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Watch: The weekend JD Cymru Premier round-up

20 Nov 2023 6 minute read
Chris Venables equalises for Penybont against Newtown (Credit: S4C)

Ryan March

This weekend’s action kicked off on Friday night as Aberystwyth Town welcomed Bala Town to Park Avenue. In recent weeks, Aberystwyth have salvaged a poor start to the season to keep them in the mix for survival, whereas Bala’s inconsistent form has left them fighting for their place in the top six.

It was Bala who found the breakthrough in the 38th minute through Josh Ukek after a mix-up in Aber’s defence, but his goal was cancelled out by Iwan Lewis’ strike from 20 yards on the stroke of halftime.

Bala eventually restored their lead after 72 minutes thanks to George Newell. Despite Iwan Lewis being given his marching orders for a second yellow card, Aberystwyth kept fighting and got a late equaliser as Luca Hogan curled a delightful effort into the top corner.

Unfortunately for Aberystwyth, the action didn’t stop there as Josh Ukek fired home his second of the evening in injury time to give Bala all three points and break the hearts of the Aberystwyth faithful.

Elsewhere in the fight for survival, two strugglers faced off as Colwyn Bay made the trip down south to take on Pontypridd United. The Bay came into the game without a league win in seven matches, while Ponty, who still have the 18 charges hanging over their heads, hadn’t won in four.

After going close in the early stages, Colwyn Bay took the lead through Udo Akpan as he pounced on a long ball that wasn’t dealt with by the Ponty defence.

Ponty’s best efforts to get back into the game fell short as they were denied by the woodwork, the referee’s whistle, and some good defensive work by the Bay defence and keeper. Despite all of Ponty’s pressure, Colwyn Bay doubled their lead just after the hour mark as Udo Akpan was brought down in the box, allowing Thomas McCready to convert from the penalty spot.

Two minutes later, Colwyn Bay’s Jamie Cumming scored from close range to put the game to bed and give his side an important three points as they climbed off the bottom of the table.

Caernarfon Town welcomed Barry Town United to the Oval as the home side looked to return to winning ways after two consecutive league defeats. They couldn’t have asked for a better start as Louis Lloyd gave the Cofis the lead after only 12 minutes, but it was cancelled out midway into the first half thanks to an impressive curling effort from Newport County loanee Harrison Bright.

It took only six minutes for Caernarfon to restore their lead as Adam Davies continued his fine goal-scoring form, heading in from Sion Bradley’s corner. Despite taking the lead for the second time, the momentum swung into Barry’s favour heading into the break as Caernarfon’s Phil Mooney was shown a second yellow card for bringing down Kayne McLaggon.

Barry didn’t waste any time as they took the game to the ten men of Caernarfon in the second half, and they were rewarded for their efforts as Jordan Cotterill found the bottom corner to peg Caernarfon back once again.

As the game entered the final stages, Caernarfon was denied a penalty despite huge protests from the home fans and players.

Moments later, it would go from bad to worse for the Cofis as Ollie Hulbert bent a winner into the top corner in the 96th minute to send Barry home with a huge three points.

This win takes Barry four points clear of the drop, while Caernarfon slip into the sixth. They’ll need to find their winning formula once again if they want to finish in the top half come the impending split.

Connah’s Quay were hoping to get back on track after a defeat to Cardiff Met in their last league outing as they welcomed a Haverfordwest County side blighted with injuries. But despite their injury woes, the away side took the lead through Luke Tabone on 23 minutes. However, their lead would only last for eight minutes as Ryan Harrington’s low driven effort from 20 yards brought the home side level, but not for long.

Ben Fawcett capitalised on an uncharacteristic mix-up at the back between John Disney and Andy Firth to restore Haverfordwest’s lead only two minutes after Connah’s Quay had drawn level.

The Nomads spent the second half piling the pressure on the visitors, but Haverfordwest stood firm to secure a rare away win at Connah’s Quay.

A second consecutive defeat for Connah’s Quay will have caught the attention of The New Saints as they keep their nine-point lead at the top intact. TNS weren’t in league action this week as they continued their winning run in the SPFL Trophy with an impressive 4-1 victory over SPFL League One side, Arbroath.

Penybont welcomed high flyers Newtown to the SDM Glass Stadium on Sunday as they hoped to capitalise on their last league outing, a 4-2 victory in Caernarfon. Meanwhile, Newtown came into the game on the back of a 1-0 victory over Aberystwyth in midweek as they returned to winning ways after no win in their preceding three games.

It was a game hindered by the windy conditions in Bridgend as both sides struggled to get a foothold in the first half. But it didn’t take long for the away side to find the breakthrough in the second half as Dom Smith headed in Matthew Jones’ corner only four minutes after the restart.

Penybont responded well to Newtown’s opener, almost immediately pegging them back as Chris Venables’ effort from eight yards rattled the underside of the crossbar. But you can’t keep Venables out for long as he pounced on a loose ball in the box minutes to draw the home side level.

Neither side could find a winner in the remaining minutes as the points were shared.

Midweek Results:
Aberystwyth Town 0-1 Newtown
Weekend Results:
Aberystwyth Town 2-3 Bala Town
Caernarfon Town 2-3 Barry Town United
Connah’s Quay Nomads 1-2 Haverfordwest County
Penybont 1-1 Newtown
Pontypirdd United 0-3 Colwyn Bay

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