TNS’ Lia Lewis is looking forward to the end of phase one, as her side aim for a place in the Championship stage of the Adran Premier.
A quick glance back at last season. TNS were fighting relegation and points were becoming hard to come by. However, they rallied and racked up the points in their final few fixtures and survived.
Fast forward to this season, and the Saints are flying. Sitting fifth in the Adran Premier, they have a real chance at gaining a place in the top four, and Lewis believes the squad has gone from strength to strength.
‘Last season we were a new team, no one really knew each other, and you were lucky to know one or two players. We’ve really gelled within that season and our only aim was to stay up’
‘We were fighting for that at the end of the season, and you saw that in the spirit we showed in the last four games, and that gave us a boost going into this season’
‘This year, we’ve added new faces to strengthen ourselves and we’ve started this season as we ended it last season.’
Midway through this season, former manager Andy Williams left the club and TNS icon Greg Draper took over, and the change has been seamless.
‘It was disappointing because Andy was a great coach, and it was sad to see him go. But Greg has come straight in, he knew the way we played, what the aims and goals of the team were’
‘Everyone respects him, especially with the experience he’s got and being a club legend. So yes, it was hard, but we just keep going and our aims haven’t changed.’
Comparing last season to this season, the biggest change in this TNS team has been their attacking impetus, which has made them a very entertaining side to watch.
Lewis was keen to laud the Saints’ attacking stars for their role in their upward trajectory.
‘Our forwards are unbelievable, the quality we have is phenomenal’
‘We’re bringing in players now that fit within our system, and those forwards that we’ve bought in have really helped us to attack and to pick up more points this season.’
Perhaps the brightest of those stars so far has been Caitlin Chapman.
Chapman has scored three and assisted six, and Lewis believes the sky is the limit for the forward.
‘She’s lovely! She’s one of those players that you can always rely on, she’ll fight for you going forward and then track back and help in the defence’
‘She’s still young and is always developing and she’s got a bright future ahead of her.’
This weekend sees the return of the Adran Prem, and a mouth-watering tie between TNS and Pontypridd.
With Pontypridd in fourth and the Saints sitting one place and three points behind them, a win for either team could wrap up that final place in the Championship group.
‘We’re definitely still in the race for fourth. We’ve got to play Ponty again and then Abergavenny, so I think we can pick up six points from those two games’
‘Hopefully that will give us the edge to grab that fourth spot before the end of phase one.’
And even if TNS fail to gain a place in the top four this season, their ambitions for the future are clear for all to see.
‘Getting that top four spot would be a success, then we can push on and reach different goals in the future, which is to be in the top two and compete for that Champions League spot’
‘Reaching the top four will allow us to play the top three teams consistently, and then we’ll know what we have to do to improve and to compete for that Champions League spot’
‘If we don’t get top four, we want to be comfortably winning the plate, so the top teams are looking at us next season and think that TNS is a team to watch next season.’
TNS take on Pontypridd United in the Adran Premier on Sunday November 8th at the USW Sports Park.
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