Cardiff City, Briton Ferry and Gemma Grainger react to FAW Women’s Cup final

Cardiff City defeated Briton Ferry 4-0 in the FAW Cup Final yesterday, as they completed the double for the first time in their history.

After the game we spoke to both teams, as well as Cymru manager Gemma Grainger.

Cardiff City

Where else to start other than the victors? Cardiff City have been the standard bearers in Wales this season, and they carried on their dominant form on Sunday.

With the game pitting the Welsh champions against a side in the second division, the Bluebirds came into this one as red-hot favourites, but manager Iain Darbyshire knew if his side play to their qualities, that they would be able to deal with the pressure.

“We just had to focus on ourselves. We knew it would be difficult, we knew we had the quality to win the game, we just had to execute it on the day.

“Briton Ferry made it difficult for us, I don’t think we were at our best, but we were affective and got the job done.”

After suffering a catalogue of near misses last season, the FAW Cup was a source of solace for City, as they defeated Cardiff Met to win the final last year.

Ffion Price has said that, since they won the trophy last year at the SDM Glass Stadium, they’ve progressed to a different level.

“Last season when we won the cup, we set the platforms and the foundations for this year. We set our targets at the beginning of the year, we all agreed on them and we’ve worked hard to reach them, and we’re delighted we’ve ticked those targets off the list this season.”

Price scored one of the goals in their triumph on Sunday, and while many will have pondered whether she meant to score or not, the full-back gave some insight into things from her perspective.

“Everyone is going to be asking whether it was a cross or a shot, just like they have done all season!

“But I can confirm that it was a cross, but when I hit it, I could see that it was curling in, and I’m delighted it hit the back of the net.”

While Price is an established member of the City team, one youngster who has certainly made a splash this season has been Eliza Collie.

Collie has burst onto the scene, especially in the latter part of the season, and has taken her goalscoring tally into double figures for the season.

A constant in their U19s team, Collie is delighted that she is becoming a first team regular.

“From playing with the U19s I was scoring quite a few goals, but I knew coming into the first team was going to be difficult for me, especially pushing into the starting eleven.

“But Iain and Scott gave me the chance against Cardiff Met and I took it with both hands.”

Asked how much more there is in this team, Darbyshire says the squad have a lot more to offer going into next season.

“Believe me when I tell you, we are nowhere near where I want us to be. We have a clear plan of where we want to be, where we want to go and how we want to do it.

“We will have a little break, bring ourselves together, but we will be back and better next year.”

Read more: Cardiff City seal maiden double after beating Briton Ferry

Briton Ferry

It’s hard to comprehend how difficult a week it has been for Briton Ferry.

After losing out to Wrexham in the playoff final last week, the players and staff have had to dust themselves down and get ready for yesterday’s final.

While it has been a week full of struggle, Rhys James is happy with the energy and effort his side produced on Sunday.

“It’s been a really difficult week. The girls wanted to get into the Adran Premier, and they put everything into it, dedicated their whole lives to this. For us to miss out last Sunday was really hard for them.

“Our girls showed today that they can battle against the best. Especially in the second half, I thought our shape was amazing and we limited them to one goal, and I’m really proud of everyone who’s involved with the club.”

Winger Lowri Baker stated that, while the end of the season has been disappointing, they will be back ready and fighting for next year’s promotion push.

“I’m sure we’ll give it a good crack next year. We were unlucky last Sunday so I’m hoping next season will be our season.”

Gemma Grainger

One interested spectator at Penydarren Park on Sunday was Cymru manager Gemma Grainger.

Grainger was pleased to see a competitive contest between both teams, but the attitude from Briton Ferry in particular was something that stood out for her.

“I thought in the second half particularly Briton Ferry stayed in the game. It’s always tough when you go in at half time 3-0 down, but I thought they did brilliantly to remain competitive.

“I know they would have been disappointed with the game against Wrexham, but the investment that’s gone into the Adran Leagues and overall, the way that the league is developing is fantastic for us, and that progress was on display today.”

Cardiff City’s next competitive fixture will be in the Champions League, and the Cymru manager says a European adventure will provide the Bluebirds with some valuable lessons.

“We always talk on a national team level about how we want to be playing against the best teams, and that’s what they’re going to have an opportunity to do.

“They have to focus and make sure their preparation is right and make the most of their opportunity, because by playing in the Champions League, they’re going to be in a much better position for it.

“It’s about learning what you need to learn and really knowing what that level is and what it takes to compete at that level.”

A number of City’s players feature in the Cymru age group teams, and Grainger says the game time the young players are getting is crucial, especially in their mission to break into the senior squad.

“The girls who are here at Cardiff are playing, and that’s what we want to see from a national team perspective. Those players getting that opportunity here is brilliant, but now it’s about how they progress.

“To play at the national team, who know what the level is and how the competition for places is and what are aspirations are, and we want to support those players in how to reach those levels in any way we can.”

(Featured Image: John Smith/FAW Photography)