Saturday, 21 May saw Presteigne St Andrews FC stage the Central Wales Cup final at Llanandras Park.
Llanidloes Town took on Brecon Corries in the final and it was the higher-graded Montgomeryshire-based side that was ultimately to lift the cup with a two-nil victory.
In a good, competitive game played in bright sunshine, it was Llanidloes Town who were to seize the initiative, courtesy of two first-half goals from Connor Bird.
The first came after a quick break down the right and Connor was in the right place at the right time to get on the end of good pull-back to fire across the Brecon keeper and into the far corner of the net.
It would be easy to point the finger at Corries’ keeper regarding the second goal and he would probably admit to having to take part of the blame but, in mitigation, the back pass to him wasn’t the finest and led to him making an error that led to a straightforward tap in for Connor to make it two-nil.
To their credit, Brecon raised their game and created some good chances before half-time, but a combination of solid defending by the Daffs and the Corries needing one too many touches meant they didn’t seriously trouble the Llanidloes Town goalkeeper.
The second half saw Llanidloes continue to create the better opportunities and, if the Brecon keeper had been at fault for the second goal, he certainly redeemed himself after the break with a couple of fine saves – one from a point-blank header particularly stood out.
So, in front of a sizeable crowd, Llanidloes Town saw out the game to secure the two-nil win.
Credit to Brecon Corries who were looking to bridge a two-division gap in the final. By their own admission, this had probably been a game too far for them, particularly on such a warm day, but they certainly played their part.
Many thanks to all committee members and helpers for mucking in to ensure the day ran as smoothly as it did. The gate, bar and tea hut all did a good trade and we should make special mention of the two young lads who carried out the draw – they stuck to it and raised a very good sum of money by their efforts.
Early indications suggested the Central Wales FA were very pleased by how the afternoon had gone off, while both Llanidloes Town and Brecon Corries were very complimentary about the pitch and the staging of the final.