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2023–24 Cymru Premier

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The 2023–24 Cymru Premier (Welsh: Uwch Gynghrair Cymru 2023–24; known as the JD Cymru Premier for sponsorship reasons) was the 32nd season of the Cymru Premier (formerly known as the Welsh Premier League), the highest football league within Wales since its establishment in 1992.

Cymru Premier
Uwch Gynghrair Cymru
Season2023–24
Dates11 August 2023 – 11 May 2024
ChampionsThe New Saints
RelegatedColwyn Bay
Pontypridd United
UEFA Champions LeagueThe New Saints
UEFA Conference LeagueBala Town
Caernarfon Town
Connah's Quay Nomads
Matches played192
Goals scored566 (2.95 per match)
Top goalscorerBrad Young (22 goals)
Biggest home winThe New Saints 8–0 Cardiff Metropolitan University
(6 January 2024)
Biggest away winCaernarfon Town 1–8 The New Saints
(23 February 2024)
Highest scoringCaernarfon Town 1–8 The New Saints
(23 February 2024)
Longest winning run26 – The New Saints
(16 September 2023–21 April 2024)
Longest unbeaten run32 – The New Saints
(11 August 2023–21 April 2024)
Longest winless run8 – Aberystwyth Town
(12 August 2023–27 September 2023),
Pontypridd United
(17 October 2023–26 December 2023),
Barry Town United
(3 February 2024-13 April 2024)
Longest losing run7 – Colwyn Bay
(29 November 2023–9 February 2024)
Highest attendance1411 – Colwyn Bay 0–4 Caernarfon Town
(13 August 2023)
Lowest attendance112 – Cardiff Metropolitan University 0–1 Bala Town
(16 March 2024)
Average attendance380 data missing for six games, average shown is the total of the available attendance data divided by 192

The winners (The New Saints, their third consecutive title win and sixteenth overall) qualified for the 2024–25 Champions League first qualifying round. The runners-up (Connah's Quay Nomads), third-placed team (Bala Town), and play-off winners (Caernarfon Town) qualified for the 2024–25 Conference League first qualifying round. The bottom two teams (Colwyn Bay and Pontypridd United) were relegated to either the 2024–25 Cymru North or the 2024–25 Cymru South.

Teams

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The league consisted of twelve teams; the top ten teams from the previous season, and one team each promoted from the second-tier leagues, the Cymru North and Cymru South. The New Saints entered the season as defending champions (for the second consecutive season).

The two promoted sides were Colwyn Bay (winners of the 2022–23 Cymru North) and Barry Town United (winners of the 2022–23 Cymru South).[1][2] Barry Town United were promoted back to the top tier on the first time of asking following their relegation in the 2021–22 season, while Colwyn Bay were promoted to the top tier of Welsh football for the first time since switching from the English football league system in 2018–19.

The bottom two teams from the 2022–23 season (Airbus UK Broughton and Flint Town United) were both relegated to the Cymru North for the 2023–24 season.[3] Flint Town United's relegation was only confirmed on the final day of the previous season, where a dramatic victory for Aberystwyth Town, combined with Flint's defeat to Pontypridd United, saw the Silkmen drop into the relegation zone.[4]

Haverfordwest County came close to being relegated following their failure to achieve a Tier One license at the first time of asking, but their appeal was successful, ensuring their stay in the league.[5]

Stadia and locations

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Locations of the 2023–24 Cymru Premier teams
Team Location Stadium Capacity
Aberystwyth Town Aberystwyth Park Avenue 5,000
Bala Town Bala Maes Tegid 3,000
Barry Town United Barry Jenner Park Stadium 2,650
Caernarfon Town Caernarfon The Oval 3,000
Cardiff Metropolitan University Cyncoed Cyncoed Campus 1,620
Colwyn Bay Old Colwyn Llanelian Road 2,500
Connah's Quay Nomads Flint Cae-y-Castell 3,000
Haverfordwest County Haverfordwest Bridge Meadow Stadium 2,100
Newtown Newtown Latham Park 5,000
Penybont Bridgend Bryntirion Park 3,000
Pontypridd United Treforest USW Sports Park 1,000
The New Saints   Oswestry Park Hall 2,034

Personnel and kits

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Team Head coach Captain Kit manufacturer Front shirt sponsor
Aberystwyth Town   Anthony Williams   Jack Thorn Acerbis Aberystwyth University
Bala Town   Colin Caton   Kieran Smith Macron Aykroyd's
Barry Town United   Jonathan Jones   Kayne McLaggon Macron RIM Motors
Caernarfon Town   Richard Davies   Darren Thomas Errea Gofal Bro Cyf
Cardiff Metropolitan University   Ryan Jenkins   Kyle McCarthy Errea Cardiff Metropolitan University
Colwyn Bay   Steve Evans   Tom McCready Hope and Glory GO2 People
Connah's Quay Nomads   Neil Gibson   John Disney Adidas Castle Green Homes
Haverfordwest County   Tony Pennock   Dylan Rees Macron Clegg Gifford / The Athletic
Newtown   Scott Ruscoe   Shane Sutton Errea Control Techniques
Penybont   Rhys Griffiths   Kane Owen Macron Nathaniel Car Sales
Pontypridd United   Gavin Allen   Clayton Green Joma UPVCDIRECT.CO.UK
The New Saints   Craig Harrison   Chris Marriott Macron SiFi Networks

Managerial changes

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Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment
Barry Town United   Lee Kendall Resigned[6] 26 July 2023 Pre-season   Steve Jenkins 5 August 2023[7]
Pontypridd United   Andrew Stokes Resigned[8] 4 January 2024 12th   Gavin Allen 22 January 2024[9]
Newtown   Chris Hughes Mutual consent[10] 10 January 2024 4th   Scott Ruscoe 18 January 2024[11]
Barry Town United   Steve Jenkins Changed to Director of Football[12] 2 February 2024 9th   Jonathan Jones 2 February 2024

League table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation[a]
1 The New Saints (C) 32 30 2 0 117 18 +99 92 Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round
2 Connah's Quay Nomads 32 18 5 9 70 43 +27 59 Qualification for the Conference League first qualifying round[b]
3 Bala Town 32 13 12 7 38 31 +7 51
4 Newtown 32 13 5 14 49 46 +3 44 Qualification for the Conference League first qualifying round play-off
5 Caernarfon Town (O) 32 11 8 13 52 70 −18 41
6 Cardiff Metropolitan University 32 10 9 13 35 63 −28 36[c]
7 Penybont 32 14 7 11 46 37 +9 43[d] Qualification for the Conference League first qualifying round play-off
8 Haverfordwest County 32 11 10 11 39 40 −1 43
9 Barry Town United 32 7 11 14 36 54 −18 32
10 Aberystwyth Town 32 7 6 19 27 57 −30 27
11 Colwyn Bay (R) 32 7 4 21 34 66 −32 25 Relegation to Cymru North or Cymru South
12 Pontypridd United (R) 32 8 7 17 23 41 −18 22[e]
Source: Cymru Premier
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Head-to-head points; 4) Goals scored; 5) Matches won.
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ Teams played each other twice (22 matches), before the league was split into two groups (the top six and the bottom six).
  2. ^ The 2023–24 Welsh Cup winners also qualified for the Conference League first qualifying round. Since the cup winners (Connah's Quay Nomads) qualified based on league position, the Conference League spot was passed to the third-placed team.
  3. ^ Cardiff Metropolitan University were deducted three points for fielding an ineligible player against Bala Town on 3 February 2024.
  4. ^ Penybont were deducted six points for fielding ineligible players.
  5. ^ Pontypridd United were deducted nine points for failing to pay players on time, failing to comply with contractual player obligations, failing to register players correctly, and fielding ineligible players.


Results

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Matches 1–22

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Teams played each other twice, once at home and once away.

Home \ Away ABE BAL BAR CAE CMU COL CQN HAV NEW PEN PON TNS
Aberystwyth Town — 2–3 2–4 2–4 0–1 1–0 1–1 1–1 0–1 1–2 0–1 1–3
Bala Town 0–1 — 1–0 1–1 0–1 2–1 1–0 2–0 2–1 2–1 0–0 0–0
Barry Town United 0–1 3–1 — 0–3 0–0 1–1 1–4 2–2 4–0 1–1 2–0 2–6
Caernarfon Town 3–0 1–1 2–3 — 5–1 2–1 0–4 0–1 2–1 2–4 1–0 1–3
Cardiff Metropolitan University 4–2 0–0 2–1 2–2 — 1–0 3–1 1–1 2–1 0–3 2–0 1–5
Colwyn Bay 3–1 2–3 0–1 0–4 2–2 — 2–3 1–2 2–4 2–1 2–3 0–1
Connah's Quay Nomads 4–0 1–1 7–0 6–1 4–0 2–1 — 1–2 3–1 4–2 3–1 0–4
Haverfordwest County 3–0 2–3 2–0 1–1 1–1 5–0 1–3 — 0–4 3–2 0–0 0–1
Newtown 0–0 1–0 2–0 4–0 2–1 4–2 1–2 1–1 — 1–3 3–1 0–2
Penybont 0–2 0–2 1–0 3–2 0–0 0–1 0–1 2–0 1–1 — 1–0 1–4
Pontypridd United 2–0 0–0 1–0 1–2 1–3 0–3 0–3 2–0 0–1 0–0 — 0–1
The New Saints 6–0 2–0 2–2 2–1 8–0 6–1 6–2 5–1 3–1 3–0 4–0 —
Source: Cymru Premier
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Matches 23–32

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After 22 matches, the league split into two groups (the top six and the bottom six). Each team plays every other team in their group twice (once at home and once away).

Top six

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Home \ Away BAL CAE CMU CQN NEW TNS
Bala Town — 1–1 1–1 1–0 1–1 0–1
Caernarfon Town 2–2 — 1–2 2–1 1–0 1–8
Cardiff Metropolitan University 0–1 2–2 — 0–3 1–3 0–5
Connah's Quay Nomads 0–0 1–1 2–1 — 0–0 1–5
Newtown 1–5 5–0 2–0 2–3 — 0–1
The New Saints 4–1 7–1 4–0 2–0 3–0 —
Source: Cymru Premier
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Bottom six

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Home \ Away ABE BAR COL HAV PEN PON
Aberystwyth Town — 1–1 0–1 1–0 0–3 3–0
Barry Town United 2–1 — 1–1 1–1 0–0 0–3
Colwyn Bay 1–2 1–0 — 0–0 1–2 1–0
Haverfordwest County 2–0 2–1 3–1 — 0–1 1–1
Penybont 1–1 2–2 5–0 1–0 — 0–1
Pontypridd United 0–0 1–1 4–0 0–1 0–3 —
Source: Cymru Premier
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Conference League play-off

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Teams placed 3rd–7th will enter one-off play-off matches for the third spot in the Conference League first qualifying round. The higher-placed team gains home advantage. Since the 2023–24 Welsh Cup winners finished in the top three, the 3rd-placed team qualified automatically for the Conference League and the spot was vacated.

Semi-finals

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10 May 2024 Caernarfon Town (5th) 2–0Cardiff Metropolitan University (6th)Caernarfon
19:45 Stadium: The Oval
11 May 2024 Newtown (4th)0–5 Penybont (7th) Newtown
12:20
Stadium: Latham Park

Final

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18 May 2024 Caernarfon Town (5th) 3–1Penybont (7th)Caernarfon
14:45
Stadium: The Oval
Attendance: 1,960

Season statistics

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As of 18 April 2024[13]

Top scorers

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Rank Player Club Goals
1   Brad Young The New Saints 22
2   Jordan Davies Connah's Quay 19
3   Aaron Williams Newtown 18
4   Chris Venables Penybont 17
5   Ryan Brobbel The New Saints 14
  Adam Davies Caernarfon Town
7   Declan McManus The New Saints 13
8   George Newell Bala Town 12
9   Ollie Hulbert Barry Town United 11
  Ben Clark The New Saints
  Adrian Cieślewicz The New Saints

Hat-tricks

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Player For Against Result Date
  Ryan Brobbel The New Saints Haverfordwest County 5–1 (H) 16 September 2023
  Aaron Williams Newtown Caernarfon Town 4–0 (H) 7 October 2023
  Brad Young The New Saints Barry Town United 2–6 (A) 21 October 2023
  Sion Bradley Caernarfon Town Cardiff Met 5–1 (H) 21 October 2023
  Harry Franklin Connah's Quay Caernarfon Town 6–1 (H) 27 October 2023
  Chris Venables Penybont Caernarfon Town 2–4 (A) 4 November 2023
  Martell Taylor-Crossdale Haverfordwest County Colwyn Bay 5–0 (H) 4 November 2023
  Brad Young The New Saints Cardiff Met 8–0 (H) 6 January 2024
  Brad Young The New Saints Caernarfon Town 1–8 (A) 23 February 2024
  George Newell Newtown Bala Town 1–5 (A) 24 February 2024
  Brad Young The New Saints Cardiff Met 4–0 (H) 2 March 2024
Notes

(H) – Home team
(A) – Away team

Monthly awards

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Month Manager of the Month Player of the Month
Manager Club Player Club
August Richard Davies Caernarfon Town Sion Bradley Caernarfon Town
September Chris Hughes Newtown Jordan Davies Connah's Quay
October Craig Harrison The New Saints Ben Nash Connah's Quay
November Tony Pennock Haverfordwest County Ryan Sears Newtown
December Craig Harrison The New Saints Josh Pask The New Saints
January Steve Jenkins Barry Town United Brad Young The New Saints
February Gavin Allen Pontypridd United Ben Ahmun Pontypridd United
March Richard Davies Caernarfon Town Rhys Abbruzzese Haverfordwest County
April Chris Venables Penybont Rhys Griffiths Penybont

Annual awards

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Award Winner Club
Manager of the Season Craig Harrison The New Saints
Player of the Season Sion Bradley Caernarfon Town
Young Player of the Season Brad Young The New Saints
Team of the Season
Goalkeeper   Kelland Absalom (Bala Town)
Defenders   Ryan Sears (Newtown)   Ben Nash (Connah's Quay Nomads)   Danny Davies (The New Saints)   Rhys Abbruzzese (Haverfordwest County)
Midfielders   Leo Smith (The New Saints)   Daniel Redmond (The New Saints)   Danny Gosset (Caernarfon Town)
Forwards   Jordan Davies (Connah's Quay Nomads)   Brad Young (The New Saints)   Sion Bradley (Caernarfon Town)

Attendances

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Team Highest Lowest Average
Aberystwyth Town 824 271 370
Bala Town 564 138 292*
Barry Town United 521 243 426
Caernarfon Town 978 339 576
Cardiff Metropolitan University 563 112 248*
Colwyn Bay 1,411 422 714
Connah's Quay Nomads 506 139 268
Haverfordwest County 698 308 458
Newtown 421 181 298
Penybont 863 175 311*
Pontypridd United 537 191 279*
The New Saints 532 161 322

Figures taken from FAW Cymru Football app and other club channels. Correct as of 22 April 2024. *Denotes incomplete record, as missing attendance figures. Figures for Penybont v Caernarfon (16/9), Pontypridd v Bala (16/9), Bala v Aberystwyth (27/9), Penybont v TNS (7/10), Penybont v Aberystwyth (27/10) and Cardiff Met v Connah's Quay (6/4) have not been publicly recorded. Average attendances for these teams are calculated on basis of available attendance data divided by total number of home games played

References

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  1. ^ "Colwyn Bay secure Cymru North title to confirm promotion". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  2. ^ "Barry Town and Colwyn Bay granted Tier 1 licences, Haverfordwest refused". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  3. ^ "Cymru Premier round-up: Airbus relegated after defeat". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  4. ^ Harry Ware. "Aberystwyth Town survive the drop in dramatic style as Flint Town United are relegated". Y Clwb Pêl-Droed. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  5. ^ Tom Pritchard. "Chairman Rob Edwards on successful Tier 1 Licence appeal". Haverfordwest County. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  6. ^ "Cymru Premier: Manager Lee Kendall steps down at Barry Town". BBC Sport. 26 July 2023. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
  7. ^ "Cymru Premier: Manager Lee Kendall steps down at Barry Town". BBC Sport. 5 August 2023. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
  8. ^ "Manager Andrew Stokes and assistant Danny Thomas leave Pontypridd United". BBC Sport. 4 January 2024. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  9. ^ "Club Announcement – Appointment of Gavin Allen as Manager". Pontypridd United. 22 January 2024. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
  10. ^ "Chris Hughes: Newtown manager leaves club after more than a decade in charge". BBC Sport. 10 January 2024. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  11. ^ "Newtown: Cymru Premier side appoint Scott Ruscoe as new manager". BBC Sport. 18 January 2024. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  12. ^ "Barry Town United confirm management team changes". Barry Town United. 2 February 2024. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
  13. ^ "Cymru Football". cymrufootball.wales. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
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