The new season has started in the most unexpected fashion as the current champions, and the league’s only professional club, The New Saints lost 3-0 at home against Briton Ferry Llansawel, the team that finished only one position above the relegation zone last season.
This was The New Saints’ heaviest defeat in the JD Cymru Premier for over four years, and the first time in eight seasons that the Oswestry outfit have lost their opening league fixture.
It was a productive weekend for Pen-y-bont who managed to defeat Haverfordwest County despite star-striker James Crole’s dismissal at the beginning of the second half.
Barry Town United were the only other team to kick-off the campaign with three points after the Dragons ruined Llanelli Town’s top-flight return with a 2-0 away win at Stebonheath Park on Friday.
This will be the last season under the current 12-team format, before the number of league members increases to 16 clubs for the 2026/27 season. That means that six clubs will be promoted to the JD Cymru Premier at the end of this season, with the bottom two dropping down into the second tier. Four European spots will be up for grabs this year, before that amount drops back down to three for the following year.
Friday, 15 August
Connah’s Quay v Bala Town | Friday – 19:45
Connah’s Quay began their tenure under new manager John Disney with a 1-1 draw away from home against newly promoted, Colwyn Bay.
Jason Oswell opened his account for the Nomads with a subtle header in the first half at the Blue Turtle Arena, but Disney had to settle for just a point after Nathan Peate levelled the score for Colwyn Bay before the break.
It was a similar story for Bala Town after Steve Fisher’s new-look squad took the lead against Flint Town United through Hussein Mehasseb’s strike, but that match also ended in a 1-1 draw after Ben Wynne equalised for the visitors.
There were controversial matches between these two teams in the period before the split last season, which was mainly due to the bad weather.
Connah’s Quay were 3-0 up against Bala Town at the Essity Stadium on the final weekend before the split, but the game had to be postponed after an hour of play due to thick fog.
The fixture was replayed three days later, and Bala Town turned things around and won 2-0 to nick the last spot in the Top Six at the expense of Barry Town United.
The postponement means that Connah’s Quay have not scored in their last three official meetings with Bala Town, and the Nomads haven’t won any of the last six league games between the clubs (D3, L3).
Briton Ferry Llansawel v Cardiff Met | Friday – 19:45
There’ll be plenty of confidence in the Briton Ferry Llansawel camp after the Reds caused a major shock on the opening weekend with a comfortable 3-0 victory at the home of the current league champions.
It was The New Saints’ heaviest defeat in the JD Cymru Premier in four years, with young Ferry forward Ruben Davies stealing the show with two well-taken goals to bring his tally to four for the season, after he also netted twice against Trethomas Bluebirds in the Nathaniel MG Cup the previous weekend.
Cardiff Met will be slightly disappointed having had to share the spoils with Caernarfon Town on Saturday as the Archers had taken a 2-0 lead in the first half, before conceding two late goals at Cyncoed Campus.
Ryan Reynolds scored another superb goal on Saturday to add to his extensive collection of stunning goals since joining the Met last summer.
Cardiff Met won 5-1 at Ferry’s Old Road early last season, which is the only time that the Archers have scored five goals in an away league match since their promotion to the JD Cymru Premier in 2016.
But the Reds got their revenge at Cyncoed on Boxing Day, winning 3-1 in the capital in the last meeting between the two teams.
Saturday, 16 August
Barry Town United v Colwyn Bay | Saturday – 12:30
It was the perfect start to the season for Barry Town United with Steve Jenkins’ side avoiding a banana skin with a 2-0 away at Llanelli Town.
Ben Margetson and Ieuan Owen were the scorers for the Dragons, and George Ratcliffe will be delighted to have kept a clean sheet in his first game back in Barry colours.
Michael Wilde was more than satisfied with a draw against Connah’s Quay in his first game as manager of Colwyn Bay in the JD Cymru Premier.
Nathan Peate scored the important goal for the Bay in his first league appearance for the club, and the 34-year-old centre-half proved to be a significant signing for the Seagulls with a commanding performance in the heart of the defence.
These clubs met five times during the 2023/24 season with Colwyn Bay winning both of their home matches but failing to win on any of their three visits to Jenner Park (D2, L1).
Caernarfon Town v Llanelli Town | Saturday – 14:30
Caernarfon Town had to call upon their 38-year-old club captain Darren Thomas to save the day for the Canaries at Cyncoed Campus with the Cofi Messi coming off the bench to score a special equaliser in the dying seconds on Saturday afternoon.
But there was no fairytale return to the top-flight for Llanelli Town on Friday night, as their first fixture back in the JD Cymru Premier for six years ended in a 2-0 defeat against Barry Town United.
Caernarfon Town will be playing their home fixtures at Llandudno’s Maesdu Park this season while significant improvements are being made to their usual ground, The Oval.
Almost seven years have passed since these clubs met in the 2018/19 season with Caernarfon Town winning 3-0 at the Oval, before drawing 2-2 at Stebonheath Park.
Llanelli Town have not beaten Caernarfon Town for 16 years, when the Reds won 5-0 at the Oval with current Pen-y-bont manager, Rhys Griffiths involved in all five goals for Llanelli, scoring twice and creating the other three for the visitors.
Flint Town United v Haverfordwest County | Saturday – 14:30
Ben Wynne netted a lovely volley to grab a point for Flint Town United against Bala Town in their league opener at Maes Tegid last Friday.
Haverfordwest County will be frustrated with their first result, losing 1-0 at home against 10-man Pen-y-bont.
Haverfordwest County had the best defensive record in the league in 2024/25, but a misunderstanding at the back led to the only goal of the game at Bridge Meadow.
It might be early days in terms of the season, but we have already seen examples of cracks appearing in the Bluebirds defence, which is understandable considering how many influential players departed over the summer (Lee Jenkins, Luke Tabone, Jacob Owen, Zac Jones)
Flint Town United won 1-0 at home against Haverfordwest County last season, but Tony Pennock’s team triumphed in the most recent clash between the teams, winning 4-1 at Bridge Meadow in November 2024.
Pen-y-bont v The New Saints | Saturday – 17:15 (Live online)
Although we have barely begun the domestic season, it is fair to say that the campaign so far has been extremely disappointing for The New Saints.
Craig Harrison’s side have already played six competitive matches in the 2025/26 season winning just once (TNS 7-1 Airbus).
It was a lacklustre European campaign for the Saints, who lost their two ties against Shkëndija and Differdange 03, but even then, not many would have been brave enough to predict a 3-0 defeat at home against Briton Ferry Llansawel on the opening weekend of the league season.
This was The New Saints’ heaviest defeat in the JD Cymru Premier for over four years, and the first time in eight seasons that the Oswestry outfit have lost their opening league fixture.
It’s been 18 years since The New Saints lost their opening two league matches, and the champions will be eager to keep that record intact.
As for Pen-y-bont, it was looking bleak for the Bryntirion boys when they went down to 10 men at Pembrokeshire after James Crole kicked out at Haverfordwest County defender, Alaric Jones.
However, Rhys Griffiths’ team managed to take advantage of Haverfordwest County’s lax defence, with Mael Davies grabbing the only goal of the game on the hour-mark.
Pen-y-bont won both their home fixtures against The New Saints last season but lost both away games at Park Hall.
Pen-y-bont did give the Saints a scare last season with the Blues surprising everyone by sitting at the top of the table over the Christmas period.
But the Saints regained their regular place at the summit during the second phase of the season, winning 12 successive league games to finish the campaign 14 points above Pen-y-bont.
Despite last Friday’s victory, Pen-y-bont will be disheartened with James Crole’s suspension, especially as the 2024/25 Golden Boot winner scored three league goals against The New Saints last season.
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.
