Clarbie's joy and Goodwick's despair proves Pembrokeshire football still matters

It wasn’t even 5.30pm, and Rhys Mansell stood alone outside the Haverfordwest clubhouse. The man of the moment, the hero of the hour, the keeper who had just produced a display neither he nor his side would ever forget. And yet as fatigued from the post-match chaos as he probably was the game itself, he needed this moment. He needed five minutes away from it all, writes Fraser Watson.

Mansell of course, had by then spent a good hour being swamped in celebration. Partly by team-mates and friends, mostly via handshakes from people he’d never even met. He’s not the first player to experience such brief and yet frenetic attention on Senior Cup final day, and he won’t be the last.

Once again, it had been an occasion that had captivated Pembrokeshire football like no other can. In theory of course, the Division 1 title carries greater significance. A West Wales Cup final is more prestigious. But in terms of atmosphere, noise, attendance, interest, nothing stirs players and fans in our county quite like that annual day out at the Meadow.

It’s a day that can define careers at this level and make abiding memories with it. Mansell might throw away his gloves tomorrow and take up golf, but he’ll forever be renowned for his man-of-the-match display. Jake Booth, or Matthew Davies, or Rheinallt George, could never step on a field again and yet, would still be etched in Clarbie Road folklore forever. Goodwick’s Rhys Jones has arguably been the outstanding player in Pembrokeshire football for two seasons, but the hurt of his late penalty miss on Saturday will live with him just as much as his stunning four-goal display on the same ground 12 months ago. By the same token, all of the afore-mentioned names might have outstanding individual campaigns in 2024/25, but if they do, the majority of the 1100 plus crowd who rocked up at the Meadow on Saturday will be oblivious to it.

The scenes after the final whistle reflected the significance of the day. Clarbie of course, were rightly jubilant. A club so often lauded for off-field foundations, and on-field progress, were in danger of becoming nearly men on this occasion having lost finals in 2017 and 2018. On a day where they went toe-to-toe with a team who had twice convincingly beaten them this season, they banished that notion and the emotional embraces at full time were telling.

For Goodwick’s players, like any side who loses a Senior Cup final, the pain was evident and understandably so. Perhaps not since the Phoenix Boys themselves beat Merlin Bridge in 2010 have a side regarded as clear favourites lost this final. They can still reflect on back-to-back league titles, can still be considered the strongest and most consistent side in our county, and can still be hailed as the team to beat come next August. But none of that will dilute the immediate disappointment.

Of course, old rivalries soon resurfaced. Hakin personnel gleefully took to social media, just like Goodwick representatives had done last May when the Vikings blew the West Wales Cup final. One person even messaged me, presumably thinking I still represented the Western Telegraph (I don’t), suggesting I write an anti-Goodwick headline (I won’t), gleefully citing an article (I hadn’t written it) that suggested they were one of Pembrokeshire’s best ever sides. In the stands, spectators who turned up discreetly wanting an underdog win suddenly became Clarbie die-hards. One vociferous supporter, whose common sense had presumably been washed away by shandy, caused a scene during the presentations by shouting idiotic abuse towards the runners-up.

From the outside, all of the above paragraph appears petty and pathetic. And yet when you are within the circle of Pembrokeshire football it makes perfect sense. Because it matters. Yes, we constantly debate concerns over participation numbers, referees, waterlogged pitches and all the rest of it. But that’s because it matters. League secretary Ian Baker would have been up early on Sunday morning trying to finalise the fixtures for the seven days ahead. Because it matters. And there is a reason why Clarbie co-manager Matt Fox was struggling to speak as he clung hold of the silverware afterwards. Because it matters. Boy, it matters.

That notion is something I myself took too long to understand. Football was never my primary sport, a game I played fleetingly as opposed to regularly. I once wrote an article where I accused Merlins Bridge of ‘behaving like Roman Abramovich’ because they had dismissed a manager. On reflection, my words represented an ignorance towards what the game rightfully means to clubs in this county, and it took me years of covering campaigns through the media to fathom that. Boys go to work on a Monday morning and tick down the days until Saturday comes. It’s a release, something to look forward too. We can all get wrapped up in our own passions at times, we can all be needlessly tribal, and we can all argue on Facebook, but give me that over a regional system that’s dying on its feet through lack of interest. Whether it was the jubilance of Clarbie boys jumping about on the pitch, or the despondency of Goodwick players looking down on the floor, the reactions reflected people who cared.

In the grand scheme of things, amateur sport never takes precedence over health, family, work, and all the rest of it. But for the two hours that proceeds players taking to the pitch, whether it be for Saturday’s Senior Cup final or this Monday night’s clash between Hundleton and Pembroke Borough 2nds, it does. And if people get caught up in it all, and behave like a Bruno Fernandes, or row like their Mo Salah or Jurgen Klopp, or run a club like they are, yes, Roman Abramovich, then so be it. Those same people care and without them, football would have the prominent standing it does within Pembrokeshire sport.

There will continue to be debates and disagreements about our game, and don’t get me started on FAW sin-bin proposals. But if any evidence were needed, then the Senior Cup final again proved that the product around here is alive and kicking.

So, when Mansell took a much needed moment to himself yesterday, away from the back-slapping and the scrum of well-wishers, he would have known full well why he had been briefly elevated to superstardom.

Because it’s Pembrokeshire football.

And to those involved in any capacity, it matters.