When Hakin and Goodwick went head to head for the title

Gordon Thomas, Fraser Watson, and Bill Carne have picked out ten of them (in no particular order).

Here is number eight......

A tense title finale at The Obs:

It was everything you wanted for a Division 1 title race. The best two teams in the county going head to head on the final night of the season with it all on the line.

In May 2016, it was Hakin and Goodwick United who did just that at The Obs in front of the biggest crowd seen for many a year at a Pembrokeshire Football League game.

The two sides had gone hammer and tongs at each other throughout the campaign and had already met four times in league and cup – but it was the Phoenix Boys who held the edge going in. They had already beaten The Vikings in the Senior Cup final and captured the West Wales Cup, they now needed just a draw to seal an historic treble.

And yet for 45 minutes they were battered. Nicky Woodrow put Hakin ahead, and it was only the heroics of away keeper James Gwilt that prevented further goals. Early in the second half tempers boiled over and Chris O’Sullivan was sent off but from there, Goodwick somehow rallied.

Kieran O’Brien’s deflected header 20 minutes from time wouldn’t have won many goal of the month contests, but after withstanding a barrage of late pressure, it proved enough for Nigel Delaney’s side to secure a first top flight title since 1993/94.

The post-match celebrations saw Goodwick captain Wayne O’Sullivan stand arms aloft in front of the slab as emotions spilled over and sure enough, the rivalry would continue with Hakin regaining their league crown the following season.

But on few occasions has a league football game in our county captivated the public as much as this one did.

FW: I got to The Obs about an hour before kick off and the place was already filling up. There was a hell of a lot of tension in the air and then the Goodwick bus rocked up with ‘West Wales Cup winners’ written on the side which got a few people going! Hakin should have put it to bed in that first half really, but James Gwilt produced the performance of his that life that night and Goodwick hung in there.

GT: Will I ever see another titanic battle for the title finish like the one I witnessed at the Obs in 2016? Possibly not, but it was a remarkable result for Goodwick because Hakin looked as if they had the title in the bag until O’Brien’s second half equaliser changed everything.

BC: I later remonstrated with big Wayne about his final show of antagonism because I thought winning the title was enough - but when he told me what caused that outburst I could only shake his hand. Stupid comments from one opposing so-called supporter to a Goodwick player were absolutely beyond and did little justice to a top club like Hakin United.