By David Parsons
Mold Alex turned into the biggest giant-killers in the third knock-out round of the JD Welsh Cup as they dispatched JD Cymru Premier side Briton Ferry Llansawel 2-1.
The JD Cymru North team established a two goal lead in the first half at Alyn Park thanks to goals from Owen Cordner and Emanuel Lawal and then hung on to notch a famous victory. Alex Gammond got one back for the visitors to set up a thrilling final 20 minutes, but Mold held firm.
Craig Whelan turned into an instant hit on his debut for Holyhead Hotspur as he kept his nerve in the penalty shoot out to hit the spot to help his side reach the next round of the JD Welsh Cup.
The former Bangor 1876 midfielder only signed for the Tier 3 team three days before the cup clash with their Ardal North West League rivals Trearddur Bay and came off the bench in the second half to make his debut in what ended up as a goalless draw.
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That meant the game went to penalties and the first four from each team were faultless. Whelan was the fifth Holyhead player to step up and he made it 5-4 to put the pressure on their Anglesey neighbours.
Les Davies had to hit the target to keep the tie alive and when he missed in meant Holyhead went through to the last 16.
“That’s the third time we’ve gone to penalties this season and now it’s 2-1 to us. It’s not the way we wanted to win it having to go through the stress of penalties again,” said Holyhead coach Dean Garmey.
“We knew it was going to be tight and they probably had the better chances in the second half. We haven’t been this far in the Welsh Cup for many, many years, so we are really happy.
“Our progression has been good and it creates a lot of interest. We’ll take anyone in the next round as long as it’s at home.”
Images from yesterday's JD Welsh Cup win at Cyncoed. View the album on our Facebook page.
Credit: Brian Jones. pic.twitter.com/VrDjR1Z9zx— The New Saints FC (@tnsfc) November 17, 2024
Fellow Tier 3 team, Ardal North East’s Llanuwchllyn, also got into the next round thanks to a 3-0 home win over Swansea University.
Two goals in a 10 minute purple patch at the start of the second half gave Llunuwchllyn the upper hand. Sam Evans and Meilir Williams scored the goals and then Tomos Evans added a third in the 63rd minute.
Another Tier 3 club, Morriston, were pipped 6-5 in a penalty shoot-out as Afan Lido progressed after being held to a 2-2 draw over 90 minutes. The cup dreams of the three Tier 4 sides all ended as Caerau Ely thrashed Rogertsone 8-1, with Dan Graham scoring twice for the home side and skipper Luke Thomas getting a consolation score for the visitors, while Pill AFC went down 4-0 at Llanelli Town.
Pennydarren Seniors gave a great account of themselves as they welcomed JD South side Carmarthen Town. After the game ended 2-2 at the end of a tight contest, it was down to Ben Gibbon to keep the minnows in the tournament with the 10th penalty attempt in the shoot-out and his miss meant Carmarthen went through 4-3.
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Only seven out of the 12 JD Cymru Premier clubs had survived to the third knock-out and as well as Briton Ferry Llansawel, two more bit the dust as The New Saints won 3-1 at Cardiff Met and Bala Town knocked-out Flint Town United on penalties.
It was a second cup win in the space of a week for TNS as they followed up their Nathaniel MG Cup quarter-final triumph over Bala to go through to the fourth round. Jordan Williams grabbed a brace as the Archers picked up their sixth red card of the season when Joel Edwards was dismissed six minutes from the end of normal time.
“It’s always hard coming down to Cyncoed and they deserved to go a goal up because they were the better side for the first 20 minutes,” said TNS boss Craig Harrison.
“We weren’t good in that period and we had to tweak a few things. After that we controlled things and in the end it was a very professional job.”
Bala went 2-0 ahead at the Essity Stadium thanks to an own goal from Jake Phillips and a second from a George Newell strike on the hour mark. Then came the home fight back with two goals in eight minutes from George Maire and Florian Yonsian to set up the shoot-out.
It was 2-2 before the unfortunate Phillips had his attempt saved to give Bala an advantage and they remained perfect to win 4-2.
George Peers and Oli Lanceley both scored twice in Airbus UK Broughton’s 7-1 home win over Goytre, while cup holders Connah’s Quay Nomads had goals from Ben Nash and Ben Maher to thank for their 2-1 triumph at Trefelin. A player from each side, Connor Goldsworthy and Nash, were both shown a red card before Joe Clarke converted a penalty for Trefelin in added time.
“There wasn’t much between eh two teams on the day. The difference was probably the small details like the set-piece goal they scored,” said Trefelin boss Andy Hill.
“We saw ourselves as favourites and the application from the players was superb. I think they deserved more than they got out of the game.”