New signing Ike Ugbo is convinced Cardiff City is the “perfect” place for him to reignite his career. The 24-year-old striker, who started his career at Chelsea, joins on a season-long loan from French club Troyes having also enjoyed spells in the Netherlands and Belgium.

Zac Jones stands between Newtown and a place in European football next season. The Haverfordwest County goalkeeper will be the man Newtown have to beat when sixth faces seventh in the JD Cymru Play-Off final.

The New Saints manager Craig Harrison watched his team win the JD Welsh Cup Final with a 6-0 thrashing of Bala Town but insisted it was not a performance that impressed him. Declan McManus notched his 32nd goal in as many matches this season to launch an emphatic victory – the biggest win in the Welsh Cup final since Wrexham blasted seven goals past Shrewsbury Town at The Racecourse in 1931 in their 7-0 victory.

Niall Flint is the hero Aberystwyth Town will toast this summer after the club made sure they will be in the JD Cymru Premier next season – for the 32nd consecutive time. It was Flint who grabbed the Aber winner in stoppage time in their weekend thrilling 3-2 win over Caernarfon Town.

Haverfordwest County fans can start thinking of some decent trips overseas after the club clinched Europa League qualification. The Bluebirds have done it the hard way, via the JD Cymru Play-Off Conference table which they top from Pontypridd United.

The New Saints are the JD Cymru League champions again – and would bet against them being crowned champions in 2024? Certainly, no-one who’s taken a look at the club’s astonishing success over the past few seasons. It was hardly the most spectacular clinching of a Championship. TNS ground out a weekend 0-0 draw against Connah’s Quay Nomads at the Deeside Stadium.

There will be no need for introductions when Bala Town meet Connah’s Quay Nomads in the first JD Welsh Cup semi-final on Friday night. The Cup clash – staged at Flint Town United’s Essity Stadium – will be the fifth time the clubs have met this season and the third time they have eye-balled each other in the last six weeks. Anyone looking for a form guide will have to sift through the fine detail, though, as the four meetings so far leave nothing between them. They have one victory apiece, with two of the previous encounters ending in draws.

The FA Cup took centre stage last week, with Wrexham sensationally beating Coventry City and both Cardiff City and Swansea City being held to draws, but this weekend is all about the JD Welsh Cup. The first games in the FA Cup were in November, 1871, while the Welsh Cup started in October, 1877, with Newtown hosting the Druids in the first game in the tournament. These days the Druids are Cefn Druids, who went out in an earlier round.

Both The New Saints and Newtown face an uphill task to stay in Europe after defeats in the first legs of their Europa Conference League ties. The New Saints were disappointed in losing 2-0 at Icelandic champions Vikingur Reykjavík, while Newtown were hammered 4-1 in Slovakia by Spartak Trnava. It means both Welsh Premier clubs have it all to do in the second legs at home next week. The Saints endured a difficult first half in Iceland and Leo Smith’s foul on Ari Sigurpálsson resulted in a penalty which Kristall Máni Ingason converted.

By Rob Carbon Connah’s Quay manager Andy Morrison is concerned about a “lack of leadership” amongst his players, as the reigning champions fell to a 1-0 defeat to Bala Town on Saturday which means they are now already eight points behind the in-form TNS. The New Saints moved four points clear at the top of the JD Cymru Premier league after their 3-1 home win over Barry Town United as the wheels are in danger of coming off in the Nomads’ bid for a hat-trick of titles as they continue to see red. “We had to play for 40 minutes with 10 men at Barry and it was 65 against Bala. There is a pattern emerging over the last few weeks where we aren’t switched on after the initial intensity,” said Nomads boss Morrison.

Anthony Limbrick insisted he was proud of his players’ Euro campaign despite The New Saints’ agonising defeat to FC Viktoria Plzen in the Czech Republic. TNS suffered penalties heartbreak as their chance to reach the Europa Conference League were ended by a 4-1 shoot-out defeat. The outcome was made all the harder to swallow as Saints’ goalkeeper Paul Harrison had earlier been hit by a bottle thrown from the crowd.

The New Saints have been warned to expect a very different task when they bid to hold onto a two-goal Europa Conference League advantage in the Czech Republic tonight. FC Viktoria Plzeň manager Michal Bilek has told opposite number Anthony Limbrick he will face something far tougher than was served up by the Czechs when they came to Wales. Limbrick’s team moved into a 4-0 lead at Cardiff City Stadium last week before conceding two late goals.