2014–15 Welsh Premier League
Football league season
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The 2014–15 Welsh Premier League (known as the Corbett Sports Welsh Premier League for sponsorship reasons) was the 23rd season of the Welsh Premier League, the highest football league within Wales since its establishment in 1992. The season began on 22 August 2014. The New Saints claimed their ninth Welsh top flight championship on 14 March 2015 after a 3–0 win against nearest rivals in the table Bala Town.
Cefn Druids
| Season | 2014–15 |
|---|---|
| Champions | The New Saints (9th title) |
| Relegated | Prestatyn Cefn Druids |
| Champions League | The New Saints |
| Europa League | Bala Town Airbus Newtown |
| Matches | 192 |
| Goals | 656 (3.42 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Chris Venables (25 goals) |
| Biggest home win | Bala Town 8–1 Carmarthen Town |
| Biggest away win | Cefn Druids 0–5 Aberystwyth Town |
| Highest scoring | Bala Town 8–1 Carmarthen Town |
| Longest winning run | 8 matches The New Saints |
| Longest unbeaten run | 30 matches The New Saints |
| Longest winless run | 10 games Bangor City Prestatyn Town |
| Longest losing run | 5 games Cefn Druids |
← 2013–14 2015–16 →
All statistics correct as of 14 March 2015. | |
Teams
Afan Lido were relegated out of the Welsh Premier League the previous season, while Cefn Druids were promoted as winners of the Cymru Alliance.
Stadia and locations
Personnel and kits
| Team | Head coach | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsors |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aberystwyth |  Ian Hughes | | Nike | Cambrian Tyres |
| Airbus UK |  Andy Preece | | Macron | Gardner Aerospace |
| Bala | Colin Caton | | Joma | Aykroyd's |
| Bangor | Neville Powell | | Macron | Pentraeth Kia |
| Carmarthen | Mark Aizlewood | | Macron | McGinley Support |
| Cefn Druids | Huw Griffiths | | Joma | AtWill Pubs |
| Nomads | Mark McGregor | | Macron | Think Accounting |
| Newtown | Chris Hughes | | Givova | NEO/EOM |
| Port Talbot | Jarred Harvey | | Macron | Blanco's |
| Prestatyn | Neil Gibson | | Erreà | G & G Foods |
| Rhyl | Greg Strong | | FBT | VanTruck |
| TNS | Carl Darlington | | Legea | Derma V10 |
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The New Saints (C) | 32 | 23 | 8 | 1 | 90 | 24 | +66 | 77 | Qualification for Champions League first qualifying round |
| 2 | Bala Town | 32 | 18 | 5 | 9 | 67 | 42 | +25 | 59 | Qualification for Europa League first qualifying round |
| 3 | Airbus UK Broughton | 32 | 18 | 4 | 10 | 62 | 34 | +28 | 58 | |
| 4 | Aberystwyth Town | 32 | 14 | 10 | 8 | 69 | 61 | +8 | 52 | Qualification for Europa League play-offs |
| 5 | Port Talbot Town | 32 | 13 | 4 | 15 | 54 | 59 | −5 | 43 | |
| 6 | Newtown (O) | 32 | 10 | 8 | 14 | 52 | 65 | −13 | 38 | |
| 7 | Connah's Quay Nomads | 32 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 44 | 53 | −9 | 43 | Qualification for Europa League play-offs |
| 8 | Rhyl | 32 | 11 | 9 | 12 | 41 | 49 | −8 | 42 | |
| 9 | Carmarthen Town | 32 | 12 | 6 | 14 | 48 | 57 | −9 | 42 | |
| 10 | Bangor City | 32 | 9 | 8 | 15 | 48 | 62 | −14 | 35 | |
| 11 | Cefn Druids (R) | 32 | 7 | 6 | 19 | 38 | 64 | −26 | 27 | Relegation to Cymru Alliance |
| 12 | Prestatyn Town (R) | 32 | 4 | 6 | 22 | 43 | 86 | −43 | 18 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (R) Relegated
Results
Teams play each other twice on a home and away basis, before the league is split into two groups at the end of January 2015 – the top six and the bottom six.
Matches 1–22
Matches 23–32
|
Top six |
Bottom six
|
UEFA Europa League play-offs
Teams who finished in positions fourth to seventh at the end of the regular season took part in play-offs to determine the third participant for the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League.
Semi-finals
| Port Talbot Town | 0–1 (a.e.t.) | Newtown |
|---|---|---|
Boundford  120' |
| Aberystwyth | 3–2 | Connah's Quay |
|---|---|---|
| Venables 18' (pen.) Evans  84' (o.g.)Jones 90' |
Report | Miller 14' Evans 67' |
Final
| Aberystwyth | 1–2 | Newtown |
|---|---|---|
| Venables 29' (pen.) |
Report | Goodwin 9' Hearsey 43' |
Season statistics
- As of 18 May 2015[1]
Top goalscorers
| Rank | Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chris Venables |
Aberystwyth Town | 28 |
| 2 | Martin Rose |
Port Talbot Town | 18 |
| Jason Oswell |
Newtown | ||
| 4 |  Greg Draper |
The New Saints | 17 |
| Lee Hunt |
Bala Town | ||
| 6 | Michael Wilde |
The New Saints | 16 |
| Tom Field |
Airbus UK Broughton | ||
| 8 | Luke Bowen |
Port Talbot Town | 14 |
| 9 | Mark Connolly |
Bala Town | 13 |
| Ian Sheridan |
Bala Town | ||
| 11 | Lee Healey |
Cefn Druids F.C/Bangor | 12 |
Hat-tricks
- As of 14 February 2015
| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chris Venables4 | Aberystwyth Town | Cefn Druids | 5–0[2] | 22 August 2014 |
| Mark Connolly | Bala Town | Carmarthen Town | 8–1[3] | 7 September 2014 |
| Aaron Bowen | Rhyl | Bangor City | 3–2[4] | 14 September 2014 |
| Luke Boundford | Newtown | Aberystwyth Town | 6–3[5] | 4 October 2014 |
| Lee Healey | Cefn Druids | Prestatyn Town | 3–1[6] | 31 October 2014 |
| Martin Rose | Port Talbot Town | Aberystwyth Town | 3–0[7] | 20 December 2014 |
| Chris Hartland | Carmarthen Town | Bangor City | 3–3[8] | 31 January 2015 |
| Tom Field | Airbus UK Broughton | Aberystwyth Town | 3–2[9] | 14 February 2015 |
4 Player scored 4 goals