FAW Cup roundup: Second Round

The Adran Leagues took a backseat this weekend, as attention turned to the second round of the FAW Cup.

Along with teams from the top two divisions, we had teams from lower down the footballing pyramid joining in, and some of them certainly made an impact.

One side who knocked out higher ranked opposition this weekend were Cardiff Wanderers who won on penalties against Adran South side Caldicot Town. Caldicot made a good start to the game, finding themselves 2-0 up within 30 minutes, with a penalty from Ashleigh Harris and a strike from Lucy McDonough. The game was in danger of running away from the Wanderers, but a goal from Jade Croft before the break gave them confidence.

And they took that confidence into the start of the second half, finding themselves ahead five minutes into the half. Goals from Anna Stevenson and Llywela Edwards putting the Cardiff team in front. But Caldicot fought their way back with an equalising goal from Rianne Jones. Neither side could find a winner and so it went to penalties, with the Wanderers prevailing 3-2, and securing their place in the third round.

Another side who dumped out an Adran South side were Pencoed Athletic who defeated Pontardawe Town 3-1. Pencoed got all their work done in the first half, as they went into the break 3-0 up. Two goals from Grace Phillips and one from Amber Thomas had Pencoed in dreamland.

Pontardawe did get one consolation goal in the second half through Paige Crosby, but it was too little too late, and Pencoed went into the hat for the next round.

The holders Cardiff City began their defence of the title with a 5-0 victory over Cascade YC. It was a much-changed side from the Bluebirds, but they got the job done. Danielle Green scored one and assisted Meg Saunders as they went into half-time 2-0 ahead. And they continued their dominance in the second half as Eliza Collie scored two and Seren Watkins got one to seal the win. A shoutout to City’s Michaela Major who had 4 assists in this game!

We had two sides score 16 goals each in this round. Swansea City and Briton Ferry trounced Coedffranc and Merthyr Town respectively. From a Swans perspective, the standout performer was Nia Rees. Coming on as a sub in the twelfth minute, she scored five and assisted four as the Swans met expectations in a dominant win. There was also a five-goal scorer for Briton Ferry in Mollie Jones, and I’m sure the Ferry might surprise a few teams in this season’s competition.

There was also delight for Abergavenny Town, as they clinched their first victory of the season with a 3-1 win over Swansea University. Within twelve minutes the Pennies were two goals in front, with Gracie Grosvenor and Alana Murphy finding the net.

The university side did get one back in the 20^th minute through Katie Horsburgh and Abergavenny fans must’ve been fearing the worse. But player of the match Murphy found their third 14 minutes from time to certainly put a smile on faces down at the Pen-y-Pound Stadium.

FAW Cup second round

Carmarthen Town 2-1 Tonyrefail Welfare

TNS 12-0 Airbus

Y Felinheli 1-5 Wrexham

Aberystwyth Town P-P CPD Pwllehli

Amlwch Town 0-7 Llandudno

Y Rhyl 1-0 NFA FC

Connah’s Quay Nomads 6-2 Llanfair United

Barry Town United 0-5 Pontypridd United

Briton Ferry 16-0 Merthyr Town

Caerphilly Castle 0-9 Cardiff Met

Swansea City 16-0 Coedffranc

Cardiff Wanderers 3-3 Caldicot Town (Cardiff Wanderers win 3-2 on pens)

Aberdare Town 0-11 Llanelli Town

Cardiff City 5-0 Cascade YC

Abergavenny Town 3-1 Swansea University

Pencoed Athletic 3-1 Pontardawe Town