An unusual situation is developing in the JD Cymru Premier as The New Saints, who have won the championship for three consecutive years, are sitting in 6th place after losing three of their eight league games to date.
It was an incredible 2-1 win for Caernarfon Town at Park Hall on Wednesday night which means that the Saints have lost the same number of league games in the last month as they did in the previous three years (3).
Halfway to the league split and it’s Pen-y-bont who are setting the standard in the JD Cymru Premier with Rhys Griffiths’ team five points clear at the top, and Haverfordwest and Caernarfon Town in 2nd and 3rd place.
Things are looking bleak for Aberystwyth Town who parted company with manager Anthony Williams this week with the club sitting at the bottom of the table after losing eight consecutive matches for the first time in the top-flight.
And there’s no let up for the Black & Greens as they face top-of-the-table Pen-y-bont this Saturday afternoon.
The New Saints will expect an immediate response against their opponents, Cardiff Met over the weekend, while Caernarfon and Newtown will meet in a key game in the battle to reach the Top Six.
Saturday, 12 October
Aberystwyth Town (12th) v Pen-y-bont (1st) | Saturday – 14:30
Following Neil Gibson’s surprise sacking after the opening weekend of the season, we’ve had our second managerial casualty of the campaign, and this time it was no shock to see Anthony Williams’ time at Park Avenue come to an end.
Anthony Williams joined Aberystwyth Town in May 2022, and in his two full seasons at the helm the Seasiders finished in 10th place, narrowly avoiding the drop on both occasions.
Aberystwyth Town and Newtown are the only two clubs that have been ever-present since the Welsh Premier League was formed in 1992, and the Black & Greens are in real danger of ending their unbroken spell in the top tier as they are currently bottom of the pile, six points behind the safety of 10th place.
Aberystwyth Town have only scored five goals in 11 league matches, failing to score more than once per game throughout the season.
Pen-y-bont continue to set the standard, five points clear at the summit with 26 points after winning eight of their 11 league games to date.
At this stage last season, Pen-y-bont were in 5th place with 17 points, 12 points adrift of the New Saints, which highlights their rapid improvement.
Pen-y-bont have won seven of their previous nine meetings with Aberystwyth Town (D1 L1) including their comfortable 5-1 win at the beginning of the season.
League form:
Aberystwyth Town: ͏❌❌❌❌❌
Pen-y-bont: ͏✅✅❌✅✅
Caernarfon Town (3rd) v Newtown (7th) | Saturday – 14:30
Caernarfon Town are on fire and have climbed up into the top three after claiming their first win in six years at Park Hall.
The Cofis haven’t lost any of their last six league fixtures and have picked up 16 points out of a possible 18 (W5, D1).
This is the Canaries’ best period in the JD Cymru Premier since March 2021 when the club went on a run of eight league games without defeat during Huw Griffiths’ rein.
In each of the last five seasons it’s been either Caernarfon Town or Newtown who have been in 6th place when the league splits after 22 games, and therefore this will be a significant battle in the race to reach the Top Six this year.
After a promising start to the campaign, Newtown have hit a bit of a speed bump, and the Robins have failed to win any of their last four matches.
Caernarfon Town have already beaten Newtown twice this season, in a league fixture and in the Nathaniel MG Cup, and the Cofis will aim to complete the hat-trick on Saturday afternoon.
League form:
Caernarfon Town: ➖✅✅✅✅
Newtown: ͏✅➖➖❌❌
Haverfordwest County (2nd) v Connah’s Quay (9th) | Saturday – 14:30
Haverfordwest County have risen to second place following an impressive 2-0 away win against Bala Town last weekend.
Haverfordwest County have the best defensive record in the league (conceding 4 goals in 11 games) and goalkeeper Zac Jones kept his 7th clean sheet this season at Maes Tegid, already equalling his total at the end of the last term.
Connah’s Quay have finished in the top two in five of the last six seasons (deducted 18pts in the 2021/22 season), but the Nomads go into the weekend in 9th place, after a slow start to the current season under new manager Billy Paynter.
Connah’s Quay have only won three of their last nine league games away from home, with one of those victories coming against the club that shares their home ground, Flint Town United.
Haverfordwest County have a solid record against Connah’s Quay recently with the Bluebirds winning three of the last four meetings between the teams.
League form:
Haverfordwest County: ❌✅➖✅✅
Connah’s Quay: ͏❌❌➖❌✅
Barry Town United (8th) v Briton Ferry Llansawel (11th) | Saturday – 14:30
Barry Town United have proven that they are a difficult team to beat at Jenner Park as Steve Jenkins’ side have only lost two of their last 15 home matches in all competitions.
After losing their opening six games since their promotion to the JD Cymru Premier, Briton Ferry Llansawel have finally got going and are on a run of three games without defeat which includes an impressive victory against league leaders, Pen-y-bont.
These clubs have met on several occasions in the JD Cymru South, but this will be the first meeting between the sides in the JD Cymru Premier.
October 2015 was the last time the Dragons beat Briton Ferry Llansawel, and the Reds have not lost in their four contests against Barry Town United since then.
League form:
Barry Town United: ❌➖➖✅❌
Briton Ferry Llansawel: ❌❌➖✅➖
Flint Town United (10th) v Bala Town (5th) | Saturday – 14:30
Flint Town United enjoyed a great result away at Newtown last Friday (New 2-4 FTU), and Lee Fowler will be keen to cause another upset this weekend.
The Silkmen have opened a gap of five points between themselves and the bottom two, but Briton Ferry Llansawel (11th) have two games in hand.
Bala Town have played 20 away matches since this time last year, losing only three of those (twice against TNS, and once against Connah’s Quay in the semi-final of the Welsh Cup at Llandudno’s neutral ground).
Having said that, Bala Town have only won one of their four away games in the league this season, which was their first ever victory at Park Hall.
It will be a difficult task for Flint Town United, who have not won any of their 11 previous contests against Bala Town (L10, D1), and have not scored in their last three games against Colin Caton’s crew.
League form:
Flint Town United: ͏✅➖❌❌✅
Bala Town: ✅➖✅➖❌
The New Saints (6th) v Cardiff Met (4th) | Saturday – 14:30
The hustle and bustle of the European adventure has certainly left its mark on the Saints in their domestic campaign with the club losing three league games in a season for the first time since 2020/21 when they finished runners-up to Connah’s Quay.
The Saints have lost the same number of league games in the last month as they did in the previous three years (3) and although the champions have three games in hand, it’s now advantage Pen-y-bont who have a bit of daylight between themselves and the Oswestry outfit.
Despite lagging behind due to European congestion, the Saints are still the league’s top scorers having netted 21 goals in eight games with new winger Sion Bradley joint top scorer in the league (6 goals).
Cardiff Met have started the season strongly, but back-to-back defeats against Haverfordwest County and Caernarfon Town have seen the students drop to 4th place.
Cardiff Met won 3-2 against The New Saints in February 2023, but it’s fair to say that their record against the champions has been disastrous since then.
The Saints have won their last six games against the Archers, scoring a staggering 35 goals (an average of 5.8 goals per game), including an 8-0 thrashing in January 2024.
Cardiff Met will be relieved to see the back of Brad Young who has swapped Oswestry for Saudi Arabia over the summer having scored 10 goals against the students last season.
But Declan McManus could be the one to watch, as he has also netted five goals in his last two games against Ryan Jenkins’ side.
League form:
The New Saints: ✅❌❌✅❌
Cardiff Met: ͏❌✅✅❌❌
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.