Cwmbran Celtic 2 v Llanelli Town 1

Facing a home side who have still to begin their league programme pending the seemingly never-ending saga with the Welsh football hierarchy regarding their eventual status with this Welsh Cup first round tie being just the third competitive game to date, the Reds might have been of the impression that their opponents could be a little ring-rusty. Any such hopes were quickly dispelled as they were subjected to their toughest task to date with the final result fully justified as Celtic on the day were clearly the better team.

Following two early Luke Jones half chances both from corners which were scrambled clear of the home goalmouth, the hosts took only seven minutes to establish the lead when a quickly taken free kick by Owen Cook gave Richard Crees the opportunity of crossing to the near post where Andrew Larcombe made no mistake with a close range header.

The visitors countered, and went close to an equaliser when a Liam Samuel attempt struck a post when he met a Richard Lewis corner, while Lewis himself delivered a free kick which thundered against the underside of the crossbar before rebounding out.Apart from these near misses, the Reds were being fully extended by their opponents who looked menacing going forward, and it took a timely tackle by Rhys Powell on Larcombe to prevent another potential goal chance.

Set pieces were again proving to be the visitors` weakness, with Owen Llewellyn heading wide completely unmarked from a Lewis Grant corner, and when the home side were awarded a free kick on the edge of the box, Luke Lewis drove it directly at keeper Craig Richards. Lewis caught the Reds napping again when he met a Rakesh Patel free kick, but again his header was just off target.

There was some concern when Larcombe appeared to be knocked unconscious when he was unintentionally caught in the face by the boot of Lee Bevan as he attempted a low header in the box, but thankfully he recovered after lengthy treatment but had to leave the field to be replaced by Sean Feeley , and having literally been on for just a few seconds, with his first touch Feeley got the second Celtic goal when a corner was headed down to him by Craig Cheedy in the 44th minute and he shot beyond Richards.

Clearly second best in the first period, the Reds made an early change after the restart with Jamie Evans replacing Matthew Hughes to give support to Luke Jones, and an early chance arose when Lewis crossed into the box but both Declan John and Jones failed to make contact. Celtic might then have gone further ahead when a far post ball by Cook found Llewellyn, but with an open goal to aim at he somehow contrived to lift the chance over the bar.

Referee Darren Adie then became a busy man, having earlier cautioned Cook the home player was sent off after 62 minutes for a second yellow card following a scuffle with Evans who also received a caution. Ross Jones then became another player to earn the displeasure of the official, while an attack by the Reds culminated in Lewis blasting a free kick over the top.

Steve Stone and Bruno Forkuoh came on as replacements for Powell and Mark Napieralla respectively, but the focus was still largely on the Mr. Adie with Luke Jones the next to go in the book along with Llewellyn for the home side when he became involved in a pushing match with Ross Jones who was then red-carded with just five minutes remaining.

An extraordinary header by Crees who for some unexplicable reason headed it towards the home goal forced keeper Nicky Church to push it over at full stretch, but in stoppage time he repeated the act and this time left Church helpless as the ball nestled in the net to give the Reds some hope of at least forcing extra time. With literally the last kick of the game they came agonisingly close to doing so when Bevan directed the ball goalwards following a melee, but an instinctive reaction by Church to stick out an outstretched leg diverted it clear and bring the contest to a close.

The Reds will be disappointed to have failed to progress in the competition, but league success is paramount and the visit of unbeaten Cardiff Corinthians to Stebonheath next Saturday will prove to be a tough test. Kick off is at 2.30 p.m.

CWMBRAN CELTIC; Church; R. Patel; Crees ©; C. Patel; Hodges; Cook; Grant (Connor, 87); Cheedy; Lewis (Baugh, 70); Llewellyn; Larcombe (Feeley, 43);

Subs. not used; Kinsella; Luck.

LLANELLI TOWN; Richards; Napieralla (Forkuoh, 76); Lewis; R. Jones; Powell (Stone, 60); Bevan ©; Samuel; Berry; L. Jones; John; Hughes (Evans, 49);

Subs. not used; Shannon;Thomas.

SCORERS; Cwmbran Celtic – Larcombe, 7; Feeley, 43. Llanelli Town – Crees (OG), 90+2.

YELLOW CARDS; Cwmbran Celtic – Cook (2); Llewellyn. Llanelli Town – Lewis; R. Jones (2); L. Jones; Evans; Berry.

RED CARDS; Cwmbran Celtic – Cook. Llanelli Town – R. Jones.

REFEREE;Darren Adie (Cardiff).