Welsh Cup goals king Hilditch bags a hat-trick for dominant Prestatyn Town

FAW WELSH CUP FIRST ROUND

Llanrwst United 1 (A Jones 82)
Prestatyn Town 6 (Hilditch 35, 38 & 60, Evans 53, Fleet 79, Spencer 86)

Report: Mason Houldsworth

Tom Hilditch is back on the Welsh Cup goals trail!
Last season’s competition top-scorer with 10 goals for Trearddur Bay, the deadly striker delivered a treble for the Seasiders this afternoon in an away thrashing of fellow Tier 3 side Llanrwst.
Town started brightly and created the first opportunity after just five minutes. Alex Jones found space down the right and delivered into the box, where Hilditch was waiting at the far post, but his header was comfortably dealt with by David Roberts in the Llanrwst goal.
Hilditch looked lively from the opening stages and went close again five minutes later, Roberts producing an excellent save to deny him.
Prestatyn continued to dominate possession during the early stages, although Llanrwst remained dangerous on the counter. Alex Jones headed narrowly wide before the hosts broke forward, with Luke O’Mahoney finding himself one-on-one with Adam Reid, who produced a superb save to keep the scores level.
The deadlock was finally broken shortly after the half-hour mark.
Ryan Kershaw delivered a dangerous ball from deep and, despite appearing set to claim it comfortably, Roberts couldn’t hold on. Hilditch reacted quickest, pouncing on the loose ball and firing into an empty net to give Town the lead.
And within three minutes, Hilditch had doubled both his and Prestatyn’s tally.
Some excellent football from Town saw Callum Hardy slip Hilditch through on goal, and the forward showed great composure to finish beyond Roberts and make it 2-0.

Half-time: Llanrwst 0-2 Prestatyn Town

Town’s strong finish to the first half continued after the restart.
Following a set piece, the ball fell invitingly at the far post and Lewis Evans reacted quickest, finishing from close range to make it 3-0.
Tom Kemp and Aaron White were introduced immediately afterwards, replacing Evans and Kershaw, as Prestatyn continued to control the contest.
Hilditch then completed his hat-trick in spectacular fashion.

Alex Jones slipped him through once again, but after catching himself out with his own footwork, Hilditch found himself facing away from goal. What followed was a moment of improvisation and instinct, as he backheeled the ball past Roberts without even facing the goal.
With Town firmly in control, further changes followed as Cameron Fleet, Calyn Spencer and Rob Hughes entered the action.
The substitutes made an immediate impact.
Hughes produced a clever ball over the top of the Llanrwst defence for Fleet to chase. The forward used his strength to hold off the defender before showing composure to curl the ball into the far corner and make it five.
Llanrwst continued to work hard despite the scoreline, and their persistence was rewarded when Town switched off momentarily, allowing Alexander Jones to find the net and pull one back for the hosts.
The goal did little to disrupt Prestatyn’s momentum, however, with Town continuing to look dangerous going forward.
Fleet went close on a couple of occasions, while Spencer also narrowly missed out.
That sixth eventually arrived in the 86th minute.
Fleet picked the ball up in a central position before clipping a great pass over to Spencer on the right. Spencer kept his composure and produced a smart finish to cap off an impressive afternoon for Town.
The final whistle soon followed, confirming a comprehensive Welsh Cup victory on the road.