SAINTS NEARLY PULL OFF A SHOCK

THE New Saints almost completed a remarkable comeback against KF Shkendija in the first qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League but fell agonisingly short in the end.

JD Welsh Premier League champions TNS came into the game on the back of the 5-0 thrashing from the first leg and manager Scott Ruscoe admitted he had little hope of overturning the deficit.

But the players restored some pride with a 4-0 victory that Ruscoe hailed as “one of the best performances in the club’s history”.

Dean Ebbe got the Park Hall faithful on their feet with a smart finish on 15 minutes. Danny Redmond and Swansea City loanee Ben Cabango both added their name to the scoresheet before the break as the players, and fans, started to believe.

Greg Draper missed a giltedged chance before Jon Routledge smacked a volley onto the post as TNS continued to drive forward at will.

Kurtis Byrne drilled in a fourth in added time but there was no time to find a fifth and Shkendija scraped through with a 5-4 aggregate win.

“It was an excellent game for the neutral and for our supporters,” said Ruscoe. “It was a good atmosphere. I was a little surprised at the scoreline, it was fantastic. Another five minutes and I think we would have drawn level and pushed it into extra time, which nobody in their right mind would have thought we would have done before the game.

“I think we shocked them a little bit. If you look at the goals we scored, we could have had four or five more and that would not have been exaggerating.

“That, for me, is arguably one of the best performances in the club’s history, to go and do that against that level of opposition.”

TNS’ Champions League exit means they will now go up against Gibraltan champions Lincoln Red Imps in the second qualifying round of the Europa League, with the first leg at Park Hall on Thursday.

But JD Welsh Cup winners Connah’s Quay Nomads will not be joining them after a 5-1 aggregate defeat to Belarusian outfit Shakhtyor Soligorsk.

After a 3-1 defeat in the first leg, the Nomads needed to get the first goal but Elis Bakaj slotted home from the spot to give Soligorsk the lead. Andy Owens was dismissed midway through the second half to all but end Connah’s Quay’s qualification hopes before Maksim Bordachev sealed a 2-0 win with a late second.