In May 2004, a young Aaron Davies scored the own goal that relegated Monmouth Town to the lowest division of the Gwent County league. Fast forward 10 years and Aaron, along with team mates on that fateful day 17-year-olds Sam Palmer and Jack Alderdice, is a proud member of a Welsh Football League winning squad. The Kingfishers' remarkable rise from Gwent County obscurity to being officially ranked in the top 10 in South Wales, a total which includes Swansea City, Cardiff and Newport County, has been a breathless journey sealed with a win on Saturday against Gwent rivals Cwmbran Celtic. Fittingly another local lad, Nick Harrhy, grabbed the final goal of a title-winning season, stabbing home a superb free kick from Dan MacDonald, arguably the best footballer to emerge from our historic town. Monmouth travelled needing just a draw, but knowing that to play for one, would be inadvisable and on a sweltering day the 100 or so travelling Monmouth supporters were made to sweat more than the players as a cagey first half could easily have ended with Celtic in a two-goal lead. Understandably, Town were edgy and the game was played in a weird near silence despite the 300-strong crowd, the sound of nails being bitten almost audible above the occasional gasp and groan – and inevitably the exhortations of manager Steve Jenkins. Alderdice rattled the bar with a header but most of the scares were in front of Blackburn, who pulled off a number of stops and saw other strikes fly wastefully high. The 45 minutes crept by with every throw-in taking what seemed like ages, every ball disappearing taking months to return. Early in the second half, a few crosses whipped through in the Town goalmouth, Blackburn dropped one, saved one, but as the half wore on Town began to dominate. Most of the play was squeezed into the Cwmbran half. Harrhy darting here and there like a Raglan whippet, MacDonald twisting, flicking, probing. Laurie prompting and Dean Lee, energy and bite, Jenkins swaggered and threatened to do some damage, Davies was calmness personified with Claire and Alderdice staying solid and aggressive and both Eliot and Ben Evans languid, looking to find the killer pass. The goal was coming. A free kick by MacDonald was turned in but a linesman's flag denied the goal. Another chance, this time Evans bringing a save. Some long range efforts, a goal mouth scramble or two but the nerves were being shredded when suddenly, an own goal as Evans failed to turn a chance in and the hapless Cwmbran defender, until then able to keep everything at bay, was undone. Sam Palmer, now 27 and a winner and/ or runner-up in all six divisions open to him, a stalwart of every campaign, had the chance to be the hero but slashed his shot over and then the little men delivered. MacDonald, as so often over the past three seasons, flashed his free kick into that sweet area between goalkeeper and on-rushing striker. Man-of-the-match Harrhy did the rest. The watching Taffs Well fans turned and walked away. The magnanimous TW manager conceded the title. Mr Monmouth Town, Andy Philpotts, got the champers out of the car boot. It has been safely hidden. Prepared not presumptious. Monmouth Town finished the season with 21 wins, having scored 79 goals – Welsh League champions. Picture courtesy of Steve Hughes