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.