Newtown 0-2 The New Saints: Draper and Routledge on target as Harrison celebrates 400th appearance
League-leaders The New Saints put in a strong second-half performance to overcome Newtown as they claimed a 2-0 win at Latham Park.
Goals from Jon Routledge and Greg Draper after the break were enough to extend their lead at the top of the JD Cymru Premier.
The New Saints are now four points clear of Connah’s Quay, who face third-placed Bala Town on Saturday.
Long-serving goalkeeper Paul Harrison kept a clean sheet in his 400th league appearance for The New Saints.
Newtown’s six-game unbeaten run comes to an end, but the Robins remain in sixth place with just one game left before league splits.
The New Saints came out of the blocks quickly as Greg Draper and Aeron Edwards tried their luck in the opening five minutes, both efforts matched by Kieran Mills-Evans and Dave Jones respectively.
Left-winger Ryan Brobbel looked lively early on, coming within inches of firing his side ahead in the eighth minute with a curling effort, only to be denied the post.
Scott Ruscoe’s men continued to dominate for large spells of the first half.
It was not only Brobbel who looked a threat, but Adrian Cieslewicz on the right flank also caused problems, firing a cross into the box that hit Draper and flew agonisingly over the bar.
Cieslewicz was again involved as the ball was laid off for him on the edge of the box, but his effort was blocked by a resolute Newtown defence.
The Robins, prior to tonight’s result, has conceded just one goal since November.
Despite the liveliness of Brobbel and Cieslewicz, Newtown fullbacks Jack Kelly and captain Craig Williams marshalled them well in the first half.
Newtown’s efforts off the ball almost paid off as George Harry found space in the but was isolated and had to go alone.
Harry’s eventual effort was saved by New Saints shot-stopper Paul Harrison.
As the half-time whistle blew, the hosts frustrated the league-leaders in the opening forty-five minutes with a typically strong defensive performance.
The start of the second half seemed to follow a similar pattern, with The New Saints dominance in possession being matched by Newtown’s resolute defending.
This was until the 55th minute when The New Saints broke the deadlock.
Brobbel found space on the left, cutting the ball inside to Jon Routledge who cooly finished into the bottom corner.
Two minutes later, Ryan Brobbel was again influential as he played in Draper who fired in his 18th-goal of the season with a fierce effort past Jones to double his side’s lead.
The league-leaders could have had more, with Draper going close again with his strong drive being superbly saved superbly by Jones.
The New Saints’ dominance continued as they looked to build on their lead, with Draper firing over from the edge of the box.
With Scott Ruscoe’s men controlling possession, Newtown struggled to create any clear-cut chances, with Harrison, for the most part, a spectator.
The final chance of the game came in the dying embers of the game as Billy Whitehouse and Kurtis Byrne combined, the latter fired wide with just Jones to beat.
Newtown: Dave Jones, Kieran Mills-Evans, Neil Mitchell, George Harry (Ian Sheridan 75’), Joe Kenton, Jack Thorn, Lifumpa Mwandwe (Nick Rushton 75’), Craig Williams, Niall Flint, Alex Fletcher, Jack Kelly.
The New Saints: Paul Harrison, Simon Spender, Keston Davies, Jon Routledge, Ryan Brobbel, Greg Draper (Kurtis Byrne 85’), Daniel Redmond, Adrian Cieslewicz (Billy Whitehouse 81’), Blaine Hudson, Joash Nembhard, Aeron Edwards.
Goals: Jon Routledge 55, Greg Draper 64′
Go through our live blog to see how The New Saints beat Newtown:
(Featured Image: Brian Jones)
