As we draw closer to Friday’s Nathaniel MG Cup final, Aberystwyth Town may want to remember the wise words of Albert Einstein.
‘In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity’, he once wrote. The 2024/25 season has indeed been one of the most difficult in recent times for Aber. Yet, amongst the fear of being relegated from the JD Cymru Premier for the first time, the club find themselves with an opportunity to capture silverware and a possible springboard for survival.
2025 Nathaniel MG Cup Final
Aberystwyth will play their first ever Nathaniel MG Cup final up against a TNS side, who are firm favourites to retain the trophy. However, were it not for long-serving forward Jonathan Evans, they wouldn’t be there at all.
The side appeared set to crash out in Round Three, with JD Cymru North side Llandudno holding onto a 2-1 lead with just minutes remaining. Evans, a second half substitute, struck an equaliser in the final minute, before rifling a dramatic winner deep into added time to send the Green and Blacks through.
“I wasn’t really supposed to be playing that night,” explained Evans. “I think we were resting a few players, as we had a big league game that week, but things didn’t go as planned. Taff (Anthony Williams), who was in charge at the time, said ‘I’m going to have to chuck you on for the last 20 minutes’ and I was glad to just deliver on that.
“It was a great night for me personally and for the team. We haven’t had a whole lot to cheer about this season and we’ve never been to the final before.
“There is a bit of a buzz about the area and we’ve got a couple of coaches of fans coming up to watch, so I just hope we don’t leave them disappointed on Friday and that we can give a good account of ourselves and the club, because I think the club deserve that after everything they’ve given us.”
With Aber rooted to the foot of the foot of the JD Cymru Premier table, the Nathaniel MG Cup has provided a brief respite from their league campaign and Evans, who lives in nearby Penparcau, insists a shock result should not be discounted.
“With things the way they are in the league, we’re in a real bad place at the moment,” he said. “It’s been tough to get people in January during the window, and we’ve just unfortunately had too many boys get injured at the same time, who are valuable to us, and that essentially has cost us a lot of results and games. But we’ve just got to get on with it and move forward.
“With all due respect to TNS, they are massively big favourites – there’s no denying it, but at the end of the day, it’s a cup final, it’s a one off game and who knows.”
Evans says that despite their league difficulties, the squad are set on repaying the faith shown in them this season by both their current and previous managers.
“With all due respect to Taff, he was brilliant when he was here and did everything he could with what they had, and when Corbs took over, the club was in a bad way,” he said.
“Results weren’t very good and I take my hat off to them for taking the job, and since coming in, Corbs has been brilliant with people.
“He and Baz (Barry Morgan) have helped anyone in any way they can, in terms of whatever they need, and I can’t thank the staff enough for everything they’ve done and my heart goes to them. They care so much about the club, and being local boys as well, they desperately want the best for us and I can’t speak highly enough of them.”
And amidst their difficult campaign, Evans believes the squad are ready to taste success once again and hopefully provide their loyal fanbase with a memorable display.
“It doesn’t mean we’re going to shy away and roll out the red carpet for them by any means. It’s a cup final and success is not something we’ve not had a lot of this season, and it will be a game we’re going to get into.
“Anything can happen, we’re looking forward to it and hopefully we can give our fans something to cheer about. We’ll do our best and we appreciate the fans sticking by us and everything the club does for us.”
