Llandudno avoided an upset as they battled from behind to defeat Llay Welfare at the Ring and progress to Round Two of the Welsh Cup.
A Shaun Cavanagh hatrick and a late Toby Jones strike was enough for Llandudno FC to come back and beat the Ardal Leagues outfit and progress to Round Two of the FAW Welsh Cup.
The Seasiders were matched all the way by their lower league opponents who shocked the Cymru North side by taking a 2-0 lead.
The match started with both teams having possession of the football and a feeling-out process as the game started fairly slow and even.
The battle of the captains was the real talking point for the first 20 minutes with Llay’s Johnny Taylor and Llandudno’s Marc Williams both displaying deeper roles and playing in midfield, trying to get the tackles in and get on the ball.
The first real opportunity of any note was on the 25th minute when Llandudno’s winger Max Moore did a nice turn on the edge of the corner of the box but fired an effort well wide.
The first booking of the match came in the 32nd minute when Llay captain Johnny Taylor committed a foul on Aron Hughes-Jones on the touchline.
It was minutes after this that Llay took the lead, The Welly had a corner after a Jack Mountford strike was turned around the post by Paul Whitfield. From the resulting corner, it was Luke Taylor who rose highest to send Llay Welfare into raptures with a lovely header into the far corner and that was the last of the action for the first half.
The 2nd half started in a frantic fashion with Llandudno having an offside goal ruled out correctly when Marc Williams was in an offside position to slot home following a save by Welfare’s Kyle Flower.
Within a minute though, it was two and what a goal it was. Jack Mountford picked the ball up around 25 yards from goal and sent a lovely curled effort over Whitfield in goal to send the locals into dreamland and the cup shock was on.
That goal seemed to spur Llandudno further on though and within two minutes Shaun Cavanagh reduced the deficit with a lovely strike in the bottom corner following good work down the right-hand side.
The game was a real game now and both teams were going from end to end and Aron Hughes-Jones hit a lovely effort just wide for The Seasiders, whilst George Finley was denied for the hosts by the legs of Whitfield.
However, just after the hour mark, it was that man Cavanagh who made it 2-2 with a low free-kick right in the bottom corner.
The following minutes ensured a frenzy, with lots of spicy tackles and verbals happening on the pitch as both teams were desperate to get the upper hand in the match.
The final 10 minutes approached when Toby Jones slammed a 25-yard effort for Llandudno off the crossbar which would have been a terrific strike had it been a few inches lower.
Llandudno did take the lead though with 83 minutes on the clock and it was Cavanagh who sparked the comeback with his hattrick. A great long pass saw the striker burst through and he took the ball past the advancing Flower and knock the ball into an empty net, much to the delight of the traveling Seasiders fans and management.
Llay Captain Johnny Taylor seen red with 5 minutes to go as he kicked the ball away following a throw-in decision. This nearly saw tempers flare as the Llay Welfare bench were furious with the Llandudno bench for what they thought was poor sportsmanship in assisting Taylor getting sent off.
As the game settled down, the comeback was complete in the 90th minute when Toby Jones, danced his way from the touchline and slammed a terrific effort past Flower from a difficult angle and secured Llandudno’s path into the next round.
Llay Welfare: Kyle Flower, Michael Wright, Jared Taylor, Luke Taylor, Jack Edwards, Lewis Bickerton-Cole, Jack Mountford, Ryan Goodhand (Kian Turton 71), George Finlay, Johnny Taylor (c).
Goals: Luke Taylor 36, Jack Mountford 50.
Yellow Cards: Johnny Taylor 32, Luke Taylor 76, Kian Turton 80.
Red Card: Johnny Taylor 86.
Llandudno FC: Paul Whitfield, Morgan Owen, Morgan Murray, James Smith, Shaun Cavanagh, Aron Hughes-Jones, Sion Williams, Daniel McIlvogue, Toby Jones, Max Moore, Marc Williams (c).
Goals: Shaun Cavanagh 52, 63, 83. Toby Jones 90.
Yellow Card: Shaun Cavanagh 83.
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