For a club like Swansea City, winning is a key component of their DNA.
Six-time Genero Adran Premier winners, three-time Bute Energy Welsh Cup winners, two-time Genero Adran Trophy winners; this is a team who is used to hoisting silverware come the end of the season.
That’s why it’s a little surprising that the Swans haven’t won any silverware for almost two seasons. Defender Ellie Lake explained a lot has happened to her team but says now is the time for Swansea to change their fortunes for the better.
“That’s just the way things have turned for us in the past few seasons. We’ve gone from being the most successful club in Wales for a number of years, who were winning trophies, not conceding many, to being a club who haven’t won anything for a little while.
“We’ve had a lot of players who have been out injured over a good period of time, and because of that, we’ve probably focused on the league more rather than the cups. We wanted to change that this year, and we’re really looking forward to Sunday.”
2024 Genero Adran Trophy final tickets
Sunday’s final comes off the back of the conclusion of the Genero Adran Premier, where Swansea finished second for the second consecutive year.
Second place is not what Swansea wanted, of course, but considering all the challenges they have faced this season, Lake is immensely proud of what she and her teammates have achieved.
“We’re disappointed that we didn’t win the league this year. We are always disappointed not to win it, because a club like us should be winning trophies.
“However, in terms of the season, on the pitch we’ve done everything we can, especially with what we’ve been battling off the pitch sometimes that people outside the club maybe don’t see. Everybody who has been out on that pitch have done everything they can for the club, and hopefully next year we can win it again.”
Now, Lake and her team have a chance to finish the season on a high, as they take on Cardiff City in the Genero Adran Trophy final in Penybont on Sunday.
This will be the sixth time the two have met this season, with the Bluebirds currently holding the upper hand in head-to-head meetings. However, Lake knows her side have what it takes to beat the Genero Adran Premier champions and is fully aware that anything can happen in a cup final.
“A cup final is always different; league form goes out the window, no matter who it’s against. The intensity will be there on Sunday with it being the South Wales Derby. With the number of times we’ve played against them this season, I’d like to thing we both know each other inside out by now, and it’s going to come down to whoever wants it more on the day.
“I think we should have beaten them at home in phase one as well. We wanted to beat them, because we didn’t want them to beat our unbeaten run of around three or four years! That win gave us a bit of belief to go on and think, if we’ve beaten them once, why can’t we do it again?
“Other than the 4-0 loss, all the other games we’ve played against them, we’ve created our own mistakes. In the cup, we were unlucky when we made an error in the last minute, but there’s absolutely no reason why we can’t beat them.”
The prospect of returning to the winners’ table for Swansea is tantalising, and they are only 90 minutes away from doing so.
Lake is firmly of the belief her team deserve something this season and says Sunday could finally be their moment.
“To top off this season with this trophy would be amazing for the whole team. We deserve something after the performances that the girls have put in through the year, people stepping in when we’ve had injuries, and if we can finish the season with a trophy, we will be really happy. It would also give us a little bit of momentum heading into next season.”
