Scott Ruscoe’s starting line-up

Although The New Saints went into the game on the back of two straight wins, nevertheless the manager wasn’t afraid to make changes. As you will know from our pre-match press conferences, Scott is very objective when it comes to team selection, and will always go for the starting eleven that he feels will do the job.

Based on the result – never mind the season so far – you can’t argue with that.

 

The unbeaten streak continues

Leaving November behind, The New Saints remains the only unbeaten side in the JD Cymru Premier. With eleven wins and two draws, the club has a six and eight point lead over the second and third-placed teams, although both Connah’s Quay Nomads and Bala Town have a game in hand.

 

Own goals

As far as goalscorers were concerned, it was TNS FC 2 Aberystwyth Town 3. However, with Jonathan Foligno and Lee Jenkins finding the back of their own net, the final score looked very different.

As well as the obvious fact that the most important thing is scoring regardless of the circumstances, it’s also worth bearing in mind that own goals often come, not necessarily as a defensive error, but because of opposition pressure.

 

Greg Draper

Looking on from the press box, we all thought that Greg had scored a hat-trick. It was only afterwards that we realised, in fact, that the first one was a Lee Jenkins own goal.

Although he’ll be disappointed not to have grabbed yet another career hat-trick, nevertheless the popular striker will be more than happy with a brace and the three points.

 

The statistics continue to impress

As well as the eleven wins, two draws and no defeats previously mentioned, The New Saints has scored thirty-nine goals, which is eight ahead of Bala Town and fourteen more than Connah’s Quay Nomads.

In addition, the defence has been breached on just seven occasions, while the Nomads and the Lakesiders have conceded eight and twelve respectively.

 

Lead image courtesy of Brian Jones.