NWCFA Junior Cup: Two games survive the storm
The North Wales Coast Football Association Junior Cup was riddled with postponed fixtures this weekend as Storm Callum hit.
Only two fixtures survived the wind and rain but they were nevertheless entertaining as two sides from Anglesey progressed to the second round of the Cup.
Bro Goronwy 4-2 Cefni
Anglesey League side Cefni put up a brave fight against Bro despite having found themselves 3-0 down at one stage of the match.
The away side began the game on the front foot but squandered some good chances and that allowed Jac Thomas to give Bro the lead on eight minutes. A free kick found the young striker unmarked at the back post and he made no mistake to nod the ball home.
Some more pressure applied by the home side saw it become a case of deja vu just after the half hour mark when Thomas again rose the highest to head home and double Bro’s advantage. A goal from Callum Thomas made it 3-0 just before half time and it looked as though there was no way back for Cefni in this one.
Credit to them though, they never gave up. Taylor Jones had the chance to well and truly kill the tie off for Bro early on in the second half but he blew his shot over the bar. The visitors then made them pay for that mistake as Paul Jones pulled one back via a header.
What looked like being a straightforward win for Lee Potter’s side was quickly becoming a difficult task and things went from bad to worse when midfielder Ben Wright pulled another goal back for the spirited Cefni side with a fine volley.
Bro had to really ride the storm to eventually see out the win. Their progression to the next round was confirmed when Ross Mark scored in injury time to make it 4-2. Bro Goronwy will now host St. Asaph Reserves in the next round of the Cup.
Menai Bridge Tigers 6-2 Valley
Dean Redmond was the Man of the Match for Sean Brett’s side in this one as he bagged four goals to see the Tigers through to the next round.
A dominant display from the Gwynedd League leaders at Bangor City’s 3G pitch saw them sweep Valley aside in this fixture played in the pouring rain.
Redmond pounced first for Bridge after just three minutes as Callum Graves played him in. He then added a second on 35 minutes to put his side in control of the game heading into half time.
The second half proved to be even better for Bridge as they fired in four more goals. Kevin Roberts bagged a stunning half volley early on before Valley pulled a goal back via a free kick which took a wicked deflection and wrong-footed Tigers goalkeeper David Clarke.
Substitute Callum Davidson made an instant impact when he came onto the field, rifling a shot into the bottom corner of the net moments after stepping onto the pitch. Three minutes later, Redmond completed his hat-trick after Sion Hogan had worked well to create a chance for him.
Redmond topped-off his day to remember with a superb fourth goal, cutting inside the defence before smashing home an unstoppable strike from the edge of the box. Valley did score another consolation goal five minutes from time but it was day to forget overall for Dan Jones’ side.
Menai Bridge Tiger will now travel to Denbigh Development in the second round, where they will hope to reproduce their performance here to give themselves a good chance of progressing once more.
The other NWCFA Junior Cup first round fixtures have been re-arranged as follows:
Llandegfan v Llandudno Athletic (Saturday, October 20)
Llangoed v Gwalchmai (Saturday, October 20)
Old Colwyn v Cerrigydrudion (Saturday, October 20)
Penrhyn Bay Dragons v Arriva Bangor (Saturday, October 20)
Waunfawr v Rhos United (Saturday, October 20)
Nefyn United (holders) v Llandudno Amateurs (Saturday, October 27)
FEATURED IMAGE: Bro Goronwy FC
