2011–12 Welsh Premier League
| Season | 2011–12 |
|---|---|
| Champions | TNS |
| Relegated | Neath |
| Champions League | TNS |
| Europa League |
Bangor City Llanelli Cefn Druids (via cup) |
| Matches played | 192 |
| Goals scored | 608 (3.17 per match) |
| Biggest home win | Llanelli 9–2 Newtown |
| Biggest away win |
Neath 1–5 Llanelli Aberystwyth Town 0-4 Bala Town Newtown 0–4 Neath Prestatyn 0–4 TNS Newtown 0–4 Airbus |
| Highest scoring | Llanelli 9–2 Newtown |
|
← 2010–11 2012–13 → | |
The 2011–12 Welsh Premier League season was the 20th season of the Welsh Premier League, the highest football league of Wales since its establishment in 1992. Bangor City were the defending champions, but lost their title to The New Saints in a meeting on the final game of the season.
Teams
Haverfordwest County were relegated to the 2011–12 Football League Division One at the end of the 2010–11 season after finishing at the bottom of the table. The club thus ended a fourteen-year tenure in the league. They were replaced by 2010–11 Football League runners-up Afan Lido, who returned to the Premier League after six seasons.
Originally, Bala Town as 11th-placed team were going to be relegated as well; however, they were eventually spared as 2010–11 Cymru Alliance champions Connah's Quay Nomads were denied a Premier League licence.[1]
Stadia and location
| Team | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|
| Aberystwyth Town | Park Avenue | 5,500 |
| Afan Lido | Marston Stadium | 4,200 |
| Airbus UK Broughton | The Airfield | 2,100 |
| Bala Town | Maes Tegid | 3,000 |
| Bangor City | Nantporth | 3,000 |
| Carmarthen Town | Richmond Park | 3,000 |
| Llanelli AFC | Stebonheath Park | 3,700 |
| Neath | The Gnoll | 7,000 |
| Newtown AFC | Latham Park | 5,000 |
| Port Talbot Town | Victoria Road | 2,500 |
| Prestatyn Town | Bastion Road | 2,500 |
| The New Saints | Park Hall | 2,500 |
League table
| Pos |
Team |
Pld |
W |
D |
L |
GF |
GA |
GD |
Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The New Saints (C) | 32 | 23 | 5 | 4 | 75 | 31 | +44 | 74 | 2012–13 UEFA Champions League Second qualifying round |
| 2 | Bangor City | 32 | 22 | 3 | 7 | 72 | 45 | +27 | 69 | 2012–13 UEFA Europa League First qualifying round |
| 3 | Neath (R) | 32 | 18 | 8 | 6 | 60 | 36 | +24 | 621 | |
| 4 | Llanelli (O) | 32 | 18 | 5 | 9 | 63 | 36 | +27 | 59 | Qualification for UEFA Europa League play-offs |
| 5 | Bala Town | 32 | 14 | 7 | 11 | 48 | 41 | +7 | 49 | |
| 6 | Prestatyn Town | 32 | 8 | 4 | 20 | 41 | 63 | −22 | 28 | |
| 7 | Airbus UK Broughton | 32 | 10 | 9 | 13 | 48 | 50 | −2 | 39 | Qualification for UEFA Europa League play-offs |
| 8 | Aberystwyth Town | 32 | 8 | 10 | 14 | 44 | 50 | −6 | 33** | |
| 9 | Port Talbot Town | 32 | 8 | 9 | 15 | 39 | 51 | −12 | 33 | |
| 10 | Afan Lido | 32 | 7 | 11 | 14 | 40 | 55 | −15 | 32 | |
| 11 | Carmarthen Town | 32 | 10 | 2 | 20 | 33 | 67 | −34 | 32 | |
| 12 | Newtown | 32 | 7 | 5 | 20 | 44 | 82 | −38 | 23*2 | |
Updated to games played on 21 April 2012.
Source: Welsh Premier
Rules for classification:
1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (E) = Eliminated; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
(Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament indicated; (TQ) = Qualified to tournament, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (RQ) = Qualified to the relegation tournament indicated; (DQ) = Disqualified from tournament.
* Newtown deducted 3 points for fielding ineligible players.
** Aberystwyth Town deducted 1 point for fielding ineligible player
† Cefn Druids, playing in the 2011–12 Cymru Alliance, will qualify for the first qualifying round of the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League, even though they lost to The New Saints (themselves qualifiers for the UEFA Champions League), in the final of the 2011–12 Welsh Cup
.
Relegation issues
- 1.^ Neath were relegated on 27 April 2012, after failing in their Domestic and UEFA Competitions Licensing appeal, meaning they were relegated from the Welsh Premier League. Newtown would have been relegated otherwise.[2]
- 2 ^ Haverfordwest County would have replaced Newtown AFC should they have finished second in a feeder league, and thus gaining promotion. A win for Taffs Well in a game Vs Caerau Ely meant this could not happen, sparing Newtown's relegation.[3]
Results
Teams played each other twice on a home and away basis, before the league was split into two groups at the end of round 22 - the top six and the bottom six. Clubs in these groups played each other twice again bringing the total fixture count to 32.
Matches 1–22
| Home ╲ Away | ABE | AFA | AIR | BAL | BAN | CMR | LLA | NEA | NEW | PTA | PRE | TNS |
| Aberystwyth Town | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 4–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 1–1 | |
| Afan Lido | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 3–1 | |
| Airbus UK Broughton | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 2–4 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | |
| Bala Town | 3–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 2–4 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | |
| Bangor City | 1–1 | 4–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 5–3 | 0–3 | |
| Carmarthen Town | 2–1 | 2–5 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | |
| Llanelli | 2–0 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 9–2 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 0–1 | |
| Neath | 4–2 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 5–0 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 | |
| Newtown | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 4–2 | 0–2 | 0–4 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 1–3 | |
| Port Talbot Town | 0–4 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | |
| Prestatyn Town | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 0–5 | 6–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | |
| The New Saints | 3–2 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 3–4 | 4–0 | 4–2 | 3–0 | 5–0 | 3–2 | 2–1 |
Updated to games played on 14 January 2012.
Source: Welsh Premiership Football League
1 ^ The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Matches 23–32
|
Top six
Updated to games played on 21 April 2012. |
Bottom six
Updated to games played on 21 April 2012. |
UEFA Europa League play-offs
Teams who finished in positions fourth through eighth at the end of the season participated in a play-off to determine the second participant for the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League. As Neath failed to win their appeal against an FAW Domestic license, Aberystwyth Town took their place (See Relegation Section)
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Final
Top goalscorers
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Rhys Griffiths |
Llanelli AFC | 22 |
| 2 |  Greg Draper |
The New Saints | 21 |
| 3 | Les Davies |
Bangor City | 15 |
| 4 |  Ian Sheridan |
Airbus UK/Bala Town | 14 |
| Lee Hunt |
Bala Town | 14 | |
| 5 | Luke Bowen |
Neath Athletic | 13 |
References
- ↑ "Connah's Quay see Welsh Premier hopes dashed". www.dailypost.co.uk. Liverpool Daily Post. May 2011. Retrieved 7 May 2011.
- ↑ "Club Licensing Appeals". Football Association of Wales. 2012-04-27.
- ↑ "Taffs Well Win keeps Newtown in WPL". Welshpremier.com. 2012-05-03.