Clwb Cymric 3-4 Fairwater: Hocking late winner secures Round One berth for Water

Fairwater reached the first round of the Welsh Cup as they defeated Clwb Cymric in a seven-goal thriller at Ocean Park Arena.

Casey Warren’s side salvaged the victory after initially letting slip of a two-goal lead with eight minutes to go.

Ryan Hocking struck in the last minute of regulation time after Sam Kitchen had netted two second-half goals in addition to Conor Cusack’s opener.

Cymric captain Tomos Roberts had issued a response to Cusack’s early goal, scoring after the interval, and then had Osian Lloyd and Eilian Hughes on target but their efforts were in vain as they lost out to lower league opposition.

It is the first time in their history that the seventh-tier side has reached the stage of the competition and will now be amongst Cymru South sides in next week’s draw.

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Impressive in the previous round, James Fish caused early chances for Fairwater as his dangerous runs caused the defense of Cymric to be aware of his capabilities.

Moments later, Kitchen had a strike from a distance but could only watch as his shot sailed over the crossbar.

After two early warning signings, Rhys Jones tried to spark the Clwb into life and he saw his own shot go over the crossbar from outside the box.

Aidan Crimmins had a shot from just outside the box with Iwan Jones catching it as he nearly fumbled the ball out of his hands.

Fairwater then with the first meaningful opportunity took a shock lead. Conor Cusack picked up a loose ball and he lashed a shot from 30-yards-out that flew straight into the top right corner.

Andre Phillips then went close to doubling their tally as he went inches past the post with a shot.

Near the end of the half, a header from Phillips went just past the post following a smart delivery from Benjamin Matthews, but they would have to settle for a one-goal lead.

Moments after play restarted for the second half, Cymric were back level. Tomos Roberts rose highest and headed home from a corner kick for the hosts.

Roberts then nearly changed the complexion of the match as his second header was cleared off the line.

Ten minutes from Roberts’ equaliser, Fairwater were back in front. Sam Kitchen managed to slot in a goal from a corner after the loose ball came to him to strike it home.

Midway through the second half, there were appeals for a red card to be shown to Tomos Roberts. This was due to the player lashing out at Benjamin Mathews with both players receiving a yellow.

As the game entered the last fifteen minutes, Kitchen earned his second of the game. He showed great physical prowess to brush off his markers and head home.

A counter-attacking move brought the home side to within one. A loose free-kick was poorly delivered and Cymric went down the other end and scored with Osian Lloyd scoring a tap-in.

Moments after their second goal, they had their third as they levelled proceedings. Eilian Hughes scored with a header to bring his team back into the tie. 

Penalties were looming after Cymric’s fight-back but Fairwater had other ideas. 

An over-the-top ball found the feet of Hocking who rounded the onrushing Iwan Jones and tapped home into an empty net. 

A raft of substitutions would be made to wind down the clock with Craig Radford and Ryan Howells introduced.

The pair and their teammates did their job as they saw out the victory and secured another upset. 

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Clwb Cymric: Jones, James, Eckley, Clark (Lloyd, 69 ), Hughes, R Jones, Court ( David Jones, 69 ), Price, Withers, Goodfellow, Roberts (Herbert, 80)

Subs: Herbert, Lloyd, Cope, D Jones

Yellow Cards: Tomos Roberts (67), David Jones (78)

Goals: Roberts (47), Lloyd (80), Hughes (82)

Fairwater: A Fettah, Matthews (Howells, 89), Shepherd, Cusack, Noyes (C), Crimmins, Hocking, Phillips (J Fettah, 75), Fish (Radford, 89 ), Kitchen, Benson.

Subs: Howells , J Fettah, Webber, James, Radford

Yellow Cards: Cusack (55), Mathews (67), Crimmins (82), Kitchen (90)

Goals: Cusack (19), Kitchen (55, 73), Hocking (89)

(Featured Image: Will Cheshire)