Young Vikings celebrate their third treble
PHOTOS:
Winners Hakin United Under 16s
Steve Briers and Jake Merry
Camron Thomas scores first goal from a free kick
Gareth Elliott, Karl Davies, and Chris Stapleton
Under 16s runners up Tenby
Football - Under 16s Cup Final:
Hakin United 3 - Tenby 1
Referee: Karl Davies
Assistants: Chris Stapleton and Gareth Elliott
Venue: Conygar Bridge Meadow Stadium
The talented under 16 footballers of Hakin United completed a historic ‘Treble Treble’ as they beat their counterparts from Tenby in an entertaining clash at the Conygar Bridge Meadow Stadium.
Having beaten Tenby twice in their league programme Hakin were good value for victory against a very good Tenby side which never gave up battling away – and in doing so celebrated the triple success of league, cup and West Wales Cup, but for the third time as a side who must have pleased coaches Daisy Picton, Colin Fawcett and Stuart McDonald for their overall performances to round off a brilliant season.
Hakin have better first-half chances
Hakin had by far the better chances in a competitive first half where Ben Fawcett, Camron Thomas and Ieuan Hawkins all forced good saves from Tenby keeper Ollie Brown as Jaden Chapman, Jay Power and particularly Jack Wilson featured in midfield to set up runs from Lee Davies and Fawcett.
Tenby defended well via Harri Harries, Kieron Johnson, Zac Rowell and Jake Clarke but midway through the first half they conceded a soft goal as a Camron Thomas direct fee-kick seemed to be under-hit but somehow eluded the wall and squeezed past Brown to give the Young Vikings a 1-0 lead at half time.
Young Vikings apply the squeeze on a gritty Tenby side
Hakin went close again as Brown saved superbly from Wilson and then added their second goal, set up on the left by the outstanding Wilson and tucked home from close range by th
e unmarked Fawcett.
Within minutes Hakin were awarded a penalty by referee Karl Davies when Wilson was hauled down in the box but Brown saved Fawcett’s spot kick – and Wilson continued to be a thorn in the left side of the Tenby defence as another run saw him fire over the bar under pressure from a defender.
Hakin keeper Jack Ackerman had relatively little to do but when a shot from Tenby’s Joe Evans tested him he was up to the task – and the Tenby attack missed another chance when a good move down the left was ruined by the final pass.
Wilson made the game safe for the Young Vikings with the goal of the match, a stunning strike from outside the area which evaded Brown’s despairing dive and bulged the roof of the net – a quality strike.
Tenby fully deserve consolation score
It says a great deal for Tenby’s resolve that they never gave up trying and they claimed a consolation score when good work by Ollie Griffin allowed Rhys Kemble to touch the ball past the advancing Ackerman.
But it was too little, too late for the gritty youngsters from Tenby and so Hakin skipper Jake Merry collected the trophy from Steve Briers, the vice chairman of the Manderwood Pembrokeshire League as reward for another undefeated season.
Hakin United: Jack Ackerman: Jack Evans; Jake Merry; Ben Fairbairn; Alexander Mason: Jaden Chapman: Camron Thomas; Jay Power; Jack Wilson; Lee Davies; Liam Fawcett; Ieuan Hawkins; Lewis Tingay.
Tenby: Ollie Brown; Harri Harries; Kiron Johnson; Zac Powell; Jake Clark; John Mansbridge; Rhys Kemble; Ethan Shapcott; Tom Cole; Joe Evans; Harvey Langston; Tyler Worrell; Ollie Griffin; Rhys O’Mara.