Monkton are this year’s Division One champions after they completely overwhelmed Senior Cup winners Merlins Bridge on Wednesday.

Whether the Wizards were suffering from fatigue from Saturday’s late win over Carew remains to be seen, but Monkton certainly went into the game fresh compared to their opponents who were chasing the double.

They had the upper hand throughout, barely letting the Bridge any touches on the ball given they knocked in five goals while conceding just three in the late season epic.

James Russell and Ben Nicholas got the first two before super-sub Paul Miller netted twice ahead of of fellow sub Ryan Griffiths scoring the fifth and final goal.

The Swifts thoroughly deserved the win and title given they have led for so many weeks, with teams such as Merlins Bridge, Carew, Hakin and Goodwick all chasing them.

They were under huge pressure and no more so than on Wednesday playing against a team high on confidence, yet the Swifts took it all in their stride, dominating from the off.

Carew, meanwhile, were trying to bounce back from the disappointment of losing the Senior Cup final by playing at Hakin, quite possibly the worst place you want to go when you are still mourning the loss of a game you were winning for 90 per cent of the time (as they were the final).

Carew eventually went down 2-1, with Haydn Shapcott scoring their only goal in their final league game of the season.

For them to go down so narrowly at the Obs following Saturday’s heart-breaking defeat shows how much character there is within the Rooks’ ranks and this bodes well for the West Wales Cup final against Merlins Bridge on May 7 at the Liberty Stadium.

By then, the memories of losing Saturday’s game will have faded, although Robert Scourfield’s inexperienced squad will have to ensure they are more vocal and the senior players will have to show more leadership than they did at the Bridge Meadow.

Carew should have been crowned Senior Cup champions. They were the better team for the majority of the game going ahead through Sam Christopher’s first half strike.

It looked as though that would have been enough for Iwan Izzard to lift the cup in front of their supporters. but that was before the heat and pressure of the occasion caused a number of players to go down with cramp.

Given they were the younger team, it was a surprise to see Carew’s players drop before Merlins Bridge and that is when the Wizards jumped all over the tiring Rooks, with Joe Leahy unleashing a thunderous strike to draw the sides level, before he latched on to a lapse in defence to score the winner minutes later.

Carew came back as they were expected to do and had a chance to draw level, but the shot was saved and you could sense heads dropping as the realisation of defeat loomed large.

They still have the West Wales Cup to play for and they can take confidence from knowing they were the better side for the majority of the game and if they can take that to the Liberty, there is no reason why they can’t lift the cup.