Newport County and Wrexham to contest Conference play-off final

English football has been dominated by Welsh teams this season (sort of), with Swansea lifting the League Cup, Cardiff City the Championship and Wrexham the FA Trophy.

And now another side from Wales will win silverware at the home of English football, with Wrexham and Newport County both making the Blue Square Bet Premier (Conference) play-off final as they battle for a place in League Two next year.

Congratulations 2 Wrexham and Newport County on reaching Wembley for Blue Square Play-Off Final. What a season for Welsh club football!

— CCFCSupportersTrust (@CCST1927) April 28, 2013

Wrexham beat Kidderminster 3-1 away thanks to strikes from Brett Ormerod, Joe Clarke and a Neil Ashton penalty to triumph 5-2 on aggregate, while a first-half Christian Jolley goal Newport beat Grimsby 1-0, to win 2-0 over two legs.

So at 3pm next Sunday, the two sides will meet at Wembley Stadium to determine which will move up to the Football League.

It will also mean that the first three trophies of the season will all have been taken back to Wales.

And next year we’ll have two Welsh sides in the Premier League and Swansea City plying their trade in the Europa League.

FA Trophy final: Wrexham 1-1 Grimsby (4-1 on penalties)

It’s getting hard to keep up with an almost unprecedented level of success for Welsh sport, with football, rugby and cycling in Wales all competing to trump the others.

But, after yesterday’s FA Trophy win at Wembley for Wrexham, football could have the upper hand again.

Andy Morrell’s side currently sit third in the Football Conference (one place ahead of Welsh rivals Newport County), but yesterday’s shoot-out win over Grimsby in front of more than 35,000 people at the home of English football ensures that, following Swansea City’s 5-0 win over Bradford City in the League Cup final last month, every English trophy won so far this season has gone to a Welsh club.

With Newport and Wrexham challenging at the top of the Conference, and Swansea City settling into the top half of the Premier League – and with their sights set on a European campaign next season – this season would already be a success for Welsh football even without the national side’s 2-1 win in Scotland.

Oh, and Cardiff City, who sit on top of the Championship, with a nine-point automatic promotion cushion. Barring a spectacular (though, for Cardiff, hardly atypical) late-season collapse – if Cardiff were to reach the play-off final and make it a hat-trick of Welsh teams at Wembley this season, it would be very disappointing from their point of view – it could turn into just about the perfect season for Welsh football.

Big up for Newport County and Wrexham

With Cardiff City top of the Championship and Swansea City basking in the glory of their League Cup triumph, the success of their fellow Welsh sides (within the English pyramid) has often been overlooked, not least by me.

Shame! Wrexham and Newport County currently lie first and third respectively in the Conference Premier, with a very real possibility that both could win promotion to the Football League.

The North Walians have overshadowed their own achievements in some ways after, a week and a half ago, reaching Wembley for the first time in their season to contest the FA Trophy final.

But let’s remember County’s 3-2 win over Hereford United last night made it five wins on the bounce for Justin Edinburgh’s side, and they haven’t lost since the middle of January.

Barring a late-season collapse, Newport are set for the play-offs at least. They have three games in hand over second-placed Kidderminster (and are level on points with them) and have played two fewer games than Wrexham, who are three points ahead of them. Automatic promotion is very much within their grasp.

Newport County 0-2 York City

It was disappointment for Newport County as they became the second Welsh side to lose at Wembley this season.

Two second-half goals for the Minstermen, the pre-game favourites, through Matty Blair and Lanre Oyebanjo, were enough to seal the FA Trophy for the Yorkshire club.

But County made the most of their first ever appearance at Wembley, with the majority of the 19,800 crowd members of the Amber Army.

But there were no centenary celebrations in the form of silverware for Justin Edinburgh’s side – who were founded back in 1912 – as York came out on top on what was the 100th match to have been played at the new Wembley to take the trophy back to Bootham Crescent.

Welsh teams have now played at the home of English football on six occasions – with Swansea City’s win over Reading in last season’s Championship play-off final still the only win.

 

Welsh sides’ record at Wembley:

York City 2-0 Newport County (12 May 2012, FA Trophy final)

Liverpool 2p-2 Cardiff City (26 February 2012, Carling Cup final)

England 1-0 Wales (6 September 2011, European Championship qualifier)

Swansea City 4-2 Reading (30 May 2011, Championship play-off final)

Blackpool 3-2 Cardiff City (22 May 2010, Championship play-off final)

Portsmouth 1-0 Cardiff City (17 May 2008, FA Cup final)

Big Welsh sporting weekend in London

Newport County fans must know the numerous column inches devoted to the Premier League title race this weekend are fairly misguided.

Their side takes on York City in the FA Trophy at Wembley this afternoon, the first time County – who finished 19th in the Conference Premier this season – have played at the home of English football.

Thousands of Newport County and York City fans will travel to Wembley for the FA Trophy final this afternoon. Photo: Flickr, Mick_Gallagher_1959

 

It will be quite a step up from Spytty Park, and at least 11,000 County fans will make their way to the National Stadium to see if the Amber Army can achieve what Cardiff City failed earlier this season and bring some silverware back to south Wales.

On Sunday, London Welsh will host Bedford for the second leg of the sides’ Championship rugby play-off semi-final at Old Deer Park. The Richmond-based Exiles secured a valuable 13-3 win in the away fixture last Friday, and so have a great chance of facing either the Cornish Pirates or Bristol in the final.

London Welsh host Bedford tomorrow in the Championship play-off semi-final second leg, with an outside chance of winning promotion to the Aviva Premiership. Photo: Flickr, smurfomatic

Bedford and the Pirates cannot be promoted if they win the Championship as their grounds are not deemed suitable for the top flight by the Rugby Football Union.

London Welsh hope to secure a ground share if they are successful, while the Newcastle Falcons, nominally relegated from the Premiership, will hope for a reprieve if Bedford or the Pirates pick up the Championship title.

London Welsh have reached the play-off semi-finals for the last three seasons, but their 10-point advantage going into tomorrow’s game stands them in good stead for an outside shot at reaching the Aviva Premiership this time around.