BALA Town’s defence of the Welsh Cup ended at the first hurdle as a resurgent Aberystwyth Town registered a thrilling 4-0 win at Park Avenue last weekend.

Declan Walker had opened the scoring for the Seasiders on 15 minutes, before second half goals from John Owen, Joe Phillips and Luke Borrelli sealed a comprehensive home win.

Bala boss Colin Caton admitted that his side were beaten by the better side on the day, and improvement will be needed in this weekend’s Welsh Premier clash with leaders The New Saints at Maes Tegid.

“People expect a lot more from us, and that was not a Bala Town performance,” said Caton, whose side had lost 5-0 away at Bangor in the league a week earlier.

“We didn’t start well and it went from bad to worse. Individually and collectively we weren’t good enough. It’s not acceptable, we still thought we were still in it at half time, but once the second goal had gone in we were all over the shop.”

“Fair play to Aberystwyth, we wish them all the best in the next round.”

After an impeccable minutes’ silence was observed before kick-off for home club stalwart Brian Edwards, who passed away last week, it was Aberystwyth who started the game on the front foot.

The Seasiders, looking to build on their 3-0 league win over Newtown, showed intent from the start, with Craig Hobson and Declan Walker giving early impetus.

Hobson, who had scored a brace against the Robins, earned a free kick in a dangerous position, and Walker saw his deflected free kick fly past helpless keeper Ashley Morris for an early 1-0 advantage.

The Seasiders gained confidence from that early goal and former Chester striker Hobson tested Morris after weaving his way past three Bala defenders, and John Owen also saw his shot go narrowly wide.

The visitors struggled to get a foothold, but they did begin to grow into the game when new signing Hyuga Tanner, a former Bolton Wanderers and Blackburn Rovers development player, came on for the injured Glenn Rule, and the talented youngster began dictating the tempo.

Six minutes before the interval, Bala created their first meaningful chance as Nathan Burke’s shot skimmed off the top of the crossbar, and then Jordan Evans forced a smart save from Chris Mullock.

Aber absorbed the pressure, however, with Ryan Wollacott and John McKenna marshalling the defence well in the absence of injured skipper Jonny Spittle.

The Seasiders then started the second half brightly, and the energetic Joe Phillips got behind the Bala Town back line, but his attempted lob went wide of goal.

Malcolm Melvin also forced a fine save with a low drive for the hosts, before the crucial second goal arrived on 62 minutes.

Holding midfielder Ashley Young launched a long throw into the box, and the ball ricocheted to John Owen, who fired a low shot into the bottom corner.

The goal gave Aberystwyth the cushion that they needed to go on and play with some additional freedom, as they continued to carve the Lakesiders’ defence open with some intricate one-touch football.

On 70 minutes, the floodgates well and truly opened, as Joe Phillips latched on to a reckless back-pass by David Thompson and slotted the ball past Morris to send Aber’s supporters into dreamland.

The scoring didn’t stop there, as on 74 minutes Joe Phillips again caused havoc on the left flank and squared for substitute Luke Borrelli to slot the ball home.

Ryan Wade sent a shot inches wide of the post, and Borrelli mistimed his first touch when through on goal as Aber breezed into the fourth round of the competition.

For Aber it was sweet revenge after they had lost to their visitors in the league a few weeks back, while Bala have now conceded nine goals in their last two outings and alarm bells are ringing for boss Caton.

ABERYSTWYTH TOWN: C Mullock, D Walker, R Wollacott, M Melvin, C Hobson, J Owen, R Wade, M Jones, A Young, J McKenna, J Phillips. Substitutes: J Spittle, G Kellaway, L Borrelli, J Rimmer, H Horwood.

BALA: A Morris, S J Jones, L Owens, W Bell, C Venables D Thompson, N Burke, J Evans, M Hayes, G Rule, L Davies. Subs: C Vernon, E Horwood, H Tanner, I Sheridan, A Jones.