It was Nathaniel MG Cup Quarter Final time on Tuesday evening, as the Lakesiders welcomed Gresford Athletic to Maes Tegid, with both sides aiming to make the Semi Final stage.
The Town cruised to victory with goals from Lassana Mendes, Nathan Peate and a brace for Antony Kay, as we triumphed in a 4-0 win, progressing through to the Semi Finals.
Mendes & Peate Set Us On Our Way
Both sides took the opening quarter of an hour to find their feet in the match, with the Town holding on to the majority of the possession. However, it would be the visitors who had the first clear-cut opportunity to score in the match, as they sent a delicately floated ball over the defence into the path of Sam Spridgeon, who's effort on goal was tame and into the hands of Harri Lloyd.
Just after the 15 minutes mark, Lassana Mendes found himself at the back post while unmarked, and received the ball into his feet with the simple task of tapping the ball home to take the advantage early on.
Exactly 10 minutes later and it was two! This time, Mendes turned provider from a corner, and swung a ball into the back post where Nathan Peate was lurking, and our number four pounced on the opportunity of powering through to head the ball into the net to double our lead before the half hour mark.
Rutherford Almost Makes It Three!
The second half was a slow starter, although Gresford came close to halving the deficit as Charlie Mann came close with a curling effort from the edge of the box, but his strike cleared the crossbar.
Paul Rutherford then came close to adding a third just a minute after coming onto the field, but a Gresford defender was there to block his shot out for a corner.
George Newell also came close minutes later, as he bullied his way through a few bodies inside the box to meet a cross from the right hand side, yet he couldn't direct his header close enough to goal.
Kay At The Double!
After Nathan Peate's goal in the first half, Antony Kay looked hungry to join his centre back partner on the scoresheet, and that's exactly what he did! Another corner was sent in by Mendes, and Antony Kay steamrolled through to meet the ball and powered his header into the net, wheeling away in celebration whilst adding a third goal for the Town.
Almost 10 minutes later, and Kay had doubled his tally for the evening! He collected the ball on the edge of the area after a poor clearance from Gresford, and struck a half volley on his left foot with perfect placement into the bottom right hand corner of the net, making it 4-0 to the Town.
The draw for the Semi Final's took place on Thursday evening, with the Lakesiders being drawn to face Cardiff Met at Maes Tegid on the 26th of November, with kick off time to be confirmed!
Line-Ups:
Bala Town - Harri Lloyd, Ross White, Nathan Peate, Oliver Southern, Antony Kay, Naim Arsan, Paul Ollie Shannon, George Newell, Lassana Mendes, Adam Roscrow, Dave Edwards
Gresford Athletic - Rhys Williams, Nathan Williams, George Macready, Christopher Hibbert, Joshua Griffiths, Simon Smith, Paul Johnson, Sam Spridgeon, Harvey Ellis, Charlie Mann, Adam Hesp
Goals:
Bala Town - Lassana Mendes (18), Nathan Peate (28), Antony Kay (66, 76)
Substitutes:
Bala Town - Paul Rutherford > Ollie Shannon (60), Kieran Smith > Dave Edwards (69), James Davies > George Newell (69)
Gresford Athletic - Sam Pickering > Nathan Williams (46), Alex Buxton > Joshua Griffiths (67), Jacob Barratt > Charlie Mann (69), Ellis Turner > Simon Smith (69), Dominic Deacon > Paul Johnson (73)
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