Wellington 0 Hereford United 8 HEREFORD regained the HFA Senior Floodlit Cup after cruising to victory at rain-soaked Wellington.

The Bulls were kept in check for the first halfhour but, after that, pulled away with some crisp football on a pitch that played extremely well despite the almost continuous downpour.

Hereford took an early lead through Leon Constantine’s spot-kick but then had to concede the better chances for a while with Mike Craig cracking a shot just wide for the home side.

Shortly afterwards, following a good build-up on the left, Joe Arnold went even closer.

Bulls keeper Adam Bartlett also had some work to do, leaving his line to save at the feet of Matt Williams and then Wayne McNeil.

Hereford, however, extended their lead on 35 minutes when some neat footwork by Marc Pugh took the winger through the home defence to crash home the second.

Constantine should have added another almost immediately but side-footed over from a Lee Morris pass.

The tall striker quickly made amends, though, when he seized on a defensive slip to rifle in Marc Manga’s pass.

Kenny Lunt’s shot clipped the bar following another good Manga pass in the opening minute of the second period.

But Wellington should have clawed a goal back when they were, somewhat harshly, awarded a penalty for a handball by Darren Jones which he could hardly avoid.

Bartlett, however, was equal to Williams’ spotkick and then saved the home forward’s followup header as well.

After that, it was pretty much all Hereford.

Home keeper Matt Eden produced a fine double save to deny Morris and Manga but could not repeat the trick when perseverance by substitute Tomi Ameobi brought him Hereford’s fourth on 62 minutes.

Excellent work by Lunt set up Morris for the fifth on 66 minutes and the former £3million-man scored again within a minute.

Ameobi slid in the seventh after Eden had parried a Ryan Valentine shot seven minutes from time.

And then, in the last 60 seconds, Lunt rounded off the scoring with a perfectly-struck 25-yard free-kick which cleared the wall to nestle in the top corner.

Wellington: Eden; Brotherwood (Griffiths), Aaron Morris, Sewell Withers, McNeil, Mike Craig, Price, Arnold (James Morris), Matt Williams, Morgan (Liam Craig). Subs not used: Nick Williams, Palmer.

Hereford: Bartlett; Green, Jones, Lowe (Rose, 60 min), Valentine; Manga, Tolley, Lunt, Pugh (Thomas, 74 min); Constantine (Ameobi, 52 min), Morris. Subs not used: Adamson, Gwynne.

Goals: Constantine pen, 8 min, 0- 1; Pugh , 35 min, 0-2; Constantine, 37 min, 0-3; Ameobi, 62 min, 0-4; Morris, 66 min, 0-5; Morris, 67 min, 0-6; Ameobi, 84 min, 0-7; Lunt, 89 min, 0-8.

Yellow cards: Wellington – Arnold, kicking ball away, 56 min; Sewell, dissent, 89 min.