Welsh Cup, 2nd qualifying round.

A place in the first round of the Welsh Cup was at stake as Rhostyllen FC hosted Premier Division Brymbo FC in the last qualifying round.
After a night of rain, the sun was shining and the pitch was looking well as the game kicked off.
It was the visitors who started the better of the two teams, looking to be direct and put The Village defence under pressure, after 3 minutes Darren Hignett lost his footing but made a quick recovery to play the ball out to James Jones on the left, he then played an early diagonal ball to Steven Jones, whose lay off couldn’t find Olie Allman, making a good early run.
With ten minutes gone Brymbo continued to bombard the Rhostyllen defence with long balls and showing good strength and link up play to cause the home side some early scares.
In the 12th minute, Rhostyllen managed to get out of their half and a counter down the right saw Ashley Ryan beat his man and put in an early cross, which turned into a shot, which just went over the bar.
Just before the twenty minute mark Rhostyllen continued to make life hard for themselves by giving a third free kick away in the space of five minutes, once again the ball was lofted into The Village box but once again it was dealt with by the home team.
On the 24th minute a Rhostyllen free kick from 25 yards was hit by Steven Jones, it forced a decent save from the Brymbo keeper who managed to tip it over the bar. From the resulting corner, James Jones swung in a decent ball to the back post, centre half Darren Hignett met the cross but his header went just wide.
Two minutes later and Brymbo had another free kick, this time in a dangerous position, centre of the goal roughly 25 yards out. A good effort saw keeper Joshua Jones make an excellent save to his left, his defence was slow to react to the follow up which was sent over the bar from 8 yards out, a great chance for the visitors to take the lead.
Three minutes after the half hour mark a long ball from the Rhostyllen defence saw James Jones through on goal, the Brymbo keeper was quick off his line and just got to the ball before the winger to take the pressure off his side. From his quick throw Brymbo countered down the left, the Brymbo winger played a ball over the top, the home side called for offside which wasn’t given. The Steelman’s striker was one on one with plenty of time. He took his shot early and once again Joshua Jones made an excellent save. The ball fell to another Brymbo player who was in an offside positon, he shot first time and Jones was equal to that shot as well. A good double save from the stopper who wouldn’t have known the second shot wouldn’t have counted as the ref had blown for the offside as the ball was struck.
Four minutes before half time Rhostyllen had their best chance of the half, Kevin Roberts held up the ball well before playing it out to James Jones on the left wing, he advanced down the wing before firing in a low cross which found Olie Alman whose first time shot was narrowly wide.
At half time it was Brymbo who would have been the happier of the two sides although they would be frustrated at the chances they missed, but that was mostly down to some good saves from Jones in the Rhostyllen goal.
The second half started and Brymbo pushed on right away, a long ball from their defence was well won by James Selley in the air but the second ball went unchallenged and a shot from 35 yards fizzed wide.
Two minutes later a quick free kick from Darren Hignett in his own half found Ash Ryan with a great ball, Ryan showed decent pace to push down the right wing, he looked up and played a decent ball across the box aiming for James Jones at the back, but once again the Brymbo keeper was quick to claim the ball.
With 50 minutes gone a Brymbo goal kick was lofted to their left winger who looked to foul Village right back Dean Jones when jumping, with the full back knocked to the floor the winger ran down the line and as he was about to put a cross in Jones came out of nowhere to make a challenge to prevent the cross.
Three minutes later and Dean Jones was called in to action again, a break down the Brymbo right saw Jamie Richards put in a great tackle but the ball bounced back to the winger who put in a deep cross. Dean Jones at the near post had no option but to put the ball over his own bar to concede the corner. The corner was sent in and a free header in the middle of the box went wide, another good chance for the visitors.
Just after the hour mark Rhostyllen had a free kick 30 yards out and Darren Hignett struck it at the wall with real venom, James Jones picked up the loose ball and put it in to the box, the ball found Steven Jones whose header rattled the post and was cleared.
Although Rhostyllen were playing the better football in the second half Brymbo continued to have chances, after 65 minutes a free kick was again saved by Joshua Jones, the ball was cleared and put back in the box on another two occasions and Jones having to make another two saves.
A minute later Brymbo beat the offside trap and striker Matty Thomas was through on goal, he had the option to square it but took the shot on himself and his tame effort missed the target.
With twelve minutes to go Gav Maloney played a decent curling pass into the path of Olie Allman on the right hand side, Allman got down the wing and put in a cross, James Jones challenged and the ball looped high into the air from a defensive header, Steven Jones watched the ball come down which seemed to take minutes, the Rhostyllen captain hit the ball first time on the volley which just went wide.
With 10 minutes to go Rhostyllen looked the fitter team and were giving Brymbo the run around, substitute Lewis Clamp broke down the right and his cross found Allman in the middle, the striker did well to get his shot off but it was saved by the keeper.
With Brymbo now under constant pressure Rhostyllen started to commit more men forward in search of a winner, this nearly back fired as Brymbo broke down the left, with tired legs all over the pitch Village winger James Jones showed great athleticism to sprint 50 yards back towards his goal to make a last ditch tackle.
With normal time running out for both teams it was looking increasingly likely that one goal would win the game, Lewis Clamp won a good flick on with 5 minutes remaining, the ball sat up nicely for Darren Hignett whose shot was a yard wide.
In the last minute a Rhostyllen free kick was sent into the box by James Jones, the Brymbo keeper came out and punched the ball out for a throw, Jones then launched in a long throw into the box and after a scramble it was eventually cleared. After 90 minutes of play neither team could get the crucial first goal so it was on to extra time for another 30 minutes!
After a physical 90 minutes both teams started extra time and Rhostyllen carried on from where they finished the second half of normal time. Dean Jones down the right won a 50-50 tackle and advanced with the ball, he give it to Lewis Clamp whose back post cross just went wide of the post.
Five minutes into extra time Hignett played the ball out to Clamp on the right, he again beat his man then played in Allman whose shot went wide.
Brymbo’s only chance of the 1st period of extra time came from a flick on which saw Thomas up top toe poke a shot which needed a tidy save from Jones in goal.
Just before the interval, James Jones on the left danced past his man and put in a waist high cross into the box, Richard Smith stretched to get on the end of it and could only get enough on it to send it over the bar.
In the second half of extra time Rhostyllen dominated the game, with chance after chance, but it now started to look like a penalty shootout might be needed to separate these teams.
Five minutes into the second half a Rhostyllen long throw was launched into the box, Rob Gibson at the front post flicked the ball on and it found Lewis Clamp, his header forced a decent save but the keeper was unable to hold onto the ball but no one was following up so it remained 0-0.
With seven minutes left, Clamp on the right beat his man with a clever dummy, he once again put in a good low cross but this time it was cleared by the defence.
With only 20 seconds left on the clock and with the thought of penalties starting to creep into everyone’s minds Rhostyllen had a throw on their right, it was once again launched in aiming for Gibson, it didn’t reach the Rhostyllen man but it was flicked on by a Brymbo defender, the ball bobbled into the path of Olie Allman whose shot struck the post, it was then Kev Roberts who reacted quickest to the rebound and a brave diving header saw the ball finally hit the back of the net! The Rhostyllen players and bench erupted as the deadlock was finally broken. When the game restarted there was time for one last hoof into the Rhostyllen box which man of the match Joshua Jones claimed at the second time of asking. With his long kick up field the ref blew the whistle to send Rhostyllen into the first round of the Welsh Cup.