Welsh Premier League Football - Saints emerge with credit from Anderlecht loss

BELGIAN champions Anderlecht proved too classy for The New Saints with a 3-1 first leg Champions League win at Wrexham's Racecourse Ground.
But the Welsh Premier champions were far from disgraced and went down fighting all the way against a club with a playing budget of more than £30 million.
Any hopes a major upset were soon dispelled as TNS conceded twice inside the first 18 minutes as they got off to a hesitant start.
Visiting skipper Olivier Deschacht had already rattled the crossbar with a stinging 20-yarder before Matias Suarez crossed for recent American signing Sacha Kljestan to drive home at the far post.
And the visitors forged a two-goal lead when Jonathan Legear scored with a fierce angled drive following an interchange of passes with three-times Belgian footballer of the year Mbark Boussoufa.
The Saints finally started to find their feet on the half-hour mark when Steve Evans sent a scissor kick looping over the bar from Scott Ruscoe's quickly-taken free-kick.
And Craig Jones should have pulled a goal back with a close range header that whistled wide of the far post from Chris Sharp's cross.
But the wingman made amends for his miss early in the second half when he drove home past keeper Proto Silvio from a Scott Ruscoe cross.
TNS were now more than holding their own against their illustrious opponents and it was somewhat against the run of play when Anderlecht extended their lead with a classic sucker punch on 73 minutes.
Suarez was left unmarked in the box and placed a precision header inside keeper Paul Harrison's far post from a Legear free-kick.
Jones typified the home side's spirit with a dart down that left that outpaced Deschacht but his cross failed to find a team-mate.
But the efforts of the home side were given a well-deserved standing ovation at the final whistle from the crowd of 2,486.
Photo: Craig Jones nets the TNS goal past keeper Silvio Proto.