HAVERFORDWEST LADIES 6

TENBY LADIES 1

Tenby's Famous £1 Shop Ladies football team made history when appearing in their first Pembrokeshire Ladies League Cup Final against Haverfordwest, but it was no fairytale ending when they crashed to a 6-1 defeat.

The best performances came from the experienced Jane Lovegrove and Cassie Bennett for Haverforwest, being matched by good displays from Cally Roberts and Hazel Sawyer at fullback for Tenby, although Laura Roberts was well worth her Player of the Match Award for individual goals.

Tenby's defence was under pressure from the start and Sarah Cooper made two smart saves, before her side got any form of control in midfield.

Tenby counter-attacked down the right-hand side, where Nicola Aston was stopped on two occasions by last-ditch saves by Meryl Hancock in the Haverfordwest goal, and once by a goal-line clearance.

As the game wore on, Laura Roberts was showing a great deal of pace on the left, and in the 20th and 30th minutes she ran through unopposed to fire her side into a 2-0 lead.

Even though Tenby's task looked difficult, Haverfordwest looked unsure at the back, especially when Salina Morgan was around, who with Sally James at the front looked willing if the crosses were delivered to them quickly enough.

At half-time, the 2-0 Haverfordwest lead looked slender, as Tenby were going to have the wind at their backs for the second half, but could they find their rhythm and take their chances?

In the second half, Haverfordwest shot through a crowd of players for the bounce to beat Sarah Cooper for a simple goal.

This seemed to dispirit Tenby, who had rearranged, with Louis Cooper coming on for Ani Nicholls, with the idea of getting more running power in attack.

When they got the ball, Tenby used the option of the left side of the pitch more than in the first half and Michaela Bevan looked dangerous as she dribbled past her markers with confidence.

Tenby were still unable to hold ball possession and hard as Carrie Slack and Sally James tried, the speed of the attacks was too much for the centre of the Tenby defence, and the ability of defenders to attack the corner kicks meant that three goals were conceded in 10 minutes after the hour.

Imelde Rossi gave way for Angela Nicholls, and Tenby made some sort of attempt to restore their sense of pride, when runs down the right by Nicola Aston resulted in some dangerous crosses.

Tenby gave an improved performance in the last minutes, and Michaela Bevan, starring again on the left wing, scored the best goal of the game when she fought to dispossess the Haverfordwest defence to turn and score a consolation goal for Tenby with a blistering shot which went in off a post.

Tenby's lack of physical strength through the middle of the pitch, and the absence of regular goalkeeper Denise Powell, resulted in a surprising 6-1 scoreline, although there was no dispute that Haverfordwest were well worth their win on the day.

The match was played in excellent spirit between the two teams, and well refereed by Richard Stephens, ably assisted by Colin McCarthy and Alan Buckfield.

Tenby squad: Sarah Cooper, Cally Roberts, Carrie Slack, Imelde Rossi, Hazel Sawyer, Nicola Aston, Clare Dooley, Ani Nicholls, Michaela Bevan, Salina Morgan, Sally James, Louise Cooper, Angela Nicholls.

Thanks to Remi for doing the first-aid duties and to the supporters who travelled up for the match.