After both sides kicked off their Genero Adran U19s Premier Conference campaigns with a win, Wrexham AFC and The New Saints go head-to-head at Park Hall on Friday evening.
The travelling Red Dragons beat Briton Ferry Llansawel 2-1 on home soil last Saturday, in the first matchup between a North and South side in the league phase.
In-form attacking-midfielder Sienna Perry got Gareth Owen’s side off to the perfect start, scoring in the 17th minute to give the hosts the advantage.
However just minutes later, Ferry found an equaliser. Lucy Jones scored her eighth goal of the campaign, already matching her total last season, to level the game up.
A close-encounter, but it would be Wrexham to claim all three points, and Perry was involved again, setting up Anna Owen to put her name on the scoresheet. Three points for last season’s national runners-up to begin their Phase Two.
They face a TNS side who couldn’t find a win in Phase One. Wrexham beat The Saints twice and drew once in the North League.
Despite the disappointment of the first half of the season, this is a very different TNS side, who fought back from 2-0 down to beat current national champions Cardiff City on Sunday afternoon.
The Bluebirds took a 2-0 lead going into halftime, after strikes from Eliza Keane and Elexis Lowe. It looked as though it would be a routine victory for Cardiff, but it would end up being far from it.
Grace Thomas got a goal back for TNS five minutes after the restart, and then the goals kept coming for the hosts. Non Williams scored twice in a six-minutes period to put The Saints 3-2 up, and they would see the game out for their first win of the campaign.
Cardiff City will be looking to put things right when they host Connah’s Quay Nomads at the Cardiff International Sports Stadium on Sunday afternoon, in a 3pm kick-off.
This will be the first meeting between these two sides in U19s football. After postponements in Phase Two, this will also be Nomads’ first game of the Premier Conference.
Barry Town United will be going into their game with Carmarthen Town on Friday night with the most confidence they’ve had this season, having beaten Pontypridd United 3-0 last week, with Ponty unbeaten prior to that game.
Libby Emanuel scored a first-half hattrick againt her former side to send Barry on their way to a huge three points, taking the top spot early on after winning both of their Premier Conference games so far.
They face a Carmarthen side who are yet to play their first game of Phase Two after two postponements. Huw Evans’ side battled-well to finish in the top five of the South League, qualifying for the Premier Conference.
Their most recent fixture was a 4-0 win against Swansea City in December, which would secure the top five finish. Casi Jones gave Carmarthen a first half lead, before goals later on in the game from Nieve Taylor, Mali John and Ophelia Jenkins made sure.
A tough battle awaits for The Old Gold. Barry have a 100% record against their opponents tonight, winning all five of their meetings against Carmarthen Town in previous years.
The most recent of those was in October, in a narrow 1-0 victory for Tom Davies’ side. Hope Rees’ goal in the 15th minute was enough for Barry to secure the win.
Both Briton Ferry Llansawel and Pontypridd United will be looking to get back on track after defeats last week, when the two sides meet at Llandarcy on Friday night.
Briton Ferry will be looking for their first points of Phase Two, after defeats to Wrexham and Barry, whilst Ponty will be looking to respond to their defeat against Barry last week.
Drew Lewis’ side are already off the mark in Phase Two, after an incredible opening matchday victory against Cardiff City. Last week was their first defeat of the season, having gone the entire of Phase One unbeaten.
The last meeting between these two sides was a close-contest, which saw Robyn Lloyd once again have the say in the outcome.
Lucy Jones opened the scoring for Ferry back in September, before an instant response from Catrin Edwards and Chloe Simmonds put Ponty ahead inside 20 minutes.
Ferry equalised through Matilda Matthews before halftime, and it would remain 2-2 until the last five minutes, where Lloyd fired home to give Pontypridd United all three points. There could well be a similar amount of turns in the game on Friday evening.
In the Championship Conference, Cardiff Met host Swansea City in a game between the two most in-form sides in the group.
Both sides have won their opening games of Phase Two. Met beat Cascade YC and Llanelli Town convincingly, whilst The Swans beat Taffs Well and Penybont.
However, Swansea won the last meeting between the two by a three-goal margin, in a 4-1 victory at Cyncoed Stadium. Florence Tarrant gave the travelling Swansea the lead, before Catrin Lemos equalised in the first half.
The second-half would see Swansea take control, helped by Lowri Jones again, who is one of the stories of the season so far. Jones scored twice, and Tarrant also scored her second, to secure all three points in Phase One of the campaign.
The other side to have won a game in the Championship Conference so far are Aberystwyth Town, who host Taffs Well on Friday evening at Park Avenue.
A 5-1 win against Llanelli Town AFC in their first game saw goals from Seren Evans, Ella Thomas, Lily Moralee-Hughes and a brace from Amelia Talbot, helping Aber on their way to three points.
They face a Taffs Well team who battled well in their opening Phase Two game against Swansea City, just falling short in a 4-3 defeat. Emily Davies, Rianne Jones and Molly Ridge all scored in that game.
Aberystwyth won the last fixture between the two sides earlier this month, in a 6-2 win over The Wellwomen, which included two goals each for Ella Thomas and Cymru U16 international Lita Egan.
Penybont host Llanelli Town, in a game which could see either side end a disappointing run of results of late, with both sides without a point in the U19s league since before December.
Llanelli have started Phase Two with defeats to Aberystwyth and Cardiff Met, whilst Penybont were defeated by Swansea in their opening game last week.
The Reds were convincing winners in the last meeting between these two sides in November, in an 8-1 win, which was the last time tonight’s visitors picked up a victory. A chance for both sides to show positive signs on Friday evening.
Full Fixtures – Genero Adran U19s
Premier Conference
Briton Ferry Llansawel vs Pontypridd United (Friday 30th January, Kick-Off 8pm)
Barry Town United vs Carmarthen Town (Friday 30th January, Kick-Off 8pm)
The New Saints vs Wrexham AFC (Friday 30th January, Kick-Off 8pm)
Cardiff City vs Connah’s Quay Nomads (Sunday 1st February, Kick-Off 3pm)
Championship Conference
Aberystwyth Town vs Taffs Well (Friday 30th January, Kick-Off 7:30pm)
Cardiff Met vs Swansea City (Friday 30th January, Kick-Off 7:30pm)
Penybont vs Llanelli Town AFC (Friday 30th January, Kick-Off 7:30pm)
Matchday One Results
Premier Conference
Pontypridd United 0-3 Barry Town United
Wrexham AFC 2-1 Briton Ferry Llansawel
The New Saints 3-2 Cardiff City
Championship Conference
Penybont 1-10 Swansea City
Llanelli Town AFC 2-4 Cardiff Met
