A significant gap has been opened at the top of the table as The New Saints have won nine successive league games to move nine points clear of second place, Pen-y-bont.
At the bottom of the league there is an interesting battle developing between Haverfordwest County, Briton Ferry Llansawel and Flint Town United, with only two points separating the three clubs who are lingering around the relegation zone.
Those three teams will face the top three over the weekend, while there are two important ties in the race to reach the Top Six, with Colwyn Bay hosting Barry Town United, and Cardiff Met welcoming Connah’s Quay to the capital.
Friday, 31 October
Bala Town (8th) v Llanelli Town (12th) | Friday – 19:45
Llanelli Town remain at the bottom of the table having lost 11 of their 14 league games since their promotion over the summer, but the Reds will have a chance to collect a valuable three points on Friday against another struggling side.
After a solid start to the campaign, Bala Town have stumbled of late, winning just one of their last 11 matches and scoring only once in their last six games (a penalty vs Connah’s Quay).
Bala Town (0.7 goals per game) and Llanelli Town (0.5 goals per game) are the two clubs with the worst attacking record in the league, but Bala Town’s defensive record is much stronger than Llanelli Town’s, who have conceded more than twice as much as the Lakesiders.
Bala Town have won their last five meetings with Llanelli Town, including a 1-0 win at Stebonheath Park in August thanks to Hussein Mehasseb’s strike.
League form:
Bala Town: ❌❌❌❌➖
Llanelli Town: ✅❌❌❌❌
Saturday, 1 November
Caernarfon Town (3rd) v Briton Ferry Llansawel (10th) | Saturday – 14:30
It was a vital victory for Caernarfon Town on Saturday afternoon with the Cofis beating Pen-y-bont to end a run of four league games without a win.
Briton Ferry Llansawel have slipped down the table, and now Andy Dyer’s team are just one point above the relegation zone after winning only one of their last 10 league matches (L6, D3).
Caernarfon Town have kept a clean sheet in their last two games, while Briton Ferry Llansawel have only scored once in five outings.
Caernarfon Town have won all three of their previous meetings with Briton Ferry Llansawel, and so the Reds will be looking for their first ever point against the Cofis.
Caernarfon Town’s next three league games are against the bottom three in the table; therefore, Richard Davies will be eager to pick up nine points and climb back into second place.
League form:
Caernarfon Town: ͏❌❌❌➖✅
Briton Ferry Llansawel: ͏❌➖✅❌❌
Haverfordwest County (11th) v The New Saints (1st) | Saturday – 14:30
The New Saints have won 11 consecutive games in all competitions and go into the weekend nine points above Pen-y-bont (2nd).
Haverfordwest County fought hard to pick up a point away at Connah’s Quay last Saturday (CQ 3-3 Hav), but the Bluebirds are still sitting in the relegation zone.
Ryan Brobbel scored his 100th league goal for the Saints last Friday, and the playmaker is enjoying another quality season as only his teammate, Jordan Williams (12 goals, 3 assists) has contributed to more goals than himself (6 goals, 8 assists).
The Saints have won their last 11 meetings with Haverfordwest, including a 5-0 thrashing in September where Jordan Williams scored a hat-trick for the champions.
League form:
Haverfordwest County: ❌✅❌✅➖
The New Saints: ✅✅✅✅✅
Cardiff Met (6th) v Connah’s Quay (4th) | Saturday – 14:30
Cardiff Met are on a roll and have gone on a brilliant run of six games without defeat (W5, D1), including a 4-1 victory over Flint Town United last Saturday.
The Archers were in 11th place at the end of September before claiming their first win of the season by beating Caernarfon Town 3-0 at Maesdu Park, and since then Ryan Jenkins’ squad have not looked back, shooting up to 6th place.
Cardiff Met have reached the Top Six in each of the last three seasons, and the club is now on track to repeat the feat once more this year.
Connah’s Quay will be desperate to return to the top half after a disappointing season last year and following a run of six games without defeat the Nomads are also in a promising position to make the cut.
Connah’s Quay have won seven of their last 10 meetings with Cardiff Met, but it was a 1-1 draw in the reverse fixture at the Essity Stadium in September.
League form:
Cardiff Met: ͏✅✅✅➖✅
Connah’s Quay: ➖✅✅✅➖
Flint Town United (9th) v Pen-y-bont (2nd) | Saturday – 14:30
Flint Town United start the weekend four points below 6th place, and just two points above the relegation zone.
The Silkmen have shown their capability at times this season, but Lee Fowler’s side have conceded too many goals (2.2 goals per game), as only Llanelli Town have a worse defensive record (2.9 goals per game).
Pen-y-bont have lost back-to-back league games, and lost sight of the front runners, but the Blues will need to respond quickly to stay in second place, which will be enough to claim a place in Europe at the end of the season.
Pen-y-bont are undefeated in their last five contests against Flint Town United (W4, D1), and Rhys Griffiths will hope to extend that record on Saturday.
League form:
Flint Town United: ✅❌❌✅❌
Pen-y-bont: ͏✅➖✅❌❌
Colwyn Bay (5th) v Barry Town United (7th) | Saturday – 17:15 (Live online)
Colwyn Bay are going from strength to strength and sit neatly in 5th place following a run of five games without a loss in all competitions (W4, D1).
The Seagulls have the league’s best defensive record (conceding 0.6 goals per game) and Michael Wilde’s MEN have kept a clean sheet in their last five outings.
Things aren’t going so well for Barry Town United who have not won any of their last five league games (D3, L2).
After 14 league games no Barry Town player has scored more than two goals, and Steve Jenkins’ side had enough chances to beat Bala Town last Saturday but were wasteful in front of goal (Bala 0-0 Barry).
Colwyn Bay have not lost any of their last four games against Barry Town United (W2, D2), and it ended 1-1 in the reverse fixture at Jenner Park in August.
League form:
Colwyn Bay: ͏❌✅✅➖✅
Barry Town United: ➖❌❌➖➖
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.
