League action was on hold this weekend, as the Bute Energy Welsh Cup returned with their latest round of fixtures.
Unfortunately, two fixtures fell foul of the weather: Cwmbran Celtic v Swansea City and Pontardawe Town v Briton Ferry. Nonetheless, we had six games to enjoy.
Let’s take a look back at the week that was and see who made the quarter finals.
Bute Energy Welsh Cup Round of 16
We begin this week at The Rock. Over the last two years, there have been tremendous battles in the Adran North between Wrexham and Llandudno. Since the restructure, Wrexham had won three of the four games, while Dudno had only tasted victory once. Now with Wrexham in the top tier, meetings between the two are few and far between, but the cup presented an opportunity for both to reignite their rivalry. In what was a tense game, it was Wrexham who found a late goal to prevail 1-0.
Perhaps, unsurprisingly, the hosts started the contest well and created a host of chances. Ava Suckley saw a strike cleared off the line, while TJ Dickens was denied by Megan Robinson, who made a solid stop to keep the scores level. Despite being creative in the first half, Wrexham weren’t the team we’ve become accustomed to in the second half, and Llandudno began to build a response in the second half.
The Seasiders created their best opportunity of the contest just after the hour mark, as Stevie Donougher fired a wicked cross into the box, but Maddie Williams couldn’t quite get a good enough connection on the delivery. Back at the other end, Wrexham were pushing, desperate to avoid penalties. Lily Whitefoot, Rosie Hughes and Carra Jones all had sighters on goal, but nothing was coming.
Cue drama in the final moments of added time. A Dickens corner found the head of Katie Sharp, and the defender leapt like a salmon out of a sea of white shirts to power home. Wrexham players flew into the net to celebrate the winner with the defender. Heartbreak for Dudno, who came oh so close to an almighty upset. For Wrexham, there will be a huge sigh of relief for sure.
Welsh Cup holders Cardiff City had yet to lose in domestic competitions this season, and when you’re a team that is used to winning trophies, you want to win every one that you possibly can. Up against them on Sunday were Swansea University, who produced the shock of the last round by defeating Barry Town United on penalties. There was to be no repeat of an upset here, as City powered to a 5-0 win.
The Bluebirds created chance after chance early on, but Isobel Patten in the students’ goal did an incredibly good job of thwarting them. But the Adran South’s side’s luck would eventually run out ten minutes before the break. Captain Hannah Power found some space in the box and managed to guide Ffion Price’s delivery into the net. The lead was doubled a handful of minutes later, as Mackenzie Olden finished neatly into the bottom corner.
With a comfortable lead at the break, City stepped up their game in the second half to put the game beyond doubt. Rhianne Oakley was the next to get on the score sheet with a header before Hollie Smith marked her return from injury with a goal. Olden would finish the rout by scoring a fine effort from range. A good day at the office for the reigning champions.
After a more than solid start, things had begun to maybe turn the wrong way for Aberystwyth Town. Three defeats on the trot had seen Aber slide out of the top four. Their challengers in this round of the cup were Rhyl, who hadn’t won in any competition since September. That poor run would continue, as Aberystwyth got back to winning ways with an 8-0 win.
Aber made a quick start to the game and had three goals inside four first half minutes. Bethan Roberts scored her first of the season, before Amy Jenkins and Gwenllian Jones scored a minute after each other to put Aber in a commanding position. Jones would go onto secure her brace moments before the half time whistle blew.
Their goalscoring run continued minutes into the second half, as Lleucu Mathias scored her first of the afternoon. There was to be another for Mathias in the second half, along with strikes for Libby Isaac and Niamh Duggan. A good and much needed win for Aber, who will be hoping to carry momentum with them into their next league games.
A team who were on a worse run than Aberystwyth were Pontypridd United. Without a win or a point to their name in the Adran Premier, they had found a bit of solace in the previous round of the cup. Making the trip to the USW Sports Park were Aberaman. Sitting in mid-table in the fourth tier, Aberaman were the lowest ranked team still left in the competition. Despite a brave showing, Aberaman proved no match for Ponty, who dispatched them 17-0.
Ponty found themselves five up at the break. The stars of the show were undoubtedly Efa Preece Jones and Gracie Grosvenor. Both scored two in the first half, and along with a goal for Ffion Simmonds, Ponty were in a fantastic position. In the second half, Grosvenor scored another two to take her tally to four, while Preece Jones scored four more, as she recorded six for the afternoon.
There were also two for Sophie Topper, along with a goal each for Shannon Hindmarsh, Jasmine Turner, Ellie Gunney and Nicole Fenton, as they sailed through to the quarter finals. Certainly, no shame in defeat for Aberaman, who should be very proud of reaching this stage of the competition. For Ponty, they will be looking to take something from this game into their Adran Premier fixtures.
Another team not part of the Adran Leagues system to have made it to this stage of the Welsh Cup were Penybont. Having won every game in every competition so far this season, they were aiming to make it through to their first Welsh Cup quarter final. Cascade were the team to make the trip to the SDM Glass Stadium, and there was to be no fairytale for Bont, as Cascade came away with a 6-0 win.
Penybont did an excellent job of stifling Cascade throughout the first half, but their barricades were breached ten minutes before the break, as Mia Kemp put the visitors ahead. Sophie Whittle scored in the dying embers of the first half, and that crucial second goal seemed to be huge.
However, once again, the Penybont defence stood strong and restricted the Adran South powerhouses for large swathes of the second period, but in the final quarter of an hour, Bont’s legs seemed to have run out. Amelia Mills scored the first, before Ellis Lunn scored a hat-trick to put the game beyond doubt. A good showing from Penybont, but Cascade proved to just be too much.
The final stop on this whistlestop tour is Park Hall. TNS had been yo-yoing in form recently, but a comeback win against Aberystwyth last week seemed to kickstart their season once again. Opponents in the round of 16 were Y Felinheli, who had only played two games in the last month. Perhaps a lack of game time proved to be the difference on Sunday, as TNS recorded a 4-0 win.
After two early disallowed goals, the Saints recorded their first legitimate goal midway through the first half. Catrin Beech in the Felin net could only palm away a cross straight to the feet of Danielle Staley, who executed a simple finish into the bottom corner. Emily Ridge would be the next to score, as she converted a rebound.
The scoring would be completed in the final five minutes of the first half. Georgia Griffiths dispatched a scintillating free kick into the top corner, before Helen Evans headed home from a Caitlin Chapman corner.
A clean sheet in the second half will please Felinheli, but it wasn’t to be for them on the day, as TNS march into the next phase of the competition.
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