It will be a South Wales side who will represent Tîm Rhanbarthol Cymru in the 2026/27 UEFA Regions’ Cup after they secured a 4-0 second leg win over their Northern counterparts to secure a 6-1 aggregate victory in the play-off.
Liam Eason’s double earned a 2-1 win for Andy Hill’s team in the first leg at Trefelin’s Ynys Park last weekend, but there was no sign of them simply defending that narrow advantage at the Hollingsworth Group Stadium in Broughton.
Indeed, South Wales scored twice in the opening 22 minutes. The first came when an Ollie Redhead switch of play found his Caerau Ely teammate Liam Bishop, who beat his marker before cutting inside and curling a superb effort from 20 yards into the top-left corner.
Pontypridd United winger Ethan Edwards quickly added a second with a brilliant solo goal. Edwards dribbled through the North Wales defence before calmly slotting into the bottom-left corner to get on the scoresheet.
Edwards grabbed his second of the afternoon four minutes before half-time. First-leg hero Liam Eason lifted his head and picked out Edwards with a precise square pass, leaving him with a simple tap-in for South Wales’ third as they opened up a four-goal cushion on aggregate.
If the tie was not already over at that point, Redhead made sure of victory with a goal of his own 10 minutes into the second half. Redhead received the ball in space on the edge of the area and was afforded far too much time to advance before calmly placing his effort into the far-left corner.
With the tie all but secured, Llantwit Major substitute Jack Bevan was shown a late red card following an off-the-ball incident involving an opposition player. The dismissal had little impact on the outcome, however, as South Wales soon began their celebrations.
It is the second consecutive occasion that Hill has led South Wales to the UEFA Regions’ Cup, following their 4-1 aggregate victory in the play-off two years ago.
“Our performance was clinical and resilient. The players application to executing the game plan was outstanding from start to finish” said the South Wales boss reflecting on the triumph.
The team will now represent in Tîm Rhanbarthol Cymru in the intermediate round, with the draw placing them in a group alongside the RATs (Regional Amateur Teams) from Bosnia & Herzegovina, North Macedonia and the winner of the preliminary round (Armenia, Estonia or Lithuania). All of the group matches will be played in Bosnia & Herzegovina, with dates to be confirmed.
The eight intermediate round group winners will qualify for the finals – to be held, in principle, in June or early July 2027 and hosted by one of the qualifiers.
