Taff’s Well, Colwyn Bay and Guilsfield will be looking to cause an upset this Saturday in the JD Welsh Cup quarter finals.
From the eight teams left in the competition, only The New Saints, Connah’s Quay and Bala Town have won the Welsh Cup in the last century, while Aberystwyth Town won the cup in 1900 and have reached the final three times since 2009.
There are just three European spots up for grabs in Wales this year, therefore only the top two in the JD Cymru Premier and the Welsh Cup winners will qualify this season.
If one of the league’s top two teams also go on to win the cup, then the league’s 3rd placed team will take the last ticket to Europe.
Saturday, 19 February
Pen-y-bont v Taff’s Well | Saturday – 12:45
Pen-y-bont and Taff’s Well have reached the Welsh Cup quarter final for the first time in their history, and now the goal for both teams is to get into the hat for the semi-final.
Pen-y-bont are battling for second place in the JD Cymru Premier while Taff’s Well, the only JD Cymru South side left in the Welsh Cup, have won five games on the bounce, and climbed up to 7th in the second tier.
There’s just 20 miles separating the two clubs who will know each other well from Pen-y-bont’s time in the South Wales League, and the Bryntirion boys are unbeaten in their last 11 meetings with Taff’s Well (won nine, drawn two since 2014).
Pen-y-bont have beaten Undy Athletic, Cambrian & Clydach and Caernarfon Town in the JD Welsh Cup this season, while Taff’s Well have knocked out Abergavenny, Goytre United, Llantwit Major and Buckley.
Connah’s Quay v Colwyn Bay | Saturday – 14:30
It will be an intriguing pitch-side battle at the Deeside Stadium on Saturday as Steve Evans tests his wits against his old manager Craig Harrison.
Newly appointed Colwyn Bay boss, Steve Evans played over 250 games for The New Saints with a large part of those matches under the current Connah’s Quay manager, Craig Harrison.
Connah’s Quay Nomads won the cup for the first time in their history in 2017/18 before losing to The New Saints in the following year’s final with both Steve Evans and Craig Harrison in the dugouts that day as assistant managers to both teams.
Colwyn Bay have reached the semi-final on three occasions (1930, 1983, 1992), but have never made it all the way to the final.
The Seagulls are currently 4th in the JD Cymru North and have seen off Gresford, Ruthin Town and Cardiff Met to reach the JD Welsh Cup quarter final, while Connah’s Quay have kept three clean sheets against Y Rhyl 1879, Trefelin BGC, and Flint Town United.
Bala Town v Aberystwyth Town | Saturday – 14:30
In the only game between two top-flight teams, the 2017 Welsh Cup winners, Bala Town will host Aberystwyth Town, who have reached two of the last six finals.
Both sides had a fantastic start to their Welsh Cup ventures this season as Aberystwyth Town won 9-0 against Aber Valley, while Bala Town claimed their biggest ever victory with a 17-1 thrashing over Brymbo.
After six games without defeat, Bala Town sealed their place in the Top Six last Saturday, but despite keeping three consecutive clean sheets, Aberystwyth Town will spend the second half of the season in the Bottom Six.
Bala Town have already beaten the Black & Greens once this campaign through an Alex Darlington own goal (Aber 0-1 Bala), and the clubs will meet again next Saturday in the last game before the league split.
The New Saints v Guilsfield | Saturday – 14:30
The New Saints are the current JD Welsh Cup holders after winning the competition for the 7th time in 2018/19.
The Oswestry giants are 21 points clear at the top of the JD Cymru Premier and Anthony Limbrick will be targeting a league and cup double in his first full season in charge at Park Hall.
Guilsfield went on a 20-game unbeaten run earlier this season, but the second-tier side have struggled lately and are now without a win in five outings.
It will be a special occasion for The New Saints’ all-time top scorer, Greg Draper, who left Park Hall for Guilsfield last summer.
Greg Draper won the Welsh Cup five times with the Saints, scoring five goals in five finals.
The New Saints are yet to concede in the Welsh Cup this season with wins against Llanrwst United, Conwy and Carmarthen Town, while Guilsfield have fended off Llandudno Albion, Dinas Powys and Swansea University to get to the quarter finals.
Highlights of all matches will be available on Sgorio’s online accounts.
