Haverfordwest County reached the JD Cymru Premier European Play-Off Final following a penalty shootout win over Barry Town United at Jenner Park.
The Bluebirds trailed early on but found an equaliser in the second half to take the tie to spot-kicks, before claiming victory to ensure their perfect record in Play-Off matches continued.
A crowd of 2,112 were in attendance at Jenner Park, the second-highest attendance recorded at the stadium in JD Cymru Premier history.
Buoyed on by the significant home support, Barry made a rapid start to the contest and were ahead inside three minutes when Ieuan Owen charged down Dylan Rees’ clearance and the ball fell to Ollie Hulbert who kept his cool to fire past Ifan Knott.
The Linnets had opportunities to double their lead, with Hulbert twice firing wide, Mikey George lashing over the bar and Robbie Willmott seeing his effort well kept out at close range out by Knott.
However, Haverfordwest grew into the contest and found an equaliser with 70 minutes on the clock. Kyle Kenniford’s long ball found Dan Hawkins on the right wing and the forward played a one-two with Owain Jones before squaring the ball for Greg Walters to finish a delightful team move from close range.
Both sides could have won the game in 90 minutes but the two goalkeepers made excellent saves to ensure it stayed level. George Ratcliffe denied Jones from point blank range, while Knott kept out a fierce effort from Will Richards.
The shootout was one to forget for Barry, as Keenan Patten was denied by Knott and Ben Margetson blazed over the bar to allow Haverfordwest to take a 2-0 lead as Ben Ahmun and Rees both scored.
Keston Davies and Rhys Abbruzzese then found the net for their respective sides, but Barry captain Callum Sainty clattered his effort against the crossbar to seal Haverfordwest’s progression.
The Bluebirds will now travel to Penybont in the European Play-Off Final on Saturday 2 May (KO 17:25), after Rhys Griffiths’ side also claimed victory on penalties in their Semi-Final away at Colwyn Bay. Both teams will be aiming to qualify for Europe for the third time in four seasons.
