TNS aim to bounce back in clash of the top two

Four points currently separate the teams, with second-placed Saints - beaten 3-1 at Briton Ferry Llansawel on Wednesday night - having a game in hand on the table-toppers.

Saints will be looking to respond positively to their midweek disappointment after losing to a side that had started the night bottom of the league table but climbed two places as a result of their victory.

TNS head coach Craig Harrison said: “We’ve got to get that one out of our system quite quickly and move on.”

Penybont head to Oswestry having won 11 and lost just one of their 16 league games so far this season.

They beat Saints 2-1 when the teams last met at the SDM Glass Stadium in September.

Saints found themselves 3-0 down in the first half at Briton Ferry on Wednesday night, and although Aramide Oteh scored for TNS just before the interval, that’s where the scoring ended.

“It was a really poor performance, especially first half, and I thought we were terrible,” said Harrison. “Everyone involved tonight was really, really poor first half and you can’t go, no matter who you’re playing against or what you think, you can’t go and give anybody a three-goal head start in the first half.

“And they thoroughly deserved to be 3-1 up at half time because we didn’t deserve anything more than that.”

Jasper Payne gave the home side an eighth-minute lead, with Briton Ferry extending their lead to 3-0 as TNS defender Jack Bodenham deflected a corner into his own net, before Tyler Brock added a third.

Oteh headed home a cross from Sion Bradley to give Saints some hope in the 43rd minute, but there was to be no way back in the second half as TNS lost for the fourth time in the league this season. Saints ended the match with 10 men with Jake Canavan sent off eight minutes from time for a challenge.