By James Dow

Haverfordwest County AFC created history by winning the FAW Youth Cup for the very first time on Sunday, after defeating Caernarfon Town 2-1 at Park Avenue.

The Bluebirds went ahead early on when Dylan McGuire netted his first goal for the club, however the Canaries responded quickly through Osian Evans.

But with the final play of the first half, Sammie Vaughan-Harries scored what would prove to be the winning goal as Ceri Phillips’ side broke new ground.

Haverfordwest County were put under considerable pressure in the second half, but they battled hard to maintain their lead and ultimately did enough to get over the line on a memorable afternoon in Ceredigion.

Team news

Manager Ceri Phillips named an unchanged lineup from the side that beat Newtown on penalties in the semi-finals, with captain Dan John leading the line for the Bluebirds with twin brother Harri in midfield.

Haverfordwest County AFC: Mathias, Cridland, Nicholas, McGuire, Uddin, Hughes (O’Sullivan 69′), L. Owen, Watkins, H. John (James 78′), Vaughan-Harries, D. John

Substitutes not used: Sanders, Lewis, Kudrjavcevs

First half

The first opportunity of the final fell the way of the Bluebirds when a lobbed ball forward from midfield found this season’s top goalscorer Dan John, who poked his effort from inside the area just wide of the right post.

Having started well, County went ahead with 14 minutes on the clock when Ashley Watkins’ free-kick from the right touchline found McGuire at the near post, and having broken free of his marker, the defender showed the finishing instincts of a striker as he side-footed the ball past Hari Thomas at the near post to make it 1-0.

However, just four minutes later, the Canaries were level when Evansw met a deep free-kick into the box before powering the ball past Corey Mathias to draw the north Walians level.

The young Bluebirds managed to soak up the pressure from Caernarfon after conceding, and were looking to catch their opponents on the break with Dan John playing the ball through to Will Hughes, but the right wing-back’s effort went over the crossbar.

Hughes then turned provider, delivering a great ball into Vaughan-Harris who glanced his header towards the back post where Dan John was lurking, however he was just unable to reach the ball to direct his header on target.

Having refused to let the first half end in low-key fashion, the Bluebirds restored their advantage with the very last kick before the interval when Cameron Cridland’s ball across the area wasn’t dealt with by the Canaries defence, allowing Harri John to hook it back to Vaughan-Harries who did very well to adjust his body and direct his right-footed effort into the net from close range.

Second half

Caernarfon had more of the ball in the early stages of the second half, but as they committed players forward there was more space on the counter, and the Bluebirds nearly took advantage of this when Dan John’s flicked header gace Cridland the chance to drive up the pitch and into the area before the left wing-back unleashed an effort which rose over the bar.

The north Walians were looking dangerous from corners with plenty of height throughout their team, and they came close to levelling the tie when Ioan Williams guided his header just wide of Mathias’ goal.

The Canaries threw more bodies up the pitch in the closing stages, with the Town looking comfortable in defence and dealing with whatever was thrown at them. Making the most of the opposition’s high line, Dan John raced through on goal but Caron Williams recovered in time to push the striker wide before he released a strong effort at Thomas which was well saved.

Williams went close himself minutes later through a set-piece, when another dangerous delivery into the box saw the defender make a good connection with the ball, but thankfully for the Bluebirds, the header was straight into the hands of Mathias.

The Bluebirds managed to withstand any late pressure from Caernarfon throughout a tense five minutes of additional time, with the final whistle sparking scenes of wild celebration from those on the field, those on the touchline and the strong contingent of travelling supporters who thoroughly enjoyed their afternoon out in the sun.