The 2018–19 Welsh Premier League was the 27th and final season of the Welsh Premier League, the highest football league within Wales since its establishment in 1992. The New Saints are the defending champions. The season fixtures were announced on 27 June 2018.[1] The season began on 10 August 2018. Teams play each other twice on a home and away basis, before the league split into two groups at the end of January 2019 – the top six and the bottom six.
| Season | 2018–19 |
|---|---|
| Champions | The New Saints (13th title) |
| Relegated | Llandudno Llanelli Town |
| Champions League | The New Saints |
| Europa League | Connah's Quay Nomads Barry Town United Cardiff Metropolitan University |
| Matches played | 186 |
| Goals scored | 611 (3.28 per match) |
← 2017–18 2019–20 → | |
The season ended on 26 April 2019.
Teams
editThe bottom placed team from the previous season, Prestatyn Town, and Bangor City, were relegated to the Cymru Alliance for the 2018–19 season. Despite finishing 2nd the FAW Club Licensing Appeals Body decided to revoke Bangor City's Tier 1 and UEFA licence[2] meaning that they would automatically drop down to the second level of Welsh football. This meant a reprieve for Carmarthen Town who had finished second bottom and would otherwise have been relegated.
Bangor and Prestatyn were replaced by Llanelli Town and Caernarfon Town, champions of the 2017–18 Welsh Football League Division One and 2017–18 Cymru Alliance respectively. Caernarfon Town are playing in the Welsh Premier League for the first time since the 2008–09 season, while Llanelli Town are a new side, replacing the original Llanelli AFC who were relegated at the end of the 2012–13 season and then wound up in the high court. The arrival of Barry Town United the previous season means that both of the former South Wales 'giants' are now back in the Welsh top-flight. In addition, Cardiff Met remain and Carmarthen Town were reprieved, so the balance of power is slowly shifting from what was for a while, an almost predominantly North Wales-based league.
Stadia and locations
edit| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aberystwyth Town | Aberystwyth | Park Avenue | 5,000 |
| Bala Town | Bala | Maes Tegid | 3,000 |
| Barry Town United | Barry | Jenner Park | 3,500 |
| Caernarfon Town | Caernarfon | The Oval | 3,000 |
| Cardiff Metropolitan University | Cardiff | Cyncoed Campus | 1,620 |
| Carmarthen Town | Carmarthen | Richmond Park | 3,000 |
| Cefn Druids | Wrexham | The Rock | 3,000 |
| Connah's Quay Nomads | Connah's Quay | Deeside Stadium | 1,500 |
| Llandudno | Llandudno | Park MBi Maesdu | 1,013 |
| Llanelli Town A.F.C. | Llanelli | Stebonheath Park | 3,700 |
| Newtown | Newtown | Latham Park | 5,000 |
| The New Saints | Oswestry | Park Hall | 2,000 |
Personnel and kits
edit| Team | Head coach | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Front shirt sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aberystwyth Town |  Neville Powell/
|
 Declan Walker
|
Acerbis | Cambrian Tyres |
| Bala Town |  Colin Caton
|
Chris Venables
|
Macron | Aykroyd's |
| Barry Town United | Gavin Chesterfield
|
Jordan Cotterill
|
Macron | RIM Motors, LDS Motor Factors |
| Caernarfon Town | Sean Eardley
|
Nathan Craig
|
Errea | Gofal Bro Cyf., Parc Gwêl y Fenai |
| Cardiff Metropolitan University | Christian Edwards
|
Bradley Woolridge
|
Errea | Cardiff Metropolitan University |
| Carmarthen Town | Neil Smothers
|
Lee Surman
|
Legea | ATB Davies & Son, Castell Howell Foods |
| Cefn Druids | Huw Griffiths
|
Neil Ashton
|
Errea | Wrexham Lager |
| Connah's Quay Nomads |  Andy Morrison
|
George Horan
|
Macron | Gap Personnel |
| Llandudno | Iwan Williams
|
Danny Hughes
|
Adidas | Bengal Dynasty |
| Llanelli Town | Andy Hill
|
Joe Clarke
|
Macron | Gravell's Motors |
| The New Saints | Scott Ruscoe
|
Paul Harrison
|
Legea | RUK Group |
| Newtown | Chris Hughes
|
 Jay Denny
|
Errea | Nidec Corporation |
League table
edit| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation[a] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The New Saints (C) | 32 | 23 | 5 | 4 | 99 | 16 | +83 | 74 | Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round |
| 2 | Connah's Quay Nomads | 32 | 19 | 5 | 8 | 76 | 33 | +43 | 62 | Qualification to the Europa League first qualifying round |
| 3 | Barry Town United | 32 | 17 | 5 | 10 | 54 | 51 | +3 | 56 | Qualification to the Europa League preliminary round |
| 4 | Caernarfon Town | 32 | 13 | 7 | 12 | 45 | 47 | −2 | 46 | Qualification for the Europa League play-offs |
| 5 | Newtown | 32 | 13 | 7 | 12 | 53 | 56 | −3 | 46 | |
| 6 | Bala Town | 32 | 13 | 5 | 14 | 55 | 63 | −8 | 44 | |
| 7 | Cardiff Metropolitan University (O) | 32 | 16 | 3 | 13 | 53 | 40 | +13 | 51 | Qualification for the Europa League play-offs |
| 8 | Aberystwyth Town | 32 | 13 | 5 | 14 | 44 | 61 | −17 | 44 | |
| 9 | Carmarthen Town[b] | 32 | 12 | 6 | 14 | 49 | 53 | −4 | 39 | |
| 10 | Cefn Druids | 32 | 10 | 9 | 13 | 43 | 49 | −6 | 39 | |
| 11 | Llandudno (R) | 32 | 5 | 7 | 20 | 33 | 65 | −32 | 22 | Relegation to FAW Championship North & Mid |
| 12 | Llanelli Town (R) | 32 | 4 | 4 | 24 | 31 | 101 | −70 | 16 | Relegation to FAW Championship South & Mid |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Matches won; 5) Play-off.[4]
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (R) Relegated
Notes:
Results
editTeams play each other twice on a home and away basis, before the league split into two groups – the top six and the bottom six.
Matches 1–22
editMatches 23–32
editUEFA Europa League play-offs
editTeams that finish in positions third to seventh at the end of the regular season will participate in play-offs to determine the third participant for the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League, who will qualify for the preliminary round.
Semi-finals
edit
Final
edit
Season statistics
edit| Month | Manager of the Month | Player of the Month | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manager | Club | Player | Club | |
| August | Andy Morrison
|
Connah's Quay Nomads | Henry Jones
|
Bala Town |
| September | Gavin Chesterfield
|
Barry Town United | Callum Morris
|
Connah's Quay Nomads |
| October | Scott Ruscoe
|
The New Saints | Robbie Patten
|
Barry Town United |
| November | Neville Powell
|
Aberystwyth Town | Nathan Craig
|
Caernarfon Town |
| December | ||||
References
edit- ^ "WPL Fixtures for New Season Announced - Welsh Premier League". Welsh Premier League. 27 June 2018. Retrieved 3 July 2018.
- ^ "Decisions of the FAW Club Licencing Appeals Body". Welsh Premier League. 26 April 2018. Archived from the original on 27 April 2018. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
- ^ "Welsh Premier League: Carmarthen Town deducted three points". BBC. BBC. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
- ^ "European Qualification from the WPL". Welsh Premier League. Retrieved 18 April 2016.