Connah’s Quay v The New Saints | Sunday – 17:25 (Rodney Parade, Newport)
On Sunday afternoon, The New Saints will aim to complete the domestic treble for the third time in their history and lift the JD Welsh Cup for the 10th time.
The New Saints have not lost a domestic match since February 2023, and the Oswestry outfit are the first club to go through an entire season without losing a game in the Welsh Premier League since Barry Town United in 1997/98.
Since losing 3-2 against Cardiff Met at Cyncoed Campus in a league fixture on 11 February 2023, the Saints have gone on a run of 53 domestic games without defeat, winning 49 with only four draws.
In addition to that, The New Saints have won 25 successive games in the Welsh Cup and have lifted the trophy three times in a row (beating Connah’s Quay, Pen-y-bont and Bala Town in the last three finals).
Last season the Saints won 6-0 in the Welsh Cup final against Bala Town, which was the biggest victory in a final since 1931.
That was the 9th time the Shropshire side had their name on the cup, and now only Wrexham (23), Cardiff City (22) and Swansea City (10) have a better record in the competition.
Connah’s Quay were the last team to beat The New Saints in the Welsh Cup, in the quarter-finals of the 2017/18 season, before the Nomads went on to lift the cup after beating Aberystwyth Town 4-1 at Latham Park during Andy Morrison’s tenure.
That was the only occasion in the last 11 years that the Saints failed to reach the final of the Welsh Cup.
The New Saints got their revenge the following year, beating the Nomads 3-0 in the 2018/19 final at the Rock with Ryan Brobbel scoring two fortuitous free kicks from distance.
Connah’s Quay and The New Saints had comfortable routes to the semi-final, although the Nomads have not had to travel very far from home.
The Nomads played their first three cup fixtures at their home ground in Cae-y-Castell (vs Caernarfon, Prestatyn and Flint), before making short trips to Buckley, and the neutral ground of Llandudno for the semi-final against Bala Town where they scored the only goal of the game in the last minute of normal time.
TNS have notched up many more miles, winning away at Ruthin Town, Carmarthen Town and Briton Ferry, with one home tie against Trethomas Bluebirds in between.
The Saints’ semi-final was held at Newtown where they came back from 2-0 down to win 6-2 against Cardiff Met.
This season is only the third time since the formation of the JD Cymru Premier over 30 years ago that the top two in the league have reached the final of the cup.
The first occasion was in 2003/04 when champions Rhyl went on to complete the treble by beating league runners-up, The New Saints in the Welsh Cup final at Latham Park.
And it was The New Saints and Connah’s Quay who were the top two in 2018/19 as TNS came out on top to secure the league and cup double.
This is the fourth time that Connah’s Quay have reached the final of the Welsh Cup, losing on penalties against Bangor City in 1997/98, beating Aberystwyth Town in 2017/18, and losing against TNS in 2018/19.
The Saints have played in 13 finals, winning nine and losing on four occasions.
It has been a record-breaking season for Craig Harrison’s crew who have managed to finish the campaign with the highest point tally since the formation of the 12-team format (92pts), scoring the most goals also (117).
The Saints have finished the season 33 points above Connah’s Quay, which is the biggest ever margin between 1st and 2nd at the end of a season during the 12-team format.
The season started with two consecutive wins against Connah’s Quay (in the Nathaniel MG Cup and in the league), and the champions will be hoping to end the season in the same manner after defeating the Nomads 2-0 in their final league fixture last weekend.
The Saints are on a run of six consecutive victories against Connah’s Quay and have not lost in nine meetings against the Nomads since the penalty shoot-out defeat in their opening fixture of last season in the Nathaniel MG Cup.
Connah’s Quay manager Neil Gibson has fond memories of lifting the cup as player-manager of Prestatyn in 2013, and the 44-year-old will be hoping to win one of Wales’ major trophies for the first time in over a decade.
This will be the first Welsh Cup final held at Newport since 1980, when Newport County beat Shrewsbury Town at their old home in Somerton Park.
But this will be the first time that the final will be held at Rodney Parade, and both TNS and Nomads faithfuls will be hoping that they can end the 2023/24 season in style with a historic cup triumph.
Semi Final: Connah’s Quay 1-0 Bala Town, Cardiff Met 2-6 TNS
Quarter Final: Buckley Town 1-4 Connah’s Quay, Briton Ferry Llansawel 1-5 TNS
4th Round: Flint Town United 0-3 Connah’s Quay, Carmarthen Town 0-3 TNS
3rd Round: Connah’s Quay 8-0 Prestatyn Town, TNS 7-0 Trethomas Bluebirds
2nd Round: Connah’s Quay 4-1 Caernarfon Town, Ruthin Town 0-5 TNS
