The New Saints are on the brink of winning the Dafabet Welsh Premier League title and could be crowned champions this weekend for the sixth season in a row.
The Oswestry side’s scintillating form has seen them win 22 and draw one of their 23 league games this season.
Already a foregone conclusion, the title race would be mathematically decided if Gap Connah’s Quay and Bala Town both fail to win their respective games tonight and The New Saints beat Carmarthen on Saturday.
That combination of results would give TNS an unassailable 70-point tally at the top of the table.
Incredibly, the club have already surpassed last season’s final total of 64 points, with eight games to spare as their stranglehold on the Dafabet Welsh Premier League shows no sign of loosening.
NEWS & NOTES FROM AROUND THE GROUNDS
Bangor City have been dealt a blow in their push to secure European football with the news that club captain Gary Roberts was issued a six-game ban this week. The right-back has become an influential figure at City since his arrival this summer but has frequently gained the attention of match officials.
Roberts was handed his 15th yellow card of the season against Bala Town last weekend before also receiving a straight red-card for a serious foul play. The suspension rules Robert out for five of Bangor’s remaining nine league games as well as the Welsh Cup quarter-final against TNS.
Cardiff Met have undergone a mid-season reshuffle amongst their coaching staff. The side announced this week that former Football League striker Dr Wayne Allison steps up from first-team coach to first-team manager, while Dr Christian Edwards steps down as manager to become first-team assistant manager. In a statement, Cardiff Met confirmed on-going commitments within the university were making it increasingly difficult for Edwards to fulfil his managerial duties, however he will remain as director of football.
Goalkeeper Dave Jones remains a doubt with a knee injury as Newtown prepare to face Rhyl at home on Saturday. 19-year-old Jack Parry deputised as the side extended their unbeaten run to three games against Llandudno last week. “Jack came in and did well last week and we were pleased with him, and we’ll just have to wait and see how Dave is,” explained Robins boss Chris Hughes.
“We won’t be looking at the league table, we just want to perform and that will bring results. The league can change so quickly from one week to the next so there is no point looking at the table. We will look in two or three weeks’ time, but for now we want to keep winning to put ourselves in a better position.”
Airbus have bolstered their defence with the signing of former player Lee Owens, who joins on loan for the rest of the season. Owens signs after an injury-hit spell at Bala Town in which the right-back made 6 (1) WPL appearances.
Dafabet Welsh Premier League fixtures:
Championship Conference: Bala Town 3-1 Cardiff Met (Fri), Bangor 2-1 Connah’s Quay (Fri), Carmarthen v TNS (Sat).
Play-Off Conference: Airbus 0-0 Llandudno (Fri), Cefn Druids v Aberystwyth (Sat), Newtown v Rhyl (Sat).
Featured image courtesy of TNS FC/Welsh Premier League.