It started in farce but ended in recognisable fashion as Craig Harrison praised the resilience and professionalism of The New Saints – treble winners again.
The Saints secured a 2-1 comeback victory over Connah’s Quay Nomads to lift the JD Welsh Cup and clinch another historic domestic treble, their first in a decade.
Despite a chaotic start to the final at Newport’s Rodney Parade — with Nomads forced to begin the match with only 10 players due to a registration blunder, before sending on an 11th man inside the opening minute — it was the defending champions who took the early initiative before they succumbed.
Reflecting on the hard-fought contest, manager Harrison was full of respect for the opposition while praising his own side’s maturity.
“Connah's Quay made it difficult, they always are and where they finished in the league is completely false,” said Harrison.
“They've got good coaches, good players and good people behind the scenes.
“They've got some real men in that changing room. We knew it was always going to be tough.”
Harrison, who has already guided his team to the league title and the Welsh League Cup this season, felt this final was a chance to show how far his squad had come after falling to the same opponents in last year’s showpiece.
“I'm not giving Connah's Quay any dis-service but I don't think there's many teams in the league who could go toe-to-toe with us playing football,” he said.
“They won it last year by doing something similar, we weren't great and we ended up losing.
“But today I thought we were a bit more of ourselves – we still got drawn in a little bit – but overall we got over the line and deservedly so.”
READ MORE: The New Saints JD Welsh Cup
Midfielder Declan Poole broke the deadlock in the seventh minute with his maiden goal of the campaign, finishing off a clever move initiated by former Everton academy star Rhys Hughes.
But TNS regrouped quickly. Although Adam Wilson had a goal chalked off controversially for a minor tug on Nomads defender Kris Owen, they didn't take long to restore parity.
On 17 minutes, Jordan Williams was hauled down by John Disney just outside the box, and Rory Holden bent a sublime free-kick into the top corner.
Early in the second half, Williams turned provider — meeting Danny Redmond’s pinpoint cross with a firm header to put the Cymru Premier champions in front.
While Connah’s Quay mounted a determined response, creating several openings in the final stages, The New Saints held firm to secure their 10th Welsh Cup triumph — drawing level with Swansea City in the all-time honours list.
Only Cardiff City and Wrexham have more.
The victory not only capped a clean sweep of domestic honours for TNS but also ensured Penybont, who finished second in the league, will take part in next season’s Europa Conference League qualifiers due to Saints already securing Champions League qualification.
READ MORE: Connah’s Quay Nomads JD Welsh Cup
