The Swans take on the Red Dragons in Sky Sports Friday night game this coming weekend (8pm) We will be reporting on the pre match and all the build up but adding our own special ingredients to the pot. And it will get warmer and warmer this week until it reaches boiling point.

This game was played at Cardiff Arms Park.

First off we go back to the 1990/91 Welsh Cup Final, a match which I first experienced the bias of the Welsh FA at the time, then led by Alun Evans. Back then we had a governing body which had a panel of Cardiff City affiliated clubs or from the club itself. People will recall that when decisions on red cards for players were managed by the Welsh FA the punishments dealt out were let’s say a tad biased when it came to Swansea City players. You will also notice the attendance declarations at the time, numerous Welsh Cup Finals were declared as an exact attendance of 5,000. Well, that isn’t accurate either. Before the game in focus today I recall speaking to one of the real legends at the club at the time, Reg Pike. We were sorting out some club sponsorship and I asked Reg why the attendances were always the same. He told me the club had sold just under ten thousand tickets and Wrexham around two thousand.

Now who do you believe, a man with a history of dignity and transparency or the Welsh FA ?

This game was played on a Sunday afternoon and the fans following Swansea City were in a very jubilant and upbeat mood in the few bars open outside the the stadium. It was a day as well I met a few guys over from The Hague, the streets were a show of black and white. I think it was that season we first saw the ADO Den Haag / Swansea flag draped over the East Stand at the Vetch Field. Well, for me should I say. The teams who lined up that day are below. Some sadly are no longer with us, Russell Coughlin and Mark Kendall on the Swans side and Joey Jones from Wrexham. This was back in those times of local boys playing for their home town team. Russell hailing from Swansea and Joey from Llandudno. Mark Kendall when he hung up his boots joined Gwent police but sadly died on duty in 2008. Thats an interesting note because Des Trick and David Hough both joined South Wales Police and later Keith Walker would serve in Strathclyde police in Scotland.

Mark’s son Lee was last seen at Newport County as goalkeeper coach this year but currently that position is vacant. There are numerous local lads in the Swansea line up that day.

The game itself was memorable as the zebra top came out that season (below) it was rarely worn by the team but when the video of the final is watched you can clearly see many fans wearing it.

Jimmy Gilligan wasn’t available (which was a big miss) he scored in the semi final against Barry Town who in those days were in their happy place football wise. A very hard team to beat. The semi final was a two legged affair and Barry were managed by one Alan Curtis. In the final itself the Swans pretty much deserved the win despite being without the aforementioned Gilligan, plus Keith Walker, Mark Harris, Steve Thornber, Simon Davey, Alan Davies and Lee Bracey.

We’ve framed some of our own pictures and have included below the report on the final itself. Sketchy, but it clearly illustrates the amount of Swansea City fans there that day. Surprised the Welsh FA didn’t have them brushed out !

Mention also has to go to Frank Burrows who led the Swans to this final victory and of course the first Football League Trophy at Wembley in 1994. Brian Flynn also featured at Swansea City during those worrying times before the fans took over the club. It’s nice to look back some thirty four years ago now to a day when football was very different, historical events are as equally important to Swansea fans everywhere for nostalgia or even if they weren’t alive in those days. So this was a look back on one of those days.

Just as you like it.

The game is below, see if you can spot yourself.

Artwork by Swansea Independent :