JD Welsh Premier League

Barry Town United 0

The New Saints 4

The New Saints have sealed an eighth successive JD Welsh Premier League title with a thumping win at Barry Town United on Saturday.

An early Greg Draper goal – his 34th in all competitions – was enough to put Saints in control but two goals in eight minutes from Jamie Mullan and Aeron Edwards sealed the win, with a late Jon Routledge.

Saints nearly took the lead inside the first minute as Aeron Edwards’ thumping header from eight yards was beaten away by Mike Lewis, while Draper and Blaine Hudson both had chances snuffed out.

The deadlock was deservedly broken in the seventh minute when Draper ­maintained his red-hot form to score his 13th goal since the start of March with a volley on the follow through from Edwards’s knock-down.

The game settled down into a stalemate as Barry worked hard to gain a foothold on play and Saints looked to hit their hosts on the break.

But Ryan Brobbel came so close to adding a second for Saints when his finely-struck free kick was pushed onto the bar by Lewis and away for a corner on 35 minutes.

Jon Routledge could have doubled TNS’s lead almost immediately into the second half but his volleyed effort was wide.

And Chris Hugh nearly punished TNS when he was left one-on-one with Paul Harrison but the veteran skipper stood tall and blocked well.

The game descended not scrappiness but on the hour, Brobbel showed his quality when he rolled his foot over the ball to beat his man but shot wide.

TNS put one hand on the trophy when Mullan picked the ball up from 20 yards on the angle, shooting early past Lewis who could only push it into the corner.

It was three on 78 minutes when Edwards finally found his radar, rising highest to nod home from close-range from Mullan’s cross.

Routledge capped off an excellent performance for both himself and the team with a 90th-minute finish from 18 yards.

TNS: Harrison, Lewis, Hudson, Marriott, Redmond, Holland, Routledge, Edwards (Byrne 83), Mullan, Brobbel (Cieslewicz 79), Draper (Ebbe 71)

Not Used: Dutton, Spender, Bodenham