Can we make it three out of three with the ultimate statement win?

THE WREXHAM ANGLE

You know a team is going well when they play a lot of games at neutral venues, and here we are with our second in three matches!

Of course, it’s the conclusion of the epic trilogy against Cardiff. If all goes to plan, these games will be seen as the turning point in Welsh domestic football: the point when Wrexham took the mantle of the nation’s best from an outstanding Bluebirds team.

Certainly, last Saturday felt like a shift in the dynamic. The winner at Bangor was well deserved but hard fought. Obviously, when a game goes to penalties either side can win it.

The follow-up at Cardiff, however, was very different. We were outstanding and the sensations when the hosts equalised in twenty minutes left were more shock than anything else. However, there was a certain sense of inevitability about the way we rolled our sleeves up, went again, and got two more goals. That’s the sort of thing champions do. That’s the sort of thing Cardiff have done against us when we’ve shown plucky resistance. This time the boot was very much on the other foot,and we need to make sure it stays there.

The main issue for Wrexham, of course, is the fitness of Lili Jones, and she was able to play a part in the off the bench last weekend so the question, you assume, is purely whether she is able to start or not. If not, I think it’s reasonable to say that Faye Knox dropping deep was a rather good replacement. We also have Nat Clark, of course, who can slot into that position if we want more of a defensive option.

A win here would most certainly be notable. It would mean we reach the Welsh Cup final for the third consecutive year and for the first time it would be against opponents other than Cardiff, who have a monopoly over this competition.

The first of these three games offered a chance to win a trophy. The second offered a chance to take control in the chase for the biggest trophy of all.  The third gives us an opportunity of reaching the final of the cup and in the process eliminating our greatest threat. What a time this is.

THE VIEW FROM THE OTHER SIDE

Look, you know I have massive respect for Iain Darbyshire and what he’s done at Cardiff, so don’t expect any surprises here!

Darbyshire is gunning for a fourth consecutive Bute Energy Welsh Cup final to maintain a remarkable record in the competition: The Bluebirds have won each of those finals.

Of course, this is his farewell tour as he will leave his position at the Bluebirds at end of this season. He will hand over a squad of winners.

Darbyshire has been responsible for the Bluebirds’ greatest successes in the women’s game, ending a barren decade. He has led his side in the UEFA Champions League qualifiers for the past three seasons too, as his side have monopolised the Adran Premier.

“I’d like to thank the Club, Tan Sri Vincent, Ken Choo, Steve Borley, Lee Southernwood and Michael Thomas for their valued support during the last six seasons in what has been a memorable time for us”, he announced in a club statement

“It has been a huge personal honour to lead the women’s programme at the Club, and with the hard work of the players and staff we have taken enormous strides forward, not only for the Club, but league-wide in the Adran Premier.

“Those steps were supported throughout by our incredible fanbase, whose unrivalled backing has played a key part in all our success over the last six years.”

Replacing him will be a massive task but that matter needs to be put onto the back burner for now as City’s focus passes to ensuring Darbyshire can add to his trophy haul in his final season.

The first big question, for me, is whether Shannon Evans will be available. I can’t find any information online to explain her absence on Saturday: the obvious conclusion to draw is she’s injured, although it’s feasible that shifting the game forward a day might have affected her availability. This is a semi-pro league, remember.

Whether he can call on her or not, Darbyshire has been in the unusual, possibly unique, situation of working out how to change things after being out-played. Wrexham were outstanding on Saturday, and finding a solution to a side that took control like that is a fresh challenge for a coach who has been astonishingly good at maintaining his side’s superiority over all domestic comers.

Not that Darbyshire isn’t up to the task. He’s faced massive organisational challenges, regularly replenishing his squad as key players have departed or retired, and managed to come back at least as strong if not stronger every time. His attacking options are impressive, and how he balances that with guarding against the sort of swift, direct exploitation of space which Wrexham achieved at the Cardiff City Stadium will be key. Park Avenue is a 4g surface, so it’ll be true which suits both sides. Despite the apparent hugeness of the pitch on Saturday, I don’t think there’s a great deal of difference between the dimensions of the pitches: the elevated camera angle up in the gantry surely exaggerated just how big Cardiff’s pitch is.

Space is something we’d look to exploit, though, especially if Evans isn’t available. She has pace and positional intelligence, and when required is able to make emergency interventions to halt strikers who get into dangerous areas. You used all three at Bangor in a thrilling duel with Katie Barker. Shorn of her reassuring presence, City’s defence lacked pace and assurance and were unable to deal with Barker in the league game.

It’s the classic conundrum: back off and you give the midfield to players like Faye Knox, Ava Suckley, Josie Smith and Lili Jones who can turn, create and shoot with time to spare; step up to combat that and Katie Barker will run in behind. It’s a real conundrum, but Derbyshire and his coaching team have the wherewithal to come up with a workable solution, Whether it’s effective might decide this game, because a repetition of last Saturday can only end one way.

POTENTIAL MILESTONES

If she plays, Lili Jones will become the second player to make 100 appearances for Wrexham, after Rosie Hughes.

FIXTURES

Cwmbran Celtic v Swansea City

If Swansea’s form in the Adran Premier is worth anything, they ought to be guaranteed to be awaiting the winners of this match. They have been absolutely ruthless against the sides beneath them in the table, and didn’t drop a single point to anybody apart from the top two. They maintained that record last Sunday with a fine win at TNS.

A cup tie on neutral ground against a side from the Adran South looks like it should be an easy proposition for them, but Cwmbran beat Briton Ferry, who we all know are awkward opponents and finished runners-up in the Adran Premier last season.