The 2017–18 Welsh Premier League was the 26th 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 23 June 2017.[6] The season began on 11 August 2017[7] and concluded in April 2018; the Europa League play-offs followed afterwards. Teams played each other twice on a home and away basis, before the league split into two groups at the end of January 2018 – the top six and the bottom six.
| Season | 2017–18 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 11 August 2017 – 20 May 2018 |
| Champions | The New Saints (12th title) |
| Relegated | Prestatyn Town Bangor City[1] |
| Champions League | The New Saints |
| Europa League | Connah's Quay Nomads Bala Town Cefn Druids |
| Matches played | 192 |
| Goals scored | 544 (2.83 per match) |
| Biggest home win | Aberystwyth Town 7-1 Prestatyn Town (16 December 2017)[2] |
| Biggest away win | Carmarthen Town 0–5 The New Saints (30 September 2017)[3] |
| Highest scoring | Bangor City 5–2 The New Saints (11 August 2017)[4] The New Saints 6–1 Prestatyn Town (14 October 2017) The New Saints 5–2 Carmarthen Town (25 November 2017)[5] |
← 2016–17 2018–19 →
All statistics correct as of 15 December 2017. | |
On 26 April 2018 the FAW Club Licensing Appeals Body decided to revoke Bangor City's Tier 1 and UEFA licence[8] meaning that they would automatically drop down to the second level of Welsh football the next season and would not be able to compete for a place in the following season's Europa League.[9]
Teams edit
The bottom two placed teams from the previous season, Rhyl and Airbus UK Broughton were relegated to the Cymru Alliance for the 2017–18 season. They were replaced by Barry Town United and Prestatyn Town, champions of the 2016–17 Welsh Football League Division One and 2016–17 Cymru Alliance respectively. Barry Town United are playing in the Welsh Premier League for the first time since the 2003–04 season, while Prestatyn Town were returning to the top flight after being relegated in the 2014–15 season.
Stadia and locations edit
| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aberystwyth Town | Aberystwyth | Park Avenue | 5,000 |
| Bala Town | Bala | Maes Tegid | 3,000 |
| Bangor City | Bangor | Nantporth | 3,000 |
| Barry Town United | Barry | Jenner Park | 3,500 |
| 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 |
| Newtown | Newtown | Latham Park | 5,000 |
| Prestatyn Town | Prestatyn | Bastion Road | 2,000 |
| The New Saints | Oswestry | Park Hall | 2,000 |
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 | 83 | 32 | +51 | 74 | Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round |
| 2 | Bangor City (R) | 32 | 19 | 3 | 10 | 49 | 32 | +17 | 60 | Relegation to Cymru Alliance[b] |
| 3 | Connah's Quay Nomads | 32 | 17 | 6 | 9 | 46 | 29 | +17 | 57 | Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round[c] |
| 4 | Bala Town | 32 | 15 | 4 | 13 | 37 | 48 | −11 | 49 | Qualification to the Europa League preliminary round |
| 5 | Cefn Druids (O) | 32 | 12 | 8 | 12 | 38 | 41 | −3 | 44 | Qualification for the Europa League play-offs[d] |
| 6 | Cardiff Metropolitan University | 32 | 12 | 7 | 13 | 46 | 41 | +5 | 43 | |
| 7 | Barry Town United | 32 | 16 | 5 | 11 | 39 | 31 | +8 | 53 | Qualification for the Europa League play-offs[d] |
| 8 | Newtown | 32 | 12 | 4 | 16 | 52 | 55 | −3 | 40 | |
| 9 | Aberystwyth Town | 32 | 10 | 7 | 15 | 47 | 56 | −9 | 37 | |
| 10 | Llandudno | 32 | 9 | 9 | 14 | 39 | 44 | −5 | 36 | |
| 11 | Carmarthen Town | 32 | 8 | 5 | 19 | 35 | 62 | −27 | 29 | |
| 12 | Prestatyn Town (R) | 32 | 4 | 7 | 21 | 27 | 67 | −40 | 19 | Relegation to Cymru Alliance[b] |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Matches won; 5) Play-off.[11]
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (R) Relegated
Notes:
- ^ Teams play each other twice (22 matches), before the league split into two groups (the top six and the bottom six) for the last 10 matches.
- ^ a b Bangor City were relegated after failing to obtain Tier One and UEFA licences for the 2018-19 Welsh Premier League and 2018-19 UEFA Europa League respectively. Carmarthen Town therefore remained in the league for the following season.
- ^ Connah's Quay Nomads qualified for the Europa League first qualifying round by winning the 2017–18 Welsh Cup.
- ^ a b Teams play for one spot in the Europa League preliminary round.[10]
Results edit
Teams 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 edit
Matches 23–32 edit
UEFA Europa League play-offs edit
Teams 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 2018–19 UEFA Europa League, who will qualify for the preliminary round. However, due to Bangor City's expulsion, there was just one semi-final, with fifth place Cefn Druids gaining a bye to the final after Bala Town (who had finished 4th) took Bangor's place.
Semi-final edit
| Cardiff Met | 4–1 | Barry Town United |
|---|---|---|
Roscrow  26', 73'Evans 30'Sainty 43' (o.g.) |
Report | Hood 89' |
Final edit
| Cefn Druids | 1–0 | Cardiff Met |
|---|---|---|
| J.Davies 16' |
Season statistics edit
| Month | Manager of the Month | Player of the Month | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manager | Club | Player | Club | |
| August |  Alan Morgan
|
Llandudno | Adam Roscrow
|
Cardiff Met. |
| September | Scott Ruscoe
|
The New Saints | Kayne McLaggon
|
Barry Town United |
| October | Huw Griffiths
|
Cefn Druids | Eliot Evans
|
Cardiff Met. |
| November |  Kevin Nicholson
|
Bangor City | Dean Rittenberg
|
Bangor City |
| December | Colin Caton
|
Bala Town | Chris Venables
|
Bala Town |
| January | Scott Ruscoe
|
The New Saints | Aeron Edwards
|
The New Saints |
| February | Gavin Chesterfield
|
Barry Town United | Declan Walker
|
Aberystwyth Town |
| March | Gavin Chesterfield
|
Barry Town United | Michael Bakare
|
Connah's Quay Nomads |
Scoring edit
Top scorers edit
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Greg Draper
|
The New Saints | 21 |
| 2 | Eliot Evans
|
Cardiff Met. | 14 |
| 3 | Wes Fletcher
|
The New Saints | 13 |
| 4 | Kayne McLaggon
|
Barry Town United | 12 |
| 5 | Adam Roscrow
|
Cardiff Met. | 11 |
 Declan Walker
|
Aberystwyth Town | ||
| Michael Wilde
|
Connah's Quay Nomads | ||
| Dean Rittenberg
|
Bangor City | ||
| 9 | Mike Hayes
|
Bala Town | 9 |
| Craig Hobson
|
Aberystwyth Town |
References edit
- ^ "Bangor City: Third-placed club to be demoted from Welsh Premier League". BBC Sport. 26 April 2018. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
- ^ "Cardiff MU vs. Carmarthen Town". Soccerway. 4 November 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
- ^ "Carmarthen Town vs. The New Saints". Soccerway. 30 September 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
- ^ "Bangor City vs. The New Saints". Soccerway. 11 August 2017. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
- ^ "The New Saints vs. Carmarthen Town". Soccerway. 25 November 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
- ^ "WPL Fixtures for New Season Announced - Welsh Premier League". Welsh Premier League. 23 June 2017. Archived from the original on 11 August 2017. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
- ^ "JD Welsh Premier League – Season Launch 2017/18 - Welsh Premier League". Welsh Premier League. 9 August 2017. Archived from the original on 11 August 2017. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "JD Welsh Premier League permutations following Licencing Decisions". Welsh Premier League. 26 April 2018. Archived from the original on 27 April 2018. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
- ^ https://www.cefndruidsafc.co.uk/single-post/2018/05/07/Druids-reach-the-play-off-final [permanent dead link]
- ^ "Premier League 2017/2018 - Season rules". Scoresway. Archived from the original on 29 June 2017. Retrieved 17 June 2017.