NIALL MCGUINNESS saluted Flint Town United’s character as they won a five-goal thriller against Colwyn Bay.

The Silkmen found themselves 1-0 down inside 60 seconds through Julian Williams, and 2-1 down after quarter of an hour as Mitch Bryant capitalised on an error by Flint stopper Aaron Jones.

But Alex Titchener scored a fine effort from the edge of the area to add to Richie Foulkes’ header to help the Silkmen go in all-square at the break.

And the second-half belonged to Flint, who saw their dominance rewarded as Mark Cadwallader marked his 100th appearance for the club with a 50th goal.

Flint boss McGuinness said: “Full credit to the players, it was a massive test of character going behind so early, getting back in the game and then conceding from a massive mistake.

“Credit to how we bounced back, the character we showed, and to be fair, we scored at the right time with the second one coming right on half-time.

“In the second-half, I thought we were the better side and we deserved to win the game.

“Craig Hogg has got them well-drilled, they are good on the counter-attack with some lively players, and they played their part in a good game.

“But when it came down to it, we won and the third goal was a bit of quality from the whole team and it was a great way put ourselves in the hat.”

Flint find themselves in the last eight for the first time in a number of years, while McGuinness has finally reached the quarter-finals.

“I’ve been knocked out at this stage in extra-time and on pens as I mentioned, but it’s great for the club,” said McGuinness.

“I think it’s over 10 years since we’ve been in the quarter-finals of the Welsh Cup, so it shows we are making strides.

“It doesn’t just come from myself, the coaching staff and playing staff, it starts right at the very top - the club are doing things right and it’s paying off.”

Something else that paid off was a training ground corner routine that allowed Foulkes to make it 1-1.

“It’s something we saw having watched them against Ruthin,” revealed McGuinness. “We thought we could hurt them in that set-play, which we worked on.

“It’s not really come off for me and it did, so that’s a nice feeling and I’m made up.”

The tie was played in-front of a 780-strong crowd, Flint exorcising a few demons by securing victory.

“Last time we had that sort of crowd it was 3-2 and we lost against Prestatyn, so it’s nice to be on the right end,” added McGuinness.

“It’s not really my game of football. I prefer to be a little bit more comfortable and not concede goals like we did.”

Colwyn Bay boss Craig Hogg, meanwhile, was proud of his side’s performance, and saluted a healthy away following,

He tweeed: “300+ @ColwynBayFC fans on a Friday night away in the cup reminds me how lucky I am to work here. Wasn’t meant to be but so proud of everyone connected to the Bay. Lads gave everything, fans got behind us right to the end. Special club. Good luck all @FlintTownFC next round.”