Saints Reach JD Welsh Cup Quarter-Finals After Shootout Success In Carmarthen

Match Report

Yellow cards: Marriott (4), Ebbe (57), McManus (84)
Red cards: Marriott (81)
Substitutions: McManus for Smith (65), Routledge for Holland (65), J. Williams for Ebbe (77)

Match report by Sam Wood

The New Saints broke their penalty hoodoo, as they saw off Carmarthen Town to reach the quarter-finals of the JD Welsh Cup.

It wasn’t the greatest of spectacles, with chances few and far between in both halves, but the JD Cymru South side did well to frustrate their higher-level opponents and force penalties.

Anthony Limbrick’s side held their composure from the spot though, and enjoyed their first shootout success since November 12th, 2017, when they were victorious against Queen of the South in the Irn-Bru Cup.

The first chance of the game fell to Limbrick’s side with seven minutes gone, but Dean Ebbe failed to convert following Danny Redmond’s pull-back, firing narrowly wide of the post.

The Saints continued to cause problems for the Old Gold in the early stages, and a Leo Smith effort from the edge of the box caused a goalmouth scramble in the 14th minute. On that occasion though, the danger was cleared by a home defender.

After an uninspiring opening 45 minutes, Limbrick’s team upped the ante following the restart, and it took a superb save from Carmarthen goalkeeper, Scott James, to keep the scores level.

He acrobatically dived to his right, pushing a goal-bound Adrian Cieslewicz effort around the post to keep his side on terms.

As the half wore on, Louis Robles had an effort blocked from inside the box, before Cieslewicz came close to opening the scoring once more.

The Saints were dominating the game going into the final 15 minutes, but things became complicated with nine minutes to go, when Chris Marriott was shown a second yellow card for a late challenge on Jordan Vickers, leaving his side a man light for the remainder of the match.

Despite a late flurry of chances for both teams, including an edge-of-the-box free-kick from Declan McManus, there was no way through the Carmarthen defence, and the match was decided on penalties.

Both sides showed great technique from the spot, and all bar one of the 10 penalties failed to reach their intended target. Connor Roberts’ fine save from Thomas Dyson proved the difference-maker, as Anthony Limbrick’s side clinched a 5-4 victory – their first shootout win since November 2017.

Next up for The Saints is a second vs first JD Cymru Premier clash, as they travel to Flint Town United this coming Friday (October 22), looking to extend their lead at the top of the table.