Llanelli Town captain Joe Hopkins eyes JD Welsh Cup and JD Cymru South double

Llanelli Town captain Joe Hopkins has said that this season’s JD Welsh Cup run has inspired their promotion push in the JD Cymru South.

The Reds have been firing on all cylinders and are going strong on two fronts. They are in a closely contested title race with Trethomas Bluebirds in the JD Cymru South with two points separating the two sides with four games remaining.

Until they lost to Ammanford in late February, Llanelli had been on an 18-game winning run in all competitions. They now find themselves 90 minutes from a first JD Welsh Cup final in 14 years as they face Connah’s Quay Nomads in the last four at Park Avenue on Saturday.

“We’ve taken the whole season one game at time,” said the 33-year-old to FAW.Cymru when asked about how it’s been juggling a cup run alongside their promotion push. “Whether it be the cup or league, the aim has been to win the next game. 

“It’s been an enjoyable run. It’s probably helped us in terms of confidence especially beating the higher terms. It’s definitely helped.

“It is tough. It is demanding to play in more games than others because we are on this cup run but to date we’ve taken it in our stride. We’ve shown that we can compete with the best teams even when playing twice a week. We’ve just taken it on as a challenge and we’ve really enjoyed it to be honest.”

‘Winning the Welsh Cup would be my best achievement’

This is Hopkins’ third season at Llanelli after signing from Goytre United in 2022, having also previously played for Penybont.

“I think to date definitely,” he responded when asked if reaching the Welsh Cup final would be his greatest achievement of his career.

“It’s a toss-up between that and winning the Cymru South potentially this season, that would be the biggest. I’m hoping to reach the final and then we can kick on with the remaining league games as well.”

The experienced midfielder was handed the captain’s armband upon signing at Stebonheath and has been a virtual ever-present since – making his 100th appearance for the club in last weekend’s 3-1 win over Caerau Ely.

“Being the captain of such a prestigious club is a big honour of mine,” Hopkins said. “I’m really proud to be the captain and I’m hoping to captain them to the Cymru Premier. It’s a big achievement for me to reach the 100 milestone.

“In terms of what’s kept me at the club, it’s the ambition to get into the Cymru Premier and we are very close at the moment and that’s the plan to get there. I’m looking forward to the last few games of the season now.”

Hopkins was brought to Llanelli by Lee John eight months after the manager was appointed at Steboneath, while he also played under at John at Goytre United.

“I’ve played under Lee for a very long time now,” Hopkins said. “He’s been great with me even down at Goytre (United). We overachieved down there for some years. It’s been good working with him and he’s obviously doing a good job considering where we are at the moment.”

‘Connah’s Quay are a really good side’

Llanelli last faced Connah’s Quay Nomads in the fourth round of the JD Welsh Cup in the 2022/23 season, when the the top-flight side triumphed 2-0 at Stebonheath.

Hopkins is in search of redemption after he missed a penalty in that tie with the Nomads going on to score a second goal shortly after that, while it is 15 years since the Reds last defeated the Flintshire side.

The Nomads come in to the game on the back of four straight victories across all competitions. They are in the Play-Off Conference of the JD Cymru Premier and trail Barry Town United by five points with four games left.

Hopkins is under no illusion that the match will be tough, but is hoping that they can recreate their fourth round heroics when they knocked out top-flight opposition in Haverfordwest County.

“Looking at Connah’s Quay’s league position at the moment, it’s a bit false,” the midfielder said. “Especially with the run of form that they are on at the moment. We know they’re a really good side. 

“We actually came up against them in a cup a number of years ago. We gave them a good game on that occasion. We probably would have given them a better run if I hadn’t missed the penalty in that game but we won’t talk about that that. 

“We’ve trained well, we have game plan, we’re ready and hopefully it will be in place on the day. In the cup run we’ve already faced some of the Cymru Premier teams like Haverfordwest County for example.

“We’ve shown we can compete with those teams and beat them. We’ve got it in us, we’ve just got to apply ourselves well on the day and get the job done.”