Llysfaen 2-1 Gwalchmai: Llysfaen through to next round
Llysfaen progressed to the next round of the Welsh Cup after coming from behind to defeat Gwalchmai 2-1 at the Four Crosses Arena.
A frantic first half of action saw goals from Connor Morris and Alec Jones cancel out Nathan Sinnott’s opener.
Early on in the match, a hard challenge in the middle of the park from Sean Sheridan saw him whistled for the free-kick to some protest.
Llysfaen won a throw in a dangerous area that found its way to Sheridan, his low shot though was easily dealt with by Emyr Jones.
The visitors had their best chance with Sam Jones hitting a low shot from just outside the box which was almost spilled by Joseph Wright-Evans in the Llysfaen goal.
It was Gwalchmai who got the breakthrough! A low drive from Cameron Jones hit James Hall who played a ball across goal to the sliding Nathan Sinnott.
But then there was a disaster for Emyr Jones and Gwalchmai as the hosts levelled instantly. Jones fails to deal with a back pass and plays in Connor Morris for the easiest goal he would have scored in his career.
Then Llysfaen took the lead on the stroke of half-time with Reynolds floats in a corner which was met by the darting run of Alec Jones who rose highest to give the hosts the advantage.
In an attempt to go further in front, Reynolds found himself in on goal from a misjudged interception from a visiting defender, he had two chances at beating the keeper before the ball finally lands on Collier’s head but he couldn’t hit the target.
The play resumed with Sam Jones for Gwalchmai being the liveliest player in the second half. His fast feet and close control saw him get past a number of defenders however there were no chances to speak of in the opening 15 mins.
Llysfaen found space to run into through Sheridan before launching a dangerous shot from a narrow angle that hit the side netting.
Another chance for Llysfaen fell to Sheridan and his deflected effort was saved.
Their dominance saw them put the ball in the net again with Llysfaen thinking that they had a third from Jon Jones’ header, but the linesman judged Morris to be offside in the build-up.
There was also another ruled-out goal but for Gwalchmai this time! Substitute Paul Jones was put through on goal but broke the line too early and the flag was raised as he finishes past Wright-Evans.
Late on, a spectacular goal was scored by the home side! A long shot from close to the halfway line loops over Emyr Jones in the Gwalchmai goal but fortunately for him it landed the wrong side of the post.
After closing down any late Gwalchmai pressure Llysfaen get their name in the hat with a deserved win after showing their bounceback ability.
Llysfaen manager Emlyn Robert-Jones said: “I am absolutely over the moon we have progressed into the next round of the cup.
“We fully deserved the win today, we really did. It wasn’t about the performance, it was about getting the job done and we certainly did that.”
