Newtown boss Chris Hughes says his side have no time to feel sorry for themselves ahead of Friday’s trip to champions TNS.

The Robins slipped to a 2-1 defeat at Latham Park on Tuesday as Penybont brushed off any Welsh Cup semi-final weariness to dent Newtown’s European hopes.

“It’s one that stings, obviously it hurts,” said Hughes. “It’s a defeat and we don’t like losing games of football, and obviously now we’ve got to put it behind us and move on to the next game. There’s a long way to go, and there’s a lot of football to be played.

“I thought we started the game ever so well. We had a couple of chances early on and scored from an early corner – Callum’s got a good connection and hit the post and Fumpa’s put it away and we were in the ascendency at that point.

“Their goal’s come out nothing really, we’ve cleared the first phase, it’s come back in off the second phase and I think the players were expecting the flag – the lads say that their boy was offside – but you’ve got to defend it properly and it’s one of them things that we’ve got to do better.

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“Give them credit, they changed their shape in the second half and hit us on the counter attack and we fell for it a little bit.

“We didn’t move the ball quick enough from side to side and play around them, we tried to play through them and that allowed them to counter attack, and we were a little bit niave in that respect.”

County Times: Action from TNS' victory over Colwyn Bay. Picture by Brian Jones.

Action from TNS' clash with Colwyn Bay. Picture by Brian Jones.

Newtown welcomed back defender Shane Sutton for the clash, but were dealt a fresh injury blow late in the second half when Callum Roberts went off with an injured shoulder which required a hospital scan, leaving him doubtful for Friday’s trip to Park Hall.

“He was in a bad way in the dressing room, hopefully it’s not as bad as we first fear,” added Hughes. “We’ve had to deal with injuries and suspensions all season but we can’t feel sorry for ourselves, we have to put that behind us and keep going.

Meanwhile TNS go into the game on the brink of a league and cup double after securing their JD Welsh Cup final place with victory over Colwyn Bay on Sunday.

"It was a tough game, they are a quality side as they have shown against Cardiff Met and Connah's Quay this season," said coach Antony Limbrick. "At certain times in a season you just have to get the job done and that is what we did."

Limbrick insisted his side were mindful of the threat posed by the Robins.

"They are always well organised and good tactically and they have players who can exploit us. We are looking forward to the game but we know it will be a tough one.

"They will be looking to bounce back after losing in the week and the game is a bit of a free hit from their point of view."