JD CYMRU PREMIER
IT was a weekend of shocks in the JD Cymru Premier.
Newly crowned champions The New Saints lost their first game at home in the Championship Conference and Cefn Druids finally won their first game of the season in the Play-off section.
The Druids had waited 26 games and 226 days to finally notch up a win and their 2-1 home triumph over Cardiff Met was the cause of great excitement and celebration at The Rock.
They may have already been relegated, but they showed the kind of spirit that will surely make them a force in JD North next season
Niall Flint opened the scoring with a 14th-minute penalty and then the students lost Joe Evans to a straight red card seven minutes later.
That turned a tricky contest into a real uphill struggle for the visitors, who then conceded a second penalty to Flint as a result of the card.
With much-improved Haverfordwest County holding former champions Connah’s Quay Nomads to a goalless draw, it means Cardiff Met – who were unbeaten in their previous 11 games – are now only level on points with the Bluebirds at the top.
Aberystwyth Town beat Barry Town United 2-1 in the other game in the Play-off Conference, heaping even more pressure on the relegation-threatened Linnets.
After a long week of travelling, Penybont’s luck finally ran out as they were beaten 1-0 at Flint Town United in the Championship Conference.
Last weekend they went to penalties at Aberystwyth before beating Bala Town to reach their first JD Welsh Cup final and in midweek they went to Newtown to win 2-1 to stay level on points with second-placed Bala.
A third successive away trip proved a step too far for them as they lost for the second time to Flint.
After playing out a scoreless first half, it was a goal from Mark Cadwallader three minutes after the break that broke the deadlock and earned the home side their first win since January 22 and their first home win since December 4.
It was a win that allowed Flint to move off the bottom of the six-team table and push themselves back into contention for the second European spot.
With six games to play there are only five points between four teams and six between secondplaced Bala and sixth-placed Caernarfon Town.
Bala beat Caernarfon 2-0 thanks to goals from Dean Ebbe and Lassana Mendes, while Newtown pulled off a 1-0 triumph at the home of The New Saints.
It was only the second defeat of the campaign for TNS and the first time they had been beaten at home in the league.
The goal from Nick Rushton in the 31st minute was the only score in a tense tussle that pushed Newtown firmly back into the European reckoning and made up for their midweek slip-up against Penybont.