CALDICOT Town FC has been thrown out of the Welsh Cup after inadvertently falling foul of a technicality.

The Welsh League division two club thought they were safely through to the third round of the cup after beating Penybont 3-0 in a replay.

But the Bridgend side lodged an appeal for Caldicot fielding an "ineligible" player after Zaki Misbah came off the bench for Town with 10 minutes to go.

Misbah returned to Caldicot after the draw for the original game had been made and Town officials were not aware that meant he could not play in the rescheduled game.

So despite the fact that Town were comfortably ahead 2-0 with time running out, the club was technically in breach of the Football Association of Wales's rule 19h.

The rule states: "In all rounds of the Competition a player must have been a registered member of his Club by 5pm on the last working day before

Misbah was on Caldicot's books 24 hours before the tie and so the club believed he could play.

An FAW statement says: "Although sympathetic to the situation, the FAW decided that they had to disqualify Caldicot Town from this season's FAW Welsh Cup for breaching Rule 19h. As a consequence, Penybont FC has been reinstated."

Caldicot chairman Martin Slape said that through an administrative error "we have left our door unlocked by mistake and Penybont FC have burgled us."

Town are shocked and disappointed that the officers of Penybont FC have acted in this manner.

They claim that during discussions Penybont disclosed they were aware of the rule prior to the game and of the signing before the match; through social media welcoming back the player, and with his name on the team sheet.

A statement on the Caldicot Town website said: "Is the action of Penybont FC unsporting, undermines 'fair play' and had intent to gain from something they had not earned?"