History on agenda for students in bid to take silverware
CARDIFF Met University and The New Saints will contest the Nathaniel Cars MG Cup final tomorrow evening at Park Avenue in Aberystwyth (5.15pm).
Christian Edwards’ Cyncoed students will be the underdogs against the current holders of the trophy, who defeated Barry Town in last season’s final and are currently 12 points ahead at the helm of the JD Welsh Premier League.
The Archers’ run to the final saw them defeat Welsh League Division One team Goytre (Gwent) 2-1 in round one, followed by a secondround win by the same score – after extra time – against Pontypridd.
In the quarter-finals, The Met defeated Barry 2-0 at Jenner Park and a 1-0 semi-final win over Newtown saw them through to their first top-flight domestic cup final.
TNS’ progress included a 5-1 away win against Flint in round two, a 2-0 quarter final victory over Caernarfon before a 1-0 semi-final success against Connah’s Quay.
The teams have played twice in the Welsh Premier League this season, with a 0-0 scoreline at Cyncoed and TNS edging their home fixture at Park Hall 2-1.
The students’ central spine of goalkeeper Will Fuller, centre-backs Brad Woolridge and Emlyn Lewis, centre-midfielder Charlie Corsby and No.9 Adam Roscrow are key to any success if they are all passed fit.
Right-winger Eliot Evans is the Met’s top scorer so far with 13 goals and is very dangerous from setplays anywhere around the area.
Long-serving Corsby says the chance of major silverware is a tribute to how far the club has come in the past number of years.
“It has been a long, enjoyable, and challenging journey with this club, certainly,” he told the official Welsh Premier website.
“I joined in 2010 and, given where the club was at the time, the thought of being in Welsh League One – never mind the JD Welsh Premier League – was such a big dream for us.
“To be in a position now where we’ve secured our third successive season at this level and on the brink of a cup final is fantastic.
“The final will be a really great occasion, it is a massive added bonus to the success we’ve managed to consistently create over the last few years.
“The league is the bread and butter for us, of course, but it’ll be a great day for our club, and hopefully a historic one for Cardiff Met.
“The New Saints are a wonderful footballing side, they’re always an absolute joy to play against because they test you, they pull you around, they’re difficult to contain, but we know that we have the players in our squad to go and really cause TNS some problems.”
On the opposite side of the fence, Scott Ruscoe is in his first season in charge at TNS and will be very keen to deliver in his first final as a manager.
Paul Harrison, Simon Spender, Aaron Edwards and Greg Draper are now household names in the Welsh Premier and will expect to be on the winners’ rostrum at 7pm tomorrow after the match, shown live on S4C.
The smart money says the holders should run out winners once again, but don’t tell Edwards and his men that it’s a formality because they have enough in their camp to cause an upset if they perform to the best of their ability.