Aberbargoed Buds 3-4 Monmouth Town (After Extra Time)

Two penalty saves by Keiron Blackburn, a brace of goals for Dan MacDonald and a debut goal for new signing Chris Hyde clinched Monmouth's place in their first Gwent Senior Cup final since 1940 in a pulsating cup semi final packed full of endeavour and incident.

The first 10 minutes looked as if the Kingfishers sponsored by WyeMedia would stroll through the game keeping possession well and looking every bit a division above their hosts but against the run of play a long ball wasn't cut out and Blackburn was exposed badly and suddenly Town had a game on their hands.

With Town missing Alderdice, Laurie and Ford through suspension, Compton had been introduced to the fray and Smith and Fessey kept the midfield berths in which they had done so well against Welsh Premier Bala in the previous game in early December and they regrouped to take a 2-1 lead at half-time with Compton scoring and Dan MacDonald curling in a beauty of a free kick.

Early in the second half MacDonald was at it again latching on to a through ball and nonchalantly finishing with a first time hit beyond Kirkwood.

It could and should have been more as MacDonald passed up the chance for his hat-trick and other chances went begging and is so often the case the home side sniffed a lifeline.

Playing more direct and testing a back-pedalling back four the game became a tighter affair with Buds harrying and chasing and dominating possession as Town continually gave the ball away.

A penalty appeal was turned down for the home side and as the tackles continued to fly in they were eventually awarded a spot kick, which Blackburn saved with ease.

That could have knocked the wind from the sails of the Buds but they stuck to their game plan and grabbed a second with 25 minutes to play to put the game back in balance.

Despite some more promising openings for Town a flurry of corner kicks again caused panic in the Kingfishers' penalty area and as the seconds ticked away in normal time the Town struggled to keep the ball and take off the pressure.

Fessey attempted to keep the ball in the opposing corner to run down the clock but lost possession and within a few seconds Hughes equalised for the home side with the last kick of normal time.

The first period of extra time was strangely tepid as both sides looked to take a bit of a breather but the coned period was again frantic with Town just looking as though they might have a bit more quality in front of goal to knick the result.

A goalmouth melee looked to have come to nothing but up popped diminutive debutant Chris Hyde to slide in the winner with just eight minutes remaining.

Buds carved possibly their only clear opening with just two minutes left but the home striker blazed over from point blank range and then as time ran out and almost inevitably Guy conceded a harsh penalty for hand ball.

With what proved to be the last kick of the match, and as the teams were contemplating a penalty shoot-out for real, the home striker placed his shot too near Blackburn, who held on to send the Kingfishers through to the final.

In the final Monmouth will meet either Caldicot Town or Cwmbran Celtic, who play their game at the end of the month.

No date has been set for the final but it promises to be a memorable day (or evening) out for the Town's fans. Watch this space.