Adran Premier Preview | The New Saints vs. Cardiff City

Cardiff City FC Women travel to The New Saints’ Park Hall in the final game of Phase One of the Adran Premier on Sunday afternoon (29/01), 2pm KO.

The Bluebirds head into the fixture on the back of coming from behind to secure a 5-1 victory over Aberystwyth Town last time out.

Striker Rhianne Oakley equalised early in the second-half for City, before Ffion Price fired the Bluebirds in front. Attacker Phoebie Poole also got on the scoresheet, with captain Siobhan Walsh netting a fine brace late-on.

Watch highlights of all Cardiff City FC Women fixtures on Cardiff City TV!

This weekend’s opponents currently sit fourth in the table, leading Pontypridd United in fifth by three points in the battle for a top four spot.

In their most recent fixture, the Saints progressed to the semi-finals of the Adran Trophy by beating Pontypridd, with Isobel Redding and Emily Ridge finding the net.

In the reverse fixture between the two sides at Cardiff International Sports Campus, City recorded a hard-fought 3-2 win, with striker Eliza Collie notably netting her first Adran Premier goal.

“It’s a massive game this weekend,” Iain began. “Every game is huge now. Ee’ve got ourselves in a really good position and we know that we’ll have to pick up three points on the weekend, because our rivals will be picking up points.

“TNS will pose a really good challenge. They’re on a great run of form. Credit to their coaching staff and their players, they’ve really stepped up, so it’s going to be an exciting game. We’ve never had an easy game against them, they’ve been really good since they’ve come into the league. They put us under a lot of pressure, they’re brave and press really high, they’re scoring goals and keeping clean sheets at the moment, so it’s going to be a challenge.”

Defender Hannah Power, who is having a stellar season for City, added: “I don’t think we can underestimate them. They’re going to be a really tough team, especially away from home. Going up there is not going to be an easy ask, but we’re raring to go after training really well this week to prepare for it.

“The teams in the league are so much stronger this year and that makes the league more exciting. Teams are taking points off each other, so it’s an exciting league to play in. It puts more pressure on us, but it also just makes the league stronger with the quality that all the teams have.”