Caernarfon Town and Cardiff Met meet in the JD Cymru Premier European Play-Off semi-final at The Oval on Sunday (KO 17:10).
The winners will travel to Haverfordwest County on Sunday 18 May for the right to claim the division’s final spot in the UEFA Conference League first qualifying round.
Caernarfon enjoyed a memorable debut campaign in Europe last summer, defeating Northern Irish side Crusaders on penalties, after triumphing in the play-offs for the first time.
While other clubs have suffered hangovers from European campaigns in previous seasons, the Cofis have had no such issue and finished fourth in the table with 48 points – their highest tally in the top-flight since 1998/99.
Richard Davies’ side went behind early on in their Play-Off quarter-final against Barry Town United, but rallied in style and ultimately won 5-2 against the Linnets as in-form Louis Lloyd grabbed four goals and an assist.
There was late drama in Cardiff Met’s quarter-final as Ryan Reynolds struck a 93rd-minute winner to defeat Bala Town 1-0 at Cyncoed Campus, with the tie moments away from a penalty shootout.
The Archers finished the regular season in fifth place – four points behind Caernarfon – but have not won away from home in the JD Cymru Premier since the end of September.
Ryan Jenkins is aiming to lead Met to European qualification for only the second time in the club’s history, after they triumphed in the Play-Offs six years ago to earn a spot in the UEFA Europa League.
This will be the fourth time in the last seven seasons that Caernarfon and Cardiff Met have met in the play-off semi-finals. The Archers won on the first occasion in 2019, but the Cofis have progressed from the last two – including last season when late goals from Marc Williams and Adam Davies earned a 2-0 victory at The Oval.
This season, the two sides have been evenly matched – winning two games apiece out of their four meetings across Phase One and Phase Two.
They last met on the final day of the regular campaign at The Oval, when Adam Roscrow earned Met a half-time lead but Phil Mooney and Louis Lloyd scored after the break to claim a 2-1 win over Caernarfon.
