TNS strike early blow in rehearsal for Cup final

THE New Saints struck a psychological blow ahead of the JD Welsh Cup final by beating fellow finalists Penybont 2-1 in the JD Cymru Championship Conference.

It was a fourth successive defeat for Rhys Griffiths’ home side and came after they had had the perfect start with a goal from Ben Ahmun after only six minutes at the SDM Glass Stadium.

That forced the champions to come out and play right from the get-go and Ryan Brobbel levelled matters in the 21st minute. It was Brobbel at the double in the second half when he smashed home a ball teed up for him by Leo Smith in the 56th minute.

“It wasn’t exactly a full dress rehearsal for the Cup final because we changed a few things around and they were missing a few key personnel,” said Brobbel.

“It wasn’t a great start for us because they exploited a long ball and scored after only six minutes. We then got to grips with the game and I was able to guide the ball into the corner after a great cross.

“The second goal came after some great work by Leo and after that I was chasing the hat-trick.”

Having only won once in their previous four games it was a return to their previous form for TNS and just the tonic they needed before the next clash with Penybont at the Cardiff City Stadium in the cup final on May 1.

Bala Town and Newtown are still locked together in the race for the second automatic Uefa European slot for next season after they both came up with 1-0 wins.

Bala made life difficult for themselves at Flint Town United when they had Antony Kay given a red card in the

62nd minute.

His dismissal came 12 minutes after Nathan Peate had given them the lead and they were forced to hang on from there on.

Newtown, meanwhile, had Fumpa Mwande to thank for their 1-0 home win over Caernarfon Town.

It was his third goal in Phase 2 of the tournament and made it back-to-back goals in vital wins over Penybont and Caernarfon.

The Lakesiders and The Robins now clash in Bala on Friday in a massive match that could see one of them leap ahead after being tied on 50 points.