Aberystwyth Town manager Neville Powell says his side are “over the moon” to have secured their place in the next round of the JD Welsh Cup, following their 4-3 win over Welsh League Division One side Cwmamman United.
In a ding dong battle, the game was level at the interval, before Aber seured a 4-1 lead, but a spirited fightback from the Amman Valley outfit set up a tense end to the game, but the Welsh Premier League outfit held on.
A hat-trick from Ashley Ruane and a volley from Rio Ahmadi was enough to help the Seasiders advance to the next round, and Powell is delighted with the win.
“We’ve made hard work of it in the end, but we’re over the moon.”
“Main thing is that we’re in the next round. They’ve been doing really well in the league and you could see that in their performance, they’ve got some useful players.”
The wet and windy conditions meant that conditions at Grenig Park made life difficult for Powell’s men, but they adapted well to the playing surface, having spent most of the season laying on an artificial surface, to ensure they were in the hat for the next round.
But, despite their victory, Powell made sure to highlight the performance of the home side and insisted their league position is a true reflection of their quality.
“We acquitted ourselves well to the pitch. Game could have been over at half time, but as you say it’s never over in the Welsh Cup, even when you’re three goals ahead and they managed to crawl a couple goals back at the end. It was a nervy ending, but our main objective was to make sure we’re in the hat for the next round and the boys have done that.
The pitch was okay, it was heavy, but that was a real game of football that and I’m sure the 22 players who started the game, enjoyed it.
It was end to end, a proper battle. We wish them all the luck in the league, they’re up there for a reason, they’re a good side.”
However, the former Bangor City manager has his sights set on next weekend’s fixture against Caernarfon Town in the top flight.
With the end of Phase One approaching, the Mid Wales side are on the brink of securing their place in the top six, but the Cofis are hot on their tails. Powell knows the importance of securing a positive result next week.
“Putting this to bed now, and we know it’s a huge game next week against Caernarfon. If we can get a result there, it’ll put us in a really strong position so we’ll prepare properly for that.”
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