PHOTOS:
Scott with his dad Nigel on Senior Cup Final Day
Scott Delaney
Scott (back row, third left) in the current Goodwick United team

 
 
Scott Delaney is the fourth generation of his family to play for Goodwick United and at the moment plays in the back four at Phoenix Park alongside his father Nigel, who doubles up as first-team manager.
 
They also played together in the Senior Cup Final a couple of seasons ago when Nigel was player/manager at West Dragons and Scott was only 17, but more of that later.
 

Good Goodwick start to the season

 
This season sees him playing at the heart of the Goodwick United defence as this father and son duo continues to flourish.
“We have a good young team,” said Scott, “with Steffan Hayes as the youngest and others like Rhys Dalling and Steve Evans also doing well – and we get great support off the pitch from the likes of Alan Davies and Brian Morris.
 
“We have started to pick up our league form and are in the last eight of the Senior Cup. I already have a Senior Cup runners-up medal and would like a repeat trip to the trip to the final. We also are doing well in the West Wales Cup, where we beat Wales Tartan by 6-2 in Swansea.
 
“It wasn’t a very nice place to play for us and altho

 

ugh we have another away game in the last 16, against Evans and Williams, who are unbeaten in the Carmarthenshire League, we are hoping to maintain our good form there.
 

Following in family’s footsteps

 
If you were looking for a young player with a family pedigree in the game then it would be hard to find a better one than for Scott (19) and younger brother Matthew (now 15 and another very good player.)
 
As we mentioned before, dad Nigel has played for several clubs in the county and earned his share of trophies, whilst his uncle Mark played for Cardiff City, Aston Villa (including the last FA Cup Final at Wembley) and Wales, where he was honoured with the captaincy.
 
Granddad Mike played for Goodwick United and Fishguard Sports, where he played in the 1973/4 West Wales Cup Final against Hafod Brotherhood at the old Bridge Meadow, which the Sports won 4-1 thanks to goals by Ken Harries (3) and Andrew ‘Satch’ Davies.
 
Going back even further, his great grandfather Richard Delaney, who was known to all as ‘Dick’ was also a top Goodwick United player of his day and helped them win the West Wales Cup Final.
 
The ladies in the family have also been terrific supporters of Scott’s involvement, not least with regard to his mum Teresa, plus grandmothers Angelina Delaney and Joan Bevan.
 

Early start in Cardigan and then back home to Goodwick

 
Small wonder then that Scott had little option other than to play football as he kicked his first ball around in the family garden when they lived in Cardigan and Scott played at seven years of age with Cardigan Town Juniors.
 
When the family came back home it was only natural that Scott should join Goodwick, where he played in midfield for a couple of seasons before joining a Camrose junior coached by Mark Hicks.
 
Playing alongside him were the likes of Ryan Howells (Goodwick) and Liam Davies (Milford Haven) who grabbed heaps of goals, whilst Josh Hicks played in midfield and Scott was converted to being a central defender. As the team won its age group league four years on the trot, won the cup final once and missed out on a West Wales Cup Final appearance as they lost the semi-final deep into extra time.
 

County experience a bonus

 
Scott also played for the county side coached by Angie Nichols in the Tom Yeoman Shield and gained plenty of experience there under her watchful eye before being coached by others in the county set-up.
 
At 16 he started out in senior football with Goodwick United seconds and was well looked after by manager Peter Bowen and the older players in the side but the following season saw him follow dad to West Dragons, where Nigel took over the reins as player/manager.
 

Senior Cup Semi-Final memories . . .

 
They did quite well in the league but it was in the Senior Cup that the Dragons excelled because after battling their way to a semi-final tie against red-hot favourites Hakin United at the Conygar Bridge Meadow Stadium they totally upset the applecart with a shock 4-0 win that earned them a final against Johnston.
 
“I had been in school all day before we went to the match,” Scott told us, “and I was given the job of man-marking Ashley Bevan.
 
“They had a player sent off in the first ten minutes and after winning so well we were almost in shell-shock when we got back into the changing rooms!”
 

. . . And a final too!

 
The final was equally as dramatic as West Dragons took on a Johnston side that was again overwhelming favourites.
“We had brunch in the Labour Club and took our time getting to the Bridge Meadow – and there was a really big crowd turned out to watch us.
 
“If we started well against Hakin this was a nightmare as we gave away two goals in the first ten minutes and were 3-0 down at half time, with some people tipping a 6-0 defeat at least.
 
“But we battled back and Scott Crawford scored two goals to get his back in the game and Niall Kinsella hit the bar late on so we missed out on extra time!
 
“It was really disappointing because we had got so close but we stuck together, had a good night out in Haverfordwest and at least I had been in a Senior Cup Final as one of the youngest players ever.”

 
A few set-backs before returning to Phoenix Park

 
After such a good season the following one fell flat as Nigel left the club after a senior cup defeat by Tenby and Scott was asked by Matthew Price to join Narberth, which he did – but with training taking place in Carmarthen it didn’t work out and Scott returned to finish the campaign with the Dragons.
 
But again it was part of a learning curve for such a talented young footballer and although he is more than happy to play for Goodwick United he would jump at the chance to play at a higher level at some time, perhaps in the Welsh League.
 
There’s one thing for sure – whichever way his playing career goes he will carry on looking to play the good football which is part of his make-up in the game.
 
Scott Delaney is a modest and unassuming young player and we wish him every success in the future!