Resilience was the key word in the Cardiff City dressing room after they defeated Swansea City on penalties to win the Bute Energy Welsh Cup Final in dramatic style.
The Bluebirds trailed 3-0 against their old rivals at Rodney Parade, but staged a remarkable comeback to level the contest before triumphing in the shootout to claim the trophy for the fifth year in a row.
“It’s hard to sum up how it really feels,” said breathless boss Noah Bushby after the game. “The character that the players showed, the desire, the passion, the pride to represent this club. I’m just incredibly proud of them.”
“It was a rollercoaster of emotions but I’m just so pleased that the girls showed that resilience and we got the win,” captain Hannah Power added. “I think we showed so much character to come back and I’m just mega proud of everyone for their efforts today.”
Cardiff City win fifth consecutive Bute Energy Welsh Cup
Swansea led by one goal at half-time thanks to a stunning strike from Chloe Chivers, before Aimee Deacon and Maisie Miller netted early in the second period to seemingly put Yzzy Taylor’s side firmly in control of the contest.
“I said in all my pre-match stuff that Swansea were going to be a tough opponent,” Bushby said. “A South Wales derby, a cup final, it was always going to be a huge game and it was. It was an excellent game.
“Congratulations to Steph [Turner], Stacey [John] and Lucy [Finch] on their careers, they’ve been unbelievable as part of Welsh women’s football.”
Cardiff’s introduction of Fiona Barry just before the hour mark proved to be the pivotal moment in the Final, as the forward pulled a goal back for her side on 65 minutes before Shannon Evans headed home another just four minutes later.
The Bluebirds’ equaliser then came in the 81st minute when Barry’s shot from the edge of the box deflected off Jess Williams and looped over Swans goalkeeper Amelia Forkings.
“The character that these girls show is ridiculous,” defender Megan Bowen said. “To not only go 1-0 down but to go 3-0 down, to then bring it back to 3-3 just shows the determination and the drive this team has.
“This group of girls is special and we’re only going to go up from here. We’re going to secure more silverware in the coming years and there’s big things happening at this club.”
“We said before the game that no matter what happens we just show resilience,” Power added. “We’ve been in a lot of positions this season where the game has been against us and maybe we haven’t shown the resilience that we’ve needed to.
“So today was huge that we didn’t give up no matter what the score was. I think everybody knew that we could do it and we did, so it’s credit to the girls who really gave everything and left everything on the pitch. I’m just so proud of them.”
Bushby explains what the message was from the sidelines as the Bluebirds tried to get back into the game.
“Our belief seemed quite low and it was just, can we get the next shot? Can we get the next goal? Just something to build us back up and fortunately it came. That’s the thing with football, it’s a momentum game. They [Swansea] had the momentum at the start of the second half, then towards the end of the half we had the momentum.”
The penalty shootout that followed was near faultless, which Stacey John the only player to miss for Swansea City. It gave Bowen the opportunity to win the trophy with Cardiff’s fifth penalty and she stepped up to score.
“I wanted one in the [Genero Adran Trophy] final a few weeks ago but bottled it last minute, but as soon as the final whistle went today I went over to Noah and said I want it,” Bowen said. “I don’t know if that was a smart thing to do!
“You need people who want to do it. I did change my way at the last second but it went in and that’s all that matters. This team can celebrate now and I’m sure we’ll have a good night. We’ve done something special today.”
While it is a fifth consecutive Bute Energy Welsh Cup triumph for Cardiff, this one is likely to feel particularly special for Power, who returned to playing at the start of the season after giving birth to daughter Nelly in February 2025.
“It’s so special,” she said. “This time last year I was about 10 weeks postpartum, so to be here now, leading the team out and to be crowned winners again for the fifth year in a row is just incredible and I’m so happy.”
With long-serving manager Iain Darbyshire departing the club at the end of the league campaign, Bushby found himself in the unique position of his first game in charge being a cup final.
While there may have been pressure to bring home the trophy, the former assistant boss made the perfect start to life as number one.
“Iain has built this team so I don’t want to make it about me at all,” Bushby said. “I don’t think that would be fair. I’ve been put in a privileged and fortunate position to take over for the final. I’m really proud of the players and really happy for the fans that we’ve managed to get this silverware today.”
Sunday’s win continued Cardiff City’s remarkable run in the Bute Energy Welsh Cup, with the Bluebirds having now lifted the trophy in each of the last five seasons. Their last defeat in the competition came in March 2019.
“We always say every year that it’s our trophy” Bowen said. “We want to win it every year. The amount of days we’ve been unbeaten [in the competition] is ridiculous and we want to secure dominance in this competition. We’ve won it for five years and hopefully there’s many more to come.”
