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It's that time of year again, where the league winners play the cup winners in Pembrokeshire's very own Jubilee Cup - our county's equivalent of the Community Shield - which sees a rematch of last year's final: Hakin United vs Goodwick United. The final will be played at Marble Hall Pitch (the home of Milford United) on Friday 14th of August with a 6:15pm kick-off.
This year's final will also be played in memory of two young players who sadly passed away earlier this season - Leon Arundel (St Clears AFC) and Mackenzie Pacheco (Clarbeston Road AFC) - with all proceeds from the game split equally between Noah's Ark Children's Hospital Charity and 2wish, chosen by the families for the support they provided. Entry is £5 / Concessions £3, with under 11s free.
The bitter rivals will be looking to take home the bragging rights, with Hakin United looking to avenge last year's close-knit final, where an 84th-minute penalty scored by Goodwick United's Guto Roberts was the goal that sealed the win for Goodwick in a closely fought encounter.
Scott Davies' Hakin enjoyed a fantastic league and cup double last year, cementing their status as one of Pembrokeshire's most dominant sides. Their league campaign was impressive, seeing them win Division One with 20 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss to end Goodwick's three-year reign as champions. Their success can be credited to last year's new signings at both ends of the pitch, with goalkeeper Rory Williams keeping 14 clean sheets in 21 league games and Cameron Brunton scoring 16 and assisting 9 more in 21 league games. Hakin's West Wales Cup journey started in confident style with a 4-0 win in the 2nd Round against Drefach, followed by a 9-0 hammering of Cwmamman United. The Quarter-Finals saw the Vikings edge a tightly contested match against West Wales Premier side Garden Village FC, winning with a 93rd-minute penalty from Ben Aldred, followed by an extra-time victory in the Semi-Finals over Mumbles Rangers FC thanks to goals from Jordan Kilby and Jack Britton. In the final they met West Wales giants Penlan, where a 36th-minute strike from club legend Ashley Bevan proved to be the winner in Hakin's West Wales Cup triumph.
Hakin have had a relatively quiet summer, retaining most of their squad while bringing in just a few new faces — not a negative, but a sign of the sheer strength of the squad they already have. They have bolstered the team with the signing of Scott Ferney, a prolific striker from Tenby who scored 16 goals in 18 league games last season, adding even more firepower up front. Two former young Vikings, Henry Mayhew and Dylan McGuire, return home from Haverfordwest County after a very successful spell with the Bluebirds' Development Team, with both players involved in the team's European journey which saw them travel to Montenegro to play FK Budućnost Podgorica U19s in the UEFA Youth League qualifying rounds.
Hakin's pre-season preparations have been flawless so far, once again lifting the prestigious Joe Lennon Trophy thanks to a 6-0 win over Herbrandston and a 3-0 win over St Ishmaels.
The Vikings have also decided to enter the FAW Amateur Trophy once again, getting off to a fantastic start with a 5-3 win away at Ardal Southern League East's Abercarn United, with goals coming from all around the team, including a debut goal off the bench for new signing Scott Ferney.
Last season saw a raft of changes on and off the pitch, as the club underwent a year of rebuilding following the departure of legendary manager Chris O'Sullivan, with his assistant manager Nigel Delaney stepping up alongside Matt Fox from Clarbeston Road.
Despite being a "transitional season", the team showed they are still serial winners, with Senior Cup success rounding off their campaign. Their domestic league campaign saw them finish 3rd, with midfielder Rhys Jones enjoying another incredible season, topping the league charts with 23 goals and 15 assists in 19 games. Goodwick United's Senior Cup run featured big wins against Carew (5-0), Merlins Bridge FC (7-0) and Clarbeston Road (5-0), before a 4-1 Semi-Final win over St Ishmaels set up a 3-1 final victory over Monkton Swifts, with goals from the experienced trio of Ben Adams, Rhys Dalling and Jonny Horgan sealing the win.
Goodwick United's summer has been busy, with Nigel Delaney stepping away from managerial duties with coach Matt Fox taking on the role alongside Nigel's assistant Niall Kinsella. Goodwick have lost two big-name players, namesakes Rhys Jones (heading to St Dogmaels) and Ross Jones (returning to Pennar Robins), but this won't faze them too much, as they've managed to keep star forwards Rhys Dalling and Will Haworth while bringing in Monkton Swifts' skipper - and one of the best players in Pembrokeshire - Ben Steele, an ex-Viking himself.
Foxy has also brought in a player he used to manage at Clarbeston Road, talented midfielder Jake Booth from Neyland, alongside Connor Roberts from Pennar Robins, Mason Jones (a talented youngster from Haverfordwest Cricket Club) and a double signing from local rivals Fishguard in pacy forward Adam Lawrence and midfielder Danny Hopkin.
With all of these promising changes, it will be interesting to see how well they do this season. If pre-season is anything to go by, the new crop of signings have shown no signs of needing time to settle in, with Hopkin, Steele and Jones all scoring in a 4-1 victory over Merlins Bridge, and Lawrence scoring in a 4-2 win over Fishguard Sports as Goodwick retained the Eddie Merry Trophy.
In terms of what to expect from this cup final, it's hard to say - we could see two fierce rivals go head to head in a thrilling match-up, or both teams play it cautiously, keeping their cards close to their chest ahead of facing each other again in the league this season. Either way, for those who've missed competitive football over the summer, this one should tickle the appetite nicely ahead of the season ahead!
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