Friday night sees Haverfordwest County make the journey to the Recreation Ground, a fixture that carries more connections than might first meet the eye.
In another era, this would have been considered a county rivalry under the old Dyfed boundaries and, given our location on the western edge of Wales, there is perhaps a case for calling it a local derby too.
The meeting marks the first of three encounters between the sides before the turn of the year, with the next two taking place across the Cleddau in Pembrokeshire.
Beyond the points at stake, there are several links between the two squads. A number of players in our dressing room have either worn the blue and black of Haverfordwest County or progressed through the club's pathway during their footballing journeys.
Ahead of Friday's contest, we take a closer look at those connections and the players with ties to the Bluebirds.
Wyn Thomas and Sean Cresser
The boss spent three years in Pembrokeshire between 2003 and 2006. During that period, the Bluebirds recovered from a disappointing 13th-place finish in 2002-03 to secure a fourth-placed finish the following season and qualify for Europe.
Thomas played the full 180 minutes in the two-legged tie against Fimleikafélag Hafnarfjarðar but ended up on the wrong side of a 4-1 aggregate defeat. After leaving Haverfordwest, he turned out for Llanelli Town and Aberystwyth Town before moving into management with Swansea University and, eventually, Ammanford AFC.
Our assistant manager has a long and distinguished association with the Pembrokeshire outfit. Originally appointed as assistant manager, he later stepped into a joint-manager role alongside Chris O'Sullivan.
The 2017-18 campaign proved his most successful in west Wales as he guided the Bluebirds to a second-place finish with the vast majority of the squad hailing from the county. Despite an excellent start to the following season, the club parted company with Cresser in September 2018.
He later managed Carmarthen Town before joining Gruff Harrison's backroom team at Ammanford, where he remains assistant to Wyn Thomas.
Seth Woodhouse
The talented Pembrokeshire defender joined Ammanford in January 2025 and has been an ever-present in the starting line-up since. He made his JD Cymru Premier debut for his hometown club at just 16 years old in a 4-1 victory away to Airbus on the final day of the season, before featuring regularly in matchday squads as the Bluebirds went on to qualify for the UEFA Europa Conference League.
Owain Davies
The 21-year-old full-back earned a professional contract with Haverfordwest County and made two first-team appearances under Tony Pennock. After arriving in black and white last July, he made his Ammanford debut in a goalless draw away at Ynyshir Albions. Davies played a crucial role in a defence that kept 14 clean sheets on the way to securing promotion to the top flight.
Matt Delaney
Although our midfielder never made a senior appearance for County, he did come through the club's youth ranks. Delaney was part of the McWhirter Youth side coached by Steve Batty and Ceri Phillips before moving to his hometown club, Goodwick United where he forged his glowing reputation. Spells with Llanelli Town and Carmarthen Town followed before he arrived at the Recreation Ground last summer.
Elliot Scotcher
Scotcher returned to County in 2020 and became one of the key figures in the Bluebirds' resurgence. A former Ipswich Town academy player and Wales Under-17 international, he served as vice-captain, operated in both midfield and defence, and helped establish the Bluebirds as a Cymru Premier force while also contributing to their return to European competition. Following the expiry of his contract in the summer, he signed for Ammanford and has made three appearances to date.
Luc Owen
The attacking midfielder began his career with Haverfordwest County. Alongside Seth Woodhouse and Owain Davies, the 19-year-old was part of the academy side that completed a treble-winning season and secured qualification for the UEFA Youth League. Owen has also made 17 senior appearances across spells with Haverfordwest and Llanelli Town, where he spent a short period on loan last season. Among those outings was a substitute appearance against Floriana in the UEFA Europa Conference League in 2025.
Lucas Davies
The 21-year-old defender joined Town late in the transfer window after a successful trial period in preseason. Having progressed through the ranks at Haverfordwest from a young age, he made his first-team debut at Flint Town United. A further four appearances followed for his boyhood club, including involvement in the Europa Conference League qualifier against Floriana. He made his Town debut in the defeat at home to Penybont in September.
Harri Rowe
While part of Aberystwyth Town's youth set-up, Rowe enjoyed a productive 18-month stint in Pembrokeshire. The former Shrewsbury Town youngster swapped Ceredigion for Pembrokeshire in 2018 and helped the Bluebirds to a third-place finish in Welsh League Division One in 2018-19. He was also involved in the side that finished runners-up in the inaugural Cymru South campaign and earned promotion back to the Cymru Premier in 2019-20. Following several years playing in the United States, Rowe returned home this summer to join Ammanford.
Mathew Fisher
The name Fisher is synonymous with Ammanford AFC but the eldest of the playing brothers did have an exceptionally brief hiatus away from the club in 2013. When considering a winter getaway, not many people choose Pembrokeshire, but that is exactly what the talismanic attacking midfielder did. He signed for the Bluebirds in December 2013 before returning home just two months later.
Callum Shirt
Shirt is now in his second spell in black and white after impressing during pre-season against his current team-mates. Following youth football with Aberystwyth Town, the striker moved into Haverfordwest County's academy system and progressed through the club's Under-19 ranks during a successful period for the Bluebirds. A brief stay with Ammanford followed before he headed to the United States to continue his education. Upon returning home, he played local league football before a standout pre-season earned him an opportunity in the Cymru Premier.
Owain Jones
Born in Ammanford, Owain Jones has enjoyed a career that has taken him from grassroots football to the professional game and the international age-group scene. After joining Swansea City's academy as a youngster, he progressed through the ranks to earn a professional contract and represent Wales at Under-16, Under-17, Under-19 and Under-21 level. Spells with Yeovil Town, Merthyr Town, Aberystwyth Town and Pontypridd United followed before the forward joined Haverfordwest County in 2024, helping the Bluebirds secure European qualification a year later.
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The stories and connections that link the two clubs make for an interesting backdrop, but they will have little bearing on what happens under the lights on Friday night. Once the whistle blows, the past becomes exactly that. The only thing that matters is the next 90 minutes.