While the Old Gold never looked too sure of ruining the
party, they put up a strong fight before Casey Thomas’ brainless red card for a
high challenge on Chris Marriott on the hour. From then on in, it was just a
case of counting down the clock as TNS sealed their seventh title in all with
four games still to play.
It is just reward for the only full-time club in the league,
who have dominated Welsh football over recent years, particularly since director
of football Craig Harrison came in to the club in 2011.
“The players have deserved to be where they are and to win
the league in the manner they have is a tremendous achievement,” he said. “I believe there is more to come from a young
squad that has a great combination of senior players to give a fantastic
balance.”
They will now be looking to make it a league and Cup double,
having already lost the Word Cup final this season to yesterday’s opponents,
with their Welsh Cup semi-final against Bangor City coming up next week.
The Saints were unbeaten in eight in all competitions since
losing the Word Cup on penalties, and hadn’t lost in the league in 12 since,
again, yesterday’s opponents triumphed 3-0 at Park Hall in November.
But despite being the only club to defeat the champions
elect since October 2012, Carmarthen went in to the fixture having won only one
of their previous four in all competitions.
The match was a physical encounter, with tempers on both
sides threatening to boil over on various occasions, epitomised by Thomas’
straight red.
The goalmouth action was very much edged by the home side. Ryan
Fraughan’s 36th minute cross was met by veteran Scott Ruscoe, who headed past
Steve Cann to break the deadlock and, shortly after Thomas’ dismissal, top
scorer Michael Wilde beat his marker Matthew Rees to a long ball and produced a
clinical left foot finish to start the party.
Saints signed off when Wilde nodded home from six yards
following a Fraughan corner, his free header giving Cann no chance. Moments
later, Cann denied Wilde a famous hat-trick, but his 20 goals thus far put him top
of the Welsh Premier scoring chart.
Airbus had kept
the pressure up with a 4-1 Good Friday thumping of Prestatyn which meant that TNS had to win to seal the title.
A Ryan Wade brace and further goals from Wayne Riley and
Mike Roddy completed a victory that also really put the pressure on Bangor City
in the race for second place.
Riley fired them ahead on 18 minutes, meeting an angled ball
to the edge of the box. Roddy then doubled the advantage on 25 minutes, firing
through a crowded area.
It was 3-0 in the opening moments of the second half when
Wade drifted through the napping defence to fire home, before Andy Parkinson
expertly curled home a free-kick for the visitors to cut the deficit.
But in to the final 10 minutes Airbus wrapped up the win
when Lewis Short robbed a defender, dragged the goalkeeper out and squared for
Wade to tap in his second.
That win meant Airbus sat four points ahead of Bangor when they kicked off against Port Talbot yesterday, and their hopes
of finishing runners-up were dealt a big blow as they were held to a 3-3 draw at
the Nantporth Stadium.
Les Davies salvaged a point with the equaliser in the fourth
minute of added time, and now Bangor find themselves very much looking upwards
at Airbus, who also hold a game in hand as well as their three-point advantage.
Scott Young’s Steelmen defied a dismal record at Bangor
where they had not won on eight previous visits, taking the lead on three
occasions before Davies grabbed his late, late leveller.
Chad Bond gave the visitors a 20th minute lead, but Bangor
were on level terms at the break, thanks to a scrambled Chris Jones leveller.
David Brooks restored the visitors’ lead, giving a captain’s
performance from the penalty spot, before Ryan Edwards struck for the Citizens
following Chris Simm’s pass.
Brooks had the Steelmen on course for a rare triumph with
his second goal until Davies made it all square for a third and final time.
In the Conference, debt-ridden Llanelli went down 1-0 at home to Newtown. The Reds’ illustrious Welsh Premier tenure is on the brink
of ending even if they escape the relegation places with creditors chasing
money owed, and Newtown’s Craig Whitfield netted the Robins winner a minute
from time to compound another miserable week in their recent history.
Having appeared in Europe, the Reds’ future looks very bleak
and they face another appearance in the High Court on April 22 when the club is
likely to be wound up.
Even if they do survive, they are unlikely to obtain a
domestic licence and the game against Bala at Stebonheath Park on April 20 is
set to be their last in the Welsh Premier before probably dropping down to the
Welsh League.
Connah’s Quay Town’s
home fixture with Afan Lido fell
foul of the North Walian snow, while Bala
and Aberystwyth was also
postponed on Friday night.
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