THE FINAL
played at ELEMENTS CEFN DRUIDS FC on SUNDAY 9th MAY 2010
The Swan Inn, Rhostyllen returned to Plaskynaston to defend the Cup they won on the same ground last year, and triumphed once more in front of a large crowd, but they didn't have it all their own way against a very resilient Greyhound.
After the teams were presented to NEWFA Officials it was The Greyhound who settled first and had a great chance to open the scoring inside the first two minutes, but Dale Hill somehow managed to fluff his lines, when it looked easier to score. The Greyhound rued that early miss as The Swan started to get a grip on proceedings and created good chances of their own as the tireless Ian Matthias and Michael Pritchard worked hard up front. A corner from Matthias after 25 minutes was headed towards the goal but was cleared off the line with the keeper beaten. Five minutes later The Swan's Kevin Roberts cut inside from the left and unleashed a powerful drive from 20 yards which this time struck the bar and bounced away to safety. On 33 minutes The Greyhound thought they had scored, but a terrific save from Jonathan Dunt kept out a Barry Torrence effort. The game was now getting very "competitive" and the man in the middle Mr. Roszkowski had to be on his guard to stop things getting out of hand. The Swan broke the deadlock after 38 minutes following a slick move and delivery from the right, the ball arrived at the feet of Ian Matthias, whose first touch was excellent and his second ended up in the net. Just four minutes later, Matthias thought he had doubled his tally, but the goal was rightly ruled out after eagle-eyed Assistant Mr. Davies had flagged for offside.
Into the second half and The Swan doubled their lead after 50 minutes from a lovely finish from just inside the box by Michael Pritchard. At 2-0 many thought that the game was effectively over, but The Greyhound refused to lie down and continued to press, especially in the last 20 minutes, and would have scored but for another superb save from Dunt in the Swan goal from a rasping shot from 20 yards by Steven Grice. The Swan sealed the Cup with a second goal from Pritchard in the 87th minute, following a missed clearance from The Greyhound defence. Pritchard found himself in space and finished expertly into the bottom corner with a low angled shot. The Greyhound kept going to try and get the goal they deserved, and in the first minute of stoppage time Dale Hill burst through and shot, but again that man Dunt pulled off another top-drawer save. The final whistle blew with The Swan victorious but The Greyhound had contributed to an excellent game of Football too.
The Greyhound: Scott Williams, Ian Pierce, Gareth Williams, Andy Torrence, Ritchie Williams, Adam Roberts, Danny Trow, Barry Torrence, Dale Hill, Steven Grice, Declan Bourne.
Subs: Matty Williams, Dave Murray, Steve Slawson.
Swan Inn, Rhostyllen: Jonathan Dunt, Joe Garner, Mike Latham, Chris Smout, Gavin Maloney, Warren Duckett, Keiron Duckett, Danny Powell, Michael Pritchard, Ian Matthias, Kevin Roberts.
Subs: Steven Allman, Mark Williams, Gareth Evans.
Referee: Mr. P. Roszkowski Assistant Referee's: Mr. J. Spender and Mr. G. Davies Fourth Official: Mr. D. Hughes
Thanks to Elements Cefn Druids for hosting the game, the last Final to be played at their historical Plaskynaston ground, as they will be moving to their new stadium later this year. The presentation of the trophies this year were made by NEWFA Chairman Mr. Brian Johnson and NEWFA Council Member Mr. Keith Hale who is also the acting Chairman of the Wrexham Sunday League.
