JD CYMRU PREMIER WEEKEND PREVIEW 2023/24
After a convincing 4-0 win at home against Cardiff Met last Saturday afternoon, The New Saints secured the league championship, lifting the trophy for the third consecutive season, and for the 16th time in their history.
By sealing the title on the 2nd of March, the Saints have won the league earlier than ever before, and before any other club across the main European leagues.
10 points currently separate Connah’s Quay and Bala Town in the race for second place and the second ticket to Europe, but it’s likely that finishing in third place will also be enough to claim a European spot, as has happened in the last nine seasons.
Caernarfon Town and Cardiff Met are level on points in the 4th and 5th positions, eight points behind Bala Town, which means they have a lot of work to do if they are to keep the pressure on the Lakesiders.
The club that finishes highest in the Bottom Six (7th place) will compete with the remaining Top Six clubs in the end of season play-offs for the final ticket to Europe, while the bottom two teams will be relegated into the second tier.
TOP SIX
Bala Town (3rd) v Caernarfon Town (4th) | Friday – 19:45 (Live online)
Eight points separate Bala Town and Caernarfon Town in the race for 3rd place, and therefore the Cofis must win on Friday if they are to have any realistic hope of closing the gap on Bala Town before the end of the season in order to compete for an automatic place in Europe.
Since reaching Europe for the first time in 2013, Bala Town have managed to qualify on eight occasions, but after missing the boat last year, Colin Caton will be keen to clinch one of the four European spots this season.
Caernarfon Town are aiming to reach Europe for the first time in their history, and with the teams below them struggling recently, the Canaries will feel confident ahead of the play-offs.
Caernarfon Town won the play-offs in 2021/22, which happened to be the only season where the play-off winners did not qualify for Europe, but instead entered the Scottish Challenge Cup, and the Canaries are still desperate for their first taste of European football.
Bala Town have not lost any of their previous nine games against Caernarfon Town (six wins, three draws), but it ended 1-1 in the two league games between the clubs in the first phase of the season.
League form:
Bala Town: ✅✅❌➖✅
Caernarfon Town: ✅❌➖➖➖
Connah’s Quay (2nd) v The New Saints (1st) | Friday – 19:45
The New Saints have completed the double, and so the Oswestry outfit are halfway towards their target of achieving the ‘quadruple’ for the first time in their history.
Brad Young was the hero against Cardiff Met last weekend hitting his fourth hat-trick in the league bringing his tally to 29 goals in all competitions.
Craig Harrison’s team have already lifted the Nathaniel MG Cup in January, reached the semi-finals of the Welsh Cup, and reached the final of the Scottish Challenge Cup for the first time ever.
Craig Harrison led The New Saints to two consecutive trebles between 2014-16 (JD Cymru Premier, JD Welsh Cup, Nathaniel MG Cup), but winning the quadruple for the first time is the goal this year.
The Saints have won 31 consecutive matches in all competitions (including a penalty shoot-out win against East Fife), and it’s been over a year since the champions last lost in the league (one defeat in 64 league games: 3-2 vs Met).
Connah’s Quay are the only club that have been able to really compete with the Saints in the last decade, with the Nomads winning the championship twice in a row in 2019/20 and 2020/21.
The New Saints finished 27 points above Connah’s Quay (2nd) in the 2016/17 season when they broke the world record by winning 27 successive games (not including penalties), and Craig Harrison will be keen to beat their own record again this year with 20 points separating the clubs and six games remaining.
The New Saints have already beaten Connah’s Quay twice during the first phase of the season, scoring 10 goals (TNS 6-2 Quay, Quay 0-4 TNS) and the champions are unbeaten in seven meetings with the Nomads (won five, drawn two).
League form:
Connah’s Quay: ❌✅✅➖✅
The New Saints: ✅✅✅✅✅
Newtown (6th) v Cardiff Met (5th) | Saturday – 14:30
Both Newtown and Cardiff Met have dropped down the table after disappointing spells in the league.
Newtown have lost eight consecutive JD Cymru Premier fixtures for the first time ever, while Cardiff Met are on a run of eight league games without a win for the first time in three years.
The spirit and confidence will need to be raised ahead of the play-offs, and before Cardiff Met face the New Saints in the semi-finals of the JD Welsh Cup.
Cardiff Met have had the better of things in the five recent meetings between these teams (won three, drawn one, lost one), but it was Newtown who were victorious the last time the teams met at Latham Park in September (New 2-1 Met).
League form:
Newtown: ❌❌❌❌❌
Cardiff Met: ͏❌❌➖➖➖
BOTTOM SIX
Haverfordwest County (7th) v Pen-y-bont (8th) | Friday – 19:45
In the race for 7th place and a spot in the play-offs, only four points separate Haverfordwest County and Pen-y-bont, two teams that have not had the best results since the split.
Haverfordwest County have not won any of their four games in the Bottom Six, drawing three in a row, while Pen-y-bont have not won any of their last three matches, all of which were home games.
Haverfordwest County were the play-off winners last season with the Bluebirds qualifying for Europe for the first time in 19 years, and Tony Pennock will be eager to repeat the feat this year.
Pen-y-bont finished 3rd last year and reached Europe for the first time in their history, but things have certainly not gone so well this season with the club winning just one of their last nine home games.
The home team has won the last four league meetings between these clubs, and Pen-y-bont have not won at Bridge Meadow since October 2020 when the player-manager, Rhys Griffiths, scored twice for the visitors (Hav 0-4 Pen).
League form:
Haverfordwest County: ͏➖➖➖❌❌
Pen-y-bont: ❌➖➖✅❌
Barry Town United (9th) v Colwyn Bay (12th) | Saturday – 14:30
Barry Town United have not won since the league split, but the Jenner Park squad are still in the race for 7th place with only five points separating themselves and Haverfordwest County at the start of the weekend.
But with only one win in their last seven home league fixtures (Barr 4-0 New), Jonathan Jones’ boys need to raise the standard if they want to compete for a place in the play-offs.
After ascending to the JD Cymru Premier for the first time in their history, Colwyn Bay are in danger of slipping straight back to the JD Cymru North at the first time of asking.
Nobody has lost more, won less, or conceded more goals than Colwyn Bay this season, but even so, there are only two points between the Seagulls and the safety of 10th position with six games left to play.
The head-to-head record is level after three games between the clubs this season with both teams winning one apiece and drawing once.
League form:
Barry Town United: ➖➖➖❌✅
Colwyn Bay: ➖❌✅❌❌
Pontypridd United (10th) v Aberystwyth Town (11th) | Saturday – 14:30
Despite their nine-point penalty, Pontypridd United are determined to avoid the drop this year with the Dragons climbing out of the drop zone once again last weekend after an impressive win at Pen-y-bont.
The New Saints (12pts) are the only club with a better record than Pontypridd United (10pts) since the split, and the Saints (14) are also the only team to keep more clean sheets than Ponty (11) this season.
Aberystwyth Town are one of the two clubs that have been ever-present in the Welsh Premier League since its formation in 1992 (along with Newtown), and after narrowly avoiding relegation on the final weekend of last season, the Black & Greens are playing with fire yet again this year.
Only goal difference separates Pontypridd United and Aberystwyth Town with the clubs sitting two points above Colwyn Bay in the battle to stay in the league.
It will be an exciting afternoon for the new manager of Pontypridd United, Gavin Allen who returns to face his former club where he spent time as manager of the men’s team, the youth team and the women’s team.
Pontypridd United are on a five-game unbeaten streak against Aberystwyth Town, and the Dragons have already beaten the Seasiders three times this season without conceding once.
League form:
Pontypridd United: ✅✅➖✅✅
Aberystwyth Town: ͏➖➖❌✅❌
The highlights of the games will be available on Sgorio’s social websites, and the best of the weekend’s action can be seen on S4C on Monday evening.
