2022–23 Cymru Premier

Cymru Premier 2022–23
Season information
Dates	12 August 2022–22 April 2023
Winners	The New Saints
Relegated	Airbus UK Broughton Flint Town United
Continental cup qualifiers
Champions League	The New Saints
Conference League	Connah's Quay Nomads Penybont (via Welsh Cup) Haverfordwest County (via Play-offs)
Scottish Challenge Cup
Season statistics
← 2021–22	2023–24 →

The 2022–23 Cymru Premier (known as the JD Cymru Premier for sponsorship reasons) was the 31st season of the Cymru Premier (formally known as the Welsh Premier League), the highest football league within Wales since its establishment in 1992.

The winners qualify for the 2023–24 UEFA Champions League first qualifying round. The runners-up, the 2022–23 Welsh Cup winners (or the 3rd-placed team if the Welsh Cup winners finish in the top two), and the play-off winners qualify for the 2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League first qualifying round.

The New Saints were the defending champions, and retained the title on 17 March 2023 after a 0–0 draw against Connah's Quay Nomads.

Teams

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 2021–22 season, Cefn Druids and Barry Town United, were relegated to the Cymru North and the Cymru South respectively for the 2022–23 season.

Airbus UK, winners of the 2021–22 Cymru North were promoted to the league. Due to 2021-22 Cymru South champions Llantwit Major's failure to achieve a tier one licence, runners-up Pontypridd Town were promoted in their place.

Team changes

To Cymru Premier Promoted from the Cymru North Airbus UK Promoted from the Cymru South Pontypridd Town

From Cymru Premier Relegated to the Cymru North Cefn Druids Relegated to the Cymru South Barry Town

Stadia and locations

Team	Location	Stadium	Capacity
Aberystwyth Town	Aberystwyth	Park Avenue	5,000
Airbus UK	Broughton	The Airfield	1,600
Bala Town	Bala	Maes Tegid	3,000
Caernarfon Town	Caernarfon	The Oval	3,000
Cardiff Metropolitan University	Cyncoed	Cyncoed Campus	1,620
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
Pontypridd United	Treforest	USW Sports Park	1,000
The New Saints	Oswestry	Park Hall	2,034

Personnel and kits

Team	Head coach	Captain	Kit manufacturer	Front shirt sponsor
Aberystwyth Town	Anthony Williams	Jack Thorn	Acerbis	Aberystwyth University
Airbus UK	Steve O'Shaughnessy	Steve Tomassen	Umbro	Gardner Aerospace
Bala Town	Colin Caton	Chris Venables	Macron	Aykroyd's
Caernarfon Town	Huw Griffiths	Dion Donohue	Errea	Gofal Bro Cyf
Cardiff Metropolitan University	Ryan Jenkins	Chris Baker	Errea	Cardiff Metropolitan University
Connah's Quay Nomads	Neil Gibson	George Horan	Nike	Educate Group
Flint Town United	Lee Fowler		Macron	Essity
Haverfordwest County	Tony Pennock	Dylan Rees	Joma	West Wales Properties
Newtown	Chris Hughes	Craig Williams	Errea	Control Techniques
Penybont	Rhys Griffiths	Kane Owen	Macron	Nathaniel House of Cars
Pontypridd United	Andrew Stokes	Clayton Green	Joma	SCS Maintenance Hub
The New Saints	Craig Harrison	Chris Marriott	Legea	SiFi Networks

Managerial changes

Team	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Position in table	Incoming manager	Date of appointment
Pontypridd United	Jonathan Jones	Resigned	9 May 2022	Pre-season	Andrew Stokes	16 May 2022
Aberystwyth Town	Antonio Corbisiero	Resigned	12 May 2022		Anthony Williams	28 May 2022
Haverfordwest County	Nicky Hayen	Signed for Club NXT	15 June 2022		Tony Pennock	1 July 2022
Flint Town United	Neil Gibson	Resigned	16 June 2022		Lee Fowler	17 June 2022
Cardiff Metropolitan University	Christian Edwards	Resigned	30 June 2022		Ryan Jenkins	29 June 2022
The New Saints	Anthony Limbrick	Sacked	28 July 2022		Craig Harrison	4 August 2022
Connah's Quay Nomads	Craig Harrison	Hired by TNS	4 August 2022		Neil Gibson	4 August 2022
Airbus UK Broughton	Steve O'Shaughnessy	Sacked	24 September 2022	12th	Jamie Reed	19 October 2022
Cardiff Metropolitan University	Ryan Jenkins	Resigned	30 January 2023	4th	Christian Edwards	30 January 2023
Caernarfon Town	Huw Griffiths	Sacked	18 March 2023	8th	Richard Davies	24 April 2023
Airbus UK Broughton	Jamie Reed		13 April 2023	12th	Mark Allen	21 April 2023

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	The New Saints (C)	32	26	5	1	112	17	+95	83	Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round
2	Connah's Quay Nomads	32	17	10	5	45	23	+22	61	Qualification for the Europa Conference League first qualifying round
3	Penybont	32	16	10	6	51	32	+19	52
4	Cardiff Metropolitan University	32	16	4	12	41	49	−8	52	Qualification for the Europa Conference League play-offs
5	Bala Town	32	12	8	12	51	37	+14	44
6	Newtown	32	12	5	15	49	56	−7	41
7	Haverfordwest County (O)	32	14	5	13	49	44	+5	47	Qualification for the Europa Conference League play-offs
8	Pontypridd United	32	12	5	15	41	52	−11	41
9	Caernarfon Town	32	12	3	17	51	54	−3	39
10	Aberystwyth Town	32	11	5	16	41	73	−32	38
11	Flint Town United (R)	32	9	8	15	41	53	−12	35	Relegation to Cymru North or Cymru South
12	Airbus UK Broughton (R)	32	0	2	30	18	100	−82	−4

Source: Cymru Premier
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Head-to-head points; 4) Goals scored; 5) Matches won.
(C) Champion; (O) Play-off winner; (R) Relegated
Notes:

• Airbus UK Broughton were deducted six points for fielding ineligible players against Caernarfon Town on 2 September 2022 and Pontypridd United on 11 February 2023.
• Penybont were deducted six points for fielding ineligible players against Airbus UK Broughton on 3 January 2023 and Cardiff Metropolitan University on 17 February 2023.

Results

Matches 1–22

Home \ Away	ABE	AIR	BAL	CAE	CMU	CQN	FTU	HAV	NTW	PYB	PON	TNS
Aberystwyth Town	—	2–1	1–4	2–1	0–4	2–1	2–1	2–1	1–2	0–3	2–1	0–2
Airbus UK Broughton	1–2	—	0–6	0–3	0–2	1–2	1–3	1–2	4–4	0–3	0–4	0–8
Bala Town	3–0	2–1	—	3–0	2–0	0–0	1–0	1–1	3–0	1–1	3–0	0–5
Caernarfon Town	2–1	3–1	1–5	—	5–1	0–2	2–0	2–1	2–3	0–2	2–0	0–1
Cardiff Metropolitan University	2–1	3–1	1–0	0–3	—	2–0	1–0	2–0	2–1	0–0	3–0	0–7
Connah's Quay Nomads	3–0	1–0	1–0	3–3	2–0	—	2–0	1–0	3–1	2–0	1–0	1–1
Flint Town United	1–1	1–0	1–1	2–1	1–1	0–0	—	0–1	1–4	1–1	4–1	1–8
Haverfordwest County	3–1	3–0	1–4	1–0	1–0	2–1	1–1	—	2–3	2–1	1–1	1–3
Newtown	6–1	2–1	0–2	2–1	0–1	0–0	0–2	2–0	—	2–3	4–2	0–0
Penybont	3–1	2–0	2–0	5–1	1–3	0–1	2–1	3–2	3–0	—	1–1	0–0
Pontypridd United	2–1	1–0	2–1	3–1	0–1	0–5	0–1	3–2	1–4	0–1	—	0–2
The New Saints	11–0	7–0	3–0	3–0	4–0	2–1	6–2	3–1	4–1	1–0	2–0	—

Source: Cymru Premier
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Matches 23–32

Top six

Home \ Away	BAL	CMU	CQN	NTW	PYB	TNS
Bala Town	—	0–0	1–2	1–2	0–0	0–2
Cardiff Metropolitan University	2–1	—	0–2	0–0	2–3	3–2
Connah's Quay Nomads	1–1	2–1	—	2–0	0–0	0–0
Newtown	3–2	1–2	1–1	—	0–1	0–5
Penybont	2–2	2–1	1–1	2–1	—	2–5
The New Saints	2–1	7–1	4–1	1–0	1–1	—

Source: Cymru Premier
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Bottom six

Home \ Away	ABE	AIR	CAE	FTU	HAV	PON
Aberystwyth Town	—	1–1	3–2	1–0	0–1	3–3
Airbus UK Broughton	1–7	—	0–2	1–3	1–4	0–3
Caernarfon Town	0–1	4–0	—	2–2	2–0	1–2
Flint Town United	5–0	2–1	2–3	—	0–2	0–0
Haverfordwest County	1–1	4–0	2–2	3–1	—	2–0
Pontypridd United	1–1	4–0	1–0	3–2	2–1	—

Source: Cymru Premier
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Europa Conference League play-offs

Teams placed 3rd-7th enter one-off play-off matches for the third spot in the Europa Conference League first qualifying round. One of the spots is vacated if the Welsh Cup winners finish 7th or higher, with the 3rd-placed team qualifying automatically if the Welsh Cup winners finish in the top two. The higher-placed team gains home advantage.

Bala Town, Cardiff Metropolitan University, Haverfordwest County, Newtown, and Penybont qualified for the play-offs. Since the 2022–23 Welsh Cup winners, The New Saints, qualified for the Champions League first qualifying round based on league position, Penybont's play-off spot was vacated and they directly qualified for the Europa Conference League as the 3rd-placed team.

Semi-finals

5 May 2023	Bala Town	2–4	Newtown	Maes Tegid
19:45 BST (UTC+01)	Newell  37', 73'	Report	Williams  17', 53' Ismail  42', 82'	Referee: Mark Petch

6 May 2023	Cardiff Metropolitan University	0–0 (3–4 pen)	Haverfordwest County	Cyncoed Campus Stadium
17:15 BST (UTC+01)		Report		Attendance: 561 Referee: Thomas Owen
		Penalties
	McCarthy Rees Craven Jones Veale		Rees Leahy Davies Jones Dugan

Final

13 May 2023	Newtown	1–1 (3–4 pen)	Haverfordwest County	Latham Park
17:15 BST (UTC+01)	A. Williams  38'		Davies  24'	Attendance: 1,826 Referee: Bryn Markham-Jones
		Penalties
	A. Williams C. Williams Roberts Cowans Aris		Rees Leahy Davies Fawcett Shephard

Season statistics

As of 13 April 2023

Top scorers

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Declan McManus	The New Saints	26
2	Aaron Williams	Newtown	14
	Ryan Brobbel	The New Saints
4	Ben Clark	The New Saints	13
5	Ben Ahmun	Pontypridd United	12
	Jordan Davies	Haverfordwest County

Hat-tricks

Player	For	Against	Result	Date
Sam Jones	Cardiff Metropolitan University	Aberystwyth Town	0–4 (A)	20 August 2022
Adrian Cieślewicz	The New Saints	Cardiff Metropolitan University	0–7 (A)	17 September 2022
George Newell	Bala Town	Airbus UK Broughton	0–6 (A)	30 September 2022
Ben Ahmun	Pontypridd United	Airbus UK Broughton	0–4 (A)	29 October 2022
Louis Robles	Newtown	Pontypridd United	4–2 (H)	16 December 2022
Ben Clark	The New Saints	Airbus UK Broughton	7–0 (H)	26 December 2022
Ryan Brobbel	The New Saints	Airbus UK Broughton	0–8 (A)	31 December 2022
Declan McManus	The New Saints	Flint Town United	1–8 (A)	10 January 2023
Zack Clarke	Flint Town United	Pontypridd United	4–1 (H)	21 January 2023
Ben Ahmun	Pontypridd United	Airbus UK Broughton	4–0 (H)	11 February 2023
Lloyd Marsh-Hughes	Caernarfon Town	Airbus UK Broughton	4–0 (A)	31 March 2023
Declan McManus	The New Saints	Newtown	5–0 (A)	1 April 2023

Notes

(H) – Home team
(A) – Away team

Most assists

Rank	Player	Club	Assists
1	Ryan Brobbel	The New Saints	16
2	Daniel Redmond	The New Saints	14
3	Lassana Mendes	Bala Town	13
4	Kane Owen	Penybont	8
5	Ryan Stratulis	Connah's Quay Nomads	7
6	Mael Davies	Penybont	6
	Danny Holmes	Connah's Quay Nomads
	Darren Thomas	Caernarfon Town

Attendances

Team	Highest	Lowest	Average
Aberystwyth Town	1120	187	378
Airbus UK Broughton	374	147	232
Bala Town	505	179	236
Caernarfon Town	674	232	485
Cardiff Metropolitan University	401	103	192
Connah's Quay Nomads	436	166	262
Flint Town United	1050	172	339
Haverfordwest County	560	277	385
Newtown	514	171	297
Penybont	506	206	316
Pontypridd United	437	153	288
The New Saints	425	201	308

Figures taken from FAW Cymru Football app and other club channels. Correct as of 24 April 2023

Monthly awards

Month	Manager of the Month		Player of the Month
	Manager	Club	Player	Club
August	Ryan Jenkins	Cardiff Metropolitan University	Sam Jones	Cardiff Metropolitan University
September	Colin Caton	Bala Town	David Edwards	Bala Town
October	Neil Gibson	Connah's Quay Nomads	Andy Firth	Connah's Quay Nomads
November	Tony Pennock	Haverfordwest County	Zeli Ismail	Newtown
December	Chris Hughes	Newtown	Ryan Sears	Newtown
January	Rhys Griffiths	Penybont	Kostya Georgievsky	Penybont
February	Andrew Stokes	Pontypridd United	Mark Cadwallader	Aberystwyth Town
March	Andrew Stokes	Pontypridd United	George Ratcliffe	Pontypridd United
April	Tony Pennock	Haverfordwest County	Niall Flint	Aberystwyth Town

External links

• Official website
• League rules

2022–23 in Welsh football
Domestic leagues
Cymru Premier · Cymru North · Cymru South · Welsh Alliance League · Welsh National League
Domestic cups
Welsh Cup · Welsh League Cup
European competitions
Champions League (Final) · Europa League (Final)
National teams
2021-22                                                        2023-24