Connah's Quay stun holders New Saints to win Welsh Cup

Connah’s Quay Nomads produced an upset to win the Welsh Cup for the second time in their history and deny The New Saints a fourth domestic treble.

Goals from Harry Franklin and Josh Williams either side of Ashley Baker's equaliser saw Nomads secure a 2-1 victory and win the Cup for the first time since 2018.

Cup holders The New Saints were aiming to complete a domestic treble having won the JD Cymru Premier and Nathaniel MG Cup earlier this season.

Saints, bidding for a fourth consecutive Cup win, had won all five previous encounters between the sides this season and were unbeaten in domestic Welsh competitions ahead of the final.

Nomads had had been the last team to have beaten Saints in the competition at the quarter final stage in 2018.

Connah’s Quay could have gone ahead as early as the third minute when Kai Edwards’ volley hit team mate Jack Kenny and denying a goal.

All three goals came during a 10-minute period in the first half at Newport’s Rodney Parade, which was hosting the final for the first time.

Harry Franklin put the Nomads ahead after half an hour, bundling in Declan Poole’s cross.

But the lead lasted just six minutes however as New Saints defender Ashley Baker headed his side level from a fantastic cross by Danny Redmond.

Nomads regained the lead with the best goal of the game.

Midfielder Josh Williams’ unstoppable volley from 12-yards gave Connor Roberts no chance in the New Saints goal.

It was a memorable moment for 19-year-old Williams, who graduated to the first team through the Nomads academy system and signed for the club when he was just nine-years-old.

Saints manager Craig Harrison made changes early in the second half but chances were scarce for both sides.

Saints top scorer Brad Young had his side’s best chances of the second half but his angled shot was parried by Nomads 'keeper Firth on 65 minutes while Adrian Cieślewicz's cross got stuck under his feet six yards out ten minutes later.

Eight added minutes of injury time increased tension amongst the crowd of 1,246 as Saints sought an equaliser.

But it was Connah's Quay who held on to lift the Cup and inflicting a first domestic defeat on the Saints in over a year.

Connahs’s Quay Nomads manager Neil Gibson: “I feel over the moon. Words can’t really describe the feeling. It’s a little bit difficult to take it all in.

“We believed that we could win today, we worked on a game plan all week to give the players the belief that they can do it but when you’ve been beaten by TNS five times this season… you have to lock into the psyche of where the players were at.

“When you work so hard from the first if June to the 28th of April, eleven months of hard work and to get that trophy at the end is more than fitting for them.”

The New Saints Craig Harrison: “It's not the way we want to end any season.

“We wanted to finish it with a victory and a treble in an undefeated domestic season but it wasn't to be and we've narrowly got beat today.

“It's still raw, we're really disappointed. I don't think that we were great in the first half, we were a lot, lot better in the second half, but the first half we weren't great and that is where we lost the game.

“We've had a great season it just would have been perfect had we finished with a Welsh Cup and a treble, it would have been perfect. It's not to be, congratulations to Connah's Quay. It was a tough game and we just weren't at our best today.”