It’s official ! After an absence of 72 years, Flint will once again compete in the final of the Welsh Cup, following an emphatic 5-1 victory over Bangor City 1876. The Silkmen swept aside their opponents with a comprehensive first half display, going into the interval 3-0 up. They then added two more in the second period before the Citizens grabbed a late consolation.
If a script had been written for this game from a Flint point of view, then it would surely have pretty much mirrored the actual events on the pitch, as the fluency of play from the team in black and white was a joy to behold. Instrumental to it all, was Ben Hughes in the centre of the park, who together with Jake Canavan set the tempo from the off.
The two of them combined to slice Bangor wide open on 6 minutes, Hughes finding Canavan who in turn playes a raking ball to Jake Phillips down the right. He slid an inch perfect ball along the 6 yard box and Darren Stephenson was on hand to smash the ball home, giving his team a dream start.
A few minutes later Hughes tried an audacious effort that crashed against the cross bar as flint continued to pummel the Bangor defence. Then Mikey Burke sent in a delightful ball from the left that picked out Elliott Reeves, but the striker hoisted his effort high over the bar from 6 yards out.
However, he was much more accurate with his head in the 25th minute. Having won back possession in the Bangor final third, Phillips slipped in Ben Woollam on the overlap, and he lofted the ball to the far stick, where Reeves did well to climb high enough and control his header to plant it into the back of the net.
Bangor’s best chance of a very much one sided first half came when their captain Tom Clarke met a corner and placed his header just wide of the target just after the half hour mark.
Within a minute of that miss, Flint struck again. Hughes produced a defence splitting pass to send Stephenson away, and the forward unselfishly played the ball across the 6 yard box to find his strike partner Reeves who duly applied the finish to put Silkmen supporters into dreamland.
The opening period of the second half was, perhaps understandably, a much more disjointed affair, as Bangor changed their shape to try and contain a rampant Flint side. But nevertheless, the Silkmen produced a sweeping move from one end of the pitch to the other on 68 minutes, for an excellent team goal. From a Bangor corner, the ball was brought away by Burke who carried it over the halfway line before finding Osebi Abadaki. Then Hughes and Phillips were involved in switching play to find Stephenson on the right side of the area. He drilled his shot goalwards, but was denied by the outstretched leg of Bangor keeper Carl Jones. Phillips pounced on the rebound and squared the ball across to Burke who tapped home, fittingly finishing a move he had started.
With fifteen minutes remaining, Flint made it five. Ben Woollam scored his first goal for the club with a bullet header from a Ben Wynne corner.
Bangor did register a goal on 80 minutes, the first that Flint have conceded in regulation time in this season’s Welsh Cup. A free kick delivery was punched clear by Jack Flint, but the ball only found Logan Williams on the edge of the area, whose chipped delivery back into the box was met by Adam Long, who headed in off the far post. Veteran striker Jamie Reed almost pulled another goal back right near the end, but this time Flint acquitted himself really well to produce a reaction save and deny the Bangor forward.
All eyes now turn back to our quest for survival in the Cymru Premier as we entertain Bala Town in a pivotal game next Saturday at the Essity Stadium, kick off 12-30pm.
Report by Nigel Sheen. Photos by Damon Mead.
Line Ups :
Flint Town United – J. Flint, B. Woollam (M. Purvis 81), M. Burke, L. Jonas (S. Fofana 55), H. Owen (c), J. Thorn, J. Phillips (J. Jones 69), B. Hughes, E. Reeves (O. Abadaki 55), D. Stephenson, J. Canavan (B. Wynne 69). Unused subs – D. Szczepaniak (GK), A. Mudimu
Bangor City 1876 – C. Jones, C. Powell Roberts, J. Carey (L. Williams 65), C. Owen, D. Donohue, T. Clarke (c), T. Creamer, J. Barry (J. Smith 65), D. Summers-Jones (J. Reed 86), A. Long, D. McManus. Unused subs – J. Davies (GK), I. Hughes, S. Jones, B. Owen
Flint MOM – Ben Hughes (a superlative performance)
