Cymru South half-season review: The overachievers & underachievers
Llantwit Major v Cwmbran Celtic in the JD Cymru South at Windmill Lane on the 24th July 2021. Credit: Lewis Mitchell
The JD Cymru South has reached the halfway point of the season with Llantwit Major leading the way.
Port Talbot Town sit in last place but will this be the case come the end of the season? Who are the candidates for promotion and relegation, who have overachievers or underachievers so far?
League Leaders – Llantwit Major
With a last gasp goal at Briton Ferry, Llantwit return to the top of the Cymru South after having lead for large parts of the season. It’s been an incredible turnaround at the Windmill Ground after finishing 11th in the shortened 2019/20 season.
A huge part of their success this season has come from the goals of Thomas Walters, who leads the scoring charts with 16. Llantwit are far from a one-man team though with captain Cullen Kinsella having six goals and young star Josh Jones with four.
Starting the season with an 11 game unbeaten run they have suffered only two defeats.
The club have applied for a Tier 1 License and if granted they could be playing in the Cymru Premier next season.
Promotion Candidates – Pontypridd Town, Briton Ferry, Goytre United
Pontypridd Town are in second spot just one point behind leaders Llantwit. With only one defeat this season and 11 wins, The Dragons stand a superb chance of toppling Llantwit and winning the title. When the side’s met in October, Ponty ran out 4-0 winners. Veteran striker Gavin Beddard has netted ten goals and Luke Gullick has 12.
In the third spot is Briton Ferry Llansawel who five points behind Llantwit. The Reds began the season with a big 3-0 win over Champions Swansea Uni. They have ten wins from their 15 games and if they hadn’t lost to Llantwit recently would be even closer to the leaders.
Using a mix of youth and experience they are one of the most exciting teams to watch in the league. A good strong second half to the season could see them topple the sides above them.
Goytre United have the same record as Briton Ferry and are another promotion candidate. They began the season with four straight wins but then lost back to back to Briton Ferry and Llantwit.
Since then just one defeat to Pontypridd sees them in fourth spot. If they to mount a challenge then they will need to do better against their promotion rivals but have recently lost manager Lee John.
Relegation Candidates – Port Talbot, Undy Athletic, Risca United.
At the bottom are Port Talbot Town in what has to be the most challenging seasons for the club. Losing their manager on the eve of the season opener and several first team players. The Steelmen have been forced to field mostly young players and have suffered many heavy defeats.
Undy Athletic are in 15th place with just three wins so far this season. Their recent win over fellow strugglers Cwmbran Celtic was their first win in five after four defeats. Their only other wins have come over Port Talbot so they will need to start picking up points from the team above them.
Risca United went six games without a win at the start of the season and have since only won three times.
One of those wins was against Swansea Uni so there is evidence that they can pick up points from teams above them. Back-to-back games against Cwmbran Celtic over the festive period could be the turning point for the club.
Overachievers – Llantwit Major
Sitting atop the Cymru South table Llantwit have to be considered the overachievers so far this season. At the halfway stage they sit in a good position to gain promotion.
Their next match will see them host follow title rivals Briton Ferry and in February they face Pontypridd. These two games could be key for Llantwit and their hopes of finishing first.
Underachievers – Ammanford AFC
Despite Lee Trundle hitting ten goals and Tristan Jenkins setting the league alight with 16, Ammanford find themselves just six points above relegation.
Sitting in ninth place with 19 points, it is not the position that the club would have expected to be in.
Starting with two wins and having former Swansea City star Leon Britton in the team, they then lost their next two and have been unable to recapture their form.
In the eight games since his departure, since they have just two wins.
