REPORT | Saltney Town Reserves 0-2 Denbigh Town Reserves

Denbigh Town Reserves left it late on Saturday as two stoppage-time efforts from Tom Hughes and Rhys Lloyd sent Town through in the FAW Reserve League North Cup.

The game looked to be heading to penalties until the final minutes when Hughes notched his first goal for the club whilst Lloyd rounded off the win just 17 hours after playing half an hour for the First Team at Prestatyn.

Manager Liam Nash welcomed Matthew Blake back into the side following suspension whilst the hero of the day Ryan Roberts stepped in goal at just a couple of hours’ notice.

The match - held in Llandudno due to Saltney being unavailable - was full of chances with Town flirting with the Saltney goal on a number of occasions. James Thomas had the first sight of goal on 15 minutes when his effort from the edge of the box flew over, whilst Aled Rees-Williams linked up well before firing just wide from the left of the box.

Saltney took 27 minutes to carve out their first opportunity when the ball fell to Callum Dodd in the middle of the box, but he couldn’t find the target. The Bordermen did find the net three minutes later via Freddie Melia, but it was the side netting he struck the ball into from the right channel.

Denbigh replied moments later via Lloyd when he was set through and rounded the goalkeeper, but Saltney recovered well to block on the line as the lower-tier opposition frustrated Denbigh. As the seconds ticked down before the break Denbigh were scratching their heads at how they weren’t ahead. First of all Owen Herbert struck the bottom of the post before James Thomas somehow missed the target from eight yards out.

Half-Time: Saltney Town Reserves 0-0 Denbigh Town Reserves

Having already had one effort strike the woodwork in the first half Denbigh complimented it by doing the same two minutes into the second. A corner was swung in before Aleksander Cyra’s header rattled the post.

A series of chances fell to Denbigh but all of them failed to test the Saltney custodian, and Town grew frustrated.

Saltney began making inroads into the Denbigh half and a back-and-forth affair whilst entertaining, didn’t harbour any chances of substance. That was until stoppage time.

Tom Hughes came on as a substitute at half time and proved to find the all important breakthrough. James Thomas crossed from the right and Hughes at the back post poked home to send the Town bench into raptures.

Saltney now sought a desperate equaliser having wound down the clock in search of the lottery of penalties, a free-kick was swung into the Denbigh box and cleared out to Lloyd, he raced on to it and lobbed the onrushing goalkeeper who was in no man’s land, before picking it up and slotting home to an empty net.

Denbigh now join the likes of Llandudno, Flint Mountain, Airbus UK Broughton, The New Saints and Nantlle Vale in the Third Round.

Denbigh Town Reserves: Roberts, Cyra, Smith, Blake, Devine, Griffiths, J.Thomas, Rees-Williams, A.Thomas, Herbert, Lloyd

Subs: J.Jones, T.Hughes, H.Nash, L.Nash, D.Hughes

Referee: Ian Tuck