Welsh Football Round-Up: Connah’s Quay Cup Glory

Connah’s Quay Nomads stole the headlines from the rest of the weekend’s Welsh football action as  they beat The New Saints 2-1, denying them another domestic treble.

Harry Franklin and Josh Williams scored either side of Ashley Baker’s equaliser as the Nomads won the Cup for the first time since 2018.

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

Nomads were the last team to beat TNS in the Welsh Cup, defeating them at the quarter finals stage on their way to their first Cup win in 2018.

19-year-old Josh Williams’ scissor kick won the match in spectacular style for his side.

It was a goal worthy of winning any match and consigned TNS to their first defeat of the season in all domestic competitions, having gone unbeaten in the JD Cymru Premier and Nathaniel MG Cup this season.

Elsewhere, Cardiff City were soundly beaten 4-1 by Middlesbrough in their last home game of the season.

After a tense first half where Matt Clarke’s goal gave the visitors a slim halftime lead, a flurry of goals from Finn Azaz, Alex Gilbert, and Emmanuel Latte Lath sealed the result before Josh Bowler’s late consolation.

Cardiff rivals Swansea City drew 2-2 at Norwich City to continue their quietly impressive run of form a the end of the season.

Goals from Matt Grimes and Jamie Paterson, the latter set up by Wales international Liam Cullen, mean that Swansea and Cardiff find themselves 12th and 13th in the Championship with one game to come next week.

In League Two, Wrexham ended their excellent season on a high by beating champions Stockport County on the final day of the season.

With both sides having confirmed promotion previous to this weekend, pride was at stake at SToK Cae Ras.

A composed equaliser by Ollie Palmer and a late winner from Andy Cannon meant Wrexham “finished the season in style” according to manager Phil Parkinson.

Newport County were well beaten 4-1 by play-off chasing Bradford City. This defeat means that the Exiles have ended the season with eight defeats in a row, with their last win – 2-0 at AFC Wimbledon – coming on March 16.

Newport County boss Graham Coughlan said that “it’s probably been 10 games too many for us this season.”

“It’s a little bit of relief that the season is over. We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us, we can’t accept what we’ve had as a football club over the last eight games.”

Ben Davies started and won a penalty for Tottenham as they just failed to comeback from 3-0 down against rivals Arsenal in the North London derby. Fellow Wales international Brennan Johnson also played an hour off the bench.

The only other Premier League involvement by a Wales international was Harry Wilson’s cameo off the bench as his side, Fulham, drew 1-1 with Crystal Palace.

Meanwhile Luton’s Welsh manager Rob Edwards saw his side lose 2-1 at Wolves leaving his side one point below Nottingham Forest and still in the relegation zone.

Leeds United’s chances of an automatic promotion place took a massive blow on Friday night as they lost 4-0 at home to QPR.

Wales internationals Ethan Ampadu and Joe Rodon have formed an outstanding defensive partnership this season but were powerless to the magic of QPR’s Ilias Chair.

Ipswich capitalised on Leeds’ slip up to some extent, but their 3-3 draw left them frustrated by a Hull City side gunning for a play-off place.

Wes Burns started and Kieffer Moore came off the bench as a late equaliser for Hull meant that the battle for an automatic promotion spot will go down to the final weekend.

In another 3-3 draw, Welsh international and former Newport County man, Josh Sheehan played the full match as his Bolton team drew with Peterborough in League One, while Aaron Collins was substituted in the 75th minute.

David Brooks’ Southampton continued their mini-dip in form, losing 1-0 at home to relegation threatened Stoke City. The Welsh midfielder played 62 minutes but struggled to assert himself on the game.

Jordan James and Rabbi Matondo both missed games for Birmingham and Rangers respectively, but there was good news for Matondo during the week as he won Rangers’ goal of the season at their annual awards night for his stunner in the Old Firm derby.

In the women’s game, Sophie Ingle was an unused substitute as Chelsea were knocked out of the UEFA Women’s Champions League semi-final against Barcelona.

Gemma Evans and Hayley Ladd appeared for Manchester United in their 1-0 win at Leicester City while their international teammate Josie Green stayed on the bench for the foxes.

Ffion Morgan and Ella Powell’s Bristol City were relegated from the Women’s Super League with two games to go after they were hammered 4-0 by title chasing Manchester City.

Rachel Rowe played an influential role for Rangers as they beat arch rivals Celtic 2-0 in the Scottish Cup semi-final while, across the pond, Jess Fishlock and Angharad James played in Seattle Reign’s 1-0 loss to North Carolina Courage.

Coming up this week, Cardiff and Wrexham meet in the women’s Welsh Cup final, with the capital club looking to complete a domestic treble!

The match is taking place at the neutral Rodney Parade on Sunday with the north Walian side looking to win their first Welsh Cup.

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