After five league matches The New Saints and Bala Town are the only remaining unbeaten sides in the JD Cymru Premier, but as the top two compete in the Scottish Challenge Cup this weekend the chasing pack will have a chance to close the gap on the league leaders.
Friday, 8 September
Cardiff Met v Pontypridd United | Friday – 19:45
Cardiff Met and Pontypridd United are level on points in mid-table having won two, drawn two and lost once in the league this season.
Cardiff Met hadn’t conceded a single goal in their opening four fixtures but fell to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Newtown on Friday night.
Pontypridd United are the only team to have conceded fewer goals than Cardiff Met this season as George Ratcliffe has only been beaten once in five games between the Ponty sticks (vs TNS).
Cardiff Met have won their previous four meetings with Pontypridd United and haven’t lost against the Rhondda regiment since 2007.
League form:
Cardiff Met: ✅➖✅➖❌
Pontypridd United: ➖❌➖✅✅
Saturday, 9 September
Aberystwyth Town v Caernarfon Town | Saturday – 14:30
Aberystwyth Town have had a miserable start to the season with no wins and not a single goal from their opening five fixtures.
The Black & Greens have the worst defensive record in the league having conceded 12 goals with half of those scored by The New Saints in the 6-0 defeat at Park Hall last Friday.
Caernarfon Town started strongly with back-to-back victories against Colwyn Bay and Newtown, but the Cofis have now gone three games without a win following their most recent 4-0 loss at home to Connah’s Quay.
Aberystwyth Town will take confidence from the fact that they’ve won their last three meetings with Caernarfon Town, and the Cofis haven’t travelled well in recent years, winning only once in 10 away trips to mid-Wales or down south in league fixtures (lost seven, drawn two).
League form:
Aberystwyth Town: ❌❌➖❌❌
Caernarfon Town: ✅✅➖͏͏͏➖❌
Haverfordwest County v Newtown | Saturday – 14:30
Both Haverfordwest County and Newtown were relieved last weekend to secure their first victories of the league season.
After three draws in four matches, Haverfordwest County finally claimed a win away at Colwyn Bay with dynamic midfielder Kai Whitmore once again the standout for the Bluebirds.
Newtown have had a sluggish start to the campaign therefore it came as a bit of a shock when they became the first team to score against Cardiff Met this season and clinch a 2-1 win over the Archers last Friday.
This will be the first meeting between these two sides since May when Haverfordwest County triumphed on penalties at Latham Park in the play-off final to secure their place in Europe.
League form:
Haverfordwest County: ➖❌➖➖✅
Newtown: ❌❌➖❌✅
Pen-y-bont v Colwyn Bay | Saturday – 14:30
Pen-y-bont have lost some ground on the league leaders following a run of three games without win, which included their first defeat of the season away at Bala Town last Saturday.
Colwyn Bay will travel to south Wales for the third time this season with the Seagulls still searching for their first win since their promotion.
Steve Evans’ squad are joint-bottom along with Aberystwyth Town on one point apiece, and the two teams will go head-to-head in a crucial encounter next weekend.
Pen-y-bont have only lost once in 10 league games at home in 2023 (vs TNS), and Rhys Griffiths’ side will be firm favourites in the first ever meeting between these two clubs.
League form:
Pen-y-bont: ✅✅➖➖❌
Colwyn Bay: ❌➖❌❌❌
Barry Town United v Connah’s Quay | Saturday – 14:30
Like Colwyn Bay, Barry Town United have also struggled since their promotion and Steve Jenkins is yet to taste victory since taking over as Dragons’ manager.
Barry Town United are the only team to take a point from The New Saints this season, but other than that, the results have been mostly disappointing for the Linnets.
Connah’s Quay have climbed up to third after their convincing 4-0 win over Caernarfon Town, and Neil Gibson’s men look certain to be European contenders again this year.
But Connah’s Quay have only won once in four journeys to Jenner Park, with the Nomads seeing three red cards during those games.
League form:
Barry Town United: ❌➖➖➖❌
Connah’s Quay: ❌✅❌✅✅
All goals can be viewed on Sgorio’s online accounts, and all the weekend’s highlights will be on Sgorio on Tuesday night at 6:30 on S4C.
