Sport
Goodwick clinch West Wales glory
Goodwick United 2
Morriston Olympic 1
GOODWICK UNITED triumphed in the prestigious west Wales Cup final at the Liberty Stadium in Swansea with a stunning victory over Swansea League Division One side Morriston Olympic thanks to goals from star players Rhys Dalling and Johnny Horgan.
The trophy is the second instalment of what could be an historic treble, as Goodwick chase an unprecedented clean sweep.
They have already bagged the Pembrokeshire Senior Cup, beating Hakin in the final, and it is only the Vikings that stand between Nigel Delaney’s side and the Division One title with just two points currently separating the two sides, who meet at the Obs on Friday (May 13).
Goodwick started the match at a lightening pace and caught their opponents unaware with a number of precise through balls, in particular from midfield maestro Adam Raymond.
It was one of there through balls that released their hotshot winger Johnny Horgan, who took a touch wide before delightfully lifting his precise finish over the top of the advancing Greg Evans to give his side a deserved lead.
The game then settled into a midfield battle as Morriston sought to stem the Goodwick tide, and it certainly worked, as their hard graft started to turn the match in their favour.
From the half hour mark Olympic enjoyed something of a purple patch, and Goodwick were left to thank their keeper James Gwilt and solid backline for keeping them in the game. The first chance at goal for Olympic game when Gwilt fumbled a corner and it fell straight to midfielder Rhys Walker whose first time shot was cleared instinctively by Kieran O’Brien.
Goodwick managed to see their lead out to the half time break, but Morriston came out with the same tempo in the second period, laying siege to the Goodwick goal for long periods.
With Gwilt making a good save from substitute Kristian Lacy who had been sent through on goal by dangerous forward Kieran Hayes.
With twenty second half minutes played, Goodwick took a leaf out of Leicester City’s book and launched a fast flowing counter attack against the run of play to extend their lead.
Horgan raced clear down the left hand side and slipped through a perfectly weighted pass for Rhys Dalling, who evaded the offside trap to race clear and slot under Evans to give his side a two-goal cushion, and spark jubilation amongst the travelling fans.
This jubilation didn’t last for long however, and as the old adage goes, ‘you are most vulnerable after scoring’.
Just three minutes after getting their second, Goodwick allowed Morriston back into it as Gwilt could again only parry Lacy’s shot, with the rebound falling kindly for Rhys Walker, who needed no invitation in slamming the ball home.
This set up a tense last 20 minutes for the Pembrokeshire side, and as the minutes ticked by Nigel Delaney became more animated in the technical area, but he need not have worried as his well-drilled side saw out the danger and joined a small group of Pembrokeshire sides who have lifted the prestigious west Wales Cup trophy.
Teams:
Goodwick United: James Gwilt, Stefan Hayes, Wayne O’Sullivan (captain), Anthony Couzens, Scott Delaney, Adam Raymond, Chris O’Sullivan, Kieran O’Brien, Rob Morgans, Rhys Dalling, Johnny Horgan.
Subs: Adam Butler, Darren Devonald, Steven Docherty, Josh Wellan, Jordan Griffiths.
Morriston Olympic: Greg Evans, Sam Bevan, Ben Taylor, Adam Mills, Craig Lloyd, Adam Palmer, Kieron Griffiths (captain), Kieran Hayes, Rhys Walker, Jordan Jones, Alex Mckinney.
Subs: Christopher Fisher, Kristian Lacy, Kieran Ashford, Matthew Bennett, Thomas Davies.
Sport
Swifts eyes on double.
Monkton Swifts reserves have blown away the second division this season and now have the double in their sights. They face Merlins Bridge reserves in the semi final of the second division cup and lived up to their favourites tag.
Swifts won comfortably with key player Butland getting three assists and Josh Sture grabbing a brace. Waterman and Rhys Sture added the other goals as outstanding Monkton won 4-0.
Herbrandston and Johnston played in the other semi final and this was a much harder fixture to call. The promoted Herbie a younger and perhaps less physical outfit in comparison to the Tigers. Johnston quickly took control of the game when they found themselves two up after just 29 minutes.
However when Scott Murray was shown a red card just eight minutes later, Herbie would have been confident of staging a comeback. Despite being a man light, Johnston held Herbie until the final minute of the 90, when Alex Ouzman gave Herbie late hope. The Tigers held firm however and progress to the final where they will be underdogs. A tag that I’m sure the players and manager Steven Allen won’t mind too much.
Sport
Tenby hit five against downbeat Bridge
On a beautiful day in Tenby, the hosts welcomed Merlins Bridge to The Clicketts, fresh from their West Wales semi final defeat midweek.
The Bridge squad was missing some influential players after picking up some injuries and the visiting team asked questions over the fitness of the pitch, which, according to the Bridge management, was too hard.
The referee waved these away and the game was on, with the Tenby squad clearly thinking they were already in the heads of the Bridge team.
Almost straight from Kick off Tenby set their stall out with some great attacking play, which Jerome Mansbridge benefitted from in just the second minute putting the home team ahead.
The bridge players weren’t at the races and Tenby capitalised scoring a further 4 first half goals, including a Mansbridge hat trick, leaving the away team bewildered and 5-0 down at half time.
What could have been a hugely embarrassing defeat for a team that harboured title hopes at the beginning of the season, turned around somewhat at half time, when Dai Davies, the club captain, almost singlehandedly dragged them to a much higher level in the second half, ensuring his players kept their discipline and worked hard against a very good Tenby team. Undoubtedly Merlin’s Bridge were the better team in the second period, but the damage had already been done in the first half, and despite Bridges best efforts, the score remained 5-0 to the home team.
In a game which saw Tenby jump to 4th in the league, they can be hugely proud of their season and will look to build on that for their next in Division one.
A fantastic game on a beautiful day with a good home crowd watching, the team from the Clicketts will be justifiably happy with their afternoons work.
Tenby 5-0 Merlins Bridge.
Sport
Preseli poses a challenge for novice crews
THE END of April will see the popular novice night rally organised by the Teifi Valley Motor Club being held in Pembrokeshire. On the weekend of 27th and 28th April, Rali Bro Preseli will see 75 novice crews tackling the winding and challenging roads that Pembrokeshire has to offer.
Clerks of the Course, father and son Richard and Jason Davies along with Aled Richards have a terrific route lined up for competitors. Starting as usual at the Crymych Mart, the route will appeal to all novice drivers and navigators.
“It will offer a bit of everything. It will be challenging but easy to follow with some whites thrown in the mix. Aled has designed the whole route and we’ve done the donkey work,” said Jason, now in his second year as Clerk of the Course.
As regular competitors, Jason and Richard wanted to give something back to the sport and they enjoy being on the organising side of the things.
Jason, who won the Bro Preseli with his father in 2013, explained: “We’ve competed in the Preseli on several occasions, and we decided to give something back to the sport and that’s why dad and I thought it would be a good idea to help.
“It’s interesting to see how it all comes together and the work involved, and there’s a lot of that,”
He also won the event with Tim Hand in 2016 and was fourth overall in 2019.
Aled Richards, Joint Clerk of the Course, knows the routes of Rali Bro Preseli like the back of his hand having only ever missed it once since its formation in 2003. He’s driven on four of them in 2005 – 2008 with the best result of a 4th place with Arwel Jenkins in the navigator seat.
Aled has been Chief Marshal on Rali Bro Preseli since 2013 before moving on to being Clerk of the Course this year and competitors can look forward to a great event.
Aled told the Herald: “This is the first time I’ve been Clerk of the Course, but we have a good team with Dylan Davies as Chief Marshal and Olwen Davies as Secretary.
“I live some 30 miles away from the actual route, but we’ve been around it twice and I’m confident it will be a good yet challenging night. Some of the whites are currently waterlogged but the farmers have been brilliant and offered to help clear the tracks before the event and we are very grateful.”
The rally, kindly sponsored by Arjay Factors and Home James Taxis, will have four official Spectator Points on the night and the locations will be available at signing on.
The Clerks of the Course and the Teifi Valley Motor Club would like to thank all those who have helped to organise the event – landowners, homes en route, petrol at Brian Llewellyn a’i Ferched, and the start and finish venues – Crymych Mart and the Teifi Waterside Hotel.
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