Another landmark for Greg Draper
Apart from the events of the game itself, it was a special one for the popular New Zealand international, as he made his 150th league start for The New Saints.
The icing on the cake was yet another hat-trick, as his 11th minute penalty was followed by goals in the 28th and 53rd minute.
For the second game on the bounce, Greg was the player we chose for the post-match interview.
An important goal from Blaine Hudson
A centre-half is never going to score as many as a striker, but when Blaine found the net in the dying seconds of the first period, it was the goal that all but ended Cefn Druids’ hopes of a comeback.
We see him winning header after header inside our own penalty area, this time round at the opposite end, the number twelve rose above the defence and powered home, as TNS went into the break 3-0 to the good.
Dean Ebbe, midfield maestro
With both Greg and Dean on the team sheet, prior to kick-off it was assumed that we would be playing two up front. However, that wasn’t the case, as Scott Ruscoe stuck with the familiar 4-3-3 approach.
Dean’s performance in midfield was typical of the ones that he has when he plays upfront. Hard-working, lots of energy, battling away and passionate.
Back to clean sheets
Not only did we score four but we kept another clean sheet in the process. Following the seven consecutive clean sheets at the start of the season, the team failed to keep out the opponents in the next four games. The last three outings though have seen just one goal conceded.
The impressive start continues
Unbeaten in fourteen games so far this season, twelve wins and two draws means that we sit comfortably at the top of the JD Cymru Premier. Although Connah’s Quay Nomads and Bala Town each have a game in hand, nevertheless, gaps of six and ten points respectively are healthy.
We also lead the way with an average of just over three goals per game, while the defence has conceded just one in every two outings.
There’s a long way to go, and no one is getting carried away, but the statistics are still pleasing on the eye.
Lead image, courtesy of Brian Jones, as Blaine Hudson heads home to give The New Saints a 3-0 lead.
