As we enter October, and after playing 10 league matches, it’s a trio from the south that leads the way in the JD Cymru Premier with Bridgend three points clear at the top, with Cardiff Met and Haverfordwest County hot on their heels in 2nd and 3rd position.
The champions, The New Saints are in 5th place and have lost two of their seven league fixtures so far, but with three games in hand, Craig Harrison’s crew will be confident that they can close the gap on the front runners.
Down the other end, Aberystwyth Town have slipped to the bottom of the table after losing seven successive league matches for the first time ever in the JD Cymru Premier.
Friday, 4 October
Connah’s Quay (9th) v Aberystwyth Town (12th) | Friday – 19:45
Over a quarter of the way through the season and not many would have predicted that Connah’s Quay would be in the bottom half after losing most of their league matches and winning only two out of nine.
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.
Aberystwyth Town are another struggling side, and after losing seven games in a row for the first time ever in the top-flight they must improve quickly to avoid relegation.
To do that the Ceredigion clan will have to find their scoring boots as they have only netted one goal in their last six league outings.
The last two meetings between these teams have ended in a 1-1 draw with John Owen netting in both games for Aberystwyth Town.
But the Nomads have not lost at home against Aberystwyth Town since October 2015, winning their nine home fixtures against the Black & Greens since then.
League form:
Connah’s Quay: ͏❌❌❌➖❌
Aberystwyth Town: ͏❌❌❌❌❌
Pen-y-bont (1st) v Barry Town United (8th) | Friday – 19:45 (Live online)
Bridgend continue to set the standard; three points clear at the summit with a tally of 23 points after winning seven of their 10 league games to date.
At this stage last season after 10 league games, Bridgend were in 5th place with 17 points, nine points behind league leaders, The New Saints (26pt).
Barry Town United will not be an easy team to beat as they have only lost one of their last seven games in all competitions, and that defeat was against TNS (W4, D2).
The last three meetings between these teams have ended in a draw, but Bridgend have not lost any of their last 10 games against the Dragons (W5, D5).
League form:
Pen-y-bont: ͏✅✅✅❌✅
Barry Town United: ✅❌➖➖✅
Bala Town (4th) v Haverfordwest County (3rd) | Friday – 19:45
It will be a crucial encounter at Maes Tegid on Friday between two teams that are in a promising position to reach the Top Six this year.
But there was frustration for Bala Town last weekend with the Lakesiders failing to back up their astonishing win against The New Saints, as they travelled to Briton Ferry Llansawel and dropped points against the newcomers.
Along with Pen-y-bont, Haverfordwest have the joint-best defensive record in the league, keeping six clean sheets and conceding only four goals in 10 games to date.
Tony Pennock’s team are aiming to secure a place in the Top Six for the first time since the league got was reduced to 12 teams.
The Bluebirds have not finished higher than 7th place since the 2004/05 season when they managed to reach 4th place with only The New Saints, Rhyl and Bangor City finishing above them that year.
Bala Town are unbeaten in their last eight meetings with Haverfordwest County (W5, D3), but in the previous battle between the clubs in January 2024 the Bluebirds were 1-0 up after 86 minutes, and after a dramatic finale, Colin Caton’s crew eventually won 3-2 at Bridge Meadow.
League form:
Bala Town: ❌✅➖✅➖
Haverfordwest County: ❌❌✅➖✅
Newtown (6th) v Flint Town United (10th) | Friday – 19:45
Newtown have gone on a run of three league games without a win, falling to 6th place, eight points behind the league leaders, Bridgend.
Flint Town United are also without a win in three games, and Lee Fowler’s team need to pick up points to move clear of the bottom two.
These clubs have not met since November 2022 when Newtown won 4-1 at the Essity Stadium.
Aaron Williams scored the last goal of that match, which was his fifth goal in five games against the Silkmen.
League form:
Newtown: ͏✅✅➖➖❌
Flint Town United: ͏✅✅➖❌❌
Saturday, 5 October
Cardiff Met (2nd) v Caernarfon Town (7th) | Saturday – 14:30
Cardiff Met will be keen to keep the pressure on Bridgend and take a step closer to claiming a place in the Top Six this year.
Despite losing a few experienced players at the end of the last campaign, the Archers have seven more points this year than they did at this point last season.
After a slow start to the season, results have recently improved for Caernarfon Town with the Cofis securing 10 points out of a possible 12 in their last four league games.
Caernarfon Town have not lost any of their last five games away from home at Cyncoed Campus (W3, D2), but it was the students who were celebrating at the Oval in August after Ryan Reynolds scored the winning goal against his hometown club (Cfon 1-2 Met).
League form:
Cardiff Met: ͏✅❌✅✅❌
Caernarfon Town: ❌✅➖✅✅
Sunday, 6 October
Briton Ferry Llansawel (11th) v The New Saints (5th) | Sunday – 14:30
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 included an impressive victory against top of the table, Pen-y-bont.
The Saints are in an unfamiliar position, starting the weekend in 5th place having lost two of their seven league games to date.
The champions have been busy competing in Europe this year, and it was a historic night for the club in Florence on Thursday night as they made their debut in the UEFA Conference League against Italian giants, Fiorentina.
Briton Ferry Llansawel took the lead against TNS in the quarter-finals of the Welsh Cup last season, but the Saints scored five goals in the final half hour to secure a resounding victory (BFL 1-5 TNS).
League form:
Briton Ferry Llansawel: ❌❌➖✅➖
The New Saints: ✅✅❌❌✅
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.