CEFN ALBION head into the biggest game in their history on the back one of their worst runs since the club was formed six years ago.
But boss Stephen Davies is still backing his players to produce their best when tackling Pontardawe Town in the prestigious Welsh Trophy Final at Aberystwyth’s Park Avenue ground ton Saturday.
After their thrilling 3-1 semi-final win over STM Sports in Newtown on March 16, Albion have lost four Welsh National League Premier Division games on the bounce, conceding 19 goals in that dismal run.
“I’ve got to be honest and say that there’s definitely been a case of one eye on the final for some of the lads,” said Davies.
“It’s not the kind of form you want going into such a big game but as I said before the semi-final, I back our lads to beat anyone.
“We’re at full strength, we had a light training session last night and we’ll head off at nine o’clock tomorrow full of confidence.”
More than 200 fans from Cefn Mawr headed to Newtown’s Latham Park last month to support their team and Albion can expect the same kind of backing on the mid-Wales coast tomorrow.
“Everyone’s talking about the game again and we’ve just got to produce the same kind of performance we did to beat STM Sports in the semis,” added Davies, who has lifted the Welsh Trophy as a player with Cefn United back in 2002.
“One thing we need to do is to try and calm the players down before kick-off.
“They had the music blaring out in the dressing room before the game and they looked nervous.
“We need to relax and get them chilled before kick-off. Then it’s up to them and with a full-strength 17 man squad to choose from, I’m confident.”
Davies refused to single out any key players in his team insisting: “Everyone from the goalkeeper to the last sub play their part in what is a team effort for us.”
Albion face a Pontardawe Town team that ended Plas Madoc’s run in the competition at The Rock earlier this season.
And Davies revealed that he’ll be giving former Albion player Ryan Roberts - now the manager of Welsh National League Division One champions Madoc a call.
“Obviously we don’t know much about them but I’ll call Ryan and ask him to give us a few pointers,” added Davies.
“But it’s all about what we do - and that’s what we have to focus on.
“It’s good that the final’s on 3G at Aberystwyth because we’ve played on that kind of surface at The Rock all season and that should give us an advantage.”
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