Match Preview

Fourth-placed Bangor City welcome bottom-of-the-table Carmarthen Town on JD Welsh Premier League Matchday 4 this Saturday, 9 September (2:30pm Kick Off).

The Citizens are one of five teams with six points from the opening three JD WPL fixtures behind surprise leaders Llandudno (9 points). Kevin Nicholson's side have registered three wins out of four so far (including the Nathaniel MG Cup) and are 100% at Nantporth with 3 victories against The New Saints (5-2), Prestatyn Town (1-0) and Denbigh Town (5-2).

Striker Dean Rittenberg hit four-goals in the latter fixture and could well have earned himself an automatic starting place on Saturday. The Citizens will also be hoping that Assistant Manager Gary Taylor-Fletcher will have recovered sufficiently from the knock received at Cardiff Met to also be in contention.

Former Accrington Stanley midfielder Steven Hewitt came through a full 90 minutes against Denbigh following a knee-injury picked up in pre-season. Young striker George Harry will also have benefited from a run out with the Under-19 Development team last Sunday - a game in which he scored twice.

Mark Aizlewood’s Carmarthen Town side have not enjoyed the best of starts to the 2017/18 JD WPL season with three straight defeats so far - a 0-3 reverse at Llandudno on the opening day has been followed by losses at Connah’s Quay (1-3) and Newtown (1-4).

Saturday’s match is The Old Gold’s fourth consecutive road trip as Richmond Park undergoes its transformation into a 3G surface. Their first home match won’t arrive until the end of September when WPL champions The New Saints will be the visitors.

However, Carmarthen should not be underestimated despite their track record so far this term. Last season The Citizens suffered home defeats in both pre- and post-split encounters at Nantporth, by 1-2 and 0-2 margins. A 3-2 win for City and a 1-1 draw at Richmond Park helped redress the balance but The Old Gold are guaranteed to make life difficult for the Blues on Saturday afternoon.