It has been a long time coming but the wait is finally over after 68 years as Llandysul secured their first Division One championship since 1949 after they defeated Aberaeron Reserves at Parc Tir Y Dref.
The final whistle signalled scenes of great joy and jubilation in front of a sizeable sun baked crowd and the champagne fizzed as players and supporters soaked in the historic occasion.
When the village men last lifted the silverware, many of whom had recently fought in the second world war, Portsmouth were the division one champions of England, Wolverhampton Wanderers captained by Billy Wright won the FA Cup and Swansea City were champions of division four!
Speaking just minutes after the game Swallows manager Chris Coco Davies said that he felt enormously proud of his team and commented:” I am so pleased that we got the job done today and managed to win the title after such a long wait.
“ I maybe from Carmarthen but I love the village of Llandysul and its people and they all deserve this after all the hard work they have put into this achievement including the supporters the committee and the squad of players.
“ I went close as a player here in Llandysul over 20 years ago when we were pipped into second place by St Dogmaels so this is extra special for me and I am going to savour it but not for too long as we have the final of the Emrys Morgan Cup coming up and we desperately want to win that too.”
Captain Ian Barrett also paid tribute to his players and said:” This is a great achievement for us as we have had to tough it out against some very good teams like Cardigan. Crannog, Newcastle Emlyn and Lampeter.
“We have stuck together through thick and thin and it has been very much a squad effort on and off the field and I feel very proud to have lifted this trophy on behalf of the players and supporters of Llandysul FC.”
The Swallows clinched the title with two matches to go and they have been the stand out team all season and have yet to lose a league game. However they didn’t get it all their own way against an Aberaeron Reserves side strengthened by the addition of a few first teamers and they made life very hard for the hosts.
It was though all Llandysul for the opening ten minutes and they could well have been four goals up as Ben Thomas , Dean Jones,Terry Maynard and Lewis Jones all went very close to scoring.The deadlock was finally broken on 20 minutes when Lewis Jones headed home a superb cross from Adrian Hazelby and the floodgates looked like opening. But this though was not the case as Aberaeron played very well and the champions elect were very nervous for the next hour. They did manage to go 2-0 up when Scott Thomas netted with a fine finish but the black and ambers responded when talented young wide man Ollie Edwards took full advantage of a poor back pass by Maynard to slot the ball home.
This signalled a very edgy period for Llandysul as Aberearon threatened to equalise on a couple of occasions but this all changed when midway through the half manager Davies brought on striker Simon Davies following a 14 week absence through injury. Davies soon found his rhythm and it was his quick footwork that sent Maynard through to score the all important third goal to kill the game off and seal the title for the riverside club.
League and Cup round up.
There was a rare league win for New Quay who battled their way through to a 3-2 success over Dewi Stars with Nathan Davies, Andy Campbell and Aaron McCarthy getting them the goals.
Cardigan Town also enjoyed a comfortable win as they defeated Felinfach by 3-1.
In the Bay Cup Crannog moved safely through to the quarter finals with a 7-0 victory over second division outfit Ffostrasol with Mike Glover grabbing a hat trick. Others to make the most of some generous defending were Marc Davies who bagged a brace, Gary Davies and Dan Robinson.
There were also wins for Llanboidy who fired three past Maesglas where Chris Bowen, Dafydd Makepeace and Rhys Jenkins netted and Lampeter who beat Aberporth by 2-1.
In the quarter final of the Cwpan Goffa Dai Dynamo St Dogmaels beat Newcastle Emlyn by 2-1. Dion Davies fired Emlyn ahead but his fellow Reds striker Peter Almond deflected an Adam Williams free kick into his own net to level matters before Mindugas Simkevicius fired home the winner for the Saints with a header from a Craig Williams corner.
The Saints take on Crannog in the semi final and they will be full of confidence after lowering the colours of the Llangrannog men in the week when they beat them by 2-0.
