The Bluebirds booked a place in the Adran Trophy Final with an impressive 3-0 victory at The New Saints.
A brace for Madison Lloyd, along with Mackenzie Olden’s strike, gave City the victory.
Iain Darbyshire’s side were rewarded for a bright start and took the lead with 14 minutes on the clock. A corner from Ffion Price fell to striker Lloyd in the box, who struck home the opener having recently returned to the Club from a spell at Pontypridd United.
City immediately looked to build on the opener and doubled the advantage after 27 minutes. Fiona Barry was found free on the right and squared to Olden, who clinically fired home.
After a professional first half performance, the Bluebirds went into the break with a 2-0 lead.
The contest was settled in the 67th minute, as some pinpoint distribution from Ceryn Chamberlain set Olden free, who drove into space and played the ball through for Lloyd. The attacker struck home her second of the afternoon to secure City’s place in the Final.
Darbyshire’s side will take on Wrexham at Bangor City Stadium on Sunday, February 22nd, with a kick-off time of 5pm.
FINAL SCORE: THE NEW SAINTS 0-3 CARDIFF CITY
The New Saints: Haydn-Jones, Francis-Jones, Gibbs, Davies, Webb (Evans 79’), Baker (Buckland 90’), Dunkerley (Jones 65’), Richardson (Edge 79’), Teare, Lewis ©, Chapman. Subs not used: Bowen, Crees.
Cardiff City: Chamberlain, Owen, Price, Power ©, Jenkins, Curnock (Billingham 62’), Barry, Olden (Perrott 71’), Walklett (Bowen 80’), Evans, Lloyd (Long 80’). Subs not used: Saunders, Thomas, Nicholls.
REACTION | IAIN DARBYSHIRE
“I’m so pleased with the performance," Iain began. "We started quickly and were clinical, which he had to be. We knew in the second half that TNS would put us under pressure but we dealt with that really well, limiting them to only a couple of chances. I was pleased with the resilience of the players and the way they managed the game.
“Credit to Madison and to Pontypridd United as well, her development over the last few months has been rapid. She’s carried that into our environment, she has a great mindset and it shows the importance of gaining experience in senior football.
“Facing Wrexham in the Final will be a spectacle. It’ll be the two strongest teams in the league going head-to-head. We have had some fantastic games against them already this season that could have gone either way. For us, it’s just about performing on the day, making sure that we’re together and that everyone knows their roles.”