As The New Saints celebrate becoming Genero Adran Trophy champions for the first time in their history, manager Shauna Duffy was full of praise for her team.
Defeating Swansea City 3-1 at Latham Park, TNS managed to lift their first major piece of silverware in their first final, and Duffy is pleased to have upset the odds.
“It feels absolutely amazing! Going into a game like that against a side like Swansea City, you are the underdogs because of their history. It was always going to be a tough game, but it’s one where we had to go in full of confidence and had to make sure we were on the front foot and aggressive in everything that we did.”
The Saints made a fast start to the contest, as Chantelle Teare put them ahead after two minutes. A Lexi Jones wonder strike coupled with a Lauren Davies own goal meant it was a dream first half for TNS, and Jones knew exactly what she wanted to do when the ball broke to her outside the box.
“We wanted to come at Swansea with a lot of energy, give it all we had, and that’s exactly what we did. We managed to get a lot of goals and that set us up well for the second half. When Olivia passed the ball across, I just kept my cool and saw the chance in front of me and I took it, and I’m glad it paid off!”
Despite Stacey John-Davis pulling a goal back early in the second half, TNS held firm against their waves of pressure, and Helen Evans has praised the resilience of her teammates.
“It says a lot about our team in the fact that we can have a three-goal lead, and we still try to keep the ball out of the net as much as we can. We always knew Swansea were going to come back and fight, but we were resilient, and we managed to keep them out.”
Striker Jones was one of eleven new players to come through the doors of Park Hall this summer, and now with a trophy under their belt, the new Saints are looking to continue their dominance.
“It’s amazing. Joining the club this season, we had goals we wanted to try and tick off, but to have this trophy in the bag already is incredible. We have made a statement with this win, and that’s what we always wanted to do.”
Yet, some like Evans have been with the club since day one. Having survived on the final day in their first season, the combative midfielder certainly didn’t think a day like this was possible back then.
“I definitely didn’t see anything like this happening when we survived on that final day. We’ve come a long way and progressed season after season, and it’s all down to the staff and the backing from the club, because that’s what’s made this happen.”
But the final word went to manager Duffy, who, while wanting to enjoy the celebrations, is keen to keep pushing her team forward.
“We’ve got to enjoy today, and we obviously have another quarter-final next weekend. However, we have our hands on our first bit of silverware, and we’ve made history in doing that. You have to enjoy moments like these and continue to push on and compete as much as we can.”
