# 2019–20 Cymru Premier

The 2019–20 Cymru Premier (Welsh: Uwch Gynghrair Cymru 2019-20) (known as JD Cymru Premier for sponsorship reasons) was the 28th season of the Cymru Premier (formerly known as The Welsh Premier League), the highest football league within Wales since its establishment in 1992. Thirteenth-time champions, The New Saints were the defending champions, having won their eighth consecutive title in 2019. The season commenced on 16 August 2019 and concluded in March 2020, a few weeks earlier than the scheduled end date of 25 April 2020. Teams played each other twice on a home and away basis, before the league split into two groups after phase 1 matches were completed on 17 January 2020 – the top six and the bottom six.

## Effects of the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic

On 13 March 2020, all games were suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On 19 May 2020, the league was cancelled. Connah's Quay Nomads F.C. were declared the champions, for the first time in their history. They were given the league's bid to the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League. The New Saints and Bala Town finished 2nd and 3rd respectively, earning the league's two places in the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League first qualifying round.
The 2019–20 Welsh Cup was postponed and could not be completed by the UEFA deadline of entering European qualification. Therefore, the 4th-placed finished team, Barry Town, earned the preliminary round spot that would have normally gone to the winners of the European play-offs which would now not take place. The bottom two teams at the date of suspension were relegated.

## Teams

Twelve teams competed in the league – the top ten teams from the previous season, and one team each promoted from the Cymru North and Cymru South.
The two bottom placed teams from the 2018-2019 season, Llandudno, and Llanelli Town, were relegated to Cymru North and Cymru South, respectively, for the 2019–20 season.
Airbus UK Broughton, champions of the now defunct Cymru Alliance and Penybont, champions of the Welsh Football League Division One were promoted to the Cymru Premier. Airbus UK Broughton returned to the Cymru Premier after two years in the now defunct Cymru Alliance, while Bridgend-based Penybont were making their first appearance in the Cymru Premier having only been formed in 2013. By replacing Llanelli Town, the South Wales-based clubs remained at four.

### Stadia and locations

| Aberystwyth Town | Airbus UK Broughton | Bala Town | Barry Town United |
| Park Avenue | Hollingsworth Group International Airfield | Maes Tegid | Jenner Park Stadium |
| Capacity: 5,000 | Capacity: 1,600 | Capacity: 3,000 | Capacity: 3,500 |
| Caernarfon Town | Aberystwyth TownAirbusBala TownBarry Town UnitedCaernarfon TownCardiff Met.Carmarthen TownCefn DruidsConnah's Quay NomadsNewtownPenybontThe New Saintsclass=notpageimage| Locations of the 2019–20 Cymru Premier teams | Aberystwyth TownAirbusBala TownBarry Town UnitedCaernarfon TownCardiff Met.Carmarthen TownCefn DruidsConnah's Quay NomadsNewtownPenybontThe New Saintsclass=notpageimage| Locations of the 2019–20 Cymru Premier teams | Cardiff Metropolitan University |
| The Oval | Aberystwyth TownAirbusBala TownBarry Town UnitedCaernarfon TownCardiff Met.Carmarthen TownCefn DruidsConnah's Quay NomadsNewtownPenybontThe New Saintsclass=notpageimage| Locations of the 2019–20 Cymru Premier teams | Aberystwyth TownAirbusBala TownBarry Town UnitedCaernarfon TownCardiff Met.Carmarthen TownCefn DruidsConnah's Quay NomadsNewtownPenybontThe New Saintsclass=notpageimage| Locations of the 2019–20 Cymru Premier teams | Cyncoed Campus |
| Capacity: 3,000 | Aberystwyth TownAirbusBala TownBarry Town UnitedCaernarfon TownCardiff Met.Carmarthen TownCefn DruidsConnah's Quay NomadsNewtownPenybontThe New Saintsclass=notpageimage| Locations of the 2019–20 Cymru Premier teams | Aberystwyth TownAirbusBala TownBarry Town UnitedCaernarfon TownCardiff Met.Carmarthen TownCefn DruidsConnah's Quay NomadsNewtownPenybontThe New Saintsclass=notpageimage| Locations of the 2019–20 Cymru Premier teams | Capacity: 1,620 |
| Carmarthen Town | Aberystwyth TownAirbusBala TownBarry Town UnitedCaernarfon TownCardiff Met.Carmarthen TownCefn DruidsConnah's Quay NomadsNewtownPenybontThe New Saintsclass=notpageimage| Locations of the 2019–20 Cymru Premier teams | Aberystwyth TownAirbusBala TownBarry Town UnitedCaernarfon TownCardiff Met.Carmarthen TownCefn DruidsConnah's Quay NomadsNewtownPenybontThe New Saintsclass=notpageimage| Locations of the 2019–20 Cymru Premier teams | Cefn Druids |
| Richmond Park | Aberystwyth TownAirbusBala TownBarry Town UnitedCaernarfon TownCardiff Met.Carmarthen TownCefn DruidsConnah's Quay NomadsNewtownPenybontThe New Saintsclass=notpageimage| Locations of the 2019–20 Cymru Premier teams | Aberystwyth TownAirbusBala TownBarry Town UnitedCaernarfon TownCardiff Met.Carmarthen TownCefn DruidsConnah's Quay NomadsNewtownPenybontThe New Saintsclass=notpageimage| Locations of the 2019–20 Cymru Premier teams | The Rock |
| Capacity: 3,000 | Aberystwyth TownAirbusBala TownBarry Town UnitedCaernarfon TownCardiff Met.Carmarthen TownCefn DruidsConnah's Quay NomadsNewtownPenybontThe New Saintsclass=notpageimage| Locations of the 2019–20 Cymru Premier teams | Aberystwyth TownAirbusBala TownBarry Town UnitedCaernarfon TownCardiff Met.Carmarthen TownCefn DruidsConnah's Quay NomadsNewtownPenybontThe New Saintsclass=notpageimage| Locations of the 2019–20 Cymru Premier teams | Capacity: 3,000 |
| Connah's Quay Nomads | Newtown | Penybont | The New Saints |
| Deeside Stadium | Latham Park | Kymco Stadium | Park Hall |
| Capacity: 1,500 | Capacity: 5,000 | Capacity: 3,000 | Capacity: 2,034 |

### Personnel and kits

| Team | Head coach | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Front shirt sponsor |
| Aberystwyth Town | Matthew Bishop | Marc Williams | Acerbis | Aberystwyth University |
| Airbus UK Broughton | Steve O'Shaughnessy | Paul Harrison | Umbro | Gardner Aerospace |
| Bala Town | Colin Caton | Chris Venables | Macron | Aykroyd's |
| Barry Town United | Gavin Chesterfield | Jordan Cotterill | Macron | RIM Motors, LDS Motor Factors |
| Caernarfon Town | Huw Griffiths | Nathan Craig | Errea | Gofal Bro Cyf, Parc Gwêl y Fenai |
| Cardiff Metropolitan University | Christian Edwards | Bradley Woolridge | Errea | Cardiff Metropolitan University |
| Carmarthen Town | Kristian O'Leary | Lee Surman | Kappa | Gravells Seat, Castell Howell Foods |
| Cefn Druids | Stuart Gelling | Neil Ashton | Errea | Wrexham Lager |
| Connah's Quay Nomads | Andy Morrison | George Horan | Nike | Gap Personnel |
| Newtown | Chris Hughes | Craig T. Williams | Errea | Control Techniques |
| Penybont | Rhys Griffiths | Rhys Wilson | Macron | Nathaniel House of Cars |
| The New Saints | Scott Ruscoe | Paul Harrison | Legea | RUK Group |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | PPG | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Connah's Quay Nomads (C) | 26 | 16 | 8 | 2 | 47 | 19 | +28 | 56 | 2.15 | Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round |
| 2 | The New Saints | 26 | 16 | 4 | 6 | 69 | 27 | +42 | 52 | 2.00 | Qualification to the Europa League first qualifying round |
| 3 | Bala Town | 26 | 15 | 4 | 7 | 53 | 23 | +30 | 49 | 1.88 | Qualification to the Europa League first qualifying round |
| 4 | Barry Town United | 25 | 12 | 6 | 7 | 35 | 29 | +6 | 42 | 1.68 | Qualification to the Europa League preliminary round |
| 5 | Caernarfon Town | 26 | 11 | 5 | 10 | 36 | 38 | −2 | 38 | 1.46 | |
| 6 | Newtown | 25 | 10 | 5 | 10 | 25 | 30 | −5 | 35 | 1.40 | |
| 7 | Cardiff Metropolitan University | 25 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 30 | 29 | +1 | 35 | 1.40 | |
| 8 | Cefn Druids | 25 | 10 | 5 | 10 | 37 | 39 | −2 | 35 | 1.40 | |
| 9 | Aberystwyth Town | 26 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 36 | 55 | −19 | 27 | 1.04 | |
| 10 | Penybont | 25 | 5 | 6 | 14 | 29 | 48 | −19 | 21 | 0.84 | |
| 11 | Carmarthen Town (R) | 25 | 4 | 6 | 15 | 28 | 49 | −21 | 18 | 0.72 | Relegation to Cymru North or Cymru South |
| 12 | Airbus UK Broughton (R) | 26 | 4 | 5 | 17 | 28 | 67 | −39 | 17 | 0.65 | Relegation to Cymru North or Cymru South |
* ↑ 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.

## Results

Teams played 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

| Home \ Away | ABE | AIR | BAL | BAR | CAE | CMU | CMR | CDR | CQN | NTW | PYB | TNS |
| Aberystwyth Town | — | 1–2 | 0–5 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 3–2 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–10 |
| Airbus UK Broughton | 1–5 | — | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 0–12 |
| Bala Town | 2–0 | 1–0 | — | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 4–0 | 4–0 | 3–1 |
| Barry Town United | 3–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | — | 0–0 | 1–1 | 7–1 | 1–0 | 0–4 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 1–4 |
| Caernarfon Town | 0–3 | 5–0 | 1–2 | 4–1 | — | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 1–0 |
| Cardiff Metropolitan University | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | — | 0–3 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| Carmarthen Town | 0–0 | 2–2 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 | — | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 2–6 |
| Cefn Druids | 1–2 | 3–1 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 3–3 | — | 2–0 | 1–2 | 2–3 | 0–5 |
| Connah's Quay Nomads | 4–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 4–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | — | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 |
| Newtown | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | — | 1–1 | 0–2 |
| Penybont | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–6 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 0–0 | 0–2 | — | 2–3 |
| The New Saints | 2–0 | 6–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | — |

## Season statistics

    As of 22 December 2019

### Scoring
#### Top scorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Chris Venables | Bala Town | 15 |
| 2 | Greg Draper | The New Saints | 13 |
| 3 | Kayne McLaggon | Barry Town United | 10 |
| 4 | Henry Jones | Bala Town | 9 |
| 4 | Eliot Evans | Cardiff Metropolitan University | 9 |
| 4 | Jamie Insall | Connah's Quay Nomads | 9 |
| 4 | Louis Robles | Bala Town | 9 |
| 7 | Dean Ebbe | The New Saints | 8 |
| 8 | Michael Bakare | Connah's Quay Nomads | 7 |
| 8 | James Davies | Cefn Druids | 7 |
| 8 | Luke Bowen | Carmarthen | 7 |
| 8 | Andy Owens | Airbus UK Broughton | 7 |