Match photos provided by and MW10 Sports Photography and James Hemingray

Clarbeston Road showed their quality and determination with a 3-2 victory in the Manderwood Pembrokeshire Senior Cup Final on Saturday 27th April.

Whilst the Clarby players certainly would have believed they would have what was needed to get their hands on the trophy, the odds were still firmly stacked against them, up against a high-flying Goodwick United side undefeated in the league who had already beaten them comfortably twice this season.

Despite the challenge laid before them, there was certainly a sense of "cup magic" in the air from the off which was no more evident than through electric atmosphere created by the Clarby fans as part of the 1,132 strong crowd at the Ogi Bridge Meadow.

Could they actually do it? Key to any success would be getting off to a good start and that's exactly what the "Farming army" did when Rheinhallt George headed in after Ben "Rocky" John's flick on from a Rob Morgans corner.

Clarby had started brightly and showed they were here to play, causing problems from set-pieces and the physical players within their team.

Their lead however, was short lived. Goodwick responded with a set-piece goal of their own, with Kyle Marsh's long free-kick into the Clarby box was met with an excellent header from Captain Scott Delaney.

Clarby were certainly not disheartened and continue to attack, with Kyle Marsh making an excellent save to tip over a header from Ben John in the 22nd minute.

It was Goodwick who then took the lead in the 35th minute, once again thanks to a long free-kick from their 'keeper. This time the ball bounced in the box only to be met by Rhys Dalling who hit the ball on the half-volley, a clinical finish which we have seen so many times from the striker.

It was Clarby's turn to respond again, taking just four minutes to get back on level terms. After another good run from Ben John who played a low ball into the box, Jake Booth saw his low shot saved by the 'keeper, before prodding home the rebound.

With the half-time whistle blown, it was clear Goodwick were in for a game. Discussions lively around the ground, would Goodwick's fitness and experience show or would Clarby be able to to keep up their game for another 45 minutes?

As the second-half progressed it become clear we would see more of the same, an equal game with no side able to exert particular dominance. What was impressive was to see the midfield of Clarbeston Road working tirelessly to both nullify Goodwick's threat but also play football themselves with Jake Booth, Travis Jones and Matthew Davies covering plenty of ground and impressively transitioning the team from defence to attack. 

The deadlock was broken in the 69th minute through another set-piece, with Laurie Haworth's corner headed in by Matthew Davies, and on the run of play it was no less than Clarby deserved.

As Goodwick pushed for a late equaliser they made a double substitution with Steven Dockerty and Nathan Greene coming on.

The changes paid off almost immediately, with Nathan Greene being bundled over and the referee awarding a penalty.

Rhys Jones stepped up only to see his penalty saved by Rhys Mansell, with an excellent low dive down to his left.

Mansell was called in to action again just a couple of minutes later, with an excellent save to tip over Will Haworth's header.

With just minutes to go, Rhys Dalling found himself through one-on-one after a ball over the top and looked almost certain to break Clarby hearts with an equaliser, only for Mansell to come up trumps again, standing up strong to come out quickly and make a strong save from the shot.

As the final whistle blew, there were scenes of jubilation from the hundreds of Clarby fans who had come to support their team and been thoroughly rewarded.

The win caps an excellent season for Clarby under the leadership of Matt Fox and Matthew Ellis, with the opportunity to finish third in the league too. 

After the match, Clarbeston Road manager Matthew Fox spoke with our reporter James Hemingray and said:

"Just have a look around you, look how many have stayed for the presentation ceremony, this win means a significant amount to this club.

"It is third time lucky, we've been losing finalists twice and this just shows you what it means.

"There's a lot of good people behind this club, the players the committee, and they absolutely deserve this."

Clarby were beaten 7-1 in their last final in 2018 and asked if they used that as motivation for the game, Fox added: "Absolute motivation, some of them were in their third final, we were unlucky to suffer the first defeat, 2-1 in 2017, and came back and lost even heavier. So for some of those characters coming here today, knowing they had two defeats just says it all. There are boys here for the first time who just looked like they'd been here the year before, absolutely brilliant."

Speaking about keeper Rhys Mansell, Fox said: "He had a man of the match performance, it's always the keeper who seems to get the blame if there is a mistake and rightly so, but today he's got all the plaudits. The penalty save, the one-on-one, the save that he's tipped over the bar, all better than you'll see anywhere else."

Fox also paid tribute to Goodwick, stating they were the team to beat after winning the league and also reaching the semi-finals of the West Wales Cup.

Goodwick United certainly showed their class, graceful in defeat with their congratulations towards the players and coaching team of the team who had just defeated them. A classy club who have proved such on and off the field throughout the season. They will be understandably disappointed, as they were unable to ever get going as a team in this game, but will now switch their focus to finishing a fantastic league season undefeated.

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