Cup win at windy Treborth

Aberffraw were the visitors to Treborth today for a NWCFA Intermediate Cup match that was our first home game of 2022.

The cup tie also saw the welcome return of Gethin Thomas to first team action following several months out with a serious ankle injury.

The first goal of the afternoon arrived after four minutes. An astute forward pass by Corey Jones released Aaron Heald down the right-hand side and his cross was turned into his own net by an unfortunate Aberffraw defender.

A few minutes later, the advantage was almost doubled when Cameron Barry swung in a cross from the left but Dylan Williams headed over the crossbar.

However, a second goal materialised in the eleventh minute and it was very similar to the opener. This time it was Jamie Petrie who crossed the ball in from the right and once again an unlucky Aberffraw defender diverted the ball past his own goalkeeper and into the net when attempted to clear.

Petrie continued to look lively during the opening period and came close to scoring on several occasions. Midway through the half, he broke into the right side of the penalty area before firing narrowly over. Shortly afterwards he cut inside on the left but his effort was saved by visiting goalkeeper Gavin Roberts.

Aberffraw also managed to fashion some changes in the first half, notably when Richard Roberts cut inside on the right and sent in a left-footed shot that was well parried by Cian Thomas. The visitors also forced several corners but were unable to capitalise from these set-pieces.

Inside the final ten minutes of the first half, 1876 found the net for a third time. Dylan Williams swung in a free-kick from the right and Corey Jones netted his firth goal of the season from six yards out. He came close to adding another shortly before half-time following a corner from Joe Culshaw but was denied by Roberts in the Aberffraw goal.#

HALF-TIME: Bangor 1876 3-0 Aberffraw

Both sides made changes at the interval. Gethin Thomas was replaced by Harry Galeotti, who was also returning after several months out injured. Aberffraw swapped goalkeepers with Darren Baker replacing Gavin Roberts.

Seven minutes into the second half, Les Davies fired in a powerful shot from 25 yards out that went narrowly wide of substitute keeper Baker’s right-hand post. Ten minutes later, Harry Galeotti marked his return with a well taken goal after he rounded the goalkeeper before netting with a neat chipped finish from the edge of the box.

With fifteen minutes left, Cameron Barry came close to adding his name to the scoresheet but shot narrowly wide from just outside the box. Two minutes later, Jamie Petrie added a fifth goal when he netted from close range after Baker had saved Galeotti’s effort.

In the closing minutes, Petrie came close to adding goal number six but his shot was turned away for a corner by Baker.

FULL-TIME: Bangor 1876 5-0 Aberffraw

As we have mentioned on our website, today’s match was Dylan Williams’s last as our first team manager as he has decided to step down from this role. We would like to take this opportunity to thank him for the immense contribution he has made to our club since its creation in 2019 and wish him well for the future.

We will be back at Treborth next Saturday (12 February) for a league match against Penrhyndeudraeth that kicks off at 2pm.