with the Yellow Dragon
Wales� oldest cup competition hots up today, as the last sixteen are whittled down to a final eight in time for next month�s fifth round.
Unlike last season, where all eight quarter-finalists came from the League of Wales, this season is sure to feature some �minnows� from the feeder leagues below. Two of the eight matches only include clubs from below the League of Wales, with one of those games being between two sides at the third level of the Welsh pyramid!
There are three all-League of Wales ties this afternoon, with the other three matches pitting League of Wales opposition against CC Sports Division One clubs, and all three matches are potential upsets.
To begin with the matches between League of Wales sides, our game here at Jenner Park is obviously the first, with last season�s finalists, Connah�s Quay, having battled past a tough third round tie with Newtown to visit us today. They drew 2-2 at the Deeside Stadium, before winning 1-0 in the replay. Of course, as no-one here today should need reminding, Connah�s Quay met us in the Welsh Cup semi-final last season.
The match between Carmarthen Town and Caernarfon Town is also a repeat of a tie from the fourth round of last season. On that occasion, the game was at Caernarfon�s Oval, where the home club won 2-1. The two recently met at Richmond Park in Carmarthen in the League of Wales and fought out a 0-0 draw on a sand covered pitch. Both clubs have yet to meet LoW opposition in the Welsh Cup this year, and have also had the luxury of home draws against some of the minor league clubs. In the second round, Carmarthen entertained CC Sports Division Two side, Hoover Sports of Merthyr, and beat them 2-1, while Caernarfon played Fitlock Welsh Alliance side, Llangefni, comfortably winning 3-0. Carmarthen also made hard work of their third round tie, being drawn against CC Sports Division Three club, Chepstow. At Richmond Park, the two clubs drew 2-2, and it wasn�t until the last fifteen minutes that Carmarthen stamped their authority on the replay, eventually running out 5-2 winners. Caernarfon made it far easier for themselves, despite the nominally more difficult opposition of Flexsys Cefn Druids, who lead the Cymru Alliance. The Canaries romped to a 5-1 away victory at Plaskynaston Lane to set up today�s match, and with both sides in good form it could be a cracker.
Total Network Solutions and Rhayader Town also met in last year�s Welsh Cup, although at the comparatively early stage of the second round. On that occasion, the first game ended at 2-2, the replay at 3-3, before the penalties went T.N.S� way at 5-4. In the second round this year, T.N.S also went to penalties in defeating Aberystwyth Town after two 2-2 draws, while in the last round, they comfortably defeated Afan Lido 2-0 at home. Rhayader beat former LoW side, Welshpool Town, 3-1 in the second round, before springing the surprise of the third round with a comfortable 3-0 home victory over Welsh Cup holders, Bangor City. That has set them up for a mid-Wales derby with the Llansantffraid side, and with this being Rhayader best performance in the Welsh Cup for some time, they�ll be looking to keep the momentum going.
The most potential for an upset must come from Stebonheath Park, where continually improving CC Sports Division One side, Llanelli, entertain a Cwmbran side who have won once in two months. If Llanelli maintain their current form then they will be promoted back to the League of Wales, and Cwmbran will be counting no chickens as they travel West today. They do have good memories of Stebo, though, as it is the ground on which they won their League of Wales championship in 1993, and on which they beat Aberystwyth to clinch a place in the 1997 Welsh Cup final, and subsequently Europe. Llanelli reached the fourth round after several close matches with fellow CC Sports League sides. In the second round, they traveled to Aberaman, and won 3-2, while round three pitted them against Tredegar Town, the West Walians winning through 2-1. Cwmbran also met CC Sports opposition in the form of Goytre United, winning 2-0, before facing the more difficult proposition of an away game at Caersws. The Crows scraped past the Bkuebirds 4-3 at the Recreation Ground. A win today would revive Cwmbran�s flagging season, but Llanelli may well provide a shock.
A real shock, though, would be to see high-flying Inter Cabletel being knocked out by CC Sports side, Pontardawe Town. The match is at the Athletic Stadium, and while the visitors have worked hard to move up the system in recent years, it is currently difficult to see Inter being beaten by a mid-table side in the division below them. Inter had a bye to the third round, where a 76th minute goal from Simon Dyer was sufficient to give them a 1-0 win over Holywell Town. Pontardawe, meanwhile, worked their way from the first round. In the second round, they met the students from the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff (UWIC), with the two clubs drawing 1-1 at the students� Cyncoed home. In the return in Pontardawe, the home side had to wait until injury time to secure their place in the third round, eventually winning 4-3. The next round was easier, though, with a 2-1 away win at Treowen Stars. Further progress for the Swansea Valley side looks unlikely, though.
The final match between the League of Wales and the CC Sports Division One is the only Welsh Cup match to be played in North Wales this weekend. Conwy United entertain BP Llandarcy in a repeat of a quarter-final tie in 1997. Back then, Conwy traveled South and won 2-0 to face Barry in the semi-final. This time, it�s BP who are traveling, making a second successive trip to the North. In the second round, Conwy had to fight hard to beat Cymru Alliance champions, Rhydymwyn, drawing the away game 2-2, before winning 2-1 in the return. The third round also saw them drawn away to Cymru Alliance opposition, beating Holyhead Hotspurs 3-1. Meanwhile, BP disposed of Gwynfi United 2-0 in the second round, and traveled to British Aerospace near Wrexham for a 2-2 draw in the third round. In the replay, back in South Wales, the Oilmen won 3-2. Unless something goes drastically wrong here, though, Conwy should go through to the quarter-finals.
And so we�re left with the matches with no League of Wales sides. One of them is the game at Port Talbot, where the CC Sports side entertain former LoW club, and now Cymru Alliance side, Flint Town United. Port Talbot impressively thrashed fellow CC Sports side, Grange Quins, 7-0 in the second round, but took a replay to dispose of Porth Tywyn Suburbs, beating them 2-1 after a 1-1 away draw. Flint, meanwhile, also dealt out a hammering in the second round, beating Castell Alun Colts 6-2 at Cae-y-Castell. However, they also had far more difficult opposition in the third round, being drawn away to League of Wales side and local rivals, Rhyl. At Belle Vue, the two clubs drew 2-2, and then, back at Cae-y-Castell it ended 1-1. The match went to penalties, and Flint won 5-4, becoming the first feeder league club so far this season to knock out a League of Wales side. With Port Talbot going through a bad period, and Flint on form, the away side are favourites to go home happy.
Even more obscurely, though, Ammanford are entertaining Colwyn Bay YMCA today. Both clubs are two division below the League of Wales, with Ammanford competing in the Second Division of the CC Sports League, and Colwyn Bay YMCA playing in the Fitlock Alliance in North Wales. Ammanford played a side from a higher level in the second round, knocking out AFC Rhondda on penalties after drawing at the Porth club�s ground. They were then lucky enough to be drawn against a �blank�, awarded due to the expulsion of Ebbw Vale from the competition, and that has seen them safely through to the fourth round. Colwyn Bay YMCA, meanwhile, have been drawn away from home on three consecutive occasions. In the second round, they were away at Ruthin Town, where they won 1-0, while in the third round, they traveled to Spar Mid-Wales League side, Penryncoch, and came away with a 4-2 victory. Will Ammanford�s lucky nature hold true, or can the YMCA go on a successful raiding mission even further south than last time? It could be close to call.
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Barry Town Matchday Magazine index
Welsh Cup results 1998-99
This page edited by the Yellow Dragon, 1999.
This article first published in the Barry Town Matchday Magazine, v Connah's Quay Nomads, Welsh Cup Round 4, 13.02.99
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