THERE was a nine-goal thriller as Corwen departed the Ardal Northern Cup at the second round stage at Carno.

In contrast to the sunny August Bank Holiday conditions on Corwen’s last visit to Carno, the first Saturday in December brought with it bitterly cold conditions with a strong wind blowing along the length of the pitch.

It didn’t take long for the deadlock to be broken and it was Corwen who were celebrating in the fourth minute.

Good work from Harry Pooler and Andrew Roberts set up Tom Williams and his header was too good for goalkeeper Jake Baker.

Corwen looked to double their advantage from a Scott Evans free kick, which went over the bar.

In the 22nd minute, another free kick from Evans found Ryan Billington, whose header was clawed away by Baker.

Less than two minutes later and Carno were right back in the tie.

Corwen failed to deal with a corner and Kieran Beaton's deflected strike went just beyond the reach of Corwen keeper Josh Williams.

Things got even worse for Corwen 10 minutes prior to the interval as another deflected effort - this time from Joe Morris - saw the hosts take the lead.

Corwen went close to levelling things up by half-time.

Scott Evans' strike smashed against the crossbar and Harry Pooler slotted the rebound home, but he had strayed into an offside position.

After a promising Corwen start to the second half, the home side extended their lead.

Andrew Roberts' effort appeared to be tipped over the bar by Baker, however the referee gave a goal kick instead.

This was launched forward and the ball eventually found its way to Jack Orbell, who slotted into the net.

It was 4-1 virtually straight from the restart as Josh Mathews found the bottom corner of the goal.

Corwen weren't about to throw in the towel just yet and they pulled one back on 56 minutes via Tom Williams.

However, the visitors were again left with a mountain to climb as Orbell bagged his second goal with a header to make it 5-2.

Corwen knew they had to score next if there was any hope of a fightback and two minutes later, Ryan Billington supplied the cross for Harry Pooler to head the ball in.

As the visitors continued to press, Tom Williams' shot was parried by Baker, who grabbed the rebound ahead of Andrew Roberts.

With five minutes left, Williams unleashed a shot at goal and it looked like it was going in, but a deflection took the ball against the post.

Corwen continued to push and they did have a fourth goal in stoppage time.

Ryan Billington's header cut the gap between the teams to a single goal, but the referee's whistle soon signalled the end of a breathless tie.