Only two of the JD Cymru Premier clubs have managed to reach the last eight of the JD Welsh Cup, and those two clubs were the ones that met in last season’s final, Connah’s Quay and The New Saints.
The other six clubs that make up this year’s last eight play in the second tier, with four representing the JD Cymru South and two from the JD Cymru North.
Two of this season’s quarter-finalists have reached this stage of the competition for the first time in their histories, and those are Denbigh Town and Caerau Ely.
Denbigh Town will welcome 2010/11 winners Llanelli Town to Central Park on Saturday, while Caerau Ely will take on current cup holders Connah’s Quay on Sunday.
At least one team from the JD Cymru South will progress to the semi-finals this year as Cambrian United and Carmarthen Town meet in the Clydach Valley on Saturday.
And at Park Hall the cup favourites, The New Saints will face Airbus UK, which are the two teams that went head-to-head in the 2015/16 final at the Racecourse, Wrexham.
Cambrian United (Tier 2) v Carmarthen Town (Tier 2) | Saturday – 14:00
Cambrian United and Carmarthen Town are enjoying a solid season in the JD Cymru South with both clubs sitting in the top half, level on points in 5th and 6th place.
A win for Cambrian would be a historic step for the club as they have never reached the semi-finals of the Welsh Cup.
Carmarthen Town reached the final for the first time in their history in 2004/05 before losing 1-0 against The New Saints at Stebonheath Park, Llanelli.
Two years later and Carmarthen Town were back at Stebonheath Park for the 2006/07 final, and this time the Old Gold won 3-2 against Afan Lido, lifting the cup for the only time in their history.
But it has been a long time since Carmarthen last made the semi-finals, as the Old Gold have not been in the final four since the 2008/09 season when they lost 3-2 after extra time against Aberystwyth Town.
Carmarthen Town have a strong record against Cambrian United as they won five of their previous six meetings with the club from the Clydach area, but Cambrian were victorious in the last meeting between the teams, winning 2-1 in a home fixture less than a month ago.
It’s fair to say that Cambrian United have scraped their way through to the last eight this year after winning on penalties against Goytre United and Lido Afan following two goalless games, also beating Llandudno by 3-2 thanks to a late strike from Daniel Birch in the 87th minute.
And the same can be said for Carmarthen, as they won 4-3 away from home at Penrhiwceiber Ranger, before winning two ties on penalties against Penydarren and Holyhead Hotspur.
The two squads are therefore efficient from the spot, but only one of them can progress to represent the JD Cymru South in the semi-final.
Denbigh Town (Tier 2) v Llanelli Town (Tier 2) | Saturday – 14:00
Denbigh Town have reached the quarter-finals of the Welsh Cup for the first time in their history after defeating three Llan’s in this year’s competition.
After beating Llangefni, Llanrwst and Llanuwchllyn comfortably, it was no surprise that another Llan came out of the hat for the last eight.
Denbigh Town sit mid-table in the JD Cymru North, and important work is going on off the field to try and develop the club to grow and evolve.
Llanelli Town are enjoying a successful season in the JD Cymru South, in a strong position to secure promotion back to the top-flight for the first time since 2019 and have managed to reach the quarter-finals of the JD Welsh Cup for the first time in 14 years.
In 2011 Llanelli Town won the Welsh Cup for the only time in their history, beating Bangor City in the final with Rhys Griffiths and Chris Venables among the scorers for the Reds at Parc y Scarlets that day.
Lee John’s team are currently on a run of 17 games without defeat since the beginning of October (14 wins, 3 draws) and are in a tight battle with Trethomas Bluebirds at the top of the JD Cymru South table.
Llanelli Town have not conceded a goal in their three cup games so far after defeating Clwb Cymric (0-3) from the fifth tier, Pill (4-0) from the fourth tier and Haverfordwest County (0-2) from the first tier in the previous rounds.
This will be the first ever meeting between the two clubs, and it’s the only game of the round that is between a team from the JD Cymru North and a team from the JD Cymru South.
The New Saints (Tier 1) v Airbus UK (Tier 2) | Saturday – 14:00
At Park Hall the JD Cymru Premier league leaders will host the JD Cymru North league leaders on Saturday afternoon.
The New Saints have won the Welsh Cup on nine occasions, and only the Exiles have won more – Wrexham (23), Cardiff City (22), Swansea City (10).
The Saints have played in 13 finals (won 9, lost 4), and have reached eight of the last nine finals, winning six of those against six different clubs (Aberystwyth Town, Newtown, Airbus UK, Connah’s Quay, Pen-y-bont, Bala Town).
But it was an unexpected defeat for TNS in last year’s final at Rodney Parade with Connah’s Quay lifting the cup, but Craig Harrison will be desperate to bring the trophy back over the border this year.
The New Saints have won their last 10 games against Airbus UK, including a 1-0 win earlier this season in the Nathaniel MG Cup.
The first of those 10 wins came in the 2016 Welsh Cup final with the Saints winning 2-0 at the Racecourse thanks to goals from Ryan Brobbel and Scott Quigley.
Since then, the Saints have achieved remarkable results against Airbus, winning 12-0, 8-0 and 7-0 in league matches between 2019 and 2022.
The Saints have therefore scored a hefty total of 60 goals in their last 12 games against Airbus (an average of 5 goals per game).
April 2016 was the last time Airbus beat TNS, with Chris Budrys scoring twice for the Wingmakers in a league meeting at the Airfield (Air 3-2 TNS), but almost 20 years have passed since Airbus last won away from home at Park Hall.
Airbus UK have defeated Porthmadog, Goytre and Caersws to reach the quarter-finals this season, while the Saints have beaten Cardiff Met and Colwyn Bay after thrashing Llangollen 16-0 in the second round.
Caerau Ely (Tier 2) v Connah’s Quay (Tier 1) | Sunday – 12:45 (S4C)
Caerau Ely are the ones to watch in the JD Welsh Cup this season as the club from the second tier have already seen off two top-flight sides to secure their place in the quarter-finals for the first time in their history.
Caerau Ely have beaten both Barry Town United and Bala Town in the competition this season, as well as inflicting an 8-1 thrashing on Rogerstone in the third round, and now the club from the Cardiff area will aim to cause another shock against the cup holders, Connah’s Quay.
Caerau Ely won the Cymru South title in 2014/15 but were not awarded a domestic license to ascend into the JD Cymru Premier, and therefore the club has never competed at the highest level in Wales.
Connah’s Quay have reached the quarter-finals for the 10th time in a row and have gone on to win the cup twice (2018 and 2024).
Connah’s Quay were the only club from the Welsh pyramid to beat The New Saints last season, and they did so in their final game of the season, which was the final of the JD Welsh Cup as goals from Josh Williams and Harry Franklin ensured victory for the Nomads (CQ 2-1 TNS).
But things haven’t gone so well for Connah’s Quay this season as the club failed to reach the Top Six after losing a large percentage of their squad over the summer.
Retaining the Welsh Cup and returning to Europe would be the perfect way for Billy Paynter to save Connah’s Quay’s season, and he will be determined to seal the victory at Cwrt-yr-Ala on Sunday afternoon.
Caerau Ely will be the fourth club from the second tier to face the Nomads in the cup this season, as Connah’s Quay have already knocked out Guilsfield, Trefelin and Mold Alexandra in the previous rounds.
This will be the first ever match between the two clubs and Caerau Ely will be hoping to make it a hat trick of ‘cupsets’, while Connah’s Quay will be looking for their 10th consecutive win in the competition.
Highlights of all matches will be available on Sgorio’s online accounts.
