A number of Nomads' fringe players gave an impressive display against lack-lustre Rhyl before going down 2-1 in what was an irrelevant game for the Deeside outfit.
Rhyl only needed a draw to progress to the last eight and Connah's Quay were just 10 minutes away from earning a deserved share of the spoils when sub Lee Hunt headed the winner three minutes after coming off the bench.
Nomads had trailed at the break to Gareth Wilson's penalty, but were level 17 minutes into the second half through a spot-kick of their own, converted by Mark Cadwallader after Matt Atherton forced a hand-ball in the box.
But there was a sting in the tail for Quay when referee Rob Duncan sent-off Cadwallader for a late tackle on Hunt which saw Rhyl goalkeeper Lee Kendall run the length of the pitch to remonstrate.
Stats and report courtesy of welsh-premier.com