2014–15 Welsh Premier League

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.

Welsh Premier League
Season2014–15
ChampionsThe New Saints (9th title)
RelegatedPrestatyn
Cefn Druids
Champions LeagueThe New Saints
Europa LeagueBala Town
Airbus
Newtown
Matches played192
Goals scored656 (3.42 per match)
Top goalscorerChris Venables (25 goals)
Biggest home winBala Town 8–1 Carmarthen Town
Biggest away winCefn Druids 0–5 Aberystwyth Town
Highest scoringBala Town 8–1 Carmarthen Town
Longest winning run8 matches
The New Saints
Longest unbeaten run30 matches
The New Saints
Longest winless run10 games
Bangor City
Prestatyn Town
Longest losing run5 games
Cefn Druids
All statistics correct as of 14 March 2015.

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
Aberystwyth Ian HughesNikeCambrian Tyres
Airbus UK Andy PreeceMacronGardner Aerospace
Bala Colin CatonJomaAykroyd's
Bangor Neville PowellMacronPentraeth Kia
Carmarthen Mark AizlewoodMacronMcGinley Support
Cefn Druids Huw GriffithsJomaAtWill Pubs
Nomads Mark McGregorMacronThink Accounting
Newtown Chris HughesGivovaNEO/EOM
Port Talbot Jarred HarveyMacronBlanco's
Prestatyn Neil GibsonErreàG & G Foods
Rhyl Greg StrongFBTVanTruck
TNS Carl DarlingtonLegeaDerma 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 Qualification for Champions League first qualifying round
2 Bala Town 32 18 5 9 67 42 +25 59 Qualification for 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 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 Qualification for Europa League play-offs
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 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; (O) Play-off winner; (R) Relegated.

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 ABE AIR BAL BAN CMR CDR CQN NEW PTA PRE RHL TNS
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
Legend: 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 Town0–1 (a.e.t.)Newtown
Boundford  120'
Attendance: 347
Referee: Kevin Perry

Aberystwyth3–2Connah's Quay
Venables  18' (pen.)
Evans  84' (o.g.)
Jones  90'
Report Miller  14'
Evans  67'
Attendance: 391
Referee: Bryn Markham-Jones

Final

Aberystwyth1–2Newtown
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 Chris Venables Aberystwyth Town 28
2 Martin Rose Port Talbot Town 18
Jason Oswell Newtown
4 Greg Draper The New Saints 17
Lee Hunt Bala Town
6 Michael Wilde The New Saints 16
Tom Field Airbus UK Broughton
8 Luke Bowen Port Talbot Town 14
9 Mark Connolly Bala Town 13
Ian Sheridan Bala Town
11 Lee Healey Cefn Druids F.C/Bangor 12

Hat-tricks

As of 14 February 2015
PlayerForAgainstResultDate
Chris Venables4Aberystwyth TownCefn Druids5–0[2]22 August 2014
Mark ConnollyBala TownCarmarthen Town8–1[3]7 September 2014
Aaron BowenRhylBangor City3–2[4]14 September 2014
Luke BoundfordNewtownAberystwyth Town6–3[5]4 October 2014
Lee HealeyCefn DruidsPrestatyn Town3–1[6]31 October 2014
Martin RosePort Talbot TownAberystwyth Town3–0[7]20 December 2014
Chris HartlandCarmarthen TownBangor City3–3[8]31 January 2015
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. Archived from the original on 1 December 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. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  6. Harrison, Nick (3 November 2014). "Healey nets record-breaking hat-trick for Cefn Druids". The Leader. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. 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. Archived from the original on 1 February 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  9. "Last-gasp Airbus keep Europa hopes alive". Welsh Premier League. 14 February 2015. Archived from the original on 15 February 2015. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  10. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-12-03. Retrieved 2014-07-14.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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