Llanelli beaten by late Newport strike in Premier Cup Final

A late Craig Hughes header was enough to sink Llanelli to secure Newport County's first FAW Premier Cup triumph at an awful Spytty Park pitch. The match looked set for extra time, with Reds striker Rhys Griffiths as wasteful with chances as opposing hit men Hughes and Charlie Griffin.

But on 81 minutes, Hughes got the essential touch after Lee Jarman's downward header from a corner was goal-bound, although the Reds' Andy Legg was in a position to clear his effort, before the former Port Talbot hitman's clever intervention.

The £100,000 winners prize will be a tremendous boost to Newport, who were beaten by TNS in the final last season. The Conference Square outfit had the strong wind in the opening half and used it well, to get the better of the opening exchanges, with Hughes going close with the best chance of the first quarter. The League's leading scorer, Griffiths gave the Reds hope when he ran down the right and his fierce shot forced a low save from rookie 'keeper Scott James.

Griffin also fired wide across the face of the goal, before Hughes forced Reds 'keeper Ryan Harrison to scramble the ball away for a corner as they went in at the break level.

Immediately after the restart, Griffiths took advantage of a sloppy defence as he shot, only for his effort to go wide off James' legs. This missed opportunity was outdone by opposite number Griffin, when a poorly defended free kick fell straight to his feet in the six-yard box only for him to spoon over the bar.

The game seemed to be heading for extra time, before the Jarman-Hughes combination broke the deadlock, much to the jubilation of the Newport fans. The hero almost made the game safe, when he headed on goal, only to be denied by an out-stretched Harrison, whilst Llanelli had one last chance when an overcrowded penalty box made the target small for Reds' midfielder Antonio Corbisiero who fired his shot from the edge of the box just wide.

Llanelli still have the chance of securing a treble, as they are five points clear at the top the League and face Rhyl in both the Semi-Final of the Welsh Cup at the end of the month and the final of the Loosemores League Cup next month.

Newport: Scott James, Steve Jenkins (capt), Lee Jarman, Paul Cochlin, Damon Searle, Jason Bowen, Andy Gurney, Nathan Davies, Richard Evans (Lee Fowler 80), Craig Hughes, Charlie Griffin (Jermaine Clarke 75).

Llanelli: Ryan Harrison, Stuart Jones, Lee Phillips (capt), Andrew Mumford, Gary Lloyd (Mark Jones, 71), Craig Jones (Matthew Jones, 88), Chris Holloway, Antonio Corbisiero, Andy Legg, Mark Pritchard (Jordan Follows, 88), Rhys Griffiths.

Referee: Lee Evans
Assistants: Eddie King, Phil Bates
4th Official: Mark Whitby

Attendance - 1,889