The New Saints complete Welsh treble

A 2-0 victory over Newtown AFC in the 128th Welsh Cup final on Saturday means The New Saints FC are the first team since Rhyl FC in 2003/04 to claim a domestic treble.

Having already claimed a ninth domestic league title, The New Saints now have a fifth Welsh Cup, Craig Harrison's side retaining the trophy they won last season. There was little between the two sides in terms of chances in the opening half, but Matty Williams broke the deadlock after 54 minutes, collecting a through-ball and calmly slotting past Newtown goalkeeper Dave Jones.

Newtown created a couple of half-chances as they went in search of an equaliser, but the match was decided on 85 minutes when Newtown defender Shane Sutton brought down substitute Scott Quigley in the area. Sutton was dismissed and Williams grabbed his second as he completed the scoring from the resulting penalty.

"I didn't think it was a game that was going to be a classic cup tie," said Harrison after the match. "Newtown didn't come out to play – they sat back in and we controlled the game. We knew Newtown were going to do that. We had a meeting at the start of the season about what we want to gain and how we can gain it. Obviously, you put down you don't want to get beat, you want to win every game and you want to win the treble. It's probably above and beyond what we expected."

Completing the domestic treble means that The New Saints FC will compete in the UEFA Champions League next season, while league runners-up Bala Town FC and third-placed AUK Broughton FC will compete in the UEFA Europa League, subject to UEFA confirmation. Despite the defeat, Newtown AFC have another chance to qualify for the UEFA Europa League as they now compete in Welsh Premier League play-offs to decide who claims the one remaining place.