Wellington Rangers 3 Pegasus 1 A POWERFUL first-half display set Wellington Rangers on their way to their first Hereford Times Herefordshire League Strongbow Senior Cup success in five seasons in the final at Westfields FC.

The villagers scored three times in an 18-minute spell to gain a strong advantage although Pegasus rallied well after the interval in an entertaining and competitive match.

Skipper Kenny Styles posed the first threat for Wellington, powering forward from left-back to send a 25-yard drive narrowly wide and then clipping the outside of an upright with a left-wing cross.

But it seemed as if Pegasus would be presented with the first opportunity to take the lead when Chris Mortlock raced through and went down under goalkeeper James Morgan's challenge.

Referee Alan Jenkins initially pointed to the spot but then altered his decision to award a goal-kick after consultation with his assistant.

After surviving that scare, it was Rangers who went on to dominate the next phase of play.

On 25 minutes, full-back Marcus Jones raced through on to a long-ball to prod the opening goal past goalkeeper Steve Bell.

Then, two minutes later, Keith Jones took advantage of Tom McLean's neat flick to net the second.

And if Nick Panniers' drive had gone in, three minutes further on, rather than coming back from a post, then the game would have been all but over.

As it was, Wellington had to wait until two minutes before the interval to grab their third, centre-back Lee Mussell rising well to head in a corner from the impressive Tom Herbert.

To ensure that an element of competition remained, Pegasus needed a quick goal at the start of the second period and they duly obliged.

Within 30 seconds of the re-start, Cory Hyde saw his shot superbly parried by keeper Morgan but the Pegasus skipper was able to gather the rebound and slot the ball home.

Although his opposite number Bell had to make one good save, to prevent Keith Jones from extending the Wellington advantage in the 57th minute, it was Morgan who saw more of the serious action during the remainder of the game.

The tall keeper pulled off a good save when Jason Prosser got through in the 61st minute and then came out well to block from Hyde.

It was Bell who had to make the final real save of the game, however, pulling off a good low stop from Styles' crisp drive from the edge of the area before the final whistle allowed the Rangers skipper to step up to receive the brand new Strongbow Trophy.

Wellington Rangers: Morgan, M Jones, Styles, Williams, Mussell, Parker, Bevan (Murphy, 35 min), Herbert, Panniers, McLean, K Jones. Subs not used: Davies, Price, King, Cole.

Pegasus: Bell, D Thompson, Helme (Preece, 77 min), Davies, Herd, White, Brotherwood, Jones, Hyde, Mortlock, Prosser. Subs not used: Maturi, King, S Thompson.

Referee: Alan Jenkins (Kingsthorne).

Yellow card: Pegasus - D Thompson, foul, 12 min.

Goals: M Jones, 25 min, 1-0; K Jones, 27 min, 2-0; Mussell, 43 min, 3-0; Hyde, 46 min, 3-1.