Rhydymwyn’s U18s side progressed past Rhos Aelwyd on penalties after a 3-3 draw in the FAW Youth Cup qualifying round on Sunday afternoon.
The fixture marked the team’s first official competitive game, and took them to the Gresford Colliery Club to take on the hosting Rhos.
In what would become a six goal thriller, the first goal went to Rhydymwyn when Kian Williams slotted home after an initial save from the Aelwyd keeper.
However by half time, the hosts had turned the score around to lead 2-1 at the break leaving the young Rhyd side with work to do in the second.
They responded to this challenge, with Callum Jones lobbing the keeper to make it 2-2 after a well placed through ball assist from Rhys Ellis.
Fin Oldfield then retook the lead for Rhydymwyn, finishing off a passing move with a bottom corner strike to make it 2-3.
Just as Neil Day’s side looked to have sealed the result, Rhos Aelwyd hit back in the final stages to level the scores and take the game to a penalty shootout decider.
A tight and well taken series of spot kicks saw the shootout go the distance to fifth penalty, where Kieron Day was on hand to seal a hard fought cup victory for Rhydymwyn U18s.
Following the result, manager Neil Day said:
“We knew we were in for a battle as the tight pitch didn’t suit our style of play, but this forced the lads to adapt quickly as they went looking to break them down.
“After a good start we were unfortunately down at half time, where they knew they’d be out if there was no improvement in the second half. To their credit, they reacted and began to implement our passing game and moved the ball quicker.
“Taking it all the way to penalties was a sign of the desire both sides had, and it was fantastic to see the togetherness and fighting spirit we showed to get into the next round.
“The first hurdle is the hardest and now that job is done, we look forward to building on this performance in the coming weeks.”