Off to a great start

Early goals are good – especially when you’re the side that gets one – and in the fourth minute of the encounter with FK Dečić, Brad Young scored The New Saints’ first competitive goal of the season.

It was an inch-perfect Josh Daniels cross from the right, that ended with Young rising and heading the ball past the ‘keeper and into the back of the net.

He was brought to the club to score goals and that’s exactly what he does.

 

It got better

Twenty-four minutes later, Brad Young used his head to good effect again, both metaphorically and literally.

On the end of another cross, Young once more powered the ball past Igor Nikić, as The New Saints stormed into a 2-0 lead against the champions of Montenegro.

On the balance of play, it was certainly well-deserved, as Craig Harrison’s side played confident and attractive football.

 

Making history at Park Hall

After the opener, things can only get better? They most certainly did, although on this occasion, there was a lengthy delay between the ball hitting the back of the net and the celebrations for the second goal.

For the first time in Welsh football, the introduction of VAR meant that there was a period of three-minutes before the verdict was finally delivered.

This prompted a spontaneous burst of slow hand-clapping from the crowd.

However, the attention from the officials was meticulous, and the eventual announcement of the goal saw an increase in the intensity of the claps.

 

Danny Davies delivers

Approaching the break with a 2-0 lead, things got better again, this time as Danny Davies found the net from close-range to extend the lead even further.

After the recent friendly against Cliftonville – where Davies scored a brace – club media interviewed the defender, who stated his intention to get in the opposition penalty area more this season and find the back of the net.

True to his word, he did just that against FK Dečić.

 

It’s looking good but it’s only half-time

Although The New Saints is in a comfortable position, nevertheless there are still ninety minutes to go next week in the Balkans.

One thing that can be relied on though, is that the professionalism of Craig Harrison, Chris Seargeant and the players is such, that the word ‘complacency’ is not even in the dictionary as far as they are concerned.

Their focus and preparation over the next few days will be as detailed as if the tie was finely balanced at 0-0.

 

Lead image courtesy of Brian Jones.