SCOWLS and snarls soon turned to smiles for FC Walcot as they dethroned rivals Greyhound to be crowned the new county kings on Sunday.

In the final of the Wiltshire Sunday Cup, Walcot met fellow Swindon Sunday League Division One outfit Greyhound – winners of the competition last term – at Highworth Town’s The Elms ground and are now toasting success after running out 3-2 winners to claim their first-ever piece of silverware.

However, the clash was marred by an ugly mass brawl in the game’s final throes, which saw players, management and spectators pile onto the field in an almighty melee.

When contacted by the Advertiser, the Wiltshire FA declined to comment on whether either side would face any disciplinary proceedings as a result of Sunday’s unsavoury fracas but triumphant manager Paul Newman said that he regretted what had transpired.

“I apologised to Dave Hawkins (Greyhound manager) because nobody wants to see a big brawl like that,” said the Walcot boss.

“We cleared the ball from a Greyhound corner and were due to score but our centre-half (Dennis Sorrenti) was taken out by their keeper and that’s what kicked it all off.

“It wasn’t what should have happened but there weren’t any red cards. The referee cleared everyone except the physios from the benches and got everyone behind the barriers. It all calmed down and we only had about a minute left to play.”

Levi Cox tucked away the opening goal of the game for Walcot and Devan Bryan restored their lead from close-range after Jamie Sheppard had levelled matters.

A fine free-kick from Cox made it 3-1 and despite Greyhound’s Sheppard notching again to set up a tense finale, the day belonged to Walcot.

Newman added: “Walcot have been going for five or six years and this is my second year in charge. We’ve never been in a cup final before and that means we’ve never won one before.

“It’s great to beat a team like Greyhound because they’re arguably the best team in Swindon.

“They beat us 9-2 a few weeks ago but we didn’t have our full squad then. We had everyone available on Sunday and I think that we wanted it more than them.”

Back in the league, West Swindon Wanderers, who were crowned Division Two champions last Thursday, drew 2-2 with FS Swindon whilst DPR moved six points clear at the top of Division Three with a 6-1 win over Rudis, taking advantage of Uruguay Sociedad’s 2-2 draw Eldene.

Division Four leaders Willowgreen Hotspur thumped title-rivals Croft Junior 5-0 whilst Haydon missed the opportunity to go top of Division Five as they drew 1-1 with Purton Red House.