The New Saints 2-0 Astana
- Holden and McManus score historic goals
- Impressive display from Harrison’s team
- TNS move into the knockout play-off places
- Shamrock Rovers next on MD3
The New Saints have written another chapter in the history books of Welsh football following a tremendous victory in the League Phase of the UEFA Conference League with a 2-0 win against Astana of Kazakhstan.
A goal in each half secured the three points as Rory Holden opened the scoring before Declan McManus netted a second from the penalty spot.
“It’s huge. It’s dream come true,” said manager Craig Harrison at full-time. “I’m so proud of everyone at this football club.
“It gives us a platform to work from, it gives us belief. Not only do we deserve to be here, we’ve proven we can win at this level.”
TNS came into this match off the back of a heroic display at the home of Italian Serie A giants Fiorentina in a 2-0 defeat on Matchday One. The game won Craig Harrison’s team many plaudits and proved that TNS would be competitive in the Conference League despite the odds being against them. They therefore came into this home match looking to create some history for Welsh football by using their vast amount of European experience to go in search of a first win by a domestic Welsh team at this stage of a competition.
TNS were impressive in the game with a clear tactic of sitting back to bring Astana on to them in order to hit the Kazakhstan club on the counter-attack. This worked for the reigning JD Cymru Premier champions as they attacked with purpose and created multiple chances to take the lead.
Astana, who finished as runners-up in the Kazakhstan Premier League last season, were also looking useful and Connor Roberts was called upon several times to pull off vital saves for TNS.
However, Aleksandr Zarutskiy was unable to replicate Roberts at the other end of the pitch as half-time approached when some stunning attacking play saw TNS spread the play out towards Jordan Williams on left. He was afforded plenty of space to perfectly height his cross onto the run of Rory Holden in the box, who headed TNS into the lead.
It nearly got better for TNS moments later as Holden ran through and chipped the ball over the advancing Zarutskiy who made no contact with the ball. Holden’s attempt was cleared in the six-yard box as TNS appealed for a penalty but the referee waved away the appeals.
When Astana returned to the pitch, they put everything into levelling the match and heaped pressure on the TNS defence. The Saints held strong though and once they composed themselves and neutralised Astana’s sting, the began to take control once again.
Harrison used his bench wisely and when he brought on Adam Wilson in the place of the impressive Ryan Brobbel, it appeared to be a masterstroke. Wilson’s mobility and pace was causing the tiring Astana defence all sorts of problems and as he took a 77th minute shot, he saw it blocked by the raised arm of Islambek Kuat. A penalty was immediately awarded.
Declan McManus had looked dangerous all game and missed a plethora of excellent chances to score and has started to look increasingly frustrated as the minutes of the match ticked away. However, the penalty award gave him the perfect opportunity to finally hit the back of the net. Having sent Zarutskiy the wrong way, he did just that.
The two-goal lead allowed some breathing space going into the closing moments of the match and it allowed TNS to start enjoying the historic moment that they’d created for themselves and Welsh football.
“It’s a dream come true for a lot of us,” McManus said afterwards. “We knew coming into the game that we could hurt them and we knew that there were going to be spells where we’d be under pressure but I think every single one of us to a man stood up to the challenge and on the night were superb.”
The win over Astana has lifted TNS into the Knockout Phase Play-Off Places with Shamrock Rovers of the League of Ireland up next on 7 November, with both teams seeing the match as an incredible opportunity to solidify their position in the table.