Bangor 1876 win to keep title race alive

BANGOR 1876 did their bit to keep the race for the Ardal North West top spot alive with a 3-1 defeat of Nantlle Vale at the weekend.

All the goals came before half time, a Corrig Mcgonigle brace putting 1876 2-0 up and Liam Morris making it 3-0 before Ashley Owen got one back for Vale.

And with Denbigh Town’s long winning streak coming to a halt with a 4-2 reverse at Llay Welfare, that means Bangor 1876 (with one game to play) are still four points clear of Denbigh (with three to play).

A win for 1876 in their final game on Saturday would leave Denbigh (whose goal difference is 10 better) needing seven points from their final three games, including their trip to Llanrwst tonight, to take the title.

That final game for 1876 is at home to next-bottom Hawarden – who may need the points themselves to climb out of the relegation spots, so could prove a tougher test than the table suggests.

Declan Mcmanus scored his 32nd goal of the season as The New

Saints beat Bala Town 6-0 in the JD Welsh Cup final.

It was the biggest win in the final since Wrexham beat Shrewsbury Town 7-0 in 1931.

The Scottish sharp-shooter struck first after only 19 minutes to set his side on the road to an eighth league and cup double, having clinched the JD Cymru Premier title with five games left to play.

The final against Bala was a rematch of the 2017 final at the same Bangor venue. Bala came out on top against the odds on that occasion, but they weren’t able to hold onto their rivals on this occasion as they fell for a fifth time against them this season.

They had lost all four previous league meetings, conceding 12 goals and only managing one in return, and they were well beaten in the end.

Danny Redmond added a second six minutes into the second half and Ryan Brobbel added the third in the 56th minute to make it four wins in a row for Craig Harrison’s men in the oldest cup tournament in Welsh football.

TNS turned on the style in the second half and romped to a huge win thanks to three goals in the space of four minutes at the death from Jordan Williams, Adrian Cieslewicz and Brobbel.

Barry Town completed the treble as they were crowned inaugural Welsh Blood Service League Cup National champions with a 6-0 victory over Colwyn Bay at Latham Park.

The clash between the Cymru South and North champions was overshadowed by the decision of the Seagulls to field a development side and it was no surprise their young team struggled.

A lengthy Colwyn Bay club statement (full version on club website) said the decision was due to Cymru Leagues not providing the date of the final in time to avoid a raft of absences from senior players on a weekend that had been expected to be post-season.

Goals from Troy Greening, Josh Graham and Kyle Mclaggon, who missed a penalty earlier in the half, steered Barry into a three-goal lead at the interval.

The gutsy North Walians almost reduced the deficit via Harry Holland minutes into the second half, but that was as good as it got for

Colwyn Bay.

Further goals from substitute Kyle Jones, Curtis Mcdonald and Aiden Lewis followed as Barry got their hands on another trophy to add to their league crown and their Southern League Cup title.

Bay manager Steve Evans told the club website afterwards: “Immensely proud given the situation given the time we’ve had to work with the players, which was 20 minutes on Thursday night.

“Football is about technical ability but first and foremost it’s about hard graft and having the desire to work hard and they had that today.

“The discipline they showed to stay in their shape was first class. They’ve done themselves, the club and everybody proud connected with Colwyn Bay today.

“They made it difficult for a really good team. Kends (Barry manager Lee Kendall) has got them playing really good football and he’s done tremendously – Congratulations to Barry. It’s a treble for them, wasn’t to be for us but I think ourselves and Barry have set the Cymru South and the Cymru North alight along with a couple of others this season.”

RGC 1404 rounded off their season with a hard earned bonus point victory over Swansea in an ill-tempered affair at Colwyn Bay Rugby Club.

The visitors looked the brighter side in the opening exchanges of the game, with the impressive Ospreys Academy prospect Sam Moore making a 20-metre break downfield, forcing the RGC defence offside. James Davies failed to make them pay, though, as he missed the subsequent penalty attempt.

It was an ill-tempered start with a couple of mini brawls, before referee Dewi Phillips’ patience ran out and he showed Joe Simpson and Matt Dodd a yellow card apiece.

Swansea took the lead when Lewis Jones charged forward and the home pack entered a ruck from the side. This time James Davies was successful with his effort at goal.

The hosts’ Dion Jones and Afon Bagshaw linked up well in midfield, with the latter making great yards to send Danny Cross racing into the Swansea 22, but Owen Thomas ripped the ball out of the tackle and his side was able to clear.

The home side took the lead against the run of play when Sam Williams made a break from a ruck and fed Efan Jones, who raced clear to score.

A mistake by the visitors, who kicked possession dead thinking it was half time, gifted RGC with a late attack, from which Cross took a crash ball to score.

The second half began much like the first, with Swansea mounting a number of promising attacks through their pacey backline.

But hopes began to fade when Gareth J Rees was shown a yellow card for a professional foul. Moments later, Dion Jones kicked deep into the Whites’ 22 with the penalty and a well worked lineout saw Cross sprint home for his second try of the game.

The visitors kept the proceedings interesting when Sam Matthews made a break on the wing and fed Gareth O Rees, who backed his pace to score in the corner.

But Swansea’s discipline let them down in the closing stages and a quick tap penalty by Ollie Wynn saw Dion Jones squeeze over.

The game was very much summed up in the dying seconds, when yet another fight broke out, Cameron Jones shown a yellow card and RGC’S Billy Mcqueeney seeing red for throwing a punch.

Nant Conwy recovered in style after their Division 1 cup final defeat by running in nine tries in their 57-12 home win over Dolgellau to extend their unbeaten run in One North to 14 games. They have three games in hand over Pwllheli, who are also on 66 points.