Cardiff Met are expected to have Adam Roscrow back available as they attempt to end their cup final hoodoo against Cambrian & Clydach.
The striker missed last weekend’s win at Llandudno but is expected to spearhead Cardiff Met’s frontline against the Welsh League side in the Nathaniel MG Cup final at Jenner Park tonight (7.30).
Cardiff Met are favourites to lift the newly-made trophy as Christian Edwards’ side look to erase memories of a string of final defeats.
After finishing runners up to The New Saints in last season’s League Cup final, Cardiff Met suffered another final heartbreak when they were defeated in the Europa League play-off final or a second successive year.
Defender Emlyn Lewis missed last year’s Nathaniel MG Cup final through injury: “This is a massive, historic achievement for the club, really. To be in two consecutive Nathaniel MG Cup Finals is very good – of course, we’re looking forward to it, we’re in good form at the moment having won three straight games, but we know we’re in for a real test.”
“We have to be respectful of Cambrian and Clydach, they’re a very good outfit. They’re fighting at the top of their division, they’ve done very well to get to this point, and we’ll be treating this game as if we were facing another JD Welsh Premier League side.”
Having climbed to the top level of the Welsh system, the Archers are yet to win a major trophy whilst battling it out in the Welsh Premier League.
“We’ve won Welsh League One, Welsh League Two etc, but this is a national competition and of course – whilst we’ve won our University competitions, we’ve never won a national cup competition, so it would be absolutely huge for the club and would mean everything to us,” said Lewis.
“I love football, I love the competition, and I think it would be a great step for us in the right direction to win a competition like this, but we take nothing for granted, we know we have a huge task ahead of us and a big 90 minutes or 120 minutes to come, so let’s see what happens.
“There have been a lot of ups and downs in the last year, I think that is fair to say – we’ve suffered a huge amount of injuries, which has felt like a curse on the club to be honest, but I think it has made the club stronger with the way young players have come in and performed so well for us.
“We haven’t got top six for Phase Two this year, which is obviously a little bit of a disappointment, but I think the team and the squad has done so well in a very difficult year and I think it has shown the depth and the longevity of the club, with such good young players coming through alongside us old boys who are still going.
“We haven’t achieved what we wanted to achieve in the last year, I think that is fair to say, but with this cup final coming up it is the opportunity to achieve something special and historical for the club.”
Tickets are £7 for Adults, £3 for Over 65s and Students and £1 for Under 16s. Cash turnstiles will be in operation on the evening of the game at both ends of the ground.
Legs, Bums And Tums – The Secret Behind Cambrian & Clydach’s Successful Cup Run.