We 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, the champions had quite a shock last Friday when they lost 3-2 at home against Cardiff Met to end a run of 13 consecutive victories.
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, and only one point separating the three clubs.
In the race for the Top Six, only two points separate the three teams between 6th and 8th place, which are Cardiff Met, Barry Town United, and Bala Town.
31 points is the usual amount needed to reach the Top Six, and victories for Pen-y-bont, Caernarfon Town and Connah’s Quay would lift them over that threshold on Saturday.
And towards the bottom, things are looking bleak for Llanelli Town who have lost six 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.
Friday, 14 November
Cardiff Met (6th) v Briton Ferry Llansawel (9th) | Friday – 19:45
Cardiff Met are back in the top half following a deserved win against The New Saints last Friday (TNS 2-3 Met).
Ryan Jenkins’ squad have raised the standard recently, winning six of their last eight matches to climb from the bottom of the table to 6th place.
Briton Ferry Llansawel will also be full of confidence after claiming their first win at home in the league since March by beating Bala Town 2-0 at the Old Road on Friday evening.
Briton Ferry Llansawel are only three points above the relegation zone, but if they were to win this Friday, then Andy Dyer’s men would only be two points behind Cardiff Met (6th) with a game in hand.
It ended 1-1 in the reverse fixture between the two teams in August where Ruben Davies scored for Briton Ferry before Jasper Payne levelled for the Archers against his former club.
League form:
Cardiff Met: ͏✅➖✅❌✅
Briton Ferry Llansawel: ͏✅❌❌❌✅
Flint Town United (10th) v The New Saints (1st) | Friday – 19:45
The New Saints’ excellent run of 13 consecutive victories came to an end on Friday as the champions lost at home to Cardiff Met.
In response to the loss, Saints manager, Craig Harrison said that his team’s defensive performance was comical and he will certainly expect better from his professional side this weekend.
After securing just one point from their last three outings, Flint Town United have slipped to 10th place, two points above the relegation zone.
Flint Town United have not beaten the Saints for 30 years, and in the last seven contests between the clubs the Saints have scored an average of 5.6 goals per game, including emphatic wins of 8-1, 7-0 and 6-2.
League form:
Flint Town United: ❌✅❌❌➖
The New Saints: ✅✅✅✅❌
Saturday, 15 November
Connah’s Quay (4th) v Barry Town United (7th) | Saturday – 14:30
After a challenging 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 an eight-game unbeaten run.
Connah’s Quay have scored three goals in each of their last seven matches and the Nomads are only one point behind Pen-y-bont (2nd) with a game in hand.
There was some exciting news from Connah’s Quay this week as the club announced their intention to build a new stadium and hire full-time players, which means it’s an interesting time for the club that won the championship two years in a row in 2019/20 and 2020/21.
Despite winning just four of their 16 league games this season (25%), Barry Town United begin the weekend in 7th place.
The Dragons are on a six-game unbeaten run in all competitions, but half of their league games have ended in draws this season (8/16).
It ended goalless in the reverse fixture in September, but Barry Town United have won their last two games away from home against Connah’s Quay.
League form:
Connah’s Quay: ✅✅➖✅✅
Barry Town United: ❌➖➖✅➖
Haverfordwest County (11th) v Colwyn Bay (5th) | Saturday – 14:30
Haverfordwest County are still in the relegation zone having failed to win any of their last five games in all competitions.
However, the Bluebirds have shown character in their last three league outings, fighting back to pick up valuable points away from home against Connah’s Quay and Caernarfon Town, and almost doing the same at home against the champions (Hav 2-3 TNS).
Colwyn Bay have only lost once in their last seven matches, and the Seagulls are on the right track to claim a place in the Top Six in their first season back in the top-flight.
Caernarfon Town were the last club to reach the Top Six in their first season after winning promotion, in the 2018/19 season.
It was a hellish trip for Haverfordwest County in the corresponding match in September, losing 3-0 at the Blue Turtle Arena, finishing the game with only nine men as Alaric Jones and Ben Fawcett were both sent off.
League form:
Haverfordwest County: ❌✅➖❌➖
Colwyn Bay: ͏✅➖✅❌✅
Llanelli Town (12th) v Caernarfon Town (3rd) | Saturday – 14:30
Llanelli Town remain at the bottom of the table after losing 13 of their 16 league fixtures since their promotion over the summer, winning just twice so far (vs Haverfordwest and Briton Ferry).
Since winning back-to-back matches at the end of September, Llanelli Town have now lost six successive league games and are eight points adrift of safety.
Caernarfon Town remain tight on Pen-y-bont’s heels in the race for second place, but the Cofis were disappointed to share the points with Haverfordwest County on Saturday after conceding in the 99th minute at Maesdu Park (Cfon 2-2 Hav).
It was a comfortable 6-1 win for Caernarfon in the corresponding fixture in August with Adam Davies hitting a hat-trick for the Canaries.
Llanelli Town have not beaten Caernarfon Town for 16 years, when the Reds won 5-0 at the Oval with Rhys Griffiths scoring twice and creating the other three for the visitors.
League form:
Llanelli Town: ❌❌❌❌❌
Caernarfon Town: ͏❌➖✅✅➖
Pen-y-bont (2nd) v Bala Town (8th) | Saturday – 14:30
Before facing The New Saints in mid-October, Pen-y-bont were six points clear in second place, and only three points behind the champions.
But after losing three of their last four league games, Pen-y-bont have lost their grip on TNS, and Rhys Griffiths’ team are now only one point above Caernarfon Town (3rd) and Connah’s Quay (4th) in the race for second place.
After losing six of their last eight games, Bala Town have dropped to 8th place, and finding the net seems to be their main problem, as only Llanelli Town (0.5 goals per game) have scored less than the Lakesiders (0.7 goals per game).
Pen-y-bont forward James Crole managed to score four goals in four games against Bala Town last season, but it ended goalless in the reverse fixture at Maes Tegid in September this season.
League form:
Pen-y-bont: ͏✅❌❌✅❌
Bala Town: ❌❌➖✅❌
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.
