Bala were deserved winners of this League Cup tie on a pleasant if gnat infested evening at Maes Tegid.

And credit to referee Nick Pratt whose relaxed and humourous presence is in stark contrast to most of his his fellow whistlers.

Bangor started off like a train and forced four corners in as many opening minutes with motor mouth goalkeeper Boswell flapping around like a wet hen. But despite this it was Bala who took a fifth minute lead when Mark Connolly rifled home past Lee Idzi despite his desperate low dive following a cross from the left.

City went close to an equaliser when Chris Jones cut in from the left but his low shot bounced wide of the right post. Mark Jones caused chaos in the Bangor defence with a run in from the left but his shot sliced wide. On 27 minutes Bala doubled their lead when another cross from the left found Mark Connolly who headed home emphatically beyond Idzi.

On the half hour John Owen passed to Rob Jones on the edge of the Bala box but his shot flew high over Boswell's crossbar. Ten minutes before half time Les Davies' fierce shot was deflected for a fifth Bangor corner which was half cleared to Dec Walker but his twenty five yarder flew over.

Eight minutes before the interval a sixth corner brought a goal back for Bangor as Anthony Miley headed home firmly from eight hards. Two minutes before the interval Les Davies held off Dave Morley to turn and shoot low to his right. The shot cannoned off the far upright and rolled straight to grateful goalkeeper Boswell lying prone on the turf.

The closing action saw former blues midfielder Dave Morley replaced by Edwin Renaud but there was no further goalmouth incident and the sides trooped off with Bala holding a slender one goal advantage.

HALF TIME 2-1

One change at the interval saw Michael Johnston replace John Owen.

This saw Bangor shift to a flat back four with Johnston alongside Anthony Miley and City pushed forward to force a seventh corner which Bala cleared. The no nonesense Stuart Jones again to the fore.

Ten minutes after the restart Rob Jones was shown the yellow card for a foul on veteran schemer Mark Jones which yielded a freekick which Mark Connolly struck with some power to force an outstanding save from Lee Idzi. The blues defence were alert to the danger and cleared the follow up effort.

Stuart Jones was then booked for a clumsy challenge on Chris Jones on the Bangor left before on 68 minutes Jamie McDaid replaced Chris Jones. Bala pushed forward and won a couple of corners the second of which saw Lee Idzi pull off a great save from a Stuart Jones header. Mark Connolly and Mark Jones again went close for Bala with Idzi in the thick of the action.

But on 73 minutes there was nothing Idzi could do as leftback Collins boomed clear and Kieran Smith latched onto a loose ball on half way to race away and slot the ball calmly beyond the exposed goalkeeper. Bangor won an eighth and then ninth corner sandwich around the substitution of summer signing Joe Culshaw for Rob Jones.

On 82 minutes Lewis Codling came on for goalscorer Smith. The game was now set into traditional Bala v Bangor style. City attack and have some pressure before Bala break with pace. A tenth corner but no clear effort on goal before Stef Edwards came on for Ian Sheridan.

An eleventh and final Bangor corner was cleared to the edge of the box where Chris Roberts was fouled. DecWalker spotted the freekick but Boswell saved and that was pretty much that.

A deserved win for Bala who always looked dangerous on the counter, and a hard working performance from Bangor who could not quite make the most of their chances.