| League Cup saga finally resolved |
| Thursday 25 February 2010 |
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THE Loosemores League Cup final between Rhyl and The New Saints will be played in midweek for the first time.
The Welsh Premier League has finally got round to announcing a date for the final of Tuesday April 27, which had already been agreed and suggested mutually between the two finalist clubs. Originally scheduled for Easter Sunday April 4, the final was postponed because the sponsors were unable to attend and a new date of Sunday May 9 was suggested by the League. This was immediately rejected by Rhyl, as their playing squad would be out of contract. The final will be hosted at The Airfield with a 7.30pm kick-off and the League says that, in future years, the final date will be announced at the start of the season. "The League would like to clarify that this is the first time that the match has been announced officially," says an official statement. "Discussions were held with the two participating clubs, the host club, the board of directors and the sponsors, about staging the match over the Easter period. "This date was not fixed and it became evident during the consultation process with all interested parties, that the Easter date was not convenient to all. It is regretful that the proposed date was announced by one of those parties, before it was confirmed by the League. "The League reopened the consultation process and suggested a new date to the host club to check the availability of the stadium. "This proposal was again brought into the public domain during the consultation process and it quickly became evident that this date was also unsuitable." League secretary John Deakin said; "Given the location and the reasonable chance of getting good weather on an April evening, I'm confident that the evening kick-off will work for this prestigious final." Strangely, although the league statement says the Easter Sunday date "was not fixed", it postponed Welsh Premier league matches scheduled to be played over the Easter holiday involving the two finalists. The prevarication over the date for showpiece has been widely criticised, with Rhyl secretary Kevin Davies saying: "Surely a date could have been confirmed at the start of the season so that clubs would know in advance when the final was to be played."  Photo: TNS are the current holders after beating Bangor City last season. |