Heartbreak For Mold In Welsh Cup

With the start of the season now firmly behind them, the first team are really beginning to gel and put in some impressive performances. It was on the back of recent good results that they welcomed the consistent Guilsfield F.C. in Round 2 of the Welsh Cup. With a couple of players missing through being cup tied, Neil and Mike called upon the services of Nathan Munro, Andrew Shaw and Lewis Pringle as cover on the bench.

The home side got off to the worst possible start with only three minutes on the clock when a Guilsfield attack saw the ball reach Adam Jenkins at the back post and he had just enough time to control the ball and dummy Mold's Mike Jones into committing to a dive and then flicking the ball into the goal. Mold got straight back at Guilsfield from the restart and were unlucky not to equalise through Andreas Economedies but his shot went just wide and came back off the stanchion. Two minutes later a deep cross found captain Rhys Nash at the back post and he headed goalward but Guils keeper Lee Andrew managed to stretch and gather the ball. Guilsfield's Jake Cook was a lively attacking option for the visitors and his run to the byline saw him pull the ball back for Adam Jenkins to shoot but his effort easily cleared the cross bar. Just before the quarter hour mark, Mold's Lee Jones and Sam Richardson combined well for a cheeky one-two only to see Sam's shot inch narrowly wide. Three minutes later Mark Davies sent over a great cross for Stuart Rogers to meet but Mold's Cy Sullivan's challenge had done enough to force his header over the cross bar. On 21 minutes Mold were awarded a corner and after a brief round of 'pin ball' James Price made an attempt on goal through a crowded box but his weak shot was easily gathered. Guils then attacked Mold down the left and their stylish move should have doubled their advantage but Adam Jenkins headed Mark Davies' cross just wide. On the half hour Mold concede a silly free kick in their own half following a challenge from Cal Lavelle but Guilsfield's Jamie Henderson saw his header go wide following pressure from Rob Salisbury. This was quickly followed by a needless booking for Abe Dobson from referee John Spender. Mold went back on the attack and Andreas Economedies who was a constant threat down the flanks, fed Rhys Nash but his shot went wide. Mold were growing in confidence and dealing well with Guilsfield pressure but needed to get back in the game. It arrived on 40 minutes when Andreas and John Davies worked the ball to Lee Jones who launched the ball goalward from 20 yards much to the delight of his team mates and supporters. Honours even saw the arrival of the half time break and time for a warming cuppa.

The second half kicked off with both sides cancelling each other out and with no real efforts on goal. Rhys Nash earned himself a needless yellow card with a high challenge as he slid in to try and win the ball. On 55 minutes Louis Irvine turned in the Mold box but dragged his shot wide when he should really have done better. Mold punished that miss seconds later when Lee Jones, who was by now carrying an injury, found himself free on the edge of the box and his left foot shot was somehow fumbled by Lee Andrew and the ball rolled into the net. It was Lee's last action of the game and he was replaced by Matty Lewis. Five minutes later, Mold's John Davies' challenge on Louis Irvine was enough to force his effort over the cross bar. Mold's Mike Jones in the home goal then earned himself a yellow card for time wasting and Neil and Mike took the short break as an opportunity to bring on Lewis Pringle for Abe Dobson. In the 75th minute Jake Cook chased down a ball that looked as though it was going out and attacked the Mold defence, curling his shot goalward but wide of the post. With ten minutes to go Economedies delivered a corner kick into the danger area but Henderson cleared to the edge of the box. John Davies reacted quickest but his shot couldn't find the target. In the 84th minute Guilsfield brought Danny Barton into the fray in an effort to draw level. Mold were on top by now and they nearly went further ahead on 86 minutes after Andreas and Nash moved the ball to Salisbury but again his shot couldn't find the net and Lee Andrew gathered the ball. With the game entering stoppage time Rob Salisbury left the field to be replaced by Nathan Munro. It looked as though Mold were about to progress to the next round of the cup but in the 92 minute, a deep cross to the back post found substitute Barton who had been given too much space and his looping header dipped over Jones in the Mold goal and dropped into the net.

It was a real blow for the home side who were by now running on empty and facing extra time. Mold's Matty Lewis appeared initially to have sustained a nasty injury seven minutes into the first half of extra time but he resumed play following treatment. The visitors tails were up by now and they went ahead in the 99th minute when Andrew Ford's 25 yard effort beat Mike Jones. Ford went close again at the end of the first period of extra time, putting his shot wide. Substitute Danny Barton should have seen a red card on 107 minutes but his slap (albeit a gentle one) to John Davies' face only got him a yellow card and his team mate Louis Irvine quickly followed him into the book in the 109th minute. Jake Cook should have killed the game off after beating the offside trap but he put his effort wide with only Jones to beat in the Mold goal. Barton made sure that his side went through to the next round five minutes from the end, with a side foot tap in to send the home side out of the Welsh Cup.

The Mold team left nothing out on the pitch and had given a very good account of themselves against one of the Cymru Alliance's better sides. Concentration can now turn to improving their league position with a visit from Prestatyn this Friday (11th) in the rearranged fixture from earlier in the season when the game was abandoned following floodlight failure.