Nothing seems to grind The New Saints to a halt – not even a broken down bus on the way to their JD Welsh Cup semi-final at the weekend.
The Saints were cursing when they had to abandon trip and jump into taxis to take them from Swansea to Carmarthen to face Penybont on Saturday.
Normal service was resumed for the dominant force in Welsh domestic football, though, as they overcame their Bridgend-based opponents, 2-0, to reach the final where they will play Bala Town.
Josh Daniels scored both goals before half-time to make light of their pre-match problems.
“These things happen in football sometimes, but you have to carry on and do well,” said Daniels.
“At the end of the day, we gave a good account of ourselves. Credit to Penybont, they had done well against us every time this year. It was about just getting through.”
The 27-year-old former Republic of Ireland U21 international, who joined TNS last summer, revealed Saints boss Craig Harrison had urged him to shoot more and take questions later.
“The gaffa told me to start shooting more and it’s paying off. I was a winger before and a right-back, but it felt like a mixture of emotions getting a couple of goals. It’s my first Welsh Cup final and I’m absolutely delighted. Bring it on.”
The victory means it is now exactly five years since The New Saints last lost in the JD Welsh Cup – way back in March 2018.
They lost a couple of potential titles because of the Covid pandemic, but the holders are on course for another Cymru Premier League and Cup double.
Daniels capitalised on a mistake by Dean Jefferies before easily beating goalkeeper Kelland Absalom for the opener on 32 minutes.
And the former Shrewsbury player made the most an Absalom error to double the lead in first-half stoppage time.
Saints, who won the Cup last season, will be aiming to lift the trophy for a ninth time when they face Bala on April 30.
It will be a repeat of the 2017 final, which Bala won 2-1 to secure the Welsh Cup for the first time in their history.
The Lakesiders were 3-2 conquerors of Connah’s Quay Nomads at Flint Town United’s Essity Stadium.
Bala’s hopes of securing an impressive Cup double remain intact after skipper Chris Venables netted a late winner to decide an epic semi-final.
The Lakesiders beat the Nomads on penalties in the final of the Nathaniel MG Cup final at the end of January and it was another close fight.
Harry Franklin put Connah’s Quay ahead after just 40 seconds, but Nathan Peate responded for Bala seven minutes into the second half and they took the lead shortly after the restart through George Newell.
Jack Kenny drew the Nomads level on the hour, but Bala’s talisman Chris Venables had the final say – scoring with four minutes left on the clock to send the 2017 winners into the final.
Venables said after his winner: “It was a disastrous start, but I thought we played really well for the remainder of the game.
“Emotions now are very high obviously. Any goal is a good goal, especially when it’s late on like that. It’s a very, very nice feeling.”
