Dinas Powys proceeded Round One of the Welsh Cup after defeating lower league Canton Liberal 3-0 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in normal time at Leckwith Stadium.
It was an even game for the majority, but it looked like Liberal had won it at the death after Chris Quick headed in for close range, but their lead didn’t last long after Ryan Garland equalised in the dying seconds of regulation time.
A cagey first half saw Liberal dominate possession, although they failed to find that killer ball. There was an early chance for Liberal a few minutes in, as they were awarded a free kick on the right-hand side, and what looked like a cross by Lane nearly curled into the top corner, but goalkeeper Birchall parried it out for a corner.
There was another chance shortly after for Spaniard Miguel Esono Ado, who took a shot from outside the box which would have been a spectacular goal had it not been parried by Birchall.
After Nathan White went off injured for Liberal, Dinas Powys got into the match more and had more possession. Some intricate passing from Dinas found Mike Davies unmarked in the box, but a weak effort from him was comfortable for Riella in the Liberal goal.
It was more of the same for the majority of the second half, with the main changes coming from Canton Liberal’s Miguel Esono Ado, although these were long-range shots that were comfortable for Birchall in the Dinas Powys goal to deal with.
The last half-hour saw both sides pick up a few yellow cards, with a lot of fouls creeping in. Gbadegesin looked very dangerous on the left for Liberal, and drew a few fouls from Murray and Garland.
The breakthrough finally came five minutes from the end. Quick, who had been marked out as one to watch before the game but was quiet for the majority, produced the goods after breaking clear of the Dinas Powys defence. The striker chipped it over Birchall but still had work to do, as a Dinas defender got back to cover but Quick beat him to the header, sparking jubilant scenes from the Liberal faithful.
However, there was more drama to come. Dinas Powys put a lot of pressure on the Liberal defence, and a goalmouth scramble was only half-cleared by the defenders. Garland powered it in from the edge of the box, and despite Liberal putting more pressure on in stoppage time, the match ended in a penalty shoot-out, which had seemed inevitable for a long time.
The first penalty by each side were almost identical, as the players aimed for the bottom left corner, but the respective goalkeepers got down to parry them away. Shields scored his penalty for Dinas Powys, then there was to be a moment that Esono Ada will not play back in his head.
Despite being a bright spark for Liberal, the Spaniard attempted a panenka which went well over the bar. After Liberal missed their final penalty, with Dinas Powys scoring both of theirs, it is Dinas who proceed to the first round of the Welsh Cup.
Canton Liberal: Cohen Riella, David Trace, Christopher Dye, William Laventure, David Allen, Ahmed Almansour, Miguel Edu Espono Ada, Richard Lane, Chris Quick, Nathan White (Aaron Longomo 25’, Curtis Griffin 81’), Ope Gbadegesin
Unused subs: Stephen Ward, Luke Davies, Dale Lewis
Goal: Christopher Quick 85’
Yellow cards: Christopher Dye 32’, William Laventure 64’, Miguel Edu Esono Ada 68’
Dinas Powys: Jordan Birchall, Nicholas Grist (Ryan Garland 72’), Gareth Emmanuel, Nicholas Hill, Luke Birnage, Lucas Murray, Michael Davies (Reuben Bryl 76’), James Marr (c), Callum Smith (Jack Harrold 63’), Samuel Roberts, Jack Shields
Unused subs: Tharwan Rahman, Benjamin Stewart
Goal: Ryan Garland 89’
Yellow Cards: James Marr 72’, Lucas Murray 76’, Ryan Garland 78’, Jordan Birchall 85’
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