It was not the most successful weekend for the Welsh sides competing in the EFL, with draws for Cardiff and Newport and a late defeat for Swansea. North Wales showed the South how to do it though, as Wrexham fought hard for a 3-0 win at home to Exeter City.

In the Cymru Premier, The New Saints got back to winning ways with a comeback win over Penybont, following their shock defeat to Briton Ferry last week.

In the Women’s FA Cup, Gwalia United continued their cup run with a 4-0 thrashing of Bridgwater United to book their place in the hat for the third round.

Let’s get into it!

Swansea’s Crazy 24 Hours

Swans fans were experienced a rollercoaster of emotions over the course of the weekend.

On Saturday, the club announced the completion of Andy Coleman’s takeover of the club, having bought a majority of shares from previous owner Jason Levien and Steve Kaplan.

Coleman, who is now the new Swansea City Chairman, along with shareholders Brett Cravatt and Nigel Morris and businessman Jason Cohen, have bought a significant stake in Swansea.

Coleman says he and fellow Americans Cravatt and Cohen now control 77.4% of Swansea’s shares, with Briton Morris holding a 14% stake.

He says the remaining shares are owned by the Swansea City Supporters’ Trust – which has a protected 5% stake – as well as minor shareholders including former directors Martin Morgan and Brian Katzen. The Trust shareholding now stands at 7.5%.

On the pitch, Swansea hosted Leeds United in one of the matches of the season on Sunday afternoon.

The previously low-scoring Swansea side flew out of the blocks, scoring through centre-half Harry Darling, before Manor Solomon equalised for Leeds.

Liam Cullen continued his fine form and re-took the lead for Swansea before halftime, but Leeds came back strong after the break, as former Swan Dan James’ cross was turned into his own net by Wales teammate Ben Cabango before Solomon’s second gave Leeds the lead.

The Swansea.com Stadium erupted on the 90th minute as Florian Bianchini looked to have snatched a point for the home side, only for Wilfred Gnonto to break Swansea hearts just a minute later.

“I am pleased with almost all of the game in terms of performance, but the result is really difficult to accept,” said Swansea boss Williams.

“The performance certainly doesn’t look like anything less than a team that’s top half at least.

“I certainly don’t feel like we looked miles apart from Leeds, that we should be 14th and Leeds top.”

Riza Future Still In Doubt

Anyone getting a strong feeling of déjà vu?

Cardiff’s 1-1 draw with Sheffield Wednesday was hard-fought and a good point taken home, but the conversation about interim manager Omer Riza rumbles on.

Riza’s long-term future remains uncertain despite meeting Cardiff owner Vincent Tan in Malaysia last week, having overseen a significant improvement during his two months at the helm.

Saturday’s draw took Riza’s points tally to 15 from 10 games following Erol Bulut’s sacking.

Asked if he expects to be in the dugout against QPR, Riza said: “I don’t think anything will change that quickly. That’s down to the board now to comment on that. We’re preparing like we need to.”

While Cardiff remain in a state of limbo, the club will struggle to improve on their decent recent form.

Wrexham Look Good For A Promotion Run

After back-to-back promotions, many predicted before the start of the season that Wrexham would need a season or two to acclimatise to the level of League One.

Phil Parkinson’s side have shown that opinion to be false as they continue to pick up results.

Wrexham bounced back from a 1-0 defeat to fellow high-flyers Stockport County last weekend with a typically dominant 3-0 home victory over Exeter City. Goals from Max Cleworth, Ollie Palmer, and Ollie Rathbone sealed a result that was never really in doubt.

As Wrexham approach the busy festive period, this squad will tested more than ever before. With Wycombe Wanderers and Birmingham City looking good for the two automatic promotion places, Wrexham will be looking to stay comfortably in the play-off places into the New Year.

County Earn Away Draw

The battle of the Counties – Newport and Notts – ended in stalemate on Saturday as Newport continued their inconsistent form in League Two.

It was County’s second successive 0-0 draw and boss Nelson Jardim said: “We just have to keep making sure we keep building on this.

“It was another clean sheet and we’ve had a couple of them now. We’ve been criticised for not being consistent and compact but you can see these boys are working hard.

“It’s about us growing together and no matter who comes on they’re ready to perform and understand the ideas and philosophy that we want to play. We showed today that we are growing. Yes, we’re not at the level I think we should be yet but I can tell you there’s more to come.”

Gwalia United Continue Their Cup Run

Gwalia United marched on in the Women’s FA Cup, as a Cori Williams-Morris hattrick sealed a 4-0 thrashing of Bridgwater United in the second round.

The Welsh side had to return to their former home of Ocean Park in Cardiff due to their current Spytty Park stadium in Newport being waterlogged.

Skipper Williams-Morris struck twice in the first half to give her side a commanding lead, before completing her hattrick 10 minutes after the break.

Gwalia, who play in the third tier of the English pyramid, wouldn’t ease up though, with substitute Jessie Taylor striking the ball from outside the box in the 90th minute to make it four for Gwalia and ensure a place in round three.

The second tier Women’s Championship teams are introduced into the draw from the third round, with the likes of Newcastle United, Sheffield United or Bristol City among potential opponents. If Gwalia make it through the next round, a potentially huge clash with WSL giants such as Chelsea, Arsenal, or Manchester City lie in wait!

TNS Win Battle of the Top

With two matches this weekend postponed due to flooding, TNS and Penybont cooked up a barnstormer of a match on Sunday afternoon.

Penybont, ahead of TNS by 4 points at the start of the day, flew out of the traps, as former Cardiff City academy forward James Crole struck twice in the space of four first-half minutes to put Bont in a commanding position at Park Hall.

But Josh Pask’s header in the 50th minute brought TNS back into the contest, and Danny Davies struck 15 minutes later to level proceedings. And Danny Redmond notched the winner in the 89th minute for Craig Harrison’s side – who move to within a point of Penybont while also boasting a game in hand over Rhys Griffiths’ outfit.

Elsewhere, Haverfordwest and Bala Town played out a scoreless draw, while there were home wins for Cardiff Met and Flint Town over Aberystwyth and Briton Ferry respectively.

City Beat Met in the Cardiff Derby

Reigning champs Cardiff City won convincingly in the Cardiff derby, running out 1-4 winners at Cardiff Met.

TNS kept hold of second spot in the table as they beat Wrexham 1-0, while Swansea City slipped up slightly, due to a 2-2 draw at Barry Town. Briton Ferry and Aberystwyth had their match postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.

Results

Saturday

Sheffield Wednesday 1-1 Cardiff City

Wrexham 3-0 Exeter City

Notts County 0-0 Newport County

Flint Town United 2-1 Briton Ferry

Cardiff Met 3-0 Aberystwyth Town

Haverfordwest County 0-0 Bala Town

The New Saints 3-2 Penybont

Sunday

Swansea City 3-4 Leeds United

Gwalia United 4-0 Bridgwater United

The New Saints 1-0 Wrexham

Cardiff Met 1-4 Cardiff City

Barry Town United 2-2 Swansea City

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