The 2020–21 Cymru Premier (Welsh: Uwch Gynghrair Cymru 2020–21) (known as the JD Cymru Premier for sponsorship reasons) was the 29th season of the Cymru Premier (formally known as the Welsh Premier League), the highest football league within Wales since its establishment in 1992. Connah's Quay Nomads were the defending champions. Teams played each other twice on a home and away basis, before the league split into two groups after phase 1 matches were completed.
| Season | 2020–21 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 12 September 2020 – 29 May 2021 |
| Champions | Connah's Quay Nomads |
| Relegated | No relegation |
| Champions League | Connah's Quay Nomads |
| Europa Conference League | The New Saints Bala Town Newtown |
| Matches played | 192 |
| Goals scored | 600 (3.13 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Chris Venables (24 goals) |
| Biggest home win | The New Saints 10–0 Flint Town (3 October 2020) |
| Biggest away win | Cefn Druids 0–7 Newtown (30 April 2021) |
| Highest scoring | The New Saints 10–0 Flint Town (3 October 2020) |
← 2019–20 2021–22 →
All statistics correct as of 26 September. | |
COVID-19 restrictions were put in place by the FAW. Starting Monday 10 August 2020, clubs could train in groups of 15 and contact training was allowed at all-levels of football. However, competitive and exhibition matches were not allowed to take place at this time.[1]
On 21 August 2020, The Football Association of Wales received confirmation that the JD Cymru Premier has been granted elite athletic status by the Welsh Government, meaning that the 2020–21 season could commence on 11 September 2020.[2]
Teams edit
Twelve teams competed in the league – the top ten teams from the previous season, and one team each promoted from the second tier, the Cymru North and Cymru South.
The two bottom placed teams from the 2019–20 season, Airbus UK Broughton and Carmarthen Town, were relegated to the Cymru North and the Cymru South respectively for the 2020–21 season.[3]
Flint Town United, runners-up of the Cymru North were promoted to the league due to champions Prestatyn Town's failure to secure a Tier 1 license.[4] Similarly, Haverfordwest County, runners-up of the Cymru South, were also promoted due to champions Swansea University's failure to secure a Tier 1 license.
Stadia and locations edit
| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aberystwyth Town | Aberystwyth | Park Avenue | 5,000 |
| Bala Town | Bala | Maes Tegid | 3,000 |
| Barry Town United | Barry | Jenner Park Stadium | 3,500 |
| Caernarfon Town | Caernarfon | The Oval | 3,000 |
| Cardiff Metropolitan University | Cyncoed | Cyncoed Campus | 1,620 |
| Cefn Druids | Rhosymedre | The Rock | 3,000 |
| Connah's Quay Nomads | Connah's Quay | Deeside Stadium | 1,500 |
| Flint Town United | Flint | Cae-y-Castell | 1,000 |
| Haverfordwest County | Haverfordwest | Bridge Meadow Stadium | 2,100 |
| Newtown | Newtown | Latham Park | 5,000 |
| Penybont | Bridgend | Bryntirion Park | 3,000 |
| The New Saints |  Oswestry
|
Park Hall | 2,034 |
Personnel and kits edit
| Team | Head coach | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Front shirt sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aberystwyth Town |  Gavin Allen
|
Marc Williams
|
Acerbis | Aberystwyth University |
| Bala Town | Colin Caton
|
Chris Venables
|
Macron | Aykroyd's |
| Barry Town United | Gavin Chesterfield
|
Jordan Cotterill
|
Macron | RIM Motors |
| Caernarfon Town | Huw Griffiths
|
Gareth Edwards
|
Surridge Sports | Gofal Bro Cyf, Parc Gwêl y Fenai |
| Cardiff Metropolitan University | Christian Edwards
|
Bradley Woolridge
|
Errea | Cardiff Metropolitan University |
| Cefn Druids | Jason Starkey (caretaker)
|
Michael Jones
|
Errea | Wrexham Lager |
| Connah's Quay Nomads |  Andy Morrison
|
George Horan
|
Nike | Mind |
| Flint Town United | Neil Gibson
|
Richie Faulkes
|
Macron | Essity |
| Haverfordwest County | Wayne Jones
|
Sean Pemberton
|
Joma | West Wales Properties |
| Newtown | Chris Hughes
|
Craig T. Williams
|
Errea | Control Techniques |
| Penybont | Rhys Griffiths
|
Rhys Wilson[5]
|
Macron | Nathaniel House of Cars |
| The New Saints |  Anthony Limbrick
|
Paul Harrison
|
Legea | SiFi Networks |
League table edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification[a] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Connah's Quay Nomads (C) | 32 | 25 | 4 | 3 | 70 | 20 | +50 | 79 | Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round |
| 2 | The New Saints | 32 | 24 | 5 | 3 | 84 | 17 | +67 | 77 | Qualification for the Europa Conference League first qualifying round |
| 3 | Bala Town | 32 | 18 | 6 | 8 | 67 | 42 | +25 | 60 | |
| 4 | Penybont | 32 | 13 | 7 | 12 | 42 | 40 | +2 | 46 | Qualification for the Europa Conference League play-offs |
| 5 | Barry Town United | 32 | 13 | 4 | 15 | 42 | 53 | −11 | 43 | |
| 6 | Caernarfon Town | 32 | 10 | 7 | 15 | 43 | 67 | −24 | 37 | |
| 7 | Newtown (O) | 32 | 12 | 6 | 14 | 57 | 53 | +4 | 42 | Qualification for the Europa Conference League play-offs |
| 8 | Cardiff Metropolitan University | 32 | 11 | 7 | 14 | 47 | 46 | +1 | 40 | |
| 9 | Haverfordwest County | 32 | 10 | 7 | 15 | 38 | 56 | −18 | 37 | |
| 10 | Aberystwyth Town | 32 | 8 | 9 | 15 | 47 | 53 | −6 | 33 | |
| 11 | Flint Town United | 32 | 10 | 2 | 20 | 38 | 58 | −20 | 32 | |
| 12 | Cefn Druids | 32 | 4 | 4 | 24 | 25 | 95 | −70 | 16 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Head-to-head points; 4) Goals scored; 5) Matches won.
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners
Notes:
- ^ Teams play each other twice (22 matches), before the league splits into two groups (the top six and the bottom six) for the last 10 matches. Due to the cancellation of Cymru North and South seasons, there is no promotion or relegation.
Results edit
12 September 2020 - 31 May 2021
Matches 1–22 edit
- On 17 August 2020 the FAW announced that all official domestic match balls will be sponsored by Macron[6]
- Welsh television channel S4C will broadcast certain matches[7]
Matches 23–32 edit
UEFA Europa Conference League play-offs edit
Teams that finished in positions fourth to seventh at the end of the regular season participated in play-offs to determine the third participant to enter the Europa Conference League first qualifying round.
Semi-finals edit
| Barry Town | 1–3 | Caernarfon Town |
|---|---|---|
Edwards  44' (o.g.) |
Report | Hayes 41', 50' Bickerstaff 90+5' |
Final edit
Season statistics edit
Top scorers edit
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals[8] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chris Venables
|
Bala Town | 24 |
| 2 | Michael Wilde
|
Connah's Quay Nomads | 18 |
| 3 |  Greg Draper
|
The New Saints | 14 |
| 4 | Will Evans
|
Bala Town | 13 |
| Ollie Hulbert
|
Cardiff Met | ||
| Eliot Evans
|
Monthly awards edit
| Month | Manager of the Month | Player of the Month | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manager | Club | Player | Club | |
| October | Scott Ruscoe
|
The New Saints | Chris Venables
|
Bala Town |
| November | Scott Ruscoe
|
The New Saints | Will Evans
|
Bala Town |
| December | Andy Morrison
|
Connah's Quay | Lewis Harling
|
Penybont |
| March | Andy Morrison
|
Connah's Quay | George Horan
|
Connah's Quay |
| April | Andy Morrison
|
Connah's Quay | Michael Wilde
|
Connah's Quay |
Annual awards edit
| Award | Winner | Club |
|---|---|---|
| Manager of the Season | Andy Morrison[9]
|
Connah's Quay Nomads |
| Player of the Season | Michael Wilde[10]
|
Connah's Quay Nomads |
| Young Player of the Season | Mael Davies[11]
|
Penybont |
| Goal of the Season | Sameron Dool[12]
|
Connah's Quay Nomads |
| Save of the Season | Connor Roberts[13]
|
Aberystwyth Town |
| Team of the Season[14] | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goalkeeper | Oliver Byrne (Connah's Quay Nomads)
| |||||||||||
| Defenders | John Disney (Connah's Quay Nomads)
|
Ryan Astles (The New Saints)
|
George Horan (Connah's Quay Nomads)
|
Kane Owen (Penybont)
| ||||||||
| Midfielders | Callum Morris (Connah's Quay Nomads)
|
Ryan Brobbel (The New Saints)
|
 Adrian Cieślewicz (The New Saints)
|
Danny Davies (Connah's Quay Nomads)
| ||||||||
| Forwards | Chris Venables (Bala Town)
|
Michael Wilde (Connah's Quay Nomads)
| ||||||||||
References edit
- ^ Jones, Jordan (2020-08-03). "Welsh clubs move closer to normality as contact training permitted". Y Clwb Pêl-droed - Your home for Welsh football. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
- ^ "FAW / Start date for JD Cymru Premier". www.faw.cymru. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
- ^ Jones, Jordan (16 June 2020). "Airbus UK and Carmarthen relegated, Flint and Haverfordwest up". Clwb Pel Droed.
- ^ "Flint Town United return to top tier of Welsh football for first time since 1998". Deeside.com. 16 June 2020.
- ^ Jones, Jordan (2019-05-16). "Penybont recruit four new players for upcoming Welsh Premier League season". YClwb Pêl-Droed. Retrieved 2019-12-24.
- ^ "Macron Announced as Official Ball Supplier :: Cymru Football". www.cymrufootball.wales. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
- ^ "S4C Announce Opening Live Fixtures :: Cymru Football". www.cymrufootball.wales. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
- ^ "Top Scorers - Welsh Premier League - Football". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2019-12-24.
- ^ "Connah's Quay Nomads: Andy Morrison and Michael Wilde win Cymru Premier awards". BBC. 10 June 2021. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
- ^ "Connah's Quay Nomads: Andy Morrison and Michael Wilde win Cymru Premier awards". BBC. 10 June 2021. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
- ^ "Foden wins Hublot Young Player of the Season award". Premier League. 5 June 2021. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
- ^ "Gôl y Tymor 2020/21 Goal of the Season". Sgorio. 7 June 2021. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
- ^ "Connor Roberts | Arbediad y Tymor 2020/21 Save of the Season". Sgorio. 9 June 2021. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
- ^ "JD Cymru Premier 2020/21 Team of the Season". Cymru Leagues. 8 June 2021. Retrieved 13 June 2021.