Now bring on the Swans (From Western Telegraph)

Now bring on the Swans

Hakin Utd 2 Narberth 1

Hakin United proved on Saturday what we already knew, that they are the champions of Pembrokeshire.

The scoreline suggests an even game but if the truth be known, Hakin missed plenty of chances in the second half and the scoreline should have been a lot higher.

Take nothing away from Narberth however, they battled hard and in the dying moments of the game looked as though they could have snatched an equaliser. Pity then that it took them so long to get going.

In winning the Senior Cup Final for the third year in a row Hakin became the first team in the County to claim the League and Cup double for three consecutive years. Baring in mind that this is a relatively young team, it looks as though this trend is set to continue for more years to come.

This was by no means an outstanding cup final. For the final ten minutes apart it was virtually one-way traffic with Hakins superior pace and fitness being the telling factor.

Narberth played with the wind in the first half and made a bright start with Paul Phillips in particular showing his experience as he held the ball up well and used his strength effectively to put players into space.

Unfortunately for him he didnt have enough players up in support to make these balls count, although he did have the first shot on goal, but Jason Morgan made the save.

Hakin meanwhile were content to soak up any pressure that came their way and were confident enough to play a long ball game despite Narberth packing the players in defence.

These long balls caused a few problems and a good pass from Paul Turner almost put Paul Jones through but he was denied a score by the high bounce of the ball.

Soon after and Hakin were down at Narberths end again, this time forcing a corner. Andrew Postlethwaite delivered and Kristan Bennett almost scored from a powerful header but Narberth defender David Johns did well to clear it off the line.

Mike Cooper almost went close but his shot was wide and minutes later he made Stephen Poole work hard for a save with a good cross, cum shot.

Adi Haworth hit the post after being put through by Jones and Poole was forced into making a point blank save from Jones after he was put clear form a cross by Cooper.

At this rate it wasnt a case of if Hakin would score, but more a case of when. The all-important opener came minutes from half time when Gerrard Gray received the ball from Morgan, who in turn passed it on to Gary Dawes who slipped it into the path of Adi Haworth who made no mistake in slotting the ball home for an excellent, industrious score.

Hakin began the second half as they finished the first, by bombarding the Narberth goal. They nearly scored within seconds but Cooper hit over the bar when he probably had time to do better and soon after he hit just wide.

At this stage Narberth looked shell-shocked. They were playing the ball too much in their half and rarely ventured into the opposition territory.

Hakin finally got their second when Jones latched on to a free kick and controlled the ball well to slip it past Poole. It should have been the catalyst for even more goals but they just didnt come.

It wasnt through a lack of trying as Jones firstly pushed the ball wide and soon after hit the post which was a golden chance to score. Turner hit the cross bar while Jones was unlucky not to score from the re-bound.

David Gillard came off the substitute bench for James Stephens and took the place of Wayne Howells up front and immediately things started to change for Narberth.

They came back into the game a bit more and started to play the ball around the park with Gillard in particular showing the class that marked him out as the man of the match in the recent Reserve Division Cup Final.

Hakin immediately found his pace and skill down the left a threat and within minutes of him being on the pitch he had reduced the deficit with a wonderful individual goal.

Taking the ball at pace he ran at the Hakin defence. Karl Rhead advanced and shaped up to tackle him but he just ghosted past as if Rhead wasnt there. Morgan advanced and tried to cut down the angle to score, but Gillard just issued a slight body swerve, beat the keeper on the outside and neatly struck the ball home for a superb score.

It proved to be the impetus that Narberth needed to push forward in search of goals. Gillard and Jason Bridges both had half chances but nothing was firm and although you felt as though a second goal might have come it was too little too late and Hakin hung on for the win, a fact that was confirmed by their manager Chris Tansey who said:

We were well organised and in control but then we panicked after they scored. They didnt fold and they kept going and it was frightful in the end. Im just relieved to get the win.

For most teams a Senior Cup medal would be the pinnacle of their season but Hakin face an even bigger challenge on Tuesday, April 30th when they travel up to the Vetch Field to take on the mighty Swansea City in the West Wales Senior Cup Final, which just for the record, is another first for a Pembrokeshire club.