Harrison: TNS not dwelling on Bala goal fest

The New Saints manager Craig Harrison says previous meetings will count for nothing when his side lock horns with Bala Town in the final of the JD Welsh Cup on Sunday.

The record-breaking champions take on Colin Caton’s side just over a week after meeting on the final day of the Welsh Premier League season, in a game that ended with an extraordinary 6-4 win for Harrison’s charges.

TNS will head to the Bangor University Stadium as overwhelming favourites to triumph once more and claim an unprecedented third consecutive domestic treble, with the Lakesiders without a win against the champions in 29 attempts.

But while he was as taken in by the final-day goal bonanza as everyone else, Harrison insists it will have little impact on Sunday’s contest.

“I don’t think either us or Bala will play those same teams,” the 39-year-old said. “When you look at it there were changes made on both sides and at the time it was just important for us to get the three points.

“Obviously it’s not nice to concede four goals, but I’m quite happy to do that if it means scoring six every week.

“We’ve played Bala five times already this season. If we don’t know them by now then we’d be pretty stupid.

“Will they do anything different? I don’t know. We’ve just got to concentrate on ourselves.”

Harrison’s future has been the subject of fresh speculation this week, with reports linking him with the managerial vacancy at English League Two outfit Hartlepool United, but he insists he is focused on the job at hand, adding that he sees little reason to change what has been a winning formula for his side.

“Preparations have been good. They’re the same as they have been all season.

“The structure we’ve put in place is the same as it was from the first week of the season, so there’s not change at all.”

“The important thing is that we’ve got a group of players and staff that are all singing off the same hymn sheet.

“There’s a clear message and we hope to carry that on for recruitment in the summer.”

IMAGE CREDIT: TNSFootball1/Brian Jones