The game began with The Colliers having the wealth of the posession, as Haci Ozlu produced the first effort of the afternoon in the fourth minute, but Saltney Town goalkeeper Oliver Smith made the save.

However, Gresford Athletic did find the breakthrough 20 minutes into the tie, with Jake Roberts placing his free-kick into the bottom corner to take the lead.

Then, in the 24th minute, James Smith added a second to the scoreline, slamming it home after some head tennis in the box.

Gresford Athletic were rampant and, in the 28th minute, were awarded a penalty. Jake Roberts saw The Bordermen's Smith parry his spot-kick away, but Toby Gallagher-Keenan reacted first to pick up the ball and find Roberts in the middle to bag his second and The Colliers' third goal of the game.

Charlie Mann tried his luck from range in the 37th minute, but his effort went wide, before Iwan Roberts stepped up in added time to hit the ball first-time on the half-volley to fire in the fourth.

Louis Holden almost made it five just before half-time, with his 48th-minute free-kick rattling the crossbar from 30 yards out.

HALF-TIME | Saltney Town 0-4 Gresford Athletic

It was almost the perfect start to the half for Gresford Athletic, as Jake Roberts fired the ball across the face of goal, looking for Haci Ozlu, but the latter was unable to slide it in.

Then, against the run of play, Saltney Town found their first goal of the game in the 51st minute through Jordan Hensel.

Toby Gallagher-Keenan drove forward to find Haci Ozlu, who produced some lovely skill to reach Jake Roberts, but his strike hit the woodwork in the 53rd minute.

Substitute Alex Buxton played a fantastic ball to Jake Roberts in the 60th minute, with the forward chesting it down to Dominic Deacon in the box to bag his first goal of the season, but his effort was saved by Saltney's Smith.

However, in the 64th minute, a mix-up at the back for Saltney Town saw Riley Hayden pass the ball into his own net to add the fifth goal for Gresford Athletic.

Jake Roberts continued to come agonisingly close to scoring a hat-trick, but his 69th-minute shot was parried away by Smith.

The Bordermen started to creep back into the game and put some pressure on The Colliers backline, hitting the crossbar in the 71st minute and then scoring their second goal through substitute Carl Pleavin in the 74th minute.

Despite the threat of a comeback, though, Dominic Deacon managed to find his first goal of the campaign in the 75th minute, as he tapped home following Jake Roberts' saved effort.

Haci Ozlu still targeted a goal of his own and curled it towards the net in the 83rd minute, but it went just over the crossbar.

Then, Carl Pleavin managed to bag a brace in the 84th minute, giving Saltney Town a third goal late on.

However, Ozlu did find his goal in the 87th minute, as Jake Roberts was goalscorer turned provider and played the ball across goal for The Colliers' number 7 to place it into the net, with help from the defender.

To end the game, substitute Tom Smith fired a good effort on goal, but it's met with another good save from Saltney Town's Oliver Smith in the 89th minute.

FULL-TIME | Saltney Town 3-7 Gresford Athletic

Saltney Town

Starting XI: Smith (GK), Hensel, L. Evans (Harrison - 62'), Spaven, Hayden, B. Evans (C) (Rylance - 66'), O'Brien (Brown - 66'), Hawkins, Harrington, Norbury (Thelwell - 66'), Dunseath (Pleavin - 62')

Goalscorers: Pleavin (x2), Hensel

Yellow Cards: Dunseath, Spaven, Thelwell

Subs Not Used: Walker (GK), Johnson

Gresford Athletic

Starting XI: Dutton (GK), J. Smith, Holden, Nicholas (Orton - 65'), Walters (Buxton - 58'), Griffiths (C) (T. Smith - 70'), I. Roberts, Mann, Gallagher-Keenan (Deacon - 58'), Ozlu, J. Roberts

Goalscorers: J. Roberts (x2), J. Smith, I. Roberts, Hayden (OG), Deacon, Ozlu

Yellow Cards: J. Smith

Match Officials

Referee: Richard Wright
Assistant Referees: Harvey Smallman, Jamie Monk