Swansea Through to FAW Premier Cup Final

Swansea City are through to the final of the FAW Premier Cup for the third time in their history after a 4-2 penatly shoot out win against TNS onWednesday night, as the game ended 1-1 after extra time.

With scores still level after over 120 minutes of football, Swansea goalkeper Brian Murphy was the hero, saving two penalties to ensure the last game at the Vetch will involve Swansea before they move to their new stadium next season.

In a move which saw Jackett make 5 changes from the side which lost to Notts County on Saturday, the manager named a mixture of first and reserve team players in his starting line-up with leading goalscorer Lee Trundle, and defenders Garry Monk and Kevin Austin all missing out.

The Swans made a dream start, when a 30 yard cross-field pass from Adrian Forbes put Brad Maylett clean through on goal, who coolly slotted home past Gary Doherty with three minutes gone. If Swansea though that was a sign of things to come in the match, they were wrong as TNS took the rest of the first half to Swansea and created virtually all the chances.

Former Swansea man Jamie Wood was guilty of missing a number of excellent chances, as were several team-mates, before Izzy Iriekpen's handball in the Swansea box resulted in a penalty to the home side. Naylor converted the penalty for TNS and both teams went in to the half-time break level at 1-1.

Swansea came out in the second half looking to gain more controlled possession with Jackett changing system to a 4-3-3 formation, with Maylett and McLeod playing as wide men up front.

Despite the carrot of £100,000 for winning the final, chances for both teams were slim, and badly executed when they did come. Only a Kris O'Leary long range effort came close, as both teams struggled to create anything worthwhile. However, the game soon changed when Kenny Jackett replaced Lee Thorpe and Adrian Forbes with Paul Connor and Kevin McLeod with around 20 minutes to go.

With Swansea’s new system, their three-man midfield enjoyed far more of the ball, with Andy Robinson making drives at the home defence, causing all sorts of problems in the TNS box.

A mazy run from Andy Robinson, in which, he beat two TNS players before crossing was probably Swansea's best chance of the half, with a last ditch tackle from a TNS defender denying Kris O'Leary the chance to slot home a winner inside the penalty area. However, despite Swansea pinning TNS back into their own half for much of the second half, the 90 minutes ended and extra time loomed.

In the first ten minutes of extra time, Swansea had three excellent chances - two from Andy Robinson who just missed the target on both occasions and the other from goalscorer Brad Maylett, who struck the base of the post from outside the area. Jackett then replaced Maylett with Leon Britton in an attempt to add fresh legs and extra flair to the side as fatigue clearly set in, yet Swansea could still not find the way to back of the TNS net. Late in extra time there was a scare for the visitors, when a TNS shot struck the top of the crossbar, but with the end of extra time approaching, neither team made a concerted effort to push for a winner, settling for a nervy shoot out.

Much to the despair of the TNS supporters, Swansea keeper Brian Murphy saved two of four penalties to put Swansea in a fantastic position to progress as Andy Robinson, Leon Britton and Roberto Martinez all converted, before Paul Connor scored the winner to send Swansea into the final at their home ground against Bangor City or holders Wrexham in May, knowing they’ll pick up at least £50,000 for their troubles.