Hereford United 2 Swansea City 1

Hereford United captured the Herefordshire Football Association Senior Invitation Cup for the 21st time with a dramatic 2-1 victory last night over Third Division Swansea City at Edgar Street.

Substitute marksman Steve Piearce grabbed two late goals at the Meadow End - the second two minutes into stoppage time - as the Bulls landed the trophy for the first time since 1995.

United fell behind to a Steve Watkin second-minute strike and they looked down and out until Piearce headed in Paul Parry's pin-point left-wing cross on 83 minutes.

The match then appeared to be heading towards a penalty shoot-out when the former Halesowen striker stepped in.

He robbed a Swansea defender on the left touchline and cut inside before firing a low shot past the helpless visiting goalkeeper Jason Jones.

A thrilled Piearce - a 58th minute substitute for Ian Wright - said: "It's nice to finish at Edgar Street with a brace and win the cup for Hereford."

Although the Bulls finished the match in dominant fashion, they made the worst possible start when the Welsh club seized upon a defensive error by left-back Scott Goodwin.

Goodwin's attempted back pass fell well short of the advancing Stuart Jones, allowing John Williams to nip in and deliver a cross for the unmarked Watkin who had the simple task of tucking his shot into an empty net from close range.

James Quiggin almost equalised two minutes later when he raced onto a defence splitting pass from Tony James but could only drive his shot against the underside of the Swansea crossbar. Attendance: 435

Hereford: Jones 8, Shirley 7, Goodwin 6, Robinson 6 (Rodgerson 46, 7), Wright 7 (Piearce 58, 9), James 8, Diamond 6, Snape 7, Elmes 6 (Lowery 73, 6), Quiggin 6 (Rowle 67, 6), Parry 8.