Cymru South 2023-24 predictions: It’s Briton Ferry’s year and race for the drop assessed
Tom Walters of Briton Ferry celebrates scoring his sides second goal from the penalty spot. Briton Ferry Llansawel v Trefelin in the JD Cymru South at Old Road on the 6th January 2023.
The Cymru South 2023/24 season begins on Thursday (July 27) when Goytre United host Cwmbran Celtic.
Entering its fourth season and what will be its third full campaign, the formation of the Cymru Leagues has been beneficial to football in South Wales. It has modernised the game and there are more eyes and ears on it than ever with clubs across the region attracting good crowds – with some averaging more than Cymru Premier clubs.
Below we take a look at how the season may pan out, predicting who will be in the promotion mix, and who will be fighting for their lives.
Title challengers
It’s hard to look past Briton Ferry Llansawel who will be hoping that this is their year, and personally I think it will be. Last season’s title rivals Barry Town United had a big fan base, a strong squad, and big financial backing but with no South Walian team relegated, there’s a chance here for the Reds to achieve their goal.
Ferry haven’t played in the top flight of Welsh football since 1997 and this is perhaps their best chance. Andy Hill knows how to win a title at this level having got Llanelli Town promoted.
A few of Llantwit Major’s 2021/22 squad remain at the club including prolific striker Thomas Walters, meanwhile, Luke Bowen will give him a run for his money in the Golden Boot race. Goalkeeper Rhys Wilson captained Penybont to their success in 2019 and so you have to place them as the league favourites.
As for who could challenge them well Llanelli Town should be up there. The other Reds have recruited well under Lee John, bringing in Callum Bateman, as well as some of the Swansea University side that won the maiden edition in 2019/20. They finished second last season but a whole 16 points off of Barry, but you feel the league will be more competitive this time around. What a way to start off the campaign though with Ferry and Llanelli beating at Old Road in front of the RedWall+ cameras, with a win for either side giving them a good platform to begin their campaign.
Carmarthen Town who finished fourth may be in the mix given the experience of their manager Mark Aizlewood. Their preparations for the new campaign did take a big hit however when a strong team lost 4-0 to Swansea City’s Under-21’s in the Nathaniel MG Cup.
Another team that suffered defeat in the league cup to a wildcard team is Cambrian & Clydach, who lost on penalties to Cardiff City, but they could also be in the mix for the title. Richie Ryan has had a good amount of success as a player and is trying to bring that into management. As transfer windows go they’ve signed some good players like Tim Parker who scored on his competitive debut as well as bringing in some experience like David Vincent and Dan Spencer.
Teams to keep an eye out for
Llantwit Major did well to finish in the top half last season after the majority of their squad was signed by Briton Ferry. Last season saw them lose a lot of their players to Goytre United too where a few of their title-winning squad are playing.
Stevie McCarthy-Campbell has reinvented the Major squad and has signed a mix of experience and youth. They may not be in the title mix but there’s no reason why they can’t improve on their seventh-placed finish.
Another team to keep an eye out for is Ammanford, who in some eyes have underperformed in recent years. The arrival of Lee Trundle four years ago was meant to be the signing that made them into title contenders but they’ve been fighting at the wrong foot of the table.
Gruff Harrison remains and now backed by Wyn Thomas, a Welsh football legend, the Carmarthenshire club have had a strong transfer window.
The battle at the bottom…
The three newly promoted teams will all have a goal of remaining in the division in their first campaign. Many teams either perform well above expectations and get a top-half finish or they go down.
Caerau Ely have experienced Cymru South football before but were relegated having struggled to find wins. The Young Guns should be more optimistic about their hopes of survival this time around though after winning the Ardal South West title.
Dean Wheeler’s side played some nice stuff last year and all are either homegrown talent or those from the surrounding areas. Interestingly though they’ve signed 11 players, including the return of Dan Bowen from Cardiff Met, and whilst that will provide some depth, it will be interesting to see how they gel together. Callum Bateman going to Llanelli is a big blow, and now it’s up to someone to step up and be the leading player for them this season.
Abertillery Bluebirds won the South East title, having pipped Risca United to it in their final game of the campaign. Aber Bluebirds are no strangers to upsetting a few after enjoying a good Welsh Cup run a few years ago, closely matching Connah’s Quay, who went on to win the Cymru Premier that season.
Ben Murphy and Lee Thomas will have a side that will get a few results against some of the bigger sides next season. Their ground Cwm-Nant-Y-Groes is right in the sticks of Abertillery, and not many teams will fancy their chances coming there.
We also have Baglan Dragons who won promotion via the Ardal Leagues play-offs thanks to a Jordan Evans brace. Baglan in a way will be similar to their predecessors Ynyshir Albions who came up via the playoffs. Baglan have had a few surprise results in cup competitions over the years and they’ll play on that plucky underdog status that they thrive on. They’ve got a few local derbies to look forward to this season too.
Trefelin BGC can count themselves fortunate that they were given a reprieve after Cefn Druids left the Cymru North and Llanidloes Town were kept in the northern region. They finished third from bottom last year and you’d put them in the relegation picture again based on their last campaign.
Taffs Well have lost a fair few players over the summer and it could be a long season ahead for the Wellmen. Their manager Craig Sampson who led them to a Nathaniel MG Cup final and a top-half finish in 2021/22 has gone and now their new management team are dealt with the task of keeping them in the division.
Abergavenny Town are another team that last year flirted with relegation having seen several of their players leave for lower division opportunities. Nicky Morgan is in charge of the Pennies now, but the loss of Danny Elliott to Cwmbran Town means Morgan will have to do things his own way, and seek advice from another source.
