THE New Saints returned to winning ways in comfortable fashion, picking up a 5-0 victory against Cardiff Metropolitan University.
Blaine Hudson, Declan McManus, Ryan Brobbel, and Adrian Cieslewicz all found the back of the net, as Anthony Limbrick’s side showed their quality in front of goal, recording their biggest league win of the season so far.
The win restored The Saints’ seven-point lead at the top of the JD Cymru Premier, following Flint Town United’s 2-1 win against Aberystwyth Town on Friday evening.
It was a cagey start from both teams, with little to shout about in the opening 10 minutes, but with 15 minutes gone, the game’s first goal arrived.
An excellent corner from Ryan Brobbel was met on the edge of the six-yard box by Blaine Hudson, and on his return to the starting line-up, the number 12 made no mistake, as he powered a header past the helpless Alex Lang. 1-0.
Just a minute later though, Cardiff Met could’ve hit back. It was Daniel Warre who got himself into a good position on the edge of the TNS box, but the visiting forward dragged his effort wide, under pressure from the defence.
The Saints doubled their advantage with 31 minutes gone, when a well-worked passing move on the edge of the Cardiff Met box was rounded off by Declan McManus – the Scottish forward’s eighth league goal of the season. 2-0.
McManus almost added a third just before the break, and would have, were it not for a smart stop by Lang, who denied him low-down at the near post.
Just six minutes after the restart though, Limbrick’s team did make it three. Some good work from Danny Redmond saw the midfielder beat Met’s Emlyn Lewis on the left, before he picked out Brobbel with a cross.
Despite his best efforts, Lang was unable to keep the number eight’s strike from crossing the line, and his side’s task became even more of an uphill battle. 3-0.
The league leaders continued to fashion chances, and McManus managed to get on the end of an inviting Redmond cross in the 61st minute, but could only find the hands of Lang with his effort.
However, with 20 minutes to go, substitute, Adrian Cieslewicz, made things even more comfortable for the side in green and white, as he picked out the bottom corner from close range, after being teed up by the lively McManus. 4-0.
And just two minutes later, McManus finally got the reward for all of his hard work, as he grabbed his second of the afternoon following a corner.
As was the case in the first-half, it was a great delivery from Brobbel to pick out the number nine inside the crowded penalty area, where the forward simply glanced the ball in off the far post. 5-0.
There were chances to grab even more goals in the final 18 minutes, but the Archers’ defence did enough to keep The Saints at bay, and stopped their goal difference from taking any further damage.
Anthony Limbrick’s side are back in JD Cymru Premier action on Saturday, November 6, as they welcome Haverfordwest County to Park Hall.
