2014–15 Welsh Premier League

Welsh Premier League
Season 2014–15
Champions The New Saints (9th title)
Relegated Prestatyn
Cefn Druids
Champions League The New Saints
Europa League Bala Town
Airbus
Newtown
Matches played 192
Goals scored 656 (3.42 per match)
Top goalscorer Chris Venables (25 goals)
Biggest home win Bala Town 8–1 Carmarthen Town
Biggest away win Cefn Druids 0–5 Aberystwyth Town
Highest scoring Bala Town 8–1 Carmarthen Town
Longest winning run 8 matches
The New Saints
Longest unbeaten run 30 matches
The New Saints
Longest winless run 10 games
Bangor City
Prestatyn Town
Longest losing run 5 games
Cefn Druids
All statistics correct as of 14 March 2015.

The 2014–15 Welsh Premier League (known as the Corbett Sports Welsh Premier League for sponsorship reasons) was the 23rd season of the Welsh Premier League, the highest football league within Wales since its establishment in 1992. The season began on 22 August 2014. The New Saints claimed their ninth Welsh top flight championship on 14 March 2015 after a 3–0 win against nearest rivals in the table Bala Town.

Teams

Afan Lido were relegated out of the Welsh Premier League the previous season, while Cefn Druids were promoted as winners of the Cymru Alliance.

Stadia and locations

TeamLocationStadiumCapacity
Aberystwyth TownAberystwythPark Avenue5,000
Airbus UK BroughtonBroughtonThe Airfield1,600
Bala TownBalaMaes Tegid3,000
Bangor CityBangorNantporth3,000
Carmarthen TownCarmarthenRichmond Park3,000
Cefn DruidsWrexhamThe Rock3,000
Gap Connah's QuayConnah's QuayDeeside Stadium1,500
NewtownNewtownLatham Park5,000
Port Talbot TownPort TalbotVictoria Road6,000
Prestatyn TownPrestatynBastion Road2,300
RhylRhylThe Corbett Sports Stadium3,000
The New SaintsOswestryPark Hall2,000

Personnel and kits

TeamHead CoachCaptainKit manufacturerShirt sponsors
AberystwythWales Ian HughesWalesNikeCambrian Tyres
Airbus UKEngland Andy PreeceWalesMacronGardner Aerospace
BalaWales Colin CatonWalesJomaAykroyd's
BangorWales Neville PowellWalesMacronPentraeth Kia
CarmarthenWales Mark AizlewoodWalesMacronMcGinley Support
Cefn DruidsWales Huw GriffithsWalesJomaAtWill Pubs
NomadsEngland Mark McGregorWalesMacronThink Accounting
NewtownWales Chris HughesWalesGivovaNEO/EOM
Port TalbotWales Jarred HarveyWalesMacronBlanco's
PrestatynWales Neil GibsonWalesErreàG & G Foods
RhylEngland Greg StrongWalesFBTVanTruck
TNSWales Carl DarlingtonWalesLegeaDerma V10

League table

Pos
 Team
 Pld
 W
 D
 L
 GF
 GA
 GD
 Pts
Qualification or relegation
1 The New Saints (C) 32 23 8 1 90 24 +66 77 2015–16 UEFA Champions League First qualifying
2 Bala Town 32 18 5 9 67 42 +25 59 2015–16 UEFA Europa League First qualifying round
3 Airbus UK Broughton 32 18 4 10 62 34 +28 58
4 Aberystwyth Town 32 14 10 8 69 61 +8 52 Qualification for UEFA Europa League play-offs
5 Port Talbot Town 32 13 4 15 54 59 −5 43
6 Newtown (O) 32 10 8 14 52 65 −13 38
7 Connah's Quay Nomads 32 11 10 11 44 53 −9 43
8 Rhyl 32 11 9 12 41 49 −8 42
9 Carmarthen Town 32 12 6 14 48 57 −9 42
10 Bangor City 32 9 8 15 48 62 −14 35
11 Cefn Druids (R) 32 7 6 19 38 64 −26 27 Relegation to 2015–16 Cymru Alliance
12 Prestatyn Town (R) 32 4 6 22 43 86 −43 18

Source: Welsh Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (E) = Eliminated; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.

Results

Teams play each other twice on a home and away basis, before the league is split into two groups at the end of January 2015 – the top six and the bottom six.

Matches 1–22

Home \ Away[1] ABE AIR BALBANCMRCDRCQNNEWPTAPRERHLTNS
Aberystwyth Town 2–1 4–0 3–3 5–3 4–2 1–1 1–0 0–3 3–1 2–0 1–1
Airbus UK Broughton 1–1 2–1 5–1 2–0 2–3 4–0 3–0 3–0 2–1 2–1 2–3
Bala Town 4–0 0–0 3–0 8–1 3–1 0–1 3–1 4–1 4–2 1–2 0–3
Bangor City 2–2 1–2 0–3 1–2 0–1 0–2 1–3 2–1 3–3 0–0 0–5
Carmarthen Town 1–3 2–1 1–2 0–2 2–1 1–1 1–1 2–1 3–1 1–0 1–2
Cefn Druids 0–5 1–1 0–1 2–2 1–3 3–2 0–2 2–1 3–1 0–1 0–4
Connah's Quay Nomads 2–4 0–3 0–1 1–0 1–1 1–1 2–3 1–1 3–1 1–3 1–5
Newtown 6–3 1–0 1–2 2–1 0–2 4–1 1–2 3–3 4–3 1–0 2–3
Port Talbot Town 1–2 2–0 4–3 2–0 2–0 4–1 1–1 2–0 3–0 3–0 1–5
Prestatyn Town 2–1 0–2 3–3 1–2 1–3 0–4 3–2 2–2 2–1 1–2 1–3
Rhyl 0–1 1–2 0–1 3–2 1–1 1–1 1–1 2–2 0–3 2–2 2–2
The New Saints 1–1 1–1 1–0 2–0 3–0 3–1 2–0 1–1 2–0 6–0 6–1

Source: Welsh Premier League
1 ^ The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Matches 23–32

UEFA Europa League play-offs

Teams who finished in positions fourth to seventh at the end of the regular season took part in play-offs to determine the third participant for the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League.

Semi-finals

Port Talbot Town 0–1 (a.e.t.) Newtown
Boundford  120'
Attendance: 347
Referee: Kevin Perry
Aberystwyth 3–2 Connah's Quay
Venables  18' (pen.)
Evans  84' (o.g.)
Jones  90'		 Report Miller  14'
Evans  67'
Attendance: 391
Referee: Bryn Markham-Jones

Final

Aberystwyth 1–2 Newtown
Venables  29' (pen.) Report Goodwin  9'
Hearsey  43'
Attendance: 1,012
Referee: Lee Evans

Season statistics

As of 18 May 2015[1]

Top goalscorers

Rank Player Team Goals
1 Wales Chris Venables Aberystwyth Town 28
2 England Martin Rose Port Talbot Town 18
England Jason Oswell Newtown
4 New Zealand Greg Draper The New Saints 17
England Lee Hunt Bala Town
6 England Michael Wilde The New Saints 16
England Tom Field Airbus UK Broughton
8 Wales Luke Bowen Port Talbot Town 14
9 England Mark Connolly Bala Town 13
England Ian Sheridan Bala Town
11 England Lee Healey Cefn Druids F.C/Bangor 12

Hat-tricks

As of 14 February 2015
PlayerForAgainstResultDate
Wales Chris Venables4Aberystwyth TownCefn Druids5–0[2]22 August 2014
England Mark ConnollyBala TownCarmarthen Town8–1[3]7 September 2014
England Aaron BowenRhylBangor City3–2[4]14 September 2014
Wales Luke BoundfordNewtownAberystwyth Town6–3[5]4 October 2014
England Lee HealeyCefn DruidsPrestatyn Town3–1[6]31 October 2014
England Martin RosePort Talbot TownAberystwyth Town3–0[7]20 December 2014
Wales Chris HartlandCarmarthen TownBangor City3–3[8]31 January 2015
England Tom FieldAirbus UK BroughtonAberystwyth Town3–2[9]14 February 2015

4 Player scored 4 goals

References

The league's rules are contained as a section of the Handbook of the Football Association of Wales.[10]

  1. ↑ "Top 25 goal scorers season 2014/15". Welsh Premier League. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
  2. ↑ "Venables' baptism of fire for new boys Druids". Welsh Premier League. 22 August 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  3. ↑ "Carmarthen Town lose 8–1 at Bala in Welsh Premier League". Carmarthen Journal. 7 September 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  4. ↑ Hughes, Tomos (14 September 2014). "Bowen batters Bangor in superb Rhyl comeback". Rhyl Journal. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  5. ↑ "Late winner puts Saints clear". Morning Star. 6 October 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  6. ↑ Harrison, Nick (3 November 2014). "Healey nets record-breaking hat-trick for Cefn Druids". The Leader. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  7. ↑ "Carmarthen and Port Talbot move back into Top Six with wins". Welsh Premier League. 20 December 2014. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
  8. ↑ "City snatch a point despite Hartland's hat-trick". Welsh Premier League. 31 January 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  9. ↑ "Last-gasp Airbus keep Europa hopes alive". Welsh Premier League. 14 February 2015. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  10. ↑ "{title}" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-12-03. Retrieved 2014-07-14.
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