The final round of
games in the Welsh Premier League second phase take place this weekend, with
clubs looking to enter the end-of-season play-offs with a bit of momentum.
Aberystwyth and Llanelli may have finished their seasons due
to the game being moved forward to before Llanelli’s early week court date, in
which The Reds were sadly wound up, but the remaining 10 teams are all in
action.
The play-off picture is still all to play for of course.
Welsh Cup finalists Bangor City and Prestatyn Town are both in the play-off
places, meaning the winner of that match will automatically take a
qualification slot for Europe.
The loser will then be thrust in to the winner-takes-all,
no-holds-barred play-offs, to be joined by the team finishing eighth, or second
in the Conference.
Gap Connah’s Quay and Newtown are currently fighting it out
for that honour, meaning there is sure to be plenty of thrills and heartache in
the final round of games.
Championship:
Bangor City v The New
Saints
Fans of both sides, neutrals and TV broadcasters were
probably looking at this fixture as a mouth-watering encounter which could
decide the title. As it happened, TNS had the league wrapped up long ago, and
Bangor have been pipped to second place by Airbus UK Broughton.
Yes, The Citizens can technically still catch them, but it
will take a win for them, a loss for The Wingmakers and a 20-goal swing in
their favour.
The hosts will be looking to avenge their 6-0 drubbing the
last time these teams met in the league, as well as showing the visitors their
last-gasp Welsh Cup semi-final win over them wasn’t a fluke.
TNS, on the other hand, will want to end their season on a
high. Bangor ended their chances of a league and Cup double, and the champions
will want revenge.
Free-scoring Michael Wilde has been in hot form recently, while
veteran Matty Williams notched a hat-trick in their 7-1 thrashing of Prestatyn
last weekend, so they certainly pack enough punch to hurt their hosts.
This writer usually predicts lots of goals for such
encounters, but that hasn’t gone very well the last few times, so…
Prediction: Bangor
City 1-2 TNS
Port Talbot Town v
Airbus UK Broughton
Both sides have done well to find themselves where they are
this term, with Airbus in particular surprising many by securing second place
and an automatic Europa League qualifying slot by the final game of the season.
The hosts have seen a sudden upsurge in results, with Scott
Young’s men etching out a goal-less draw with play-off rivals Carmarthen Town
last time out, beating Prestatyn 4-1 before that, and being just moments from
beating Bangor the game previously.
They will be hoping to continue that pre-play-off momentum,
and will want to test themselves against one of the league’s top sides.
Airbus will already be looking forward to competing in
Europe next season for the first time, but won’t want to end a memorable season
with defeat.
Andy Preece’s men will be all too aware that they could be
playing for the futures at the club and will want to show their gaffer they
deserve a shot at Europe. They have won six and lost four of their last 10, so
Port Talbot know their defence can be breached.
This one looks touch to call, with a lot depending on what
players Scott Young chooses to risk ahead of their play-off campaign. The away
side could have too much for them here.
Prediction: Port
Talbot Town 1-2 Airbus UK Broughton
Prestatyn Town v
Carmarthen Town
These two sides face each other knowing the winner will take
fifth place in the league, which will decide who has home advantage in the
play-off semi-finals.
Welsh Cup finalists Prestatyn know that if they lift the old
trophy for the first time they can forget about the play-offs all together. But
you can’t pin your hopes on one game only, with chairman Phil Merrick declaring
their next three fixtures as “Cup finals” (two of them are, of course,
including their North Wales Coast FA Challenge Cup appearance).
They have only won two of their last 10 matches – and both
of those were in the Cup. For their last league win, you have to go back to New
Year’s Day when they tonked Bangor 4-1 at Bastion Road – a run of 12 without a
win.
The Old Gold haven’t been too much better of late, with only
two wins in their last 10 games in all competitions, one of those against their
hosts at Richmond Park last month.
Goalscoring has been their recent problem, as they failed to
find the net in seven of those games. Manager Mark Aizlewood will be desperate
to get his men firing again before the play-offs begin, and will also want that
home advantage.
Other than top scorer Liam Thomas, with 21 goals in all
comps, no player has more than five throughout the season. If that doesn’t change
now, then Carmarthen’s season is in real danger of fizzling out.
Prediction: Prestatyn
Town 1-1 Carmarthen Town
Conference:
Bala Town v Gap
Connah’s Quay
Bala Town are one of the form sides in Europe, having won
their last nine games since the mid-season split and that fateful 6-3 defeat to
Connah’s Quay that put them in the Conference for the second half of the
season.
They have been scoring for fun, netting an incredible 28
times in that run. Their defence has only leaked five in reply, and manager
Allan Bickerstaff will be confident of making it a perfect 10 on Saturday in
front of the TV cameras.
Their play-off spot is already secure, but with club records
falling over recent weeks they will want to take this astonishing run forward
and really shock their Championship opponents come the end-of-season lottery.
Following that epic 6-3 victory at Maes Tegid, Connah’s Quay
had a point deducted for fielding an ineligible player, and after withdrawing
their appeal, took their place among the Conference for the second half of the
season, with Carmarthen Town profiting.
How fitting, then, that their last-gasp shot at the final
Europa League play-off place should come at the same stadium – and they only
need a draw to do it.
The Nomads lost at home to Newtown last time out to keep the
visitors’ own play-off hopes alive, and that brought an end to a three-match
unbeaten run for player/manager Mark McGregor’s men. You can’t see past Bala
adding another defeat to that list.
Prediction: Bala Town
3-1 Gap Connah’s Quay
Newtown v Afan Lido
Newtown require a win against the basement side, need Connah’s
Quay to lose at in-form Bala Town and get a seven-goal swing in their favour (Connah's Quay have scored more goals) if
they are to sneak above the Nomads and take the final Europa League play-off
spot.
That means that attack may be the name of the game from both
sides here. Even if the Robins can’t nick the final spot, then they will still
want to end the season on a high and avenge their 2-1 reverse at the Marston
Stadium last time out.
With manager Bernie McNally already stating he wants to add
to his squad and improve it for next term, the players know here, too, that
they could be playing for their Newtown futures.
Depending on how many teams with domestic licenses finish their
seasons in a promotion place to the WPL, this could, or could not, be Lido’s
final game at this level.
They have only won seven of their last 30 matches in all
competitions, and are currently on a three-game winless run without scoring a
single goal.
They will be looking to the likes of Luke Borrelli for
inspiration, but with Newtown having so much at stake in this fixture it could
be another win-less match to end their sorry season.
Prediction: Newtown
2-0 Afan Lido
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