Newbridge were on top for a good 15 minutes after scoring but with Presteigne’s goalkeeper Curtis Williams making two great saves.
“We then regained the lead with a good free kick from Tommy Murphy, over the wall and into the bottom corner.
“Jamie Davies then added the third with a deflected shot off a Newbridge defender and so we headed in with a 3-1 half-time lead.
“In the second half Presteigne looked hungry for goals and I felt we looked capable of scoring with every attack.
“Tommy Murphy completed his hat trick after he was picked out in the box and fired home to make it 4-1.
“Newbridge pushed hard to get back into it but Presteigne looked to have a firm grip of the game.
“We then went 5-1 up through Ewan Rhodes with a top-corner striker from just inside the box.
“Tommy Murphy rounded off the afternoon with another top-corner strike to make it 6-1.
“It was a great day for Presteigne and one we feel we could have had on so many other occasions this season.
“Having two new strikers in Murphy and Jamie Davies made a big difference, but credit to the back four and midfield who were instrumental in the result.”