There are many ways to demonstrate The New Saints’ dominance in the JD Cymru Premier in recent seasons.
Since the start of the 2021/22 campaign, The Saints have earned 288 league points. That is more than Newtown and Aberystwyth Town put together in the same period.
Exactly a year ago, TNS were nine points clear at the top of the JD Cymru Premier table. Two years ago, they were seven points clear. Three years ago, they were nine points clear.
This season, it has been a slightly different story. Having qualified for the League Phase of the UEFA Conference League for the first time, the Saints’ domestic form has suffered. They have already lost four league games, more than in the previous three campaigns combined, and currently find themselves second in the table – four points behind leaders Penybont with a game in hand.
Bont visit Park Hall on Saturday afternoon (KO 14:30) in the next chapter of the closest thing the JD Cymru Premier has had to a title race for four years. Rhys Griffiths’ side earned a historic 2-1 win in September’s reverse fixture, which ended the Saints’ 48-match unbeaten streak in the JD Cymru Premier and was Bont’s first ever victory over the perennial champions in 21 attempts.
Griffiths proudly stated that his team “battered” TNS that night while playing down Bont’s title chances, but they have remained the leaders of the pack over the last two months. After a surprise defeat to struggling Briton Ferry immediately after beating TNS, Bont have gone their last seven league matches unbeaten. They are 16 points better off than they were at the same stage last season.
Chris Venables, still one of the most potent strikers in the JD Cymru Premier at 39 years old, has five goals in his last six games, exciting youngster James Crole has firmly found his feet after an inconsistent start to the season and Newport County loanee Nathan Wood is rediscovering the scintillating form that earned him a move from Bont to Rodney Parade 18 months ago.
TNS’ defeat in Bridgend in September was the first of three defeats in the space of four league games, an almost unthinkable run of form for Craig Harrison’s side. They recovered by winning their next six league matches in a row, but were left stunned on Wednesday night as they were beaten 3-1 away at Briton Ferry – their first defeat to a side who started the game in the relegation zone since 2011.
All three of Ferry’s goals came before half-time, with Harrison labelling his side’s first half display as “disgusting”. Sion Bradley and Josh Daniels were both substituted off at the break, so it would perhaps be a surprise to see either start on Saturday, while Jake Canavan was shown a late red card. Remi Oteh found the net again, making it five goals in five league starts for the former Queens Park Rangers forward.
Harrison could opt to make wholesale changes, with Danny Redmond, Dan Williams, Jordan Williams, Ash Baker and Adam Wilson all starting on the bench in midweek, while Declan McManus, Josh Pask and Ben Clark were not even in the squad.
That highlights the Saints’ impressive squad depth, which they will need to utilise if they are to keep pace in this title race. While Penybont are fully focused on the league after exiting the Nathaniel MG Cup and JD Welsh Cup, TNS have five extra games in other competitions before we even reach Christmas.
Yet that is what comes with success, with Harrison offering an honest assessment following defeat in midweek: “It’s not the best preparation [for the Penybont game] coming down to south Wales in the midweek beforehand [to play Briton Ferry]. But this is the situation we’re in. This is what we wanted, because off the back of it we’ve had significant success in Europe.”
Bont will need to make at least two changes from their 3-1 home win over Flint Town United a fortnight ago, as Lewis Harling and Clayton Green are suspended after both picking up their fifth yellow cards of the season against the Silkmen.
Of Bont’s 16 league games this season, Harling has started 15 and Green has started 14, so both will be significant absences in the centre of midfield. It could mean a recall for Owen Pritchard, while Gabe Kircough may need to be redeployed further forward after starring out of position in defence over the last two months.
Speaking this week, Rhys Griffiths continued to underplay his team’s potential to be title contenders: “I’m still not really thinking about [competing with] TNS at the moment. That’s probably not what people want to hear, but their strength in depth is on another level to ours. While I believe our strongest 11, 12, 13 can compete with them, across the season it is difficult to.
“If we can put a few more wins together and all of a sudden we go into the final seven, eight games in the same position we’re in now, then I might start talking differently! But for now, we’re just trying to go up there, get a result and try to hang on to the strong start we’ve had.”
Bont may be happy to be underdogs, but a win at Park Hall and a seven-point lead at the top of the table really would be a statement of intent, even with TNS’ game in hand, with the season over halfway through. After a week of shock results, do not write anything off.
