Swansea City are aiming to break their two-year trophy drought on Sunday as they face off against The New Saints in the Genero Adran Trophy final.
The Swans welcomed plenty of new faces of the summer, and one of them was Maddy Murray, who joined from the FAW Girls’ Academy. After a testing start to the season, the youngster is in fine form currently.
“I’ve developed a lot this season. Coming into the women’s game is a big leap from academy football, but I’ve learned so much so far. It was something I wasn’t really used to at the start of the season, but all the girls here have been so supportive. I’m playing in a position that I don’t normally play, but it’s lead to me being more diverse and aware when I’m on the pitch.”
2025 Genero Adran Trophy Final
After facing second tier sides in the round of 16 and quarter-finals, Swansea booked their spot in the final with a win away to Wrexham, a game that helped raise confidence around the dressing room.
“The game against Wrexham was a really needed one for us to show how far we’ve come as a group. We deserved to win the game, we worked hard, and we were very clinical in that game, and that’s something we’ve been working on. It gave us a massive confidence boost.”
The only hurdle standing in Swansea’s way now is TNS, a side who defeated them in both league games this season.
Murray is fully aware of the quality in the TNS side, but she believes her squad have shown a lot of improvement against them, and on Sunday, they can get the job done.
“TNS are obviously an amazing team. They have plenty of fast players, they know what to do on and off the ball, but I think on Sunday we can go out there and show them what we’re truly about. The two games we’ve had against TNS this season were tough, but as a squad we’ve bounced back from those results.
“We learn so much in training too from watching clips back and analysing what went wrong. To go from losing 5-0 to them to losing 1-0 and having a defender in goal for 70 minutes of that game, shows how far we’ve come over the last few months. We’re in a good place heading into the final.”
Of course, Swansea were in this position last year, but they lost 5-1 to Cardiff City in the final. The players who played last season are more determined than ever to lift the trophy, and that is inspiring new players like Murray to play at their very top level.
“The girls who played in the final last year certainly have it in the back of their mind. They don’t want to feel that again this time around, and as a result, they have that drive to make sure it doesn’t happen. For us new players, some of us haven’t played in a final before, so to see the passion those older players have definitely spurs us all on. It’s shown us what this club is all about. We have a lot of desire, and we will show that on Sunday.”
Without a doubt, this is a Swansea team that are hungry to add to their trophy cabinet, and Murray knows if everyone gives their all that they can be victorious in Newtown.
“Winning the final would mean everything. With the group of girls we have too, we all know we can win the trophy. I know everyone says it’s them who deserves to win it, but we truly do deserve it. The amount of work we’ve put in this season and what we’ve gone through, we do deserve this, and we will all walk off that pitch knowing we all gave 100%.”
