Porthmadog 4 Gresford Athletic 1

A great second half performance secured Port their place in the third round draw of the JD Welsh Cup where they will face Penybont.

At half-time it looked to be a case of the same old story, where Port dominated territory and possession yet still found themselves on level terms.

Port’s solitary first half strike was a bizarre one, Ifan Emlyn’s corner seemingly made everyone in the area freeze momentarily, allowing the ball to find its way through the crowded box into the far corner of the net. There were other near misses by Iwan Lewis, John Owen and Jay Gibbs but for all their pressure, there were sufficient signs that Port could find themselves punished.

And the hosts counted themselves lucky when a Jake Eyre penalty for the visitors, awarded for a foul by Ceri James, was well saved by Paul Pritchard. However, the relief was short-lived, as three minutes later Gresford were back on level terms, Jack Chaloner pouncing on a parried save by Pritchard to level the scores.

Sion Eifion’s men got off to a great start to the second half with a goal from Ilan ap Gareth. Hill-Dunt parried away an angled shot from Owen and ap Gareth netted from 10 yards.

Owen (twice) and Tomos Emlyn then went close before Owen gave the hosts some breathing space on 73 minutes with a calm finish after good work by Gibbs.

Port were now in cruise control and sub Sion Parry put the icing on the cake in stoppage time, with a cool finish from a tight angle after his initial attempt had been blocked.