Newtown manager Chris Hughes and two-goal hero Brett Taylor gave their verdict on the 8-1 win over Cardiff Corinthians.
The Robins – who were in the UEFA Europa Conference League qualifiers earlier this season – swept aside a team that were three divisions below them.
Corries manager Gavin Thompson commented: ‘‘First half I wasn’t too impressed. I said if we could keep the score down in the first 15 minutes then we can play our way into the game and force our game plan on it but obviously that didn’t go to plan and the floodgates opened a bit.
‘’I couldn’t be more proud of the second half,” continued Thompson.
‘’I said at half-time if we can start to inflict ourselves on the game we’ll prove we’re a better side than the first half suggested and I couldn’t be prouder.
‘’We said before the game we came to win today, we didn’t want to just focus on the league so naturally, we’re bitterly disappointed.’’
Newtown head coach Chris Hughes: ‘‘I think for us the task was to get through to the next round, it was set up for us to get beat, they’re a good side with a good manager.
‘’I thought we showed our quality. We put the game to bed early with some really good goals.’’
Following some substitutes and an all-but-won scoreline at halftime Hughes wasn’t happy with an injury caused to one of his players early in the second half.
‘’I was disappointed with the tackle on Jake Walker. It’s a poor tackle. He’s got a great, big lump on his shin but hopefully, it’s not too bad.
I was happy we were also able to give minutes to the guys who wanted them in the second half, particularly Nigel Aris was unlucky today, Henry Cowens I felt should’ve had a goal too but the referee and assistant missed the defender’s blatant handball but we got the win and that’s what matters.’’
Alluding to what today’s win will mean to The Robins’ league campaign, Hughes commented: ‘’We’ve played TNS and Bala twice in nine games, probably not got the points we deserve but that’s football we have got to get on with it but from that perspective, today was a very big win for us.’’
Hughes also saw the opportunity to comment on a kickstart for Newtown’s potential Welsh Cup run following a convincing win.
‘’It’s a trophy, it’s a pathway to Europe so I’m sure all the prem clubs will be looking at it that way and we’re no different.
The way the draw is done, we’re in a round early, seeded away from home, I’m not sure about the concept of it and I don’t really like it but we’ve come here and got through a sticky tie and hopefully take some positives into Pontypridd next Friday.’’
Newtown’s Brett Taylor said: ‘’First half went better than expected, we got the job done against what we knew was a good side.’’
The 21-year-old continued by commenting on his first competitive senior goal: ‘’I always like stepping forward with the ball, it’s one of my main fortes and when no one came to me I thought I’ll keep driving and give it a crack and see what happens and it nestled its way into the top corner, it doesn’t happen very often.’’
‘’The gaffer was saying to us this game is the most important of the season. We have to kickstart here and get the job done and hopefully go to Pontypridd much better on Friday.
‘All you can do is beat what’s in front of you and hopefully, we can carry on because it’s a way into Europe and hopefully we can get some results down the line to get into Europe via this route now.’
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