WITH the Kon-X Anglesey League action taking a break this weekend, it was time for the prestigious Dargie Cup to kick off.
Six of the Anglesey’s League teams were in action this weekend and all of them knew what was up for grabs.
The two teams that make it to the final of the Cup get the very rare chance of playing at Bangor City’s Nantporth stadium, so the prize at stake is quite a big one in this tournament.
Here’s how the fixtures panned out this weekend, it was good news for the away teams it seems …
Bodorgan 3 v 10 Bryngwran Bulls
It wasn’t just the rain that poured in Bodorgan on Saturday, the goals did too and after having a free weekend last week, Bryngwran Bulls returned to action in fine style to claim a resounding win at Cae Cob.
The goals started early on as Matty Roberts slid in to the fire the away side ahead. On 15 minutes, it was two as Andrew bailey rifled home from close range.
Three minutes later, prolific forward Jamie Ryan made it 3-0, grabbing his ninth goal of the season. Three minutes more and it was four for the Bulls as right back Iolo Jones played some fantastic football with Barry Edwards down the wing before slotting the ball into the bottom corner.
Some very slight hope was restored for Bodorgan on 39 mins as Luke Allaway got in behind the defence to score a free headers from a long throw.
Just two minutes later however, it was 5-1 as Matty Roberts bagged his second of the day after some great play from Dale Jones. just before half time, Barry Edwards grabbed a goal and Jamie Ryan added a second himself to give the Bulls a stunning 7-1 lead at half time.
In the second half, chances went either way and Bodorgan scored a second goal as Luke Allaway doubled his tally for the afternoon as the Bulls defence were caught out at the back.
Moments later however, as was the case so often in this match, Tony Meyer made it 8-2 scoring from the rebound.
Bodorgan never gave up though and soon enough it was 8-3 in this crazy match up as the home side broke out from a Bulls attack and Mark Hughes scored.
Any chance of an Istanbul style comeback were off the cards though as Nathan Evans got his season off the mark for Bryngwran with a headed goal from a corner to make it 9-3, before Jamie Ryan completed his hat-trick on 69 minutes, putting an end to his “two goal hoodoo” and Bodorgan’s hopes of reaching the next round of the cup.
The game was marred late on as one of Bodorgan’s players broke his fibia bone in a tackle on Bulls’ Tony Meyer.
13 goals in this one then and Bryngwran Bulls looking strong heading into the next round of the prestigious Dargie Cup.
Scorers: Bodorgan: Luke Alloway (2), Mark Hughes // Bryngwran Bulls: Jamie Ryan (3), Matty Roberts (2), Andrew Bailey, Iolo Jones, Barry Edwards, Tony Meyer, Nathan Evans.
Llandegfan 0 v 10 Mynydd Tigers
Kon-X Anglesey League leaders, Mynydd Tigers, also hit double figures away from home on Saturday afternoon as they swept Llandegfan aside.
The talented Herbie Hofsteede was the hat-trick hero on the afternoon as Mynydd battled through the rain to see out a comfortable win.
Three of his fellow team mates; Adam Evans, Dafydd Williams and Connor Tillbury-Jones scored a brace each, whilst Thomas Eames added the other.
It could have been eleven for Mynydd on the day, but Llandegfan goalkeeper Hywel “The Monk” Hughes denied them with a fine save from the spot.
This game really showed what a dominant side Mynydd Tigers could become as all five scorers for the club were aged 18 years and under.
Everyone at Llandegfan also deserve respect and credit for their perseverance and commitment to the cause, as not matter what the score line is, or how many goals they concede, they just keep going. Their Man of the Match, Ashley Jones and defender Mathew Roberts stood out in particular in this one as they never stopped running and working for their team.
After the match, Manager Jordan Love, commented: “Even though it’s a disappointing result, myself as manager, I could not be happier with my lads, everyone worked hard and stayed in good spirit.
“We knew this game wouldn’t be ours. However, these hard games are our learning sessions, we learn more and more each game.
“Again I say, we are not here to win leagues or win cups, we set this team up to bring football back to the village and that we have done. Many teams would collapse suffering losses like what he have in the past, however our lads have dedication and loyalty to Llandegfan fc and want this team to continue, we deserve respect for that.”
It was an excellent performance by the Tigers on what was a difficult Lon Ty Newydd pitch to play on, as it was being hammered by the downpour of rain on Saturday afternoon. Deserved win for them as they progress into the semi-finals of the Cup.
Scorers: Mynydd Tigers: Herbie Hofsteede (3), Adam Evans (2), Dafydd Williams (2), Conner Jones (2), Thomas Eames.
Pentraeth Reserves 0 v 2 Arriva Bangor
In the third and final fixture of the afternoon, Arriva Bangor picked up their first win since becoming a Saturday League club, with a hard-fought but well-deserved win over Pentraeth Reserves.
Despite struggling in the Anglesey League so far, Arriva looked settled in this one and simply wanted it more at the end of the day.
Both teams had chances and went close in what turned out to be a very physical game of football.
It seemed to come down to “whoever scored first” would win and that was the case eventually, as both of the away side’s goals were well taken, with Scott Hughes and debutant Kieran Munson, who had just left Llandegfan last week, scoring to give them a memorable win.
Despite the loss, Pentraeth Reserves played really well at spells and created plenty of chances, but unfortunately for them it was not quite enough to see them push on for the win.
After the game, Pentraeth Reserves manager, Justin Gallagher, said: “It was a quintessential cup game really.
“Both teams had chances and went for it, and we have to give credit to Arriva who took both their goals well.
“In some ways, we played better than we did in the win (against Bodorgan) last weekend, but football is just funny like that sometimes.”
So, it is Arriva Bangor who progress into the next round of the Dargie Cup, can they cause an upset?
Scorers: Arriva Bangor: Kieran Munson, Scott Hughes.
Valley Athletic’s match against Llangoed & District Reserves was postponed for the time being, whilst Caergybi did not play due to the odd number of teams in the league and Cup format this season. They will now play one of the winners.
Next week’s fixtures sees another Cup kick off, the Bwlch Car Boot Trophy, and the following games will take place:
Mynydd Tigers v Arriva Bangor
Llandegfan v Bryngwran Bulls
Bodorgan v Caergybi
Keep reading AFEFootballNews to keep up to date with all the latest from the Anglesey League teams and other domestic competitions.
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