LLANDYRNOG UNITED 1
PWLLHELI 0
RUSS Pierce’s Llandyrnog United have sprung a surprise to book their spot in the last-eight of the Mawddach / Barritt Cup.
The Welsh Alliance Division Two promotion chasers edged out Division One title contenders Pwllheli in a hard-fought clash at Cae Nant.
Early exchanges where even, with all the football being played in the middle of the park.
Pwllheli tried to move the ball around and play neat football, but the villagers’ midfield trio of Evans, Cruz and Jones refused to allow them any space.
With the visitors starting to get frustrated, Llandyrnog stepped up a gear and began to take control.
On the half-hour mark, Si Brown found himself clear with only the keeper to beat but placed his shot wide of the post.
At the other end Pwllheli were restricted to long-range efforts and anything that landed in the box, Gaz Pope was equal to it.
Llandyrnog broke the deadlock a minute before the break.
Chris House powered home a header from a Danny Roberts corner, with the ball just crossing the line after hitting the post.
That gave the hosts a deserved half-time lead, but Llandyrnog were expecting Pwllheli to force the game in the second period.
However, the backline of Lloyd, Moorcroft and House were outstanding.
Gaz Pope was forced in to a smart stop down to his right 10 minutes into the half and a Pwllheli forward fired wide from the edge of the box.
The Gwynedd side were starting to run out of ideas and couldn’t create an opening, while at the other end Liam Jones had a glorious chance to kill the game off, but his header from a Brown cross failed to test the keeper.
The whole squad played their parts in a hard-fought game, but man of the match honours were divided between Tom Evans and Russ Moorcroft.
Llandyrnog will face Glan Conwy in the quarter-finals on February 18.