Cwmbran Celtic 3 County 0

CWMBRAN Celtic upset the odds to record a famous victory over a jaded looking Newport County last night.

The MacWhirter Welsh League Division Two outfit moved into the semi-finals of the Gwent Senior Cup with a comprehensive 3-0 win over a County side showing 11 changes from Saturday's 2-0 win over Braintree.

First-team squad players Shane Brewer, Lee Fowler, Sam O'Sullivan and Craig Hughes all started the game, however, and there was a welcome return for central defender Paul Cochlin, coming on from the bench to make his first appearance since December last year.

The rest of the side was made up of first and second year youth players and it was no surprise that they looked tired as most of them had played in the FA Youth Cup extra-time defeat at Merthyr on Tuesday night.

That's to take nothing away from Cwmbran Celtic who approached the game with a determined attitude and gave an excellent all-round team performance.

The lively red-haired striker Shane Williamson scored with two beautiful efforts, the first an unstoppable drive from 30 yards after 28 minutes and the second a well-placed curler on 73 minutes.

In between Craig Cheedy netted Celtic's second just after the hour mark when he found himself alone on the edge of the box from a corner and coolly side-footed the ball through a crowd of players and into goalkeeper David Pearce's net.

For County, Hughes and O'Sullivan showed brief glimpses of their talent and Luke Prosser hit the bar with a header in the second half but this was Celtic's night.

Under a full moon, their hardy band of supporters howled with delight as each goal went in and player-manager Micky Copeman was very happy with the result.

"It was a brilliant performance by the lads, a real giant-killing act," he said after the game.

"It was the biggest competitive game in our history and we all played well and we deserved it.

"I'm knackered but I was delighted with the clean sheet and Tom Morgan in goal did brilliantly for a lad of 16 on his debut.

"I'm pleased for Shane Williamson too, he doesn't score any tap-ins, only screamers, and they were both great goals.

"The league is more important but it was a great night and we're in the semis so we're looking to win the cup now."

County boss Peter Beadle, bravely sporting a pair of shorts on a bitterly cold night at Cwmbran Stadium, was upbeat despite the defeat and praised the effort of his youthful side.

"You never like to lose but you have to remember what the game was about for us," he said.

"It was about Paul Cochlin coming back and the lads who haven't played much getting 90 minutes under their belt.

"The tough thing was that the youth team boys have played two games in two nights, which is hard work.

"They've played against men tonight too and some of them aren't quite ready for that physical side of the game but I thought there were some good signs.

"Fair play to Cwmbran Celtic though, they applied themselves fantastically. This was their cup final and they scored three great goals so all the best to them in the next round, but for us it was just a good workout.

"What pleased me most was Cochlin coming on and having a couple of challenges, which was exactly what we wanted for him. It's good for his confidence and belief that the injury is ok."

Speaking after his cameo appearance Cochlin was obviously delighted to have put his injury nightmare behind him.

"I was promised 20 minutes and I think I got just over that so I was pleased. It feels good to be back," he said.

"There was no reaction at all and I forgot all about the injury. It was a very good experience for me. I had a few challenges and I'm very happy."

Cwmbran Celtic: Tom Morgan, Ryan Hillier (Nathan Beer), Micky Copeman, Mark Parfitt (c), Lloyd Davies, Craig Cheedy, Sam Winter, Kevin Payne, Shane Williamson, Owen Llewellyn, Ben Evans Subs not used: Mike Traynor, Kieron Porter, Lee Newman, Rakesh Patel

Newport County: David Pearce, Dafydd Brewer, Lee Barry, Ricky Manship (Craig McDonnell, 75), Dan Harrison (Gary Colborne, 54), Shane Brewer, Sam O'Sullivan, Lee Fowler (c), Luke Prosser, Craig Hughes, Luke Trezise (Paul Cochlin, 73) Subs not used: Scott Armitage, Mark Ovendale Referee: D.Adie (Rogiet)