The New Saints reached the Nathaniel MG Cup final for the first time since 2018 courtesy of a 2-0 win away at Guilsfield in Tuesday night’s semi-final.
The hosts were certainly underdogs going into tie, but they were more than worthy of their spot in the last four following a fairytale run in the competition that included wins over top-flight sides Newtown and Bala Town.
TNS would be their toughest test yet but they held firm for the majority of the first half against the JD Cymru Premier leaders, with Dan Williams and Jordan Williams both seeing efforts miss the target.
Craig Harrison’s side eventually broke the deadlock five minutes before half-time, when the ball fell to Jordan Williams in the box and he executed a cheeky backheel that beat Robbie Williams in the Guilsfield goal.
The hosts had the first chance of the second half as Iwan Matthews led a breakaway, but he was halted by strong defending from Danny Davies.
Blaine Hudson and Chris Marriott both had opportunities to double TNS’ advantage, but it was not until the 75th minute that they found a second goal. Jordan Williams was again the scorer, firing home inside the box after Guilsfield failed to deal with Marriott’s corner.
That appeared to be game over, but Guils were handed the chance to get back into the game in the 85thminute when referee Huw Jones awarded them a penalty for Josh Daniels’ foul on Jake Cook in the box.
However, Saints goalkeeper Connor Roberts kept his clean sheet intact by making a strong save to keep out Iwan Matthews’ spot-kick.
Buoyed by their keepers’ heroics, TNS almost found a third goal in the closing stages but Adrian Cieslewicz saw his effort cleared off the liner by Guilsfield defender Izaack Lambert.
Swansea City will now meet The New Saints in the Nathaniel MG Cup final, with the Oswestry outfit aiming to lift the trophy for the ninth time.
The 2024 Nathaniel MG Cup final takes place at Jenner Park, Barry on Saturday 20 January (KO 5:30pm). Tickets are available to buy here.
