Laura Curnock says that Cardiff City’s ‘team of winners’ are desperate to lift the Bute Energy Welsh Cup when they meet Swansea City in the Final at Rodney Parade on Sunday (KO 17:00).
The Bluebirds have emerged as serial trophy winners in recent seasons, but missed out on the Genero Adran Premier title to Wrexham this term and also lost to the Red Dragons in the Genero Adran Trophy Final.
“Obviously we set out to win the league, we do every single year, but I think we can still be proud of ourselves,” Curnock said. “We pushed Wrexham all the way and it went down to the wire as everybody knows.
“I still feel like it’s been successful for us. We’ve made it to two finals, and we’ve got a chance again at grabbing some silverware. If we manage to do that it will be a successful season.”
Bute Energy Welsh Cup Final
Sunday’s game will mark the beginning of a new era at Cardiff as Noah Bushby takes the reins as first team manager for the first time, following Iain Darbyshire’s departure at the end of the league campaign.
The Bluebirds have dominated the Bute Energy Welsh Cup in recent seasons, triumphing in each of the last four finals. They have not lost a game in the competition since March 2019.
Curnock, who played in her first final at Rodney Parade last year after joining from Bristol Rovers in 2024, says that it is a run that the team are aiming to continue.
“When Iain was here, he would tell you that he’s never lost a game in this competition, and now we’ve got Noah in charge we want to continue that.
“Last year it was a great day out, it was my first Bute Energy Welsh Cup Final with this club, so I’m very much looking forward to another one.”
The Final will be the sixth time that Cardiff and Swansea have faced each other this season, with the bragging rights heading to the capital on each occasion so far.
Curnock admits that the rivalry between the two clubs will add extra spice to Sunday’s showpiece at Rodney Parade.
“There’s no better day than a South Wales Derby. Playing for Cardiff City that’s one of the biggest games of the year, no matter where you are in the league, no matter where Swansea are in the league, it’s always one of the biggest games, so it adds to it being a final.
“We always get a great game out of them (Swansea). Derby days are a leveller, so we’re looking forward to going head-to-head. They’re in the final for a reason and so are we, so it will be a great game.”
Defeat on Sunday would see Cardiff City finish a campaign without silverware for the first time since 2020-21 and Curnock is keen to ensure that that is not the case.
“We really want to get our hands on some silverware this season, and I think we’d be doing ourselves a disservice if we don’t do manage to do that.
“It would mean everything to us. To come up short a couple of times this season is disappointing for us. We’re a team of winners, we’re used to winning so that’s what we set out to do.”
