Following a break for the JD Welsh Cup quarter-finals, attention turns back to the league this weekend.
Caernarfon Town and Flint Town United will be full of confidence after securing their places in the Welsh Cup semi-finals with victories over Colwyn Bay and Trearddur Bay.
Bangor City 1876 and Rhyl 1879 are the other two clubs to reach the last four, with the semi-final ties to be drawn on Monday night, 9 February.
Back to the league, The New Saints are eight points clear at the top of the table with nine matches still to play.
Connah’s Quay are nine points ahead of Pen-y-bont in the race for second place, while things are much tighter in the Bottom Six.
Just five points separate the five clubs between 7th and 11th place, meaning all those clubs will be eyeing a spot in the play-offs.
And at the foot of the table, things look bleak for Llanelli, who have taken just one point from their last 13 league matches.
TOP SIX
Connah’s Quay (2nd) v Caernarfon Town (4th) | Friday – 19:45
This year, the club that finishes second will progress straight into Europe, and Connah’s Quay look comfortable in that position following a remarkable run of 15 league matches unbeaten (W11, D4).
Caernarfon Town are 13 points behind the Nomads, so focusing on the play-offs will be the aim for the Cofis, but Richard Davies will be hoping his squad can secure a place in Europe before then by lifting the Welsh Cup for the first time in their history.
After defeating Colwyn Bay 4–1 in the quarter-finals, Caernarfon Town are the favourites to lift the cup this year, as they are the only Top Six club still left in the competition.
Caernarfon Town have lost just one of their last seven matches in all competitions (W3, D3), and after signing Adrian Cieslewicz from The New Saints this week, the Cofis will be confident of finishing the season strongly.
35-year-old winger, Cieslewicz joins several other players in the Caernarfon Town squad who have experience of playing for The New Saints (Brad Young, Sion Bradley, Zack Clarke, Josh Lock, Daniel Gosset, Connor Roberts).
The Canaries have lost just one of their last seven matches against Connah’s Quay (W3, D3), and the Nomads had won eight consecutive league matches before Caernarfon Town brought that run to an end last month through Phil Mooney’s brace (Cfon 2–2 CQ).
League form:
Connah’s Quay: ✅✅✅➖➖
Caernarfon Town: ͏➖❌✅➖➖
The New Saints (1st) v Pen-y-bont (3rd) | Saturday – 12:30 (Live online)
The New Saints are on course to claim the championship for the fifth year in a row, with Craig Harrison’s side sitting eight points clear at the top of the table.
The Saints have won six of their last seven matches, and with the Nathaniel MG Cup final to come at the end of February, the Oswestry outfit will be aiming to complete a domestic double for the fifth consecutive season.
Pen-y-bont certainly haven’t been at their best recently, winning just one of their last seven matches (Llanelli 0–1 Pen-y-bont), and Rhys Griffiths will be determined to boost his players’ morale ahead of the play-offs.
The Saints won both of their matches against Pen-y-bont earlier in the season, with Jordan Williams the hero in the most recent meeting, scoring a hat-trick in a 6–2 victory for the champions at Park Hall in October.
The 33-year-old striker has scored 21 league goals for The New Saints this season, and if Williams continues to fire in front of goal, he could become the first player to score 30 league goals since Rhys Griffiths did so in 2009/10.
League form:
The New Saints: ✅❌✅✅✅
Pen-y-bont: ➖➖✅➖➖
Barry Town United (6th) v Colwyn Bay (5th) | Saturday – 14:30
It was a disappointing weekend for Barry Town United and Colwyn Bay, with both clubs exiting the JD Welsh Cup at the quarter-final stage.
Barry Town United will feel they missed a golden opportunity to reach the semi-finals following their 2–1 defeat against second-tier side Rhyl 1879.
It was also a frustrating night for Colwyn Bay as they lost 4–1 away to Caernarfon Town.
Just one point separates the two clubs in the table, and both teams will be battling to finish as high as possible to secure a home tie in the play-offs.
Neither side has been on form recently, with Barry Town losing four of their last five matches, and Colwyn Bay failing to win in their last four outings.
Barry Town United had the upper hand earlier in the season, winning 4–1 at Llanelian Road in November after a 1–1 draw at Jenner Park in August.
League form:
Barry Town United: ✅❌❌✅❌
Colwyn Bay: ͏❌✅❌❌➖
BOTTOM SIX
Briton Ferry Llansawel (8th) v Haverfordwest County (9th) | Friday – 19:45
Just one point separates Cardiff Met, Briton Ferry Llansawel and Haverfordwest County in the race for 7th place, making this a significant battle at the top of the Bottom Six.
That said, Haverfordwest County are only four points above the relegation zone, and the Bluebirds will be looking to pull clear of the bottom two on Friday.
Briton Ferry Llansawel are enjoying their best-ever spell in the top-flight after winning three consecutive matches for the first time (against Haverfordwest County, Barry Town United and Llanelli Town).
Briton Ferry Llansawel have lost just two of their last nine matches (vs The New Saints and Connah’s Quay), and after finishing 10th last season, Andy Dyer will be hoping to improve on that and challenge for 7th place this year.
The frontmen for both clubs are enjoying strong seasons, as Thomas Walters and Ben Ahmun have both made 15 goal contributions in the league – Thomas Walters (8 goals, 7 assists for Briton Ferry) and Ben Ahmun (9 goals, 6 assists for Haverfordwest).
League form:
Briton Ferry Llansawel: ͏❌➖✅✅✅
Haverfordwest County: ➖✅➖❌✅
Llanelli Town (12th) v Flint Town United (10th) | Saturday – 14:30
Flint Town United have reached the Welsh Cup semi-finals for the first time since the 1953/54 season, and the Silkmen have done so without conceding a single goal in the competition this year.
Lifting the cup for the first time in 72 years would be an incredible achievement for Lee Fowler’s side, but in the meantime the team still has work to do to climb away from the bottom of the table.
Just one point separates Flint Town from the relegation zone, meaning Lee Fowler will be expecting nothing less than three points against bottom-of-the-table Llanelli Town.
Llanelli Town are 16 points adrift of the safety of 10th place, and after taking just one point from their last 13 league matches while scoring only 13 goals in 23 games, Terry Boyle faces a huge task in trying to rescue the Reds.
Llanelli Town and Flint Town United have the worst defensive records in the league this season, with the Reds conceding an average of 2.7 goals per game and the Silkmen conceding 2.2 goals per game.
Flint Town United forward Elliott Reeves will be eagerly awaiting Saturday afternoon, having scored hat-tricks in both matches against Llanelli Town earlier in the season (Lli 0–5 FTU, FTU 4–0 Lli).
League form:
Llanelli Town: ❌❌❌❌❌
Flint Town United: ➖❌✅❌✅
Bala Town (11th) v Cardiff Met (7th) | Saturday – 14:30
Cardiff Met begin the weekend at the top of the Bottom Six, while Bala Town sit in the relegation zone, with just five points separating the two clubs.
Despite their promising position, Cardiff Met are without a win in their last six matches, and Bala Town will be looking to take advantage of the lack of confidence in the students’ squad.
Cardiff Met have scored just one goal in their last four matches, and a shortage of natural goalscorers has been an issue for the Archers, with no player scoring more than five league goals for Ryan Jenkins’ side this season.
Bala Town have been members of the top-flight for 16 years, and among the current clubs, The New Saints are the only other side to have remained in the league continuously since Bala’s first season in 2009/10.
However, after 12 years in the Top Six, Bala Town have fallen short this season and the club are at risk of dropping into the second tier after losing 11 of their last 15 matches.
Cardiff Met have lost just one of their last 13 encounters against Bala Town (W6, D6), although they received a bit of help from the elements earlier in the season when Lassana Mendes scored a bizarre own goal at Cyncoed Campus due to the strong winds.
League form:
Bala Town: ❌❌❌✅❌
Cardiff Met: ͏➖❌➖➖❌
Match highlights will be available on Sgorio’s social media channels.
