The New Saints’ perfect run has come to an end, and after 26 consecutive wins (33 including the penalty win against East Fife), Craig Harrison’s side lost to Airdrieonians in the final of the Scottish Challenge Cup on Sunday afternoon, ending the club’s hopes of clinching a first-ever ‘quadruple’.
Nevertheless, The New Saints are still targeting the domestic treble and are aiming to become the first team to go the entire season without losing a league fixture since Barry Town United in 1997/98.
In the race for the runner-up spot, Connah’s Quay need a minimum of seven points from their remaining four fixtures to secure the second ticket to Europe, but a third placed finish is likely to be enough to qualify as well, as has happened in the last nine seasons.
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 route to Europe, while the bottom two teams will be relegated into the second tier.
TOP SIX
Connah’s Quay (2nd) v Newtown (6th) | Friday – 12:30
Connah’s Quay have secured their place in the final of the JD Welsh Cup for the fourth time in their history after beating Bala Town by a goal to nil on Saturday night.
Aron Williams was the unexpected hero for the Nomads scoring the only goal of the game after 89 minutes, netting his first goal for the club since October 2021.
Connah’s Quay will take on either Cardiff Met or The New Saints in the final on Sunday, 28 April at Rodney Parade, Newport.
Before then, Neil Gibson will be hoping that his squad can confirm their place in Europe by finishing second in the table, but there are tough games ahead and Bala Town are ready to take advantage of any slip-ups before the end of the season.
Connah’s Quay have lost their last three league games and will be determined not to lose four in a row for the first time since 2013.
There are currently six points separating Connah’s Quay (2nd) and Bala Town (3rd) with four games remaining, and therefore Neil Gibson will demand no less than three points at home against 6th placed Newtown this Friday.
Having lost nine of their last 10 games, an automatic place in Europe is out of Newtown’s reach, but they will be keen to improve the quality of their performances ahead of the crucial play-offs at the end of the season.
Connah’s Quay have already beaten Newtown three times this season with Jordan Davies scoring four goals, and the Nomads will once again be the favourites at Cae-y-Castell after losing just one of their previous 19 games against the Robins (won 14, drawn four).
League form:
Connah’s Quay: ❌❌❌✅✅
Newtown: ❌✅❌❌❌
BOTTOM SIX
Colwyn Bay (12th) v Aberystwyth Town (11th) | Friday – 12:30 (Live online)
Colwyn Bay and Aberystwyth Town will battle for survival at Llanelian Road on Friday in the most important game of the season for both clubs.
Colwyn Bay (19pts) who are at the bottom of the table, have played one game more than Aberystwyth Town (20pts) and Pontypridd United (21pts), and it is essential that Steve Evans’ team avoid defeat to keep hold of any real hope of avoiding the drop this year.
Nobody has lost more, won less, or conceded more goals than Colwyn Bay this season, and after suffering a 5-0 drubbing at Pen-y-bont in their last game, things are looking bleak for the Seagulls.
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 Seasiders are playing with fire yet again this year.
Aberystwyth Town have scored the fewest goals in the league this season (21 goals in 27 games), and Anthony Williams’ men have not won away from home since November.
Colwyn Bay have had the better of things in the previous meetings between the clubs this season, winning two of the three contests to date.
The Black and Greens have an extra headache as they face punishment from the league after their match against Pontypridd United was postponed this month after Aberystwyth Town tried to play the game without a qualified physiotherapist on the bench.
The outcome of the case is sure to influence the situation at the bottom of the table, but the Aberystwyth Town squad must ignore that for now and ensure that the club does not drop out of the league for the first time in their history.
League form:
Colwyn Bay: ❌➖➖❌✅
Aberystwyth Town: ͏❌➖➖❌✅
Barry Town United (9th) v Pen-y-bont (8th) | Friday – 12:30
With four games remaining Pen-y-bont are only one point behind Haverfordwest County in the race for 7th spot and a place in the play-offs.
Pen-y-bont are certainly paying the price for their off-field administrative errors which have resulted in a six-point penalty, as Rhys Griffiths’ team would be five points clear in 7th place if it weren’t for the deductions.
Barry Town United have drawn five successive matches, and still haven’t won a game since the split, but on the other hand, the Dragons have only lost once in nine outings (0-3 vs Pontypridd).
The last two games between these teams have also ended in a draw, but Pen-y-bont have been strong away from home recently, winning three on the bounce (vs Cardiff Met, Colwyn Bay and Haverfordwest County).
Pen-y-bont forward Keyon Reffell scored in the last two games against Barry Town United, with his only other two goals this season coming against Colwyn Bay.
League form:
Barry Town United: ➖➖➖➖➖
Pen-y-bont: ✅✅❌➖➖
Pontypridd United (10th) v Haverfordwest County (7th) | Friday – 12:30
Despite the nine-point penalty, Pontypridd United are determined to avoid the drop this year, and Gavin Allen’s side go into the weekend one point above the relegation zone with a game in hand.
Pontypridd United are on a six-game unbeaten run (won four, drawn two) and the club have not lost a fixture since Gavin Allen took charge in February.
It was a similar story for Pontypridd last season as well with the club only losing once after the split, and that defeat came against Haverfordwest County in April.
But since that defeat, Pontypridd United have not lost in three games against Haverfordwest County (won one, drawn two) conceding only once over a period of three matches.
Haverfordwest County continue to lead the way in the race for 7th place, and after tasting victory for the first time since December in their previous match against Aberystwyth Town, the Bluebirds will be hoping for a solid finish to the season in order to reach the playoffs for the second consecutive year.
League form:
Pontypridd United: ➖✅✅➖✅
Haverfordwest County: ͏✅❌➖➖➖
JD WELSH CUP SEMI FINAL
Cardiff Met v The New Saints | Saturday – 17:15 (Latham Park, Newtown)
The dream of the quadruple may be over, but the treble is still on the cards for The New Saints who hope to reach the final of the JD Welsh Cup on Saturday.
The 2-1 loss against Airdrieonians will be a big blow for Craig Harrison’s team who had not lost in 41 games (won 39, drawn two) since the defeat on August 1st against Swift Hesperange from Luxembourg.
But in terms of Welsh clubs, no one has been able to beat The New Saints since Cardiff Met did so in a league fixture in February last year (Met 3-2 TNS).
Since that game, the clubs have met four times the Saints have crushed the Archers in each of those matches (TNS 7-1 Met, Met 1-5 TNS, TNS 8-0 Met, TNS 4-0 Met).
The Saints have scored at least four goals in six of their previous seven games against Cardiff Met, and the league’s top scorer Brad Young has netted eight goals in three matches against the Archers this season, including a hat-trick in the last two games.
This will be the 25th meeting between these clubs, but the teams have never gone head-to-head in the Welsh Cup in the past.
Cardiff Met reached the semi-finals twice in a row in 2019 and 2020, but since the formation of the current club in 2000, the students have never reached the final.
Since losing against Connah’s Quay in the quarter-finals of the 2017/18 Welsh Cup, the Saints have won 24 consecutive games in the competition and lifted the cup three times in a row.
Last season the Saints won 6-0 in the Welsh Cup final against Bala Town, which was the biggest victory in a final since 1931.
That was the 9th time the Oswestry outfit had their name on the cup, and now only Wrexham (23), Cardiff City (22) and Swansea City (10) have a better record in the competition.
The New Saints have reached seven of the last eight finals, winning six of those against six different clubs (Aberystwyth Town, Newtown, Airbus UK, Connah’s Quay, Pen-y-bont, Bala Town).
The New Saints have managed to avoid the top-flight clubs in the cup so far conceding just one goal in four games, while Cardiff Met won close encounters against Haverfordwest County and Colwyn Bay in the previous two rounds.
Quarter Final: Cardiff Met 3-2 Colwyn Bay, Briton Ferry Llansawel 1-5 TNS
4th Round: Haverfordwest County 1-1(p) Cardiff Met, Carmarthen 0-3 TNS
3rd Round: Cardiff Met 2-1 Mold Alexandra, TNS 7-0 Trethomas Bluebirds
2nd Round: Cardiff Met 4-0 Cwmbrân, Ruthin Town 0-5 TNS
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.
