10 games into the league season and The New Saints and Connah’s Quay have broken clear at the top of the table, while 3rd and 4th placed Newtown and Caernarfon Town go head-to-head on Saturday. In the bottom half, Pontypridd Town host Haverfordwest County with both clubs hoping to break into the Top Six before the split.
Friday, 6 October
Cardiff Met (7th) v Barry Town United (11th) | Friday – 19:45
After their 2-2 draw at Colwyn Bay last Saturday, Cardiff Met remain in the bottom half with just one win in their last seven league games.
Alex Lang kept four consecutive clean sheets for Cardiff Met at the start of the season but has since kept only one in six matches.
Barry Town United have dropped into the bottom two after winning only one in 10 league games since their promotion.
Barry Town United have won just one of their previous six matches against Cardiff Met, but that victory came in the most recent meeting in April 2022 with Kayne McLaggon netting the only goal of the game from the penalty spot.
League form:
Cardiff Met: ➖➖❌❌✅
Barry Town United: ❌❌✅❌❌
Aberystwyth Town (12th) v Connah’s Quay (2nd) | Friday – 20:00
Aberystwyth Town are bottom of the table after losing eight of their 10 league games this season, and Anthony Williams has a difficult task ahead if he’s to steer the Black & Greens away from relegation once again this year with the team already four points below safety.
Connah’s Quay are flying high after winning seven league games on the bounce, scoring an impressive 3.4 goals per game during that run with the help of league top scorer Jordan Davies (9).
The Nomads are the only team to win all their home games this season and Neil Gibson’s gang are hot on the heels of TNS with just two points separating the top two.
But Connah’s Quay haven’t won at Park Avenue since 2021, with the Black & Greens winning once and drawing once at home against the Nomads since then.
League form:
Aberystwyth Town: ❌✅❌❌❌
Connah’s Quay: ✅✅✅✅✅
Saturday, 7 October
Pen-y-bont (5th) v The New Saints (1st) | Saturday – 14:30
Following a 4-2 defeat away against Connah’s Quay last Saturday, things don’t get any easier for Pen-y-bont who welcome the league champions to Bryntirion this weekend.
The clubs have met on 17 occasions, and although the matches tend to be tight affairs, the Saints have never lost against Rhys Griffiths’ side (won 13, drawn four).
The New Saints have gone 13 games without defeat in all competitions since their European loss to Swift Hesperange on August 1st (won 11, drawn two).
TNS forward Jordan Williams, along with Nomads’ Jordan Davies are the only two to reach double figures for goal contributions this season (10 each), with Ben Clark (9) also shining for the Saints.
League form:
Pen-y-bont: ❌✅✅✅❌
The New Saints: ✅✅✅✅➖
Bala Town (6th) v Colwyn Bay (10th) | Saturday – 14:30
Bala Town are in danger of falling into the bottom half as the Lakesiders are now on a run of seven games without a win in all competitions, scoring only once during that seven-match period.
Pontypridd Town (2) and Aberystwyth Town (5) are the only teams to score fewer goals than Bala Town (6), with the club missing the attacking talents of Chris Venables, Lassana Mendes and David Edwards who left Maes Tegid over the summer.
Colwyn Bay’s ambition of reaching the Top Six may be fading as the newcomers have only won twice in 10 league games since their promotion, and were defeated again on Tuesday, losing on penalties to Prestatyn Town in the Nathaniel MG Cup.
On the other hand, 6th placed Bala Town have only won three games out of 10 in the league, which means it could be a close encounter in the first ever competitive meeting between these two clubs.
League form:
Bala Town: ❌❌❌➖➖
Colwyn Bay: ͏➖❌❌✅✅
Newtown (3rd) v Caernarfon Town (4th) | Saturday – 14:30
Newtown picked up just one point from their opening four fixtures, but since then the Robins have turned the corner and have won six successive league games for the first time in 19 years (seven wins in Autumn 2004).
The Robins have kept four clean sheets in those six games, and new no.1 Andy Wycherley is now joint top of the keeper’s chart with five clean sheets in 10 games.
There’s just two points separating Newtown and Caernarfon Town, as the Cofis aim to return to the Top Six after finishing 9th last season.
Newtown had won eight consecutive games against Caernarfon Town until the Canaries claimed a 2-1 victory over the Robins at the Oval in August.
League form:
Newtown: ✅✅✅✅✅
Caernarfon Town: ✅❌✅❌✅
Pontypridd Town (9th) v Haverfordwest County (8th) | Saturday – 17:15 (Live online)
Pontypridd Town and Haverfordwest County are only one point apart in the bottom half, and both clubs may have hoped for a stronger start to their campaigns.
Pontypridd Town are the league’s lowest scorers having netted only twice in 10 games, failing to score in 80% of their matches.
Defender, Keston Davies is the only player to score from open play in Ponty’s 10 league games this season (vs Aber, 12th), with the other goal scored by Ben Ahmun from the penalty spot (vs Barry, 11th).
Haverfordwest County will be full of confidence following their 3-0 win against Aberystwyth Town on Saturday as Kai Whitmore stole the show with a brace from midfield.
It ended goalless between these two teams on the opening weekend of the season, and Pontypridd Town have won both of their previous home games against Haverfordwest County in the JD Cymru Premier.
League form:
Pontypridd Town: ❌❌❌➖❌
Haverfordwest County: ✅➖❌❌❌
All goals can be viewed on Sgorio’s online accounts, and all the weekend’s highlights will be on Sgorio on Monday night at 9:35 on S4C.
