31 points has been the average amount needed to claim a place in the Top Six in past seasons, and with nine rounds of games left to play until the league split, front runners, Pen-y-bont are already within one point of reaching that target.
Haverfordwest County are not too far behind with 25 points on the board, as the Bluebirds look to secure a top six finish for the first time in 20 years.
Reigning champions, The New Saints are 3rd in the table, nine points behind Pen-y-bont but with three games in hand.
Only three points separate the six clubs in the middle of the table between 3rd and 8th positions, which means it’s going to be an exciting battle to reach the top half this year.
Friday, 25 October
Cardiff Met (4th) v Newtown (8th) | Friday – 19:45
It is very tight in the middle of the table, and a win for Newtown this Friday would put them level on points with Cardiff Met.
After a good start to the season, the results have declined for Cardiff Met recently, and the Archers are now on a run of four league games without a win.
Newtown have not been at their best either, winning just one of their last six league games and conceding 14 goals in their last three home matches.
Aberystwyth Town (30) are the only team to concede more goals than Newtown (28) in the league this season, but fortunately for the Robins their attacking force have been firing well.
No one has contributed to more goals than Zeli Ismail (12) in the league this season with the winger having created 11 and scored once in 11 appearances to date.
Ismail has played a key role in 63% of Newtown’s goals this season, while Aaron Williams (6 goals), Jason Oswell (4 goals) and Josh Lock (3 goals) have all benefited from the Albanian’s creative work.
Ryan Reynolds (4 goals) is Cardiff Met’s top scorer, but after a good start to the season the midfielder has not found the net since scoring a consolation goal against Newtown over a month ago.
Newtown have won their last three contests against Cardiff Met, including the 2-1 win at Latham Park in September.
Cardiff Met have been busy competing in the cups over the past week, beating Pen-y-bont in the Welsh Cup on Friday, before losing against Cardiff City in the Nathaniel MG Cup on Monday night.
And there was embarrassment for Newtown last Saturday as they lost on penalties against Llanuwchllyn from the third tier in the second round of the Welsh Cup.
League form:
Cardiff Met: ͏✅❌❌❌➖
Newtown: ͏➖❌❌✅❌
Saturday, 26 October
Pen-y-bont (1st) v Bala Town (7th) | Saturday – 14:30
On average, 31 points have been enough to secure a place in the Top Six in previous seasons, and with nine games to go until the split, Pen-y-bont have already claimed 30 points.
Pen-y-bont failed to reach the Top Six last season, but after an excellent start to this campaign Rhys Griffiths’ side are five points clear at the top and have only lost one of their last 19 league matches (0-1 vs Briton Ferry Llansawel).
Bala Town have secured a place in the Top Six in each of the last 10 seasons, but the Lakesiders have slipped into the bottom half after winning just two of their previous 10 league games, with one of those victories coming away from home against The New Saints.
Nobody has had more draws than Bala Town this season (6/13), and other than the unexpected victory against the Saints, only the bottom three in the table have lost against the Lakesiders.
Bala Town had gone on a run of eight games without defeat against Pen-y-bont before the Bryntirion boys defeated Colin Caton’s crew at Maes Tegid earlier this season (Bala 1-2 Pen).
Although they are in a surprising position in the table, it has been a difficult week for Pen-y-bont who have lost their place in two competitions following defeats against Cardiff Met in the Welsh Cup, and Barry Town United in the Nathaniel MG Cup.
Bala Town on the other hand, have reached the third round of the Welsh Cup after beating Llanrhaeadr last Friday, and their match against The New Saints in the quarter-finals of the Nathaniel MG Cup will be held on 13 November.
League form:
Pen-y-bont: ͏❌✅✅✅➖
Bala Town: ✅➖❌➖➖
Flint Town United (10th) v Barry Town United (6th) | Saturday – 14:30
No team in the JD Cymru Premier has taken more points after being behind in a game than Barry Town United this season (11).
The Dragons have climbed into the top half for the first time this season after winning three of their last four league games.
Barry Town United forward Ollie Hulbert is enjoying a good spell in front of goal with the 21-year-old sitting at the top of the goal scorers list after netting eight league goals.
Flint Town United have only won one of their seven league games at home this season, but Lee Fowler will be looking for three points on Saturday to break clear of the bottom two.
Although the Silkmen struck twice in the first half, Barry Town United were victorious in the reverse fixture back in August, scoring three times after the break to turn the game on its head at Jenner Park (BTU 3-2 FTU).
Flint Town United won 5-1 against Gresford Athletic last Friday to progress to the third round of the Welsh Cup, whilst Barry Town United lost on penalties against Caerau Ely from the JD Cymru South.
But after the disappointment of losing against a club from the second tier over the weekend, Barry Town United managed to beat Pen-y-bont on Tuesday night to claim their place in the semi-finals of the Nathaniel MG Cup.
League form:
Flint Town United: ͏❌❌✅➖❌
Barry Town United: ➖✅❌✅✅
Haverfordwest County (2nd) v Caernarfon Town (5th) | Saturday – 17.15 (Online)
Haverfordwest County have the best defensive record in the league (conceding 5 goals in 13 games), but only Connah’s Quay, Aberystwyth Town and Briton Ferry Llansawel have scored less than the Bluebirds, and two of those clubs have games in hand.
Only 20 goals have been scored in Haverfordwest’s 13 league games this season (1.5 goals per game) which proves how tight the Bluebirds’ matches have been this year.
Tony Pennock’s side are aiming to secure a place in the Top Six for the first time since the league was cut to 12 teams as the Bluebirds have not finished higher than 7th since the 2004/05 season when they managed to reach 4th place.
After a great run of four consecutive wins in the league Caernarfon Town’s performances have faded with the Canaries losing three on the bounce in all competitions.
Haverfordwest County are unbeaten in their last four meetings with the Cofis, including a dramatic last-gasp victory at the Oval in August (Cfon 1-2 Hav).
The two teams had a goalless game in the Welsh Cup last weekend with Haverfordwest County going on to beat Trethomas Bluebirds on penalties, whilst Caernarfon Town lost on penalties against Holyhead Hotspur of the third tier.
League form:
Haverfordwest County: ➖✅✅͏➖✅
Caernarfon Town: ✅✅✅❌❌
Sunday, 27 October
Aberystwyth Town (11th) v The New Saints (3rd) | Sunday – 13:00
Although the Saints have lost three league games in a season for the first time since 2020/21, the champions continue to crawl up the table.
The New Saints have three games in hand, and if Craig Harrison’s crew were to win those games, then they would go level on points with Pen-y-bont.
Despite being behind, the Saints are still the league’s top scorers after netting 29 goals with 12 different players finding the back of the net in 10 games.
Aberystwyth Town had lost nine consecutive league matches for the first time ever before ending the run with a substantial and deserved win against Caernarfon Town (Cfon 1-4 Aber).
Aberystwyth Town had only scored five goals in 12 league games before almost doubling their total by hitting four at the Oval a fortnight ago.
But the Saints have won their last five meeting with Aberystwyth Town, scoring 24 goals and conceding only once.
It has been a mixed week for Aberystwyth Town with the Black & Greens losing against Ammanford in the Welsh Cup on Saturday, before beating Connah’s Quay in the quarter-finals of the Nathaniel MG Cup on Tuesday night.
As for the Saints, it was a special night for them last Friday, winning 16-0 against Llangollen Town from the third tier in the second round of the Welsh Cup.
The Oswestry outfit have been busy competing in Europe this year, and it was a historic night for the club at Shrewsbury on Thursday as they won their first home game in the UEFA Conference League against FC Astana of Kazakhstan.
League form:
Aberystwyth Town: ͏❌❌❌❌✅
The New Saints: ❌✅❌✅✅
Connah’s Quay (9th) v Briton Ferry Llansawel (12th) | Sunday – 14:30
At this stage last season after 12 games, Connah’s Quay were 2nd in the table with 26 points, but this year the Nomads have only half that amount and are sitting in 9th place.
Connah’s Quay have only won one of their eight league games since the end of August (3-0 vs Aber) with their last two league matches ending goalless.
Briton Ferry Llansawel have dropped back to the bottom of the heap after winning just once in the league this season, and that victory came away from home against the league leaders, Pen-y-bont.
Briton Ferry Llansawel took the lead against Connah’s Quay in the reverse fixture in August, but the Nomads fought back and eventually won comfortably (BFL 1-5 CQ).
Connah’s Quay have only scored 14 goals in their 12 league games this season with 36% of those coming in the reverse fixture against Briton Ferry Llansawel.
Connah’s Quay had no trouble scoring against Guilsfield in the Welsh Cup on Saturday (CQ 5-0 Guil), before losing at home against Aberystwyth Town in the Nathaniel MG Cup on Tuesday night.
Briton Ferry Llansawel managed to avoid a banana skin on Saturday afternoon winning 3-0 against New Inn from the fourth tier to secure their place in the third round of the Welsh Cup.
League form:
Connah’s Quay: ͏➖❌✅➖➖
Briton Ferry Llansawel: ➖✅➖❌❌
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.
