It’s fair to say that in recent years, the JD Welsh Cup has become very similar to the JD Welsh Premier, and that is, the cup has been dominated by the top teams.
Since the 2013-14 campaign, only three teams have won the competition. The New Saints have won the competition seven times, Connah’s Quay Nomads twice and Bala Town in the 2016-17 season.
In fact, out of the last five finals, three of them have been contested between TNS and Nomads, this also included the 2022-23 final, where TNS annihilated Bala 6-0.
Since the restructure of Welsh football and the removal of teams from the English football pyramid, only a handful of teams have won the competition; however, this year is very different.
This year will be the first time since the 2012-13 final that neither TNS nor Nomads will reach the final, and this season has shown the excitement for the other teams involved.
In the round of 32, Nomads and TNS were both eliminated from the competition on the road. Cardiff Met were able to see off TNS, while JD Cymru North league leaders, Llandudno, saw off the challenge of John Disney’s side.
Both teams have a great chance of challenging in the competition, and potentially winning the whole thing, but were both eliminated in the next round, with Caerau Ely eliminating The Seasiders, and Caernarfon Town scored two late goals to beat the team from the capital.
This round also saw Penybont, a team towards the top end of the JD Premier, fall to Flint Town, a team lingering on the edge of relegation to the JD Cymru North on penalties.
The Quarter Finals saw two other Premier division teams eliminated in Colwyn Bay and Barry Town, two teams once again inside the Championship round. In fact, out of the six teams in the championship round, only one has reached the semi-finals, that being Caernarfon.
Two teams in the semi-finals are from the Premier division in Caernarfon and Flint, while Rhyl and Bangor represent the Cymru North.
Rhyl and Bangor have both won this competition this century; however, they are now phoenix clubs after financial mismanagement led to the dissolution of both clubs.
The last time Flint reached the final was in 1955, where they beat Chester in front of 15,000 people at the Racecourse Ground, while Caernarfon have never even reached the final.
On paper, Caernarfon are favourites to win this competition, but one thing the competition has taught its fans this year is to expect the unexpected.
Flint hosts Bangor on 7th March, while Rhyl face off against Caernarfon on the 8th March.
Daniel Moffat 
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