Trefelin BGC 0-4 Connah’s Quay: Insall brace guides Nomads to fifth round

Connah’s Quay Nomads produced a dominant performance to knock Cymru South side Trefelin BGC out of the Welsh Cup.

Jamie Insall scored the solitary goal of the first half, before he added another in the second half, with goals from Paulo Mendes and Declan Poole sandwiched in between Insall’s brace.

2021/22 JD Welsh Cup – Fixtures & Results

Connah’s Quay welcomed defender Danny Holmes back to the fold – his first appearance since picking up a knee injury against Alashkert in July.

The away side asserted their dominance in the opening minutes. A cross by Kris Owens was flicked goalward by Insall, but Bailey parried it wide. From the resulting corner, Horan’s header across goal reached Mendes, but it was deflected wide off Latham. This led to penalty appeals, as Connah’s Quay believed it came off Latham’s arm, but nothing was given. The ball reached Holmes at the second corner, who had a free shot right in front of the goal, but it was blasted over the bar.

The deadlock was broken after 17 minutes thanks to a moment of magic from Jamie Insall. Insall received the ball on the right, before sidestepping past Waters and firing it home from a tight angle.

Connah’s Quay showed no signs of slowing down after the opener. Byron Harrison jumped higher than his marker to head towards goal, but Bailey reacted well to parry it wide.

New arrival Paulo Mendes fired a powerful strike from just outside the box, but it was straight at Bailey. Seconds later, Bailey was again Trefelin’s saviour. Harrison easily dispossessed Joseph Jones, and Poole then cut inside, but Bailey parried the right-footed shot over the bar.

Bailey had one more save to make in stoppage time. Poole was unmarked in the box, but the heroic goalkeeper got a foot to it to stop Nomads from doubling their lead.

Trefelin’s first shot on goal came just minutes into the second half. Holmes was adjudged to have fouled Damon Thomas, which gave Hanbury an opportunity from a free kick. However, the strike was too tame to cause any problems for Oli Byrne.

Following a goal-line scramble, the away side scored their long-awaited second goal. Harrison’s header from a corner went towards a crowd of players, and Mendes got the final touch to get it over the line.

Trefelin continued to face an onslaught from the former cup champions, and this time it was captain Horan’s turn to threaten the goal. Horan launched himself higher than any Trefelin defender to meet a cross by Owens, but his header missed the target.

After a number of opportunities, Declan Poole finally got his goal, and it was the best goal of the game. Poole found space on the right wing, before cutting inside and firing a beautiful shot from the edge of the box into the top left corner.

Insall added his second of the game, and his fifth in two games, with 20 minutes left on the clock. Substitute Harrison Webster played a superb cross into the box, and Insall had acres of space to nod the ball home.

Insall had a great opportunity to complete his hat-trick in the final ten minutes. Webster’s pass into the box was deflected off a Trefelin defender, and the deflection was enough to stop Insall from being able to make a clean connection.

The home side nearly got a consolation goal in the dying minutes. The ball was played across goal by Thomas, but Harrington beat Hanbury to the ball, stopping the winger from scoring a tap-in.

Player of the Match

Keenan Bailey – Trefelin

After a shaky performance against Barry in midweek, the 20-year-old goalkeeper showed a lot of improvement, particularly in the first half. Whilst he did concede four, there’s not much he could have done to stop any of the goals, and had it not been for him, the away side could have scored another three or four goals just in the first half.

Line-ups:

Trefelin: Keenan Bailey, Ryan Bevan, Sean Hanbury, Callum Jones (Ben Thomas 42′), Darius Waters (Jordan Davies 70′), Joseph Jones, Jamie Latham (Ryan Griffiths 64′), Joe Clarke, Damon Thomas, Ceri Williams, Chris Jones

Unused substitutes: Chris Curtis, Mike Waters

Connah’s Quay: Oliver Byrne, John Disney, Ryan Harrington, George Horan (C), Paulo Mendes (Jamie Mullan 52′), Callum Morris, Byron Harrison (Craig Curran 70′), Jamie Insall, Declan Poole, Danny Holmes (Harrison Webster 67′), Kris Owens

Unused substitutes: Kai Calderbank-Park, Jordan Davies

Goals: Jamie Insall 18, 71, Paulo Mendes 53, Declan Poole 66′

Yellow cards: Danny Holmes 48′, George Horan 78′, Craig Curran 90+1′