Caerau Ely 1 Bala Town 0

JD Welsh Cup

CAERAU Ely produced the shock of the day with a late winner against JD Cymru Premier stalwarts Bala Town.

The quarter final tie at Cwrt yr Ala Road on Saturday was ticking over into stoppage time when Charlie Lewis surged forward and struck a low drive into the bottom corner to stun the Lakesiders.

Colin Caton’s men fashioned the first real opening when Nathan Peate met Lassana Mendes’ looped cross from the right.

He rose higher than everyone but his header hit the crossbar and was cleared to safety.

Played in blustery conditions, both sides struggled to sustain any momentum in the first half but the JD Cymru South hosts were giving as good as they got and Bala keeper Joel Torrance had to be alert when Liam Bishop surged down the right and delivered an inviting cross that just need the slightest of touches to break the deadlock.

The biggest chance of the game came early in the second half when the hosts’ Haben Samson beat his marker and delivered a pinpoint cross to the far post which the onrushing Bishop could only direct into the sidenetting from an angle.

At the other end Joe Malkin forced home keeper Uniss Kargbo into a fine stop with his feet with the Lakesiders looking more and more dangerous.

But the decisive moment came at the death when Peate’s attempted clearance was headed back into Lewis’ path in midfield and the 21-year-old strode forward before unleashing an unerring low drive into the bottom corner off the foot of the post from the edge of the area giving Bala very little time to respond.

Caerau Ely, who beat Barry Town United in a penalty shootout in the second round, held on to add another JD Cymru Premier scalp to their Welsh Cup campaign.