Monmouth Town progressed to the second round of the Welsh Cup with a comfortable victory against Division One rivals Ton Pentre.

In a strangely flat game the Kingfishers took the lead on 10 minutes as Chris Ham, returning from a three-match suspension, showed real quality, drifting inside from the left before unleashing a sweet strike that cannoned in off the near post leaving Collins with no chance.

Once again Monmouth could have scored a couple more before the break but Collins, who denied Town any goals last season as the Kingfishers drew blanks in both games against Ton, was having another great game.

The Rhondda Bulldogs for their part were never out of it and were neat and tidy in possession and carried a significant threat at times but both sides had difficulty in finding any real precision or penetration in the last third.

At times they misplaced a number of passes and it was perplexing to see the game played at such a slow pace.

The second half was a little more lively and the introduction of Nick Harrhy on 65 minutes added a bit more zest to proceedings.

As always he seemed to bring out the best in those around him, particularly soul buddy Dan MacDonald.

It was the diminutive striker (pictured) who got the second as he rode a couple of challenges before doing what he does best and calmly finishing beyond Collins.

This brought a bit of a siege on the Ton goal and Bull had a couple of chances, Ham started strutting his ample stuff before Harrhy himself picked up a scuffed rebound to make it three.

Collins still had time for more heroics to keep the score respectable but the Bulldogs will know that they didn't do themselves justice on the day.

Monmouth will wait to see what round two brings and are back in action this Saturday away at bottom-of-the-table AFC Porth who were hammered 9-0 in their own Welsh Cup game.