91Èȱ¬

Cardiff beat Wrexham in Welsh Cup final to secure historic treble

Cardiff City Women lift the Welsh Cup trophyImage source, FAW
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Cardiff City completed the domestic treble by beating Wrexham 2-0 in the Bute Energy Women’s Welsh Cup final at Newport’s Rodney Parade.

Rhianne Oakley opened the scoring after 15 minutes, finishing powerfully into the bottom corner.

Emma Beynon added a second with a spectacular strike in injury time.

The victory secures a historic treble for Cardiff after finishing nine points above second-placed Swansea City to win the league title for the third time.

They also beat Swansea in the Adran Trophy final.

There was a surprise pre-match with Wrexham’s top goal scorer Rosie Hughes only named on the bench.

The first big chance fell to Wrexham with Carra Jones hitting straight at keeper Ceryn Chamberlain.

But it was Cardiff who opened the scoring with Oakley driving powerfully into the box and finishing well.

She could have doubled her tally in the second half but was flagged for offside.

Beynon ensured their second with a wonder strike worthy of a final, the ball sailing into the top corner from distance.

Elizah Collie should have added a third but could not turn in a Mikayla Cook cross from a few yards out.

Wrexham have now lost all six encounters against Cardiff this season in what has been their first campaign back in Welsh football’s top flight since its revamp.

Meanwhile another piece of history was made when Wales’ World Cup referee Cheryl Foster became the first official to lead a first five-woman refereeing team in the final.

Delighted Darbyshire

Cardiff City manager Iain Darbyshire told 91Èȱ¬ Sport Wales: “We set out to win everything this season.

“The girls had to dig deep there, Wrexham are really good, I’ve got a lot of praise for them, they caused us a lot of problems.

"It’s hard to put into words, this is our goal and where we want to be, this squad is special, we deserve it and we’ve earned it, treble winners what more can you do?"

Speaking of Beynon's strike, he added: “She does it all the time in training.

"Emma is unbelievable, she works her socks off every week and we’re so grateful to have her."