Following Friday night’s postponements, the first phase of the JD Cymru Premier season will now come to an end on Tuesday night as the race for the Top Six reaches its climax.
The league will be split into two at the end of the night and for the rest of the season the Top Six will compete for the championship and prepare for the European play-offs.
The Bottom Six clubs will fight to stay in the league and aim to finish in 7th place in order to grab the last ticket into the European play-offs.
The New Saints, Connah’s Quay, Pen-y-bont and Caernarfon have already secured their place in the Top Six, but the last two positions are still in the balance with Colwyn Bay, Barry Town United, Cardiff Met and Haverfordwest County hoping to claim a place among the elite.
Haverfordwest County have very little hope of reaching the top half, while Colwyn Bay look fairly comfortable in 5th place, although the Seagulls have a tough away game against The New Saints.
But only goal difference separates Barry Town (6th) and Cardiff Met (7th) and so it promises to be an exciting night to close the first phase of the JD Cymru Premier season.
Tuesday, 9 January
Caernarfon Town (4th) v Connah’s Quay (2nd) | Tuesday – 19:45
It seemed like the race for the championship was done and dusted at the beginning of December when The New Saints were 12 points clear at the top of the JD Cymru Premier.
But the Nomads have brought the competition back to life by winning eight successive league matches, closing the gap between themselves and TNS to only four points.
This is Connah’s Quay’s best run in the league since the 2020/21 season when they won nine consecutive games and went on to secure the championship.
The attacking partnership between Harry Franklin and Rhys Hughes has proved fruitful for the Nomads this season with both contributing to over 20 league goals each.
Like Connah’s Quay, Caernarfon Town have claimed their place in the top half, but the Cofis have work to do if they want to compete for automatic European qualification.
Caernarfon Town were top of the league after the opening seven games of the season, but now the Canaries are in 4th place, 17 points behind the frontrunners after winning just one of their last six league games.
Richard Davies will be hoping that his new striker, Brad Young can make an immediate impact after the 22-year-old young forward, who won the Golden Boot with the New Saints in 2023/24, joined the Cofis last week following a spell in Saudi Arabia.
Caernarfon Town have not lost any of their last five league meetings with Connah’s Quay, and the Cofis won 2-1 in the reverse fixture back in September.
League form:
Caernarfon Town: ͏➖❌➖❌✅
Connah’s Quay: ✅✅✅✅✅
Haverfordwest County (8th) v Briton Ferry Llansawel (9th) | Tuesday – 19:45
Mathematically, Haverfordwest County are still in the race to reach the Top Six, but the Bluebirds would have to overturn the 16-goal advantage that Barry Town United have in terms of goal difference if they want to rise to the Top Six, which is quite unlikely.
And so, Tony Pennock’s team will be focusing on competing for 7th place in order to reach the play-offs for Europe at the end of the season.
Considering that Haverfordwest finished 3rd last year and played in Europe, it has been a disappointing first half of the season for the Pembrokeshire squad, but after losing just one of their last seven league games the confidence is slowly building.
Only two points separate Haverfordwest County and Briton Ferry Llansawel, and then another two points between Briton Ferry and Bala Town, who are in the relegation zone.
Every game in the bottom half will feel like a ‘six-pointer’ for the rest of the season, as there are only four points separating four clubs who are fighting to avoid the drop.
Haverfordwest have won their previous three meetings with Briton Ferry Llansawel, including a 1-0 win at Old Road in August thanks to a late goal from Alaric Jones.
League form:
Haverfordwest County: ❌✅➖✅➖
Briton Ferry Llansawel: ͏❌➖❌➖✅
Pen-y-bont (3rd) v Cardiff Met (7th) | Tuesday – 19:45
Cardiff Met will be keen to cause some chaos on Tuesday with the 7th-placed club aiming to claw their way into the Top Six at the final hurdle.
Cardiff Met are level on points with Barry Town United (6th), but Barry have a seven-goal advantage in terms of goal difference, so the students will have to secure a better result than the Dragons on Tuesday evening.
Another route for Met would be to try to overturn the eight-goal deficit between themselves and Colwyn Bay (5th), which would mean that the strikers would have to be at their best this Tuesday.
Unfortunately for Ryan Jenkins, no specific individual has shone in front of goal for Cardiff Met this season as Jasper Payne and Adam Roscrow are the joint top scorers with only five goals each.
Cardiff Met have reached the Top Six in each of the last three seasons, so it would be a disappointment for Ryan Jenkins if his squad missed the mark this year.
Pen-y-bont are safely in the Top Six, but since losing 5-4 against Colwyn Bay in November, not many goals have been scored in Pen-y-bont’s last four games (Pen 1-1 Barry, Pen 0-1 FTU, Pen 1-1 BFL, Lli 0-1 Pen).
James Crole was the hero for Pen-y-bont in the last meeting between the teams, scoring a hat-trick in a comfortable 4-0 win at Cyncoed Campus in September.
League form:
Pen-y-bont: ͏ ✅❌➖➖✅
Cardiff Met: ͏➖✅➖❌➖
Barry Town United (6th) v Llanelli Town (12th) | Tuesday – 19:45 (Live online)
Barry Town United go into the night in 6th place, level on points with Cardiff Met (7th) but with a seven-goal advantage in terms of goal difference, and therefore a win against Llanelli Town should be enough to confirm their place in the Top Six for the first time since the 2020/21 season.
Barry Town United came so close to reaching the Top Six last season before falling at the final hurdle, and Steve Jenkins will be determined to avoid the same fate this year.
Llanelli Town have only taken one point from their last 11 league games, and after scoring only 11 goals in 21 games things don’t bode well for Lee John’s team.
Llanelli Town will finish the first phase at the bottom of the table, and since the formation of the current format in 2010, no team has ever managed to climb out of the relegation zone after starting the second phase at the bottom of the league.
Barry Town United have already beaten Llanelli Town three times this season without conceding once, and the Dragons have not lost against the Reds in 12 years, since the clubs went head-to-head in the fourth tier.
League form:
Barry Town United: ✅➖✅❌❌
Llanelli Town: ➖❌❌❌❌
Flint Town United (10th) v Bala Town (11th) | Tuesday – 19:45
It will be a crucial match for different reasons at Cae-y-Castell as only a point separates Flint Town United and Bala Town in the battle to avoid the drop.
Bala Town have been members of the JD Cymru Premier for 16 years, and of the current clubs, The New Saints are the only other team that has remained in the league continuously since Bala’s first season in 2009/10.
But after 12 years in the Top Six, the Lakesiders haven’t made the cut this year and the club is in real danger of falling into the second tier after winning just one of their last 13 games.
It was a well-deserved victory for Flint Town United against Colwyn Bay on New Year’s Day and Lee Fowler will be hoping for an equally strong performance on Tuesday.
Flint Town United have only lost one of their last seven games, but it will be a difficult task for the Silkmen who have not won in their 14 previous contests against Bala Town, since December 2019 (L11, D3).
League form:
Flint Town United: ➖➖➖❌✅
Bala Town: ❌➖❌❌❌
The New Saints (1st) v Colwyn Bay (5th) | Tuesday – 19:45
After beating Bala Town last Tuesday, the Saints are four points clear at the top of the table, but the race for the championship is certainly not over yet, as Connah’s Quay proved over the last few months that they are ready to compete for the title in the second part of the season.
Craig Harrison’s crew will be looking over their shoulders and know that they will have to roll up their sleeves if they want to claim their fifth championship in a row.
A point for Colwyn Bay at Park Hall would be enough to confirm their place in the top half for the second phase of the season.
Michael Wilde’s team managed to pick up a point against the champions at Llanelian Road in August with Aeron Edwards scoring for the Seagulls against his former club.
Another player has now made the move from Oswestry to Colwyn Bay as 31-year-old defender Ryan Astles completed his transfer last week.
The Seagulls are aiming to be the first club to reach the Top Six in their first season after securing promotion since Caernarfon Town did so in 2018/19.
League form:
The New Saints: ✅✅✅❌✅
Colwyn Bay: ͏❌✅❌✅❌
Highlights of all matches will be available on Sgorio’s online accounts.
