Presteigne Reserves missed out on the chance to bring home some silverware this afternoon when they were beaten 1-0 by Ludlow Town Colts in the Bucknell Cup Final.
The winning goal was – by all accounts – a fitting strike with which to win any cup as a Ludlow player collected the ball about 30 yards out and hammered it into the top corner of Trevor Gummer’s goal, although my correspondent in south Shropshire tells me there was no blame attached to Trev at all – it was just a cracking strike.
Barry Williams’ side did come close to taking the game to extra time late on when they had an effort kicked off the line but the general view of those with whom I have spoken so far was that on the balance of play Ludlow probably deserved their win in this one.
The good news is that the Reserves still have plenty of other opportunities to land cups this season – they head to Newcastle on Wednesday 21 April for their Penybont Cup quarter-final tie (kick off 6.45pm).
They also now know their opponents for the Alfred Sparey Cup final as Hay St Marys Reserves booked their place in the final with a come-from-behind win over Talgarth Town at Llanandras Park.
A goal down at half-time, Hay Reserves lifted their game after the interval and scored twice in pretty rapid order to turn the game on its head. They then ratted in a third to make the game safe as they effectively dumped out the holders in winning by three goals to one.
The final of the Alfred Sparey Cup will be played on Sunday 16 May at Llanandras Park, kick off time to be confirmed.
Thanks to Dot Griffiths and Di and Andy Hammersley for giving up the chance to follow the Reserves at Bucknell to stay and help run the semi-final at Llanandras Park. There was a junior game on the ground prior to the semi-final and many of the parents from that junior game stayed on to watch the second match, so this was reflected in the gate, tea hut and bar takings…..