LOCAL FOOTBALL ROUNDUP
PENCOED Athletic had to pull out all the stops to record a narrow 2-1 victory after extra time at Maesteg Park in the South Wales Alliance W J Owen Open Cup
It was 1-1 after 90 minutes with substitute Darren Townsend getting the winner for Mark Powell’s side early in the second period of extra time.
Pencoed fielded recent Penybont import Adam Carpenter in midfield, and they led 1-0 at the break courtesy of jack in the box Jack Delve.
But Park evened things up on the hour after goalkeeper Martin Grover failed to deal with a free kick, and Ashton White got a 13th goal this term. That took the tie into overtime, and Pencoed chief Powell was relieved to see his side make it through to the quarter-final stage of the tournament.
Cefn Cribwr will also go into the hat for the quarter-final draw after coming from 2-0 down to beat onsong Division One club Cardiff Corries, 6-2, under the Penybont floodlights on Saturday night.
Goals either side of half time left the Riders in trouble, but they eventually went through on the back of goal braces from top scorer Dan Woolfenden and Dann Jones along with strikes from Ioan Clatworthy and Curtis Grant.
But Cornelly Utd bowed out of the cup, following a 2-0 defeat against high-flying Premier Division side Trebanog at Meadow Street.
Steve Vaughan got one of the quickest goals in Trebanog history, netting after just 15 seconds, while Ieuan Gowen scored in the 40th-minute to seal the deal for the Rhondda Valley side.
Also through to the last-eight stage went the Premier Division trio of holders Cardiff Dracs, Blaenrhondda and Merthyr Saints and first-division Tonyrefail BC while the Aber Valley v Penrhiwfer tie was postponed.
In the Premier Division, Garw got off to a dream start at Grange Albion – Rhys Clarke giving them an early advantage - only to lose 3-1.
And despite Caerau re-signing Lewis Kingdon from Maesteg Park, they remain marooned in the drop zone after losing 3-0 at home to Ely Rangers.
Meanwhile, Maesteg Park lost further ground in the battle for the Division Two title after leaders Canton Rangers just managed to pull off a 2-1 win over lowly Graig FC at Ynysangharad Park.
It left them five points clear of Park, who were on cup duties against Pencoed, but the Llynfi Valley side do have two games in hand.
On their last league outing, Maesteg were held to a 3-3 draw at at midtable Cwmbach Royal Stars.
Park were out of the starting blocks much quicker at the top of the Cynon Valley with Steffan Roberts scoring early on from an acute angle.
His 19th goal of the season was just the kind of start Park boss Andrew Jones was seeking, and things got even better when Ashton White seized on a 25th-minute deflection off the home goalkeeper.
And his shot from just outside the penalty area doubled the lead before Stars began to shine, and pulled a goal back through Thomas Lewis.
Though Park led 2-1 at the break, it was back to level-pegging on the hour once Tyler Hollidge got the better of goalkeeper Kieron Burridge.
However, the Llynfi Valley side regained the lead on 65 minutes after a Kai Steadman cross wasn’t dealt with, and Matt Rogers seized on errors.
But Stars continued to pose a threat, and levelled late on through Ross Williams while Maesteg had both Ellis Horrigan and Roberts sent off.
The sides meet again on Saturday at Tudor Park in a swift turnaround.
The third promotion spot is currently held by Vale Utd, who swept to an emphatic 6-1 victory away to AFC Wattstown.
But Llangynwyd Rangers missed a penalty in a narrow 1-0 loss at Llantwit Fardre with the goal that settled the issue unfolding in the 25th minute.
Lewis Toms was on target; Scott South fluffed the penalty, resulting in Jack Harding in the home goal being the busier of the two goalkeepers.
Finally, Llangeinor slid to a disappointing 2-1 home defeat against Cardiff Cosmopolitan - key striker Simon Lock got the Llan goal.