Danny Holmes made the perfect start to life as new Flint Town United manager as the Silkmen secured a 3-0 victory over Ammanford at the Essity Stadium to claim their first Novira Cymru Premier win of the season on Saturday.
Three-time Novira Cymru Premier title winner Holmes was appointed new Flint boss just two days prior to this fixture following Lee Fowler’s departure last Monday, and Holmes’ side opened the scoring six minutes into the second half as Ammanford defender Chris Bell tried to cut out Ben Hughes’ threaded pass intended for Tunde Owolabi, but turned the ball into his own net when trying to do so.
Owolabi doubled Flint’s lead on 62 minutes as Namory Kane’s cross was not dealt with by Ammanford goalkeeper Oliver Williams, which allowed Owolabi to fire into an empty net.
The Belgian forward somehow headed wide at the back post from just two yards out, but Flint did not have to wait much longer for their third goal as Isaac Modi switched the ball out to Lassana Mendes, who cut back onto his right foot and clinically found the bottom corner to give the hosts a much-needed victory. The result also marked Flint’s first home win in the Novira Cymru Premier in 2026.
Alex Bonthron scored a hat-trick as Cambrian United earned a thrilling 4-3 victory over Llandudno at the M&P Group 3G.
Cambrian established a two-goal lead with just 11 minutes on the clock thanks to Liam Eason’s sweetly struck free-kick from an almost impossible angle and Bonthron’s close range finish when one-on-one with Joel Torrance, which gave Bonthron his first ever top-flight goal.
The two Cambrian scorers combined once more as Eason delivered a free-kick into the area and found Bonthron, who got in front of his marker before heading home into the far corner. Bonthron completed his hat-trick just two minutes into the second half as he tapped home from at the back post just in time to prevent Eason’s effort from trickling wide.
Kieran Lloyd gave Llandudno an immediate lifeline as he scored his first ever goal for the club by producing a neat first-time finish into the bottom corner. Callum Stephens’ header and Marc Williams’ volley from close range then reduced Cambrian’s lead to just one goal heading into the final 10 minutes in the Rhondda.
However, the Cam Army survived the late scare to return to winning ways and maintain their unbeaten home record. Liam Williams’ side also now move up to seventh in the table, leapfrogging Llandudno in the process.
Jordan Hodkin and Harry Franklin both scored twice as Connah’s Quay Nomads climbed up to third in the table with an impressive 4-1 victory over Barry Town United at Jenner Park.
Hodkin put Connah’s Quay ahead in the 19th minute as he ran onto Callum West’s long pass, held off Will Richards and sent a fierce effort over George Ratcliffe, leaving the Barry goalkeeper little chance of the save.
West was provider again, this time for Franklin as he retrieved the loose ball after Ratcliffe failed to catch Chris Renshaw’s long pass upfield and squared for Franklin, who curled into an empty net. A statement 18-minute period from the Nomads was capped off by Franklin, who bagged his brace by receiving Iwan Murray’s clipped ball before slotting beneath Ratcliffe.
Max Woodcock thought he had added a fourth goal early in the second half when he fired past Ratcliffe from close range, but he was deemed to be offside when meeting a long ball from Murray.
However, the Nomads soon did make it 4-0 as Murray fed through Hodkin, who was left in acres of space before he produced a calm finish from close range. Barry substitute James Lester slid in to score from Mikey George’s low cross to get the hosts on the scoresheet, but the Nomads were able to comfortably see the game out for their third consecutive win.
Leaders The New Saints maintained their four-point lead at the top of the table after they triumphed 3-1 against Trefelin at The Elsey Creative Ynys Park Stadium.
Rhys Hughes fired home from Josh Lock’s cross for his seventh goal of the campaign to get Saints up and running with just seven minutes on the clock moments before an emphatic finish from Rory Holden on the edge of the area doubled the advantage.
Jasper Jones strike on the rebound from Kane Owen’s free-kick which struck the post deflected off Jack Bodenham and tricked into the net to give Trefelin a lifeline heading into half time, but Saints restored their two-goal cushion on the hour mark thanks to Brad Young, who tapped in the loose ball from Dominic Corness’ saved effort.
Trefelin goalkeeper Scott Coughlin continued to make numerous saves for his side, but the hosts were unable to stage a shock comeback as TNS extended their winning streak to 10 games.
Dan Roberts scored a dramatic stoppage-time winner to give Colwyn Bay a 1-0 victory over Haverfordwest County at the Blue Turtle Arena.
Bay defender Sol Forde headed inches over the bar from Jordan Davies’ cross before Haverfordwest’s Rhys Abbruzzese clipped the outside of the post from close range in an evenly contested first half.
It seemed both teams were heading for a goalless draw, but Bay had other ideas in the third minute of stoppage time as Haverfordwest failed to clear Matty Hill’s long throw, meaning Ifan Knott could only parry out Nathan Peate’s saved effort into the path of Roberts, who fired home into an empty net from just a yard out to spark wild scenes amongst the majority of the 1,231 fans in attendance.
Michael Wilde’s side maintain their perfect home record, which now sits at six consecutive wins, while they move up to fifth in the table.
There was also late drama at Cyncoed Stadium as Caernarfon forward Zack Clarke netted in the eighth minute of stoppage time to salvage a 2-2 draw for his side against 10-player Cardiff Met.
Met took the lead inside just 13 minutes as Jasper Payne nodded in the rebound from Sam Snaith’s initial header from Aaron Wildig’s cross which hit the crossbar. The Archers were reduced to 10 players shortly before half time though, as Fumpa Mwandwe was shown a second yellow card for simulation inside the area.
Although a player down, it was in fact Met who grabbed the second goal of the afternoon as VAR replays showed Ben Nash’s foul on James Clarke inside the area, which resulted in a penalty. Met’s dead-ball specialist Jack Veale stepped up to take the penalty and he made no mistake, sending Hari Thomas the wrong way in the process.
Met remained 2-0 up as the clock ticked into the 86th minute, but Caernarfon substitute Osian Evans came off the bench to set up an interesting finish as he headed home from Jake Canavan’s cross.
The hosts needed to see out over eight minutes of stoppage time if they were to hold on for victory, but Caernarfon fought back with virtually the last action of the game to rescue a point as Clarke met Nash’s flick-on and guided his header into the net via the post to complete a dramatic comeback. The Cofis are still unbeaten away from home this season, while Met are now winless in their last four games.
Second-place Penybont claimed their fifth straight victory as they came from behind to beat Airbus UK Broughton 2-1 at the Dragonbet Stadium.
Penybont were offering free entry for all supporters, and they smashed their club attendance record as a result, with the 2,666 fans in attendance at the Dragonbet Stadium helping make this fixture the fourth-highest attended match in Novira Cymru Premier history.
It was sheer frustration for the hosts in the first half as Airbus went into the break ahead after Penybont defender Liam Shephard turned Kaiden Cooke’s cross into his own net. However, Bont were level just nine minutes after the restart as Danny Barrow played through Ryan Hill, who slotted home from a tight angle.
Bont’s turnaround was complete with just 11 minutes remaining as Ethan Cann built on his first ever goal for the club last weekend by firing in off the post in the midst of a scramble to give Rhys Griffiths’ side another hard-fought win.
Holywell Town were denied their first win of the campaign as 10-player Briton Ferry Llansawel fought back to salvage a 1-1 draw at Barton’s North Wales Stadium.
Holywell broke the deadlock on the half-hour mark as Owen Davies flicked on Danny Sullivan’s long ball into the path of Florian Yonsian, who made no mistake slotting into the bottom corner and past Will Fuller when one-on-one with the Briton Ferry goalkeeper.
Alex Gammond was sent off shortly after Yonsian’s goal as the Ferry captain was shown a straight red card for his dangerous challenge on Davies.
Davies and Tom Bibby both missed glorious chances from inside the area later in the first half as Holywell went into the break ahead by a single goal.
The match proved to be a tale of two halves as Ferry massively improved in the second half despite the numerical advantage not being in their favour. The Reds applied pressure and were rewarded with an equaliser on 62 minutes as substitute Luke Bowen guided Tom Price’s initial effort into the bottom corner for his first goal of the season.
Ferry pushed for a late winner, but Corey Hurford could only fire over the bar when meeting a low ball, while Bowen watched his header loop onto the roof of the net. Holywell have now their second point on the board, but are still bottom of the table, while Ferry remain in 12th-place.
Novira Cymru Premier results in full:
Barry Town United 1-4 Connah’s Quay Nomads
Colwyn Bay 1-0 Haverfordwest County
Cambrian United 4-3 Llandudno
Cardiff Met 2-2 Caernarfon Town
Holywell Town 1-1 Briton Ferry Llansawel
Penybont 2-1 Airbus UK Broughton
Trefelin 1-3 The New Saints
Flint Town United 3-0 Ammanford
