Gavin Chesterfield takes his Barry Town side to joint-league leaders Connah’s Quay this afternoon in what will be his 399th game in charge.
Remarkably, his team could be sitting top of the JD Welsh Premier League for his 400th game against The New Saints next weekend.
Chesterfield’s side are separated only by goal difference with Connah’s Quay ahead of this afternoon’s top-of-the-table clash at the Deeside Stadium.
His counterpart Andy Morrison, appears to have established a new-found level of consistency within his Connah’s Quay squad after spending previous seasons clinging to The New Saints coattails.
Meanwhile, a run of eight wins from 10 games has propelled Barry Town from top-six hopefuls to title contenders.
A win for either team would push them three points clear at the top of the JD Welsh Premier League and, perhaps more importantly, five points ahead of defending champions The New Saints.
Gavin Chesterfield remains confident in his team’s ability as they look for a fifth straight WPL win.
“Connah’s Quay are a well organised side full of good players with good experience, but we feel we’ve got a lot to offer the game as well,” he said.
“We go into the game full of confidence, we will go into the game hopeful.”
“It’s a tough game because it’s not an easy place to go, but we’ve gone to other places this year which are equally as difficult to go to, and we’ve got a result.”
On-loan Newport County striker Touray Momodou has scored the winning goal in Barry’s last two games in a season which has seen him gain international recognition, making his Wales Under-21 debut last month.
Momodou and Kayne McLaggon are Barry Town’s two main dangermen and the side have looked particularly effective on the counterattack this season.
Chesterfield says it’s important his players stick to their game plan: “It’ll be a tough game because Connah’s Quay test you – and they will test you for the full 94 minutes, so we will have to remain concentrated throughout.
“We will have to make sure we still to our principles and our game plan, but it’s a game we’re really much looking forward to… its first versus second, and who’d thought that at the start of the season?!”
A home win for Connah’s Quay would give further evidence that this is their biggest chance yet of pushing The New Saints all the way for the league title.
Morrison has assembled a team who are not only well organised and defensively resilient but have the strength in depth and options to change their game.
Morrison welcomes back key winger Ryan Wignall from suspension and must decide whether to make changes to the side which devastated Llanelli 6-0 last weekend.
Defensive lynchpin George Horan is again expected to miss out as he struggles to maintain fitness.
| Pos. | Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Connah’s Quay Nomads | 13 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 32 | 11 | 21 | 28 |
| 2 | Barry Town United FC | 13 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 20 | 16 | 4 | 28 |
| 3 | The New Saints | 14 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 36 | 10 | 26 | 26 |
| 4 | Bala Town | 14 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 27 | 20 | 7 | 26 |
| 5 | Newtown | 13 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 20 | 15 | 5 | 21 |
| 6 | Aberystwyth Town | 13 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 16 | 20 | -4 | 20 |
| 7 | Caernarfon Town | 13 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 13 | 16 | -3 | 19 |
| 8 | Cardiff Metropolitan University | 13 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 17 | 17 | 0 | 17 |
| 9 | Cefn Druids | 13 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 15 | 16 | -1 | 13 |
| 10 | Carmarthen Town AFC | 13 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 15 | 27 | -12 | 12 |
| 11 | Llandudno FC | 14 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 10 | 24 | -14 | 9 |
| 12 | Llanelli Town AFC | 13 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 12 | 41 | -29 | 7 |
