Barry Town United gear up for Nathaniel MG Cup Final

Almost 500 tickets had been sold to Town supporters at the time of writing, as the burgeoning Barry club target their first national silverware since the 2003 Welsh Cup Final.

Standing in their way, professional opponents The New Saints have clinched the trophy in each of the last two seasons, as well as claiming an accompanying haul of Welsh Cup and Welsh Premier League championships.

Nonetheless, the Town were handed a shot of encouragement at the weekend, as the runaway Welsh Premier League leaders surrendered a 3 - 1 advantage to draw 3 - 3 with struggling Newtown.

The result signified the end of TNS’ world record 27-game winning streak and Barry manager Gavin Chesterfield will hope his squad can capitalise on this timely glimpse of fallibility by producing their finest display of the season and handing the Saints their first non-European defeat of the entire campaign.

Barry completed their on-field preparations for Saturday’s final with a 3 - 1 success at Monmouth Town last Saturday, with striker James Dixon’s hat-trick helping the team climb to second in Welsh League Division One.

The victory was watched by former Barry goalkeeper Doug Eaton; a familiar face at Jenner Park during the 1960s, who notably featured in the club’s famous FA Cup First Round tie with Queen’s Park Rangers.

Eaton, like many others associated with the club, will have fond memories of success under the Barry banner, with today’s squad having had a taste themselves, as Welsh League division two and three champions.

Any upset success this Saturday evening however would surely be their finest hour to date, with the all-conquering Saints posing Barry’s most difficult test of the season, yet a challenge they will duly embrace.

Kick-off on Saturday is at 5.15pm, with a final chance to buy advance tickets at the Jenner Suite this Thursday, January 19. Admission prices are £7 for adults and £3 for concessions, with supporter-run Barry receiving a percentage kickback from advance sales, though general admission will remain available on the day, pending capacity.

Barry’s maiden voyage in the Nathaniel MG Cup competition came in its second season of 1994-95; the same campaign that saw the Saints lift the trophy for the first time in their history.

Beaten 6 - 3 on aggregate by the former Inter Cardiff, the Town would fair more favourably the following year, as the competition reverted to a group-based format.

However, it was the 1996-97 campaign that kick-started the club’s greatest period of MG Cup success, with then-professional Barry steam-rolling their way to five successive finals.

After penalty shoot-out wins over Bangor City in 1997 and 1998, Barry would beat Caernarfon Town 3 - 0 in the 1999 showpiece, before cantering to a 6 - 0 victory over the Citizens in 2000.

However, the 2001 finale saw Peter Nicholas’ Barry upset 2 - 0 by Caersws amidst a backdrop of off-field uncertainty and it was the same mid-Wales opponents who would later inflict the Town’s heaviest MG Cup defeat in 2003-04, as the club was forced to cut cloth.

The interim seasons have seen TNS claim the cup on six further occasions, surpassing Barry’s standing as the tournament’s all-time most successful club.

During this run, the border team would take home the trophy three separate seasons on the bounce and the Saints will hope to repeat their treble success in the capital this weekend, after victories in 2015 and 2016 alike.

Saturday will be the 25th final in the competition’s history and the first ever to be played in Cardiff.

Despite not meeting in the MG Cup prior to this current campaign, Barry and TNS are anything but strangers in Welsh knockout competition, contesting a pair of Welsh Cup Finals in 1996 and 2001, as well as a notorious FAW Premier Cup quarter-final that was rained off midway through extra-time.

After Barry’s relegation from the Welsh Premier League in 2004, the clubs would tread separate paths, until fate paired the teams together once more in last season’s Welsh Cup third round.

With his defence besieged by injury, Barry manager Gavin Chesterfield might have feared the worst when his side succumbed to Greg Draper’s fourth-minute opener. However, an inspired piece of skill from Barry midfielder Troy Greening set-up striker Jordan Cotterill to sensationally equalise within a minute.

Drew Fahiya’s header then handed Barry a 2 - 1 lead over their full time opposition, providing fans with a tantalising glimpse of what could happen this weekend, should Barry be able to seize the day.

While the visitors’ fitness and persistence would see them through, Town dealt the Saints quite the scare that night and will thus take encouragement from this foothold heading into Saturday’s tie.

The surprisingly-long road to Cardiff and this season’s MG Cup Final has been an eventful one for both of Saturday’s finalists, with TNS using the competition to boost their march to a world-record 27 straight victories.

Amongst their slew of wins in the Welsh Premier League and Welsh Cup, the holders have complemented their MG Cup success with a run in Scotland’s IRN-BRU Cup; the Saints now the final outsiders remaining from a handful of Welsh and Irish invitees.

While the wins at Forfar and Livingston have helped put the Welsh pyramid champions on the map up north, their MG Cup campaign began far closer to home at Park Hall, where Alex Darlington’s brace helped Craig Harrison’s side to a 2 - 1 win over Bala Town.

For Barry meanwhile, the journey began on the road and a testing tie with fellow Welsh League representatives Cambrian and Clydach.

After conceding an early penalty that gave the hosts a goal start, Barry’s campaign appeared finished before it had even begun, until Kareem Leigh emerged to score a game-changing equaliser in the final minutes.

Inspired by the efforts of Cotterill and others, Barry then blitzed to a 3 - 1 extra-time triumph; setting up a second round tie with Cardiff Met at Jenner Park.

On this occasion, the penalty spot would favour Barry, with Bobby Briers’ penalty enough to separate the sides. This was the first time the Town had beaten Welsh Premier League opposition in years and with the third round draw presenting another home tie, hopes were growing rapidly that the Jenner Park club could at least secure a semi-final berth.

Into round three, TNS would travel to northwest Wales and the Nantporth Stadium for an attractive clash with bitter rivals Bangor City and the holders would rise to the challenge once more, carving out a 2 - 0 victory with goals from Robbie Parry and Greg Draper.

Meanwhile at the opposite end of the country, a dynamic second half performance helped Barry register an emphatic 7 - 1 hiding of Haverfordwest County, with Dixon helping himself to a hat-trick, after teammates Drew Fahiya and Luke Cooper had led the way.

The semi-final stage then saw a tense affair at Jenner Park, settled by Jordan Cotterill’s tremendous free kick and solidified by a fine defensive display in the closing minutes.

The TNS route would be altogether more complex, with the Saints gripped in a 2 - 2 ding-dong with Connah’s Quay, until overwhelming fog at the Deeside Stadium caused their match to be abandoned.

When the two sides reconvened a week later, a single goal would prove to be enough, with Scott Quigley paving the path to the Saints’ third straight final.

In total, some 26 games have been played in this season’s tournament, with 11 Welsh Premier League sides and 16 from the feeder leagues falling by the wayside ahead of the 28-team competition’s final encounter.

The Town's team options include a former Swansea City shotstopper with extensive Welsh Premier League experience (most recently at Aberystwyth Town), goalkeeper Mike Lewis marked his arrival at Barry Town with six consecutive clean sheets and has maintained shut outs against both of Barry’s Welsh Premier League opponents in this season's MG Cup.

Up against Lewis for the number one jersey this Saturday will be Abertillery-based Dan Bradley, who has made 360 appearances for the Town since his 2006 debut, keeping more than 100 clean sheets in competitive play.

At the back, Barry have been bolstered since their loss last season to TNS by the recruitment of several new defensive options, accompanying established heads like penalty taker Bobby Briers.

While towering Callum Sainty has seen his opportunities limited by injury, a recent return to the first team fray has offered supporters an encouraging glimpse of his match-winning ability.

Former Merthyr and Cinderford man Chris Hugh is another recent recruit, one of five players to start in every round of the competition.

Meanwhile, summer signing Luke Cooper had worn the number four shirt in all bar one of this season's fixtures, ahead of Saturday’s game. Among the more familiar faces, the influential Ryan Evans is one of six Barry-based players to make the cup final squad, joining the likes of accomplished full backs Paul Morgan and Lee Baldock and centre back Lewis Cosslett; the club’s longest-serving outfield player, with more than a decade of first team experience to his credit.

The heartbeat of the midfield, captain James Saddler will look to lift his third trophy in Barry Town colours on what could be his 200th start, having previously skippered the club to Welsh League division two and three championships.

With teammate Troy Greening in the final stages of recovery from a long-standing injury, Barry boy Curtis Watkins is expected to play a role in midfield; the former Cardiff City reserve captain having previously featured for the Bluebirds against Barry at Jenner Park. With a knack for spectacular strikes to rival his blinding pink boots, Louis Gerrard will look to cap his 12-month anniversary at the club with his most important goal yet.

Elsewhere, impact player Kareem Leigh should offer manager Chesterfield another exciting and potentially lethal option in the TNS end of the field.

With the majority of appearances coming from the bench, Leigh's 87th-minute equaliser in the opening round rescued the club from elimination and any opportunity to bookend the competition would be relished by the popular winger.

Finally, it is in attack where Chesterfield has perhaps the most options at his disposal, with a host of prolific goalscorers in the Town supremo’s arsenal.

After hitting the headlines with back-to-back five-goal flurries in last season's Welsh Cup, Dixon's hat-trick in the stunning 7 - 1 win over Haverfordwest County was replicated this weekend in Monmouth; an opportune reminder of exactly what the forward can do.

Jordan Cotterill meanwhile has enjoyed arguably his finest campaign yet since arriving at Jenner Park, helping change the game in the opening round and firing home the free kick winner that sealed Barry’s passage to the final. Passing the 50-goal mark for the club this season, Cotterill has already shown his attacking prowess against TNS, as has former Welsh Cup Final goalscorer Drew Fahiya, whose three in three MG Cup appearances this term will stand him in good stead.

Lastly, Michael Hartley and TJ Nagi have been loyal servants to the club through the toughest of times, with their hatful of goals in league and cup action a key part of the team’s on-field resurgence.

With 82 goals from 150 appearances, Nagi is the club's highest-scoring active player and has the kind of magic in his boots that can turn any game on its head. Hartley meanwhile has never disappointed in Barry colours and his experience at Welsh Premier League level may be a valuable asset to call upon in Saturday’s cup final showdown.