Aberystwyth Town picked up a precious three points against Llandudno on Sunday to regain their two-point lead ahead of relegation rivals Rhyl.
Rhyl piled the pressure on Aberystwyth on Saturday, with their 2-1 victory over Airbus relegating the Wingmakers.
Either Rhyl or Aberystwyth will follow Airbus out of the league into the second tier – providing WPL hopefuls Barry Town clinch promotion from the Welsh League.
Aber led from the 13th minute at Llandudno when Mark Jones was able to steady himself under close attention and convert Malcom Melvin’s cross.
Then inside the final 15 minutes, a surging run on the counter from Jones resulted in Melvin slotting the ball through the legs of Dave Roberts as Aberystwyth sealed their first win in seven attempts.
The clash between Aberystwyth and Rhyl on Good Friday could prove decisive in determining this season’s relegation battle, a win for the hosts would condemn Rhyl to an 11th-place finish in the table, leaving them to sweat on Barry Town squandering their promotion charge in order to avoid the drop.
Airbus UK said goodbye to the Welsh Premier League after their late defeat to Rhyl signalled the end of their 12-year spell in the top-flight.
The Wingmakers led early in the second-half when Glen Rule’s free-kick deceived everyone except Steve Tomassen who turned the ball in from point blank.
After Rhyl defender Chris Rimmer had found space to convert off a corner, Steve Lewis found himself unmarked, two minutes from time, to send Airbus into the Cymru Alliance.
Just a few season’s ago, Airbus were considered the strongest semi-professional side in the league, finishing as runners-up over successive seasons and competing in Europe, but the financial impact of not qualifying for continental football last season proved to be a blow which the club were never able to recover from.
The untimely departure of Andy Preece days before the start of the season saw club stalwart Andrew Thomas take over as manager in difficult circumstances, but the fact Airbus slid down the table so rapidly with a squad of relatively-established WPL-proven players, just a year after reaching both the Welsh Cup and Europa League Play-Off finals, should now raise some serious questions.
Results: TNS 1-0 Connah’s Quay, Bala 1-1 Carmarthen, Newtown 1-1 Cefn Druids, Rhyl 2-1 Airbus, Cardiff Met 2-3 Bangor City, Llandudno 0-2 Aberystwyth.
Featured image courtesy of Mark Chesterton/ Rhyl FC/ Welsh Premier League.
