Halfway through the season in the JD Cymru Premier and it’s shaping up to be an exciting race to reach the Top Six this year, and a fierce battle to avoid the drop.
It’s a familiar situation at the summit with the New Saints nine points clear, but with six games to go until the split, only five points separate the five clubs between 4th and 8th place.
And at the bottom of the table, only four points separate the bottom four who are all fighting for survival.
Tuesday, 28 November
Haverfordwest County (8th) v Cardiff Met (4th) | Tuesday – 19:45
Haverfordwest County are refusing to give up in the race to reach the Top Six, and after an impressive away win against Connah’s Quay the Bluebirds are now only three points behind Caernarfon in 6th place.
Haverfordwest County have only lost one of their last seven games in all competitions (won five, drawn one) and managed to win away from home at Connah’s Quay for the first time in 20 years.
Cardiff Met also managed to beat Connah’s Quay in their last league game, and the Archers have won six of their last seven matches in all competitions.
On average, 31 points have been enough to secure a place in the Top Six, and with seven games to go until the split, two more wins would mean that Ryan Jenkins’ team reaches that target.
It was 1-1 in the corresponding match at Cyncoed Campus in September with Lewis Rees levelling the score for Cardiff Met after 88 minutes, before missing a chance to win the game in the final seconds as Ifan Knott saved his penalty kick in injury time.
League form:
Haverfordwest County: ✅✅➖❌✅
Cardiff Met: ✅✅❌✅✅
Bala Town (5th) v Caernarfon Town (6th) | Tuesday – 19:45
Six games to go until the split and only one point separates Bala Town and Caernarfon Town in the battle to reach the Top Six.
This is therefore a key game for both clubs as Bala Town try to claim their place in the Top Six for the 10th season in a row, while Caernarfon Town aim to return to the top half after finishing 9th last year.
The New Saints (11) are the only club to concede fewer goals than Bala (13) this season, while Caernarfon’s defensive record (33) is amongst the worst in the league.
But it’s a different story at the other end of the pitch as the Cofis (32) have scored more than double the number of goals that Bala (14) have scored in 16 league games each.
The Canaries have either scored at least three goals or conceded at least three goals in 12 of their last 13 games in all competitions (won five, lost eight).
The Lakesiders have not lost any of their last eight games against Caernarfon Town (six wins, two draws), and it ended 1-1 between the teams in the reverse fixture at the Oval in August.
League form:
Bala Town: ✅➖❌✅➖
Caernarfon Town: ❌❌❌✅✅
Barry Town United (9th) v Pen-y-bont (7th) | Tuesday – 19:45
Halfway to the split and possibly the biggest shock this year is that Pen-y-bont are sitting in the bottom half, and that after reaching Europe for the first time ever last season.
But there will be no panic yet as there are only two points between Pen-y-bont and Bala Town (6th), while Barry Town United are dangerously close to the bottom with only two points between them and Pontypridd United (11th).
Barry Town United have seen major improvement in their recent results, as the Dragons have won five of their last seven games in all competitions.
Pen-y-bont, on the other hand, have only won one of their last seven league games, losing five of those, including their loss against Colwyn Bay on Saturday afternoon (CB 2-1 Pen).
Rhys Griffiths’ side have only managed to keep a clean sheet once in their last 12 league games, and that came in their 1-0 win at home to Barry Town United in September, with Chris Venables scoring the only goal of the game.
Pen-y-bont are on a run of seven games without a loss against Barry Town United (won five, drawn two), also keeping a clean sheet in six out of the seven games.
League form:
Barry Town United: ✅❌✅❌✅
Pen-y-bont: ❌➖✅❌❌
Newtown (3rd) v Pontypridd United (11th) | Tuesday – 19:45
There is a worrying situation developing in Pontypridd with the club accused of breaching league rules regarding contracts, payments and playing ineligible players.
Pontypridd United have already been banned from the JD Welsh Cup, and there is a chance that further punishments will follow.
Things aren’t going much better on the pitch for Pontypridd either with the team securing just one point from their last five games, scoring just once during that run.
Halfway through the season and Pontypridd United have only scored five goals in 16 league games (0.3 goals per game), meaning there is a big challenge ahead for manager Andrew Stokes if he wants to steer the club from relegation.
As for Newtown, they have only won one of their last six games, but the Robins are in a strong position to secure a place in the Top Six, as four points from their next six games would put them on 31 points, which is the average number needed to reach the top half.
The league’s top scorer, Aaron Williams will be keen to add to his 12 goals, as Newtown look to continue their 100% record against Pontypridd United (played four, won four).
League form:
Newtown: ➖✅❌➖❌
Pontypridd United: ❌➖❌❌❌
Aberystwyth Town (12th) v The New Saints (1st) | Tuesday – 20:00
The New Saints are enjoying a run of 23 games without a defeat in all competitions, have won 15 matches in a row, and are nine points clear at the top of the league with a game in hand.
This is The New Saints’ longest unbeaten run since December 2018 to July 2019 when they went 25 games unbeaten in all competitions, with FC Copenhagen eventually ending the streak in Europe.
This is the first time the Oswestry outfit have won 15 consecutive games since they broke the world record in 2016 with 27 successive wins.
It will be some challenge for Aberystwyth Town who are at the bottom of the table, and have conceded 17 goals in their two previous games against Craig Harrison’s men (TNS 6-0 Aber, TNS 11-0 Aber)
After losing 3-2 at home against Bala Town in their last outing, Aberystwyth Town have still not won a single league game at Park Avenue this season, picking up only one point from a possible 21.
League form:
Aberystwyth Town: ➖❌✅✅❌
The New Saints: ✅✅✅✅✅
Wednesday, 29 November
Colwyn Bay (10th) v Connah’s Quay (2nd) | Wednesday – 19:45
Colwyn Bay have climbed out of the relegation zone after winning three consecutive games for the first time since March.
After spending a month in the bottom two, the Seagulls have defeated Newtown in the Welsh Cup and beaten Pontypridd United and Pen-y-bont in the league to climb up to 10th.
Connah’s Quay will be keen to end their disappointing run as they have lost two league games in a row (in one season) for the first time since September 2021, and the Nomads will be determined not to lose three successive league matches for the first time since October 2015.
Connah’s Quay’s are eager to claim second spot once again this year, in order to secure an automatic place in Europe, but Newtown (3rd) have closed the gap to five points between them and the Nomads.
Connah’s Quay have won their previous two games against Colwyn Bay, but this will be their first ever trip to Llanelian Road.
League form:
Colwyn Bay: ͏✅✅❌❌❌
Connah’s Quay: ❌❌✅✅➖͏
All goals and match highlights will be available on Sgorio’s social websites.
