Welsh Premier League

TNS 2

Newtown 4

Ten-man Saints crashed to a surprising second home league defeat of the season when they shipped four goals in the last hour against Newtown.

Draper, who had been given a reprieve following his sending off in the reverse Boxing Day fixture, opened the scoring when unmarked, he beat the Newtown keeper effortlessly.

On 15 minutes, Saints broke again as Ryan Brobbel, who assisted for Draper, found the feet of Jamie Mullan, who controlled and fired home into the top centre of the goal.

Saints chose to sit back, rather than continue to press Newtown and the visitors drew level with Ryan Sears, on loan from Shrewsbury Town, heading home to halve the deficit on 30 minutes.

Twelve minutes later, Newtown levelled when Luke Boundford headed firmly past the restored Paul Harrison. 

Saints were reduced to 10 men on the stroke of the half, for the second game running, when Robbie Parry was pulled up for handball and seemingly sent foul and abusive language towards the ref.

In a more fiery second half clash, Boundford gave Newtown the lead for the first time as he caught Harrison off guard.

Saints huffed and puffed to launch a fightback, just as they had done at Newtown on Boxing Day but Newtown sealed the points and Nick Rushton took advantage of a defensive error to make it 4-2.

TNS kept fighting and had a shot cleared off the line in the dying minutes of stoppage time, but it was not to be for Scott Ruscoe’s men. 

TNS: Harrison, Spender, Rawlinson, Hudson, Marriott, Holland (Pryce 86), Routledge, Brobbel (Edwards 79), Mullan, Parry, Draper

Subs not used: Jones, Seargeant, Leak, Clark, Darlington, Edwards,