WHAT a way to win the Welsh Cup!

Connah’s Quay Nomads claimed the famous trophy for the second time in the club’s history with a brilliant 2-1 triumph versus The New Saints.

Head coach Craig Harrison was seeking a hat-trick of trebles with the Saints, but Josh Williams’ cracking strike late in the first half saw Neil Gibson’s charges secure their first Welsh Cup since 2018.

In front of an attendance of 1,246 at Newport’s Rodney Parade, Nomads took the lead after half-an-hour when Harry Franklin diverted the ball home from six yards out.

The Saints, runaway Cymru Premier League champions, hauled themselves level with Ash Baker’s close ranger header six minutes later.

However, the pivotal moment came on 39 minutes when Saints failed to clear from a cross into the box and Williams volleyed into the top corner from 12 yards out.

Proud Quay boss Neil Gibson told S4C’s Sgorio: “I’ve lost my voice! I can barely breath, but, do you know what, I thought the players to a man were absolutely magnificent.

“They got what they deserved, I felt. TNS are going to ask you so many questions and if you’re going to beat a TNS team, you’re going to have to really go to the bottoms of what you’ve got.

“I thought we posed a problem in the first half, deserved to be in the lead and we’ve had to weather the storm second half, but we got over the line.”

Gibson said it was just reward for all the hard work the club has put in over the course of the campaign.

He added: “I don’t feel that some of the players and staff have had the credit that they’ve deserved, really, this season.

“We spoke about it as a driving force and the fact that we know how good we’ve been all season. We know how hard we’ve worked all season and winning the Welsh Cup, as well as second (in the league) probably puts a little bit of an icing on the cake and people might realise how well we’ve done this year.”

Saints’ skipper Chris Marriott said it just wasn’t to be for the treble chasers on the day.

He told the club’s YouTube channel: “You can’t win them all, can you? A lot’s gone our way over the years and today just wasn’t our day and fair play to Connah’s Quay.

“I thought they started really well. I thought we were a little bit off the pace first half, but we’ve grown into it. But it was too little, too late.”

Harrison said: “Massive disappointment, huge disappointment. Obviously, we wanted to finish this season on a high.

“It’s been such a fantastic season and then not to play well today and lose the game today, of course we’re very, very disappointed.”