Haverfordwest County’s talented teenagers have done really well so far in this season’s McWhirter Youth League and there is no doubt that one of their most influential players has been Mark Davies.
Mark hails from Carew and plays in a strong midfield alongside skipper Richard Brill, Glen Fiteni and Laurie Haworth which has helped the Young Bluebirds enjoy four wins on the trot in the league and doing well in the Welsh Youth Cup before bowing out to the young pros of Swansea City.
Analytical approach
“We had already beaten West End 9-0,” Mark told us, “but lost 3-1 to Swansea at their Landore Training Facility, where we had chances to add to Laurie Haworth’s goal and gave away a couple of sloppy goals which a strong team like that will always punish.
“It is the sort of lesson we have to learn because otherwise we might just have caused an upset against a team which trains together every week day and is hand-picked from all over the country.”
It is the sort of analytical approach that coach Steve Batty likes.
“Although he’s still got a long way to go I liken Mark to a young Paul Scholes because he is an intelligent young feller and he uses it on the pitch as he rarely wastes a pass.
Example to others
“Mark creates space by his judgement of angles and is a key component in our midfield.
“He never misses training and is an example to others with his work ethic.”
High praise from someone who has managed the club’s McWhirter League for a number of seasons and has helped create a conveyor belt of young talent moving up into the club’s Welsh League squad.
Senior experience already
Mark has already been given the chance to see what the Welsh League scenario is all about because he was included in the squad to play at Caldicott and Penybont.
“I played for an hour at Penybont and it was a bit of a step-up in physicality,” said Mark. “but not in terms of pace or technical ability because Steve has us playing with good control in our youth team.”
Family matters
That Mark should be such a good footballer should come as no surprise because his father Kim is one of the most respected all-round sportsmen in the county, who was a fine cricketer, footballer and rugby player with Neyland and who has succeeded at most other ball sports and still does well in squash and snooker.
Then there’s mother Andrea, who played hockey as a youngster, plus younger brother Craig (10), who enjoys every ball sport and swims as well.
Mark is no different, either, because he also plays cricket with Carew, golf at Trefloyne, snooker and table tennis.
Early start at Carew and late success
He started out in football as an eight year old at Carew Football Club, with Kim joining Barry Lewis in coaching the team. It was a struggle at the start as they lost almost every game heavily, with scorelines like 17-0 and 16-1 in proof of the hammerings they received.
Mark was playing central midfield even then and it is good to report that the Carew lads, who included current team-mate Lloyd Hughes up front, Will davies in goal and Alex Moore up front, stayed together throughout their junior years and they gradually came together to be a very useful side.
They were finally rewarded at under 16 level when they beat West Dragons in their age-group cup final, with Alex Moore and Scott Cowper scoring the goals in a 2-1 win.
“It was great to finally have a medal each,” admitted Mark, “and it shows that if you stick at something for long enough you can get your reward.”
County honours
Mark had also been playing for Pembrokeshire since he was ten years old, starting out with Mark Hicks as coach, followed by Angie Nicholls at under 12 level and rounding off with Phil Jones of Camrose.
“All the coaches were great,” said Mark, “but Phil gave me self-confidence because I knew he really believed in my ability to do a good job in midfield.”
Natural progression and cup final disappointment
From his playing for the county squad based at the Conygar Bridge Meadow Stadium it was a natural progression to join the McWhirter Youth League squad as one of the youngest members, still with another season to play after this one.“I enjoyed last season under Steve Batty and Colin Fawcett and we had a very good season in the league and did even better in the cup as we reached the final at Afan Lido.
“We played a physically strong West End team and had our chances before losing 3-2,” mark told us, “and winning the McWhirter Cup this season is one of the team’s ambitions because we know how close we came then.”
Good start this year with coach Steve
Mark and Co’s good start to this campaign included a 2-1 win at Carmarthen Town, when he scored one of the goals, and another early highlight was the 2-1 home victory over an Aberdare Town team which had won all its six other matches – and gave the Young Bluebirds a fifth win from as many starts.
“Steve Batty is the best coach I’ve come across and we train every Tuesday evening, starting at the Conygar Bridge Meadow Stadium to warm up and then jogging up to the Astroturf at STP School for skills-based work.
“Thursday evenings are more tactical and we look at videos of previous matches to talk about ways of improving – and looking at them I think I need to raise my fitness levels.”
And finally . . .
All the players are encouraged to be self analytical and Steve Batty told us that Mark and Joe Brill are two of the leaders in this area.
“Mark is really good at decision making, taking on-field decisions and passing but I want him to push forward and score more goals as the next stage of his development, as he did at Carmarthen.
Mark is currently studying A Level maths and chemistry at Greenhill School and it is nice to report that whilst he is fully focussed and knows what he wants to achieve he is also a pleasant and unassuming young man who is a credit to his family and Haverfordwest County AFC – and we wish Mark Davies continued success in all he does!