With less than ten days to go, the countdown is well and truly on to the Barry Town United vs The New Saints match at Jenner Park in the Fourth Round of the JD Welsh Cup; and the revival of a rivalry which encompassed some memorable moments between 1994 and 2004, as the sides each occupied a place in Welsh football's domestic top flight.

The first Town vs Saints match in October 1994 ended in a 2-2 draw at Jenner Park, with the return in April notable for Paul Giles scoring in the first match since he and brother David took the managerial reins from previous boss Eddie May. Future manager Gary Barnett would later score his first for Barry in February 1996's draw in Llansantffraid, while Giles' team marched towards a first Welsh Premier League championship.

In April 1996, a brace from Tony Bird helped Barry to a 2-1 win over the Saints at Ninian Park; the match played at the home of Cardiff City as work continued on installing new facilities at Jenner Park, including the smaller second stand. In a trivia note, the match was also the first of two capital clashes in the space of a month, preceding a famous 1996 Welsh Cup Final at the National Stadium that the Saints would win on penalties, following a scintillating 3-3 draw. Among the thrills and spills that afternoon, Barry goalkeeper Mark Ovendale saved a pair of spot kicks in the shootout, while also stepping up to score one of his own.

On a comparably forgotten but similarly thrilling day at Jenner Park, October 1996 served up another 3-3 draw; with Phil Johnson equalising in the final moments to secure a point for the Town. The result would maintain Barry's positive start to a league campaign they would complete with over 100 points and only one defeat. As fate would have it, that loss would come against the Saints, whose 1-0 win on home turf in March 1997 reaffirmed their status the Town's bogey side.

Nevertheless, September 1997 saw the Town earn emphatic retribution, as prolific Barry forward Eifion Williams scored five times in a thumping 10-0 win. With the Town also knocking the Saints out of the Welsh Cup in 1996-97 and 1997-98, a period of head-to-head dominance ensued; with Barry completing a league double over the Saints in consecutive seasons to boot. Among all the victories, a February 1999 match between Barry and TNS at Jenner Park played host to an unexpected visitor, in the form of one Sepp Blatter. The FIFA President had been in the capital to discuss the controversial Arsenal vs Sheffield United FA Cup tie of one week earlier, and joined UEFA counterpart Lennart Johanssen in the new stand at Jenner Park as Barry earned a 2-0 win.

Kicking off the 21st century at Jenner Park with a 5-1 triumph against TNS in January 2000, Barry were pipped to the championship on the final day of the 1999-2000 season, as the Saints clinched their first of seven Welsh Premier League titles. As a result, the rivalry between the clubs would intensify, peaking with a 2000-01 campaign that would see them meet on seven different occasions. In the most infamous meeting of all, an FAW Quarter Final at Jenner Park in April 2001 took two attempts and almost four hours to complete, following a most unusual incident. Played in dreadful conditions, the original fixture had seen TNS take a 3-2 lead in the first half of extra-time, only for the match to be abandoned as the teams prepared to switch ends. The second attempt then brought extra-time once more, before Neil Sharp's winner settled the this war of attrition in Barry's favour. The sides would then reconvene in May to contest their second Welsh Cup Final, this time, at Wrexham's Racecourse. An altogether more tentative affair, Barry would emerge 2-0 victors following late goals from Jamie Moralee and Gary Lloyd.

Barry and TNS most recently met in the Welsh Cup in March 2002, as Kenny Brown's Town were 3-0 winners at the Quarter Final stage. There were however more meetings to come between these two familiar foes, including a February 2003 encounter at Jenner Park that was watched by more than 1,000 spectators, including a certain John Fashanu. With Barry relinquishing their fully-professional status later in the year, the 2003-04 season would play host to the last Town/TNS matches to date, with the Saints beating Barry 3-0 at the Trefan in February 2005, a week after the relegation-bound Town had won their first game of the season.

In more than a decade since Barry's demotion, TNS have proven an all-conquering force in the Welsh Premier League, breaking the Town's total of championship wins and claiming a slew of Welsh Cup and League Cup accolades along the way. Retaining the latter last weekend with a 2-0 win over Denbigh Town in Llandudno, the current Welsh Cup holders will certainly be the team to beat when they return to Barry next weekend. However, a Barry side with nothing to lose and the opportunity to make new history could prove a genuine threat for the current Welsh Premier kingpins; with local boys James Dixon, Drew Fahiya, Ryan Evans and Paul Morgan among the talented Town squad looking to achieve a famous result for a new generation.

Tickets for the Barry vs TNS match in the JD Welsh Cup Fourth Round on Saturday 6th February (5.15pm) are available online at barry.ticketsource.co.uk, with the remainder on sale at the turnstiles on the day. Entry will be priced at £5, with concessions available for senior citizens, students and children. The match must be settled on the day, via extra-time and penalties if required.