By Saturday night we will have reached the halfway point of the JD Cymru Premier season and there is an all too familiar look to the table with the New Saints sitting comfortably at the top.
However, it promises to be an exciting race for second place again this year, with Pen-y-bont, Caernarfon Town and Connah’s Quay competing for the second ticket to Europe.
In the fight for the Top Six, only three points separate the four clubs between 5th and 8th place, which are Colwyn Bay, Barry Town United, Bala Town and Cardiff Met.
And towards the bottom, things are looking bleak for Llanelli Town who have lost five successive league games, but it is extremely tight between Haverfordwest County, Briton Ferry Llansawel and Flint Town United in the battle to avoid the drop.
The quarter-finals of the Nathaniel MG Cup were held on Tuesday night, and only two of the JD Cymru Premier clubs have reached the semi-finals this year.
Results: Cambrian Utd 1-0 Briton ferry Llansawel, Haverfordwest County 0-2 Barry Town United, Newtown 3-6 Llandudno, The New Saints 3-0 Caernarfon Town
Friday, 7 November
Briton Ferry Llansawel (10th) v Bala Town (7th) | Friday – 19:45
Briton Ferry Llansawel have slipped down the table, and now Andy Dyer’s men are just one point above the relegation zone after winning once in their last 11 league outings (L7, D3).
The Reds will need to start performing at home if they are to avoid another long relegation scrap, as they have failed to win any of their seven league games at the Old Road this season, picking up just two points out of a possible 21.
On top of it all, Birton Ferry lost 1-0 against second-tier Cambrian United in the quarter-finals of the Nathaniel MG Cup on Tuesday night.
Bala Town begin the weekend level on points with Barry Town United in 6th place, and it would be a huge credit to Steve Fisher if he could lead the club into the Top Six in his first season at the helm.
Scoring goals has been Bala Town’s main problem this year, as only Llanelli Town (0.5 goals per game) have netted less than the Lakesiders in the league this season (0.7 goals per game).
Briton Ferry have never beaten Bala Town, but the last two matches between the clubs have both ended in a 2-2 draw.
League form:
Briton Ferry Llansawel: ͏➖✅❌❌❌
Bala Town: ❌❌❌➖✅
The New Saints (1st) v Cardiff Met (8th) | Friday – 19:45
The New Saints go into the weekend nine points clear at the top of the table after securing 10 successive league victories, and the Oswestry outfit are on the right track to claim their fifth consecutive championship.
Despite signing several new players over the summer, veteran Jordan Williams has been the star man for the Saints this year, and in his fifth season with the club the 32-year-old attacker has netted 14 league goals in 14 appearances, with six of those coming in his last three JD Cymru Premier matches.
The New Saints won the domestic treble last season, and that will be the aim again this year after a comfortable 3-0 win against Caernarfon Town in the quarter-finals of the Nathaniel MG Cup on Tuesday night.
Cardiff Met had gone on an impressive six game unbeaten run in October, but the successful period came to an end on Saturday afternoon as the Archers lost 3-0 against Connah’s Quay.
Cardiff Met have reached the Top Six in each of the last three seasons, and with the club currently only one point behind Barry Town (6th), Ryan Jenkins will be determined to reach the goal once again this year.
Craig Harrison’s crew will be full of confidence after winning their last 12 games against the students, including emphatic victories of 8-0, 7-1, 6-2, 6-0, 5-0, 5-1 and 4-0 (all since 2023).
League form:
The New Saints: ✅✅✅✅✅
Cardiff Met: ͏✅✅➖✅❌
Saturday, 8 November
Colwyn Bay (5th) v Llanelli Town (12th) | Saturday – 14:30
It was a horrific night for Colwyn Bay last Saturday as the Seagulls were burnt to a crisp by the Barry Dragons who took advantage of several defensive errors to defeat Michael Wilde’s men on their own turf.
After presenting a goal on a plate to Ieuan Owen, captain Lewis Sirrell’s night went from bad to worse when he was sent off for a dangerous tackle on Owen, which was Colwyn Bay’s second red card in two games.
Colwyn Bay will therefore need to be more disciplined to secure six points against the bottom two sides in their next two matches (Llanelli Town and Haverfordwest County).
Colwyn Bay and Llanelli Town were the two promoted teams over the summer, and the Seagulls have amassed three times the number of points of Llanelli, with the Reds at the bottom of the table having picked up just seven points from their 15 games so far.
The first of those points came in the goalless game against Colwyn Bay at Stebonheath Park in September after Louis Robles missed a penalty for the visitors.
League form:
Colwyn Bay: ͏✅✅➖✅❌
Llanelli Town: ❌❌❌❌❌
Caernarfon Town (3rd) v Haverfordwest County (11th) | Saturday – 14:30
Caernarfon Town have won two league games on the bounce to remain hot on the heels of Pen-y-bont in the race for the second position.
This period will be key in Caernarfon Town’s season as they face the bottom three clubs, and after seeing off Briton Ferry (10th) last weekend, Richard Davies will expect no less than six points from their next games against Haverfordwest County (11th) and Llanelli Town (12th).
Haverfordwest County managed to finish 3rd last season and then qualified for Europe after beating Caernarfon Town in the play-off final, but things haven’t gone so smoothly for Tony Pennock and the team this season.
The Bluebirds certainly haven’t been at their best away from home, having won only once in six league games (0-1 vs Briton Ferry) and collected only four points from a possible 18.
But Haverfordwest County are on a great run of nine games without defeat against Caernarfon Town (W3, D6) with the reverse fixture in August ending in a 1-1 draw at Bridge Meadow.
Both teams will look to bounce back after being knocked out of the Nathaniel MG Cup by The New Saints and Barry Town United on Tuesday night.
League form:
Caernarfon Town: ͏❌❌➖✅✅
Haverfordwest County: ✅❌✅➖❌
Barry Town United (6th) v Flint Town United (9th) | Saturday – 14:30
Despite winning just four of their 15 league games this season (27%), Barry Town United start the weekend in the Top Six.
Nobody has had more draws than Steve Jenkins’ side this season (7), and the Dragons have only won one of their seven home games in the league (4-0 vs Bala).
Barry Town United are enjoying a positive period as they’re on a five-game unbeaten run following their 2-0 win away at Haverfordwest in the Nathaniel MG Cup on Tuesday night.
Like their opponents, Flint Town United have only won four league games, but Lee Fowler’s side have lost eight of their 14 fixtures so far, conceding too many goals (2.4 goals per game), as only Llanelli Town have a worse defensive record (2.8 goals per game).
The defence may be lax, but the attackers have been firing at Flint Town United as only The New Saints (46) and Caernarfon Town (36) have bagged more than the Silkmen (27).
However, it ended goalless in the corresponding contest in September with Josh Jones missing a penalty for Flint in the closing minutes of the game at Cae-y-Castell.
League form:
Barry Town United: ❌❌➖➖✅
Flint Town United: ❌❌✅❌❌
Connah’s Quay (4th) v Pen-y-bont (2nd) | Saturday – 17:15 (Live online)
After a sticky start to his tenure as the new manager of Connah’s Quay, results have improved significantly for John Disney recently with the Nomads now on a seven-game unbeaten run.
With the Saints clear favourites to win the championship once again, the main attention of the league’s followers turns to the race for second place, and the second ticket to Europe.
Connah’s Quay have scored three goals in each of their last six games and Disney’s men are now just four points behind Pen-y-bont (2nd) with a game in hand.
Pen-y-bont clinched the runner-up spot last season with their highest ever finish, and Rhys Griffiths’ squad will be keen to repeat the feat this year.
Pen-y-bont won 4-3 away from home in a dramatic fixture against Flint Town United last Saturday, and the Blues will be looking to leave Cae-y-Castell with all three points once again this weekend.
The last four meetings between the clubs have ended 1-0 with Connah’s Quay winning twice and Pen-y-bont winning twice, and it was the Nomads who were victorious in the reverse fixture at the Dragonbet Stadium in August thanks to a fortuitous goal from Rhys Hughes.
League form:
Connah’s Quay: ✅✅✅➖✅
Pen-y-bont: ͏➖✅❌❌✅
The highlights of the games will be available on Sgorio’s social websites and the best of the weekend’s action on S4C on Monday night.
