The New Saints head into next Thursday’s Europa Conference League second leg at Park Hall with the tie finely balanced after a narrow 1-0 first-leg defeat at Flora Tallinn on Thursday night.
League leaders The New Saints sit 22 points clear at the top of the Cymru Premier after finishing the 2025 campaign with 80 points from 32 games, 81 goals scored and just 25 conceded. Their recent run of five straight wins keeps them on course for another title charge in 2026.
What happened in Tallinn?
Remo Valdmets’s 31st-minute strike broke the deadlock at the Lillekula Stadium, and although Dan Williams came closest to an equaliser when his second-half effort rattled the crossbar, Flora Tallinn held firm to claim the away goal.
The New Saints dominated the final 15-20 minutes, peppering the Estonian goal with chances they believe merited at least a draw. Craig Harrison, the head coach, said: “We finished really strong. The lads looked fit, strong, really full of energy and we should have scored a goal. We’ve had some great opportunities in the last 10, 15 minutes and I think we deserved probably a 1-1 draw out of it.”
Why it matters for The New Saints
Harrison admitted disappointment at the defeat but praised his side’s performance. “Overall I’m disappointed we’ve got beat, but I’m not disappointed in the performance,” he said. Flora Tallinn arrived with a squad stacked with Estonian internationals and domestic league winners, yet TNS stayed in the tie.
“They’re a good team and if you let them play, they’re going to play,” Harrison added. “They’ve got internationals, they’ve won the domestic league, and they’ve got really good players, really good young talented players as well with a mixture of two or three really experienced players.”
What comes next?
The second leg at Park Hall on July 31 kicks off at 6.30pm, and Harrison insists his players can turn the tie around. “We will not be taking it lightly,” he said. “But I think there’s a lot of stuff in there that will encourage us and if we start properly and we start well, and take encouragement from the last 10, 15 minutes when we’ve got them pinned in their half, then we’ll do our best and we’ve got an opportunity to try and turn it round and go through.”
The New Saints have conceded only 25 goals all season and sit 22 points clear at the summit, with a five-game winning streak still running. Their last outing was a 1-0 victory at Barry Town on April 18, 2026, keeping the pressure on rivals GAP Connah’s Quay FC.
Park Hall will be buzzing next week as TNS bid to erase the away goal deficit and march on in Europe.
