Croeserw Athletic put their name in the hat for the 2^nd round of the Open Cup after a disappointing 4-1 win against lowly Cefn Cribbwr 3rds.

First Half Report

Croeserw Athletic this week lined up with a changed team from the team who played against Broadlands 2 weeks ago, with Team Captain Nicky Johnson & Simon Gibbs unavailable along with Ashley Bamford.

Geraint Ferguson found himself in between the sticks for the 5^th time in a row this season, with Liam Reynolds continuing at Sweeper and Michael Coates got his second start of the season partnering todays captain Kyle Bowen at Center Half.

Josh Thomas picked up his first start of the season at center midfield with Dewi Hopkins, while Christopher Walton also got his first start at left midfield. Michael Williams continued his role at Right Midfield with Nicky Llewellyn going in the free role position. Jared Lee & Nigel Williams were the chosen strikers.

Croeserw Athletic started bright, and managed to get the ball in the net within the first 3 minutes in the game only for it to be disallowed for offside. The game started to calm and Croeserw Athletic failed to find their stride with Cefn Cribbwr bringing them down to their level.

A few loose cannon tackles saw the referee be very whistle friendly, stopping the game from flowing in its usual manner. Croeserw could not get the game going but managed to go 1-0 up after Josh Thomas fed Nicky Llewellyn through on goal. Nicky easily found the net and managed his 4^th goal of the season.

Athletic soon got into their stride, making the Cefn keeper work for his money. Nigel Williams was caught offside 3 times by the referee, before a 2^nd goal came for Croeserw, once again for the on form Nicky Llewellyn. 2-0 Croeserw Athletic with 55 minutes still to go.

Cefn Cribbwr started to pressure Athletic and found a rare goal, a stunning strike from the Cefn Cribbwr went straight into the top right hand corner, with Geraint Ferguson having no chance of reaching it.

Croeserw Athletic saw the half out so they could regroup at half time, 2-1 Croeserw Athletic were leading at the break.

Second Half Report

The second half saw Croeserw Athletic get pretty much 80% of possession without showing why they are in the Premier League. Croeserw Athletic failed to push the right buttons but managed to contain what was a poor Cefn Cribbwr side.

Athletic managed to get a 3^rd goal which came from a well worked play from Josh Thomas once again. A cross into the box managed to find Michael Williams who stuck it away calmly to get his first goal of the season. 2 assists for young Josh Thomas in only his 2^nd start in Senior Football.

Croeserw Athletic once again in the driving seat with no pressure coming towards Kyle Bowen or Michael Coates at the back. Dewi Hopkins was doing well controlling the game in the middle of the park and sliding the ball through to the stickers but, Nigel Williams once again finding himself in an offside position.

With not much happening in the 2^nd half, Manager Jamie Williams brought on Gareth Rees for Christopher Walton & Gwyn Thomas for Nigel Williams.

Croeserw soon found the net once again, after Michael Williams was brought down outside the box, but the referee awarding a penalty. Michael Williams turned the pace on down the right hand side skipping past the left back, with a dangerous tackle from the center half.

Kyle Bowen picked up the ball and found the bottom left hand corner for his first goal of the season. Croeserw Athletic 4-1 up at this point with only a few minutes to go.

The game ended on a sour note with the teams getting in a scuffle together after a late tackle on man of the moment Josh Thomas by the center half. The referee soon split it up and managed to control the situation well.

Final Score: Cefn Cribbwr 1-4 Croeserw Athletic

Man Of The Match: Josh Thomas