Cup failure again Match Reports 20th September 2022 Hakin United can now be added to the list of clubs from the lower reaches that we have lost to in the Welsh Cup. They join Cwmbran Town and STM Sports who both beat us in Round 1 ties and last season Dinas Powys in Round 2. Yet again players are not available for cup matches and we fail to capitalise on what should be our strength. We dominated parts of the game but failed miserably in front of goal and paid the ultimate price. We started brightly and kept possession but failed to test the visiting keeper in the first twenty minutes. Nearest we got to a goal was a Sean Hanbury free kick which was just too high. After 25 minutes Hakin created their first chance and it took a fine save from Aaron Jones to deny them a shock lead. Lido responded almost immediately when Chris Jones fed Jay Thomas who beat his defender and from close range shot narrowly wide. On the half hour Hakin again attacked and fired in a shot that went over the bar. Having weathered the early Lido pressure Hakin were now looking to get a foothold in the game. They would have been the happier of the sides at half time going in all square. The second half saw Hakin start the better and they hit the crossbar on 50 minutes. They spotted Aaron Jones off his line but the lob from the edge of the area was just too high. Jay Thomas had another chance on the hour but couldn’t keep his shot from the edge of the area down. Hakin created another chance on 62 minutes but again Aaron Jones made a fine save. Lido had another opportunity on 64 minutes when Josh Webber met a cross but from a good position sliced his shot wide. On 67 minutes an altercation saw two players sent off, considering there hadn’t been a card of either colour this was something of a surprise but Ioan Evans for the Lido and Leon Luby were both red carded. With 10 minutes to go Hakin missed a golden chance to take the lead when Mark Jones headed wide from a corner when it was almost easier to score. The Lido attacked and won a corner, Josh Webber fed Carlos Indjai who netted but the Lino flagged for an infringement much to the dismay of both players and the Lido support. Disappointingly Lido then went down to 9 men, Aaron Jones did well to punch clear a through ball but was caught by the studs of a Hakin player. No free kick was given and Aaron was down on the floor, the referee blew up when Hakin next attacked and came to check on Aaron who was understandably annoyed at the injury. From this Aaron ended up being sent off giving Hakin a huge advantage. We then needlessly gave away a free kick in a dangerous position and the ball was floated in and headed in giving our replacement keeper no chance. Hakin saw out time and once again we are left to rue the day.
