I Will Love It and Who's That Coming Over the Hill....

“I Will Love It If We Beat Them…” 

Successive victories over Denbigh, Conwy and Flint had given us a boost following a tough start to the season and the team seemed to be improving with each match. However, one thing that had concerned me at Flint was the small squad Iwan had at his disposal. 

In one of the pieces we put on the club’s website during the summer months the manager made it clear that he planned on having a compact squad that would be small on numbers but hopefully big on talent. Of course, the problem with this is that we’d be reliant on enjoying an impossibly injury-free season and, whilst I know Iwan would have already been thinking of ways around this, and having both himself and Gareth Parry available to play would obviously be a big help, I’m not sure he, or anyone could have anticipated the spate of injuries we suffered in the opening weeks. As a result, just twelve players were available for selection at Flint and this was reduced further when Kevin Roberts left the field at Cae y Castell. 

All this made for less than ideal preparation for our Word Cup tie at Bangor City. Knowing that we were struggling for players on this of all nights was worrying enough but the fact that the Citizens had comfortably defeated Airbus UK just four days earlier added to a slight dampening of my enthusiasm for the match. This was not a lack of belief on my part in the management and players, rather that City might prove a better side than I had believed them to be and obviously we wanted us to face them with a full squad. Despite our lack of numbers however, I still felt we had a chance of winning. 

“I'll tell you, honestly, I will love it if we beat them. Love it.” 

It goes without saying that I had been looking forward immensely to the match and was desperate for the side to triumph. Whilst driving to the ground I kept thinking of that famous Kevin Keegan quote from 1996 when he was manager of Newcastle and his side were fighting for the Premier League title with Manchester United: “I'll tell you, honestly, I will love it if we beat them. Love it.” Granted, I didn’t voice this in front of an audience of millions like Keegan did, but he could not have meant it any more than I did. 

I have good memories of watching matches at Farrar Road as a younger when they were doing well in the Alliance Premier League and whilst they have in the past been one of the biggest clubs in Wales I think it’s fair to say they’ve been going through a difficult time recently, both on and off the pitch. 

There has always been a great rivalry between the two clubs and the Citizens have usually had the upper hand over the Canaries in the past few years. However, I feel we have closed the wide gap that once prevailed and as a club we are much more representative of the local area we are part of. Put it like this, there was only one set of players speaking in Welsh at Nantporth on the night and they didn’t play in blue! 

Luckily for the Security firm, Kevin Roberts turned the other way....

I arrived at the Ground early and the first thing I saw filled me with dread. It wasn’t the sight of the twenty two strong security team standing in the car park that worried me but the fact that Town midfielder Kevin Roberts was standing nearby, and was not looking best pleased. Now I don’t particularly like The Kaiser Chiefs but their song ‘I Predict a Riot’ instantly sprung to mind. Thankfully for the security team, Kevin was not about to put them to bed with a medley of his best tackles and I soon learned that his obvious frown was due to being ruled out of the match through injury.

Panic over and once inside the ground I bumped into former Town assisting manager Dave Cavanagh who now works with one of Bangor’s Academy sides. Cav is always good for a laugh and he shared one or two great stories about players at some of his former clubs that I could not possibly share on here! But if he should ever decide to write a book, I’ll be one of the first in line to buy it! 

The pitch itself looked magnificent, and I was also impressed by the Main Stand, which is bigger than I had realised during a previous visit to the ground. I have heard some people say that the venue is yet another example of the modern identikit grounds that are being built by non-professional clubs and whilst it may lack the character of Farrar Road, it is nevertheless a great looking venue. 

There’s no need for me to go over the match in detail but what I can say is that Caernarfon deserved the victory. Despite one or two comments on Twitter (from the vicinity of Anglesey per chance?) stating otherwise, we were the better side on the night. The Canaries had the best opportunities in front of goal and looked fitter than the home side, finishing stronger in both halves. Iwan has spoken about the importance of high fitness levels and it was obvious to me that, despite our small squad, and the introduction of no substitutes, the Canaries looked the sharper outfit at the final whistle. It spoke volumes about the fitness work Iwan and his staff carried out with the players during the summer and also suggests that training facilities are at least just as good in this area as they are up the Coast!

It was a satisfying night to be a Caernarfon supporter, and the reaction at the final whistle from the Cofi supporters was brilliant. There are a few clips doing the rounds on youtube of the celebrations between the team and players immediately after the match and they’re worth seeing if you catch them. 

As this is a personal blog I think it’s fair to share my own thoughts on the security policy at the match. In the days leading up to the tie, Bangor City FC issued a statement that read thus: ‘The area for Caernarfon Town fans will be one hundred seats in the main stand, with a managed sterile area between both sets of fans. Standing area for Caernarfon Town fans will be from the end of the main stand to the corner flag near the turnstiles.’ 

The general consensus amongst Caernarfon followers beforehand was that there could be anything up to five hundred Cofis in attendance and so I could not have been alone in thinking the allocated area would probably not be sufficient. This became obvious a few minutes before kick off when the crowd in the standing area was three or four people deep, meaning that children and many adults could not see the match. To be fair, Bangor did open a second section in the main stand for visiting supporters at half time but this hardly helped those who had to remain standing and could still not see the action. I can see why Bangor City implemented a security policy. We all know what happened during the Challenge Cup final between the sides at the same venue two seasons ago and I think it was understandable that they erred on the side of caution this time around. However, I always felt that the allocated space was never going to be sufficient and it would have been much better for the whole area at one end of the pitch to also have been allocated to Caernarfon supporters, or at least to have been made available once it became obvious that people could not see the match. This would have meant everyone could have seen the action whilst also keeping the segregation intact. 

I would not go so far as to say the situation invoked memories of those dark days in the eighties when away supporters were forced into ‘pens’ at grounds, but with so many security personnel on hand I think the problem could have been easily rectified. I spoke with one of those security officers later and he told me, not surprisingly, that Town supporters had been impeccably behaved and I hope this message was relayed to Bangor City FC so that every Caernarfon supporter can get to see the game next time we play there. After all, if you pay £8 as an adult and £6 as a child to get into the ground you are entitled to see the match. 

On a more positive note, I can think of many highlights to savour from the evening: 

Nathan Craig and Jay Gibbs ruling the roost in midfield and showing they can get stuck in whenever they feel the need to. 

Seeing our old Gaffer, Lee Dixon, in the Main Stand exchanging some mild banter with the Caernarfon Town committee. 

The goal, and Iwan’s celebrations when Jamie scored. 

The Cofi Army and their celebrations at the final whistle. 

Special mention should also be made of one or two decent chants from the Cofi Army, including a song about Jamie Breese and a specially adapted version of the old Automatic song “What’s that Coming Over the Hill.” Priceless. 

I could go on and mention a few other things that made me smile on the night but if you’re a Caernarfon Town supporter you’ll know exactly what they are! 

On the way out of the ground I bumped into Jamie Breese and I could not resist a photo with our match winner. I mentioned in the last blog entry that I think he can become a key figure for us going forward and I am certain he will score the goals that can take us to a new level of success. I also saw some of the players and the manager and not surprisingly we all had big smiles on our faces. 

Whilst some will say it was nothing more than a victory against a side from a higher league, I would argue that it was more than that, and on more than one level. The committee at Caernarfon Town has always tried its best to do things the right way, and to try and create a community club that the Town’s people can be proud of. We have also tried our best to give local players the opportunity to play for the club. It may not always seem like but as a member of that committee I know it’s true. Most of our team at Nantporth were locally based players who train in this area and the performance just goes to show that you don’t have to fill your squad with players from up the Coast to have a decent team. 

I've come to the conclusion that Kevin Keegan was right all those years ago and whilst his side could not quite manage to put one over their great rivals at the time I am pleased to say that the team I follow was more than up to the task. 

It was a memorable night and I loved it!

Jamie Breese, Kev Roberts and Dubious Penalties?

The First Month Part Two.
Caernarfon’s first victory of the season, at Denbigh, must have been a huge relief for Iwan Williams and the players, not to mention the supporters, and in addition to giving us all a real boost I hope it proved to the manager that the style of football he wants the team to play can work.

The first three matches had all been against sides that play a much more direct style than the Canaries and, whilst Holywell and Prestatyn had given the team problems with their physicality, I think the players got to grips with this side of the game much more at Denbigh and got their just rewards. They certainly matched the hosts’ physically whilst the playmakers in Town’s line-up gave us the edge, a pattern I believe, and hope, we’ll be seeing plenty of this season.

Gareth Edwards dealt well with Conwy's aerial threat.

Conwy Borough visited the Oval five days later and provided another stiff test, although the match was not the most entertaining I’ve seen. Again, Conwy set up solidly, looking to keep things tight whilst playing mostly on the break. However, unlike the previous home match against Prestatyn, the Canaries showed much more patience going forward and although the free-flowing football of pre-season was only fleetingly seen, I thought the players did well. Jay Gibbs and Nathan Craig just about edged the midfield battle, although Conwy’s Rob Jones had an excellent evening and was a real nuisance throughout. He was Conwy’s best player on the night and must have impressed Iwan, as he has since brought him to the Oval.
For Caernarfon, special mention must be made of the defence on the night as, despite needing to re-shuffle after an early injury to Chris Williams, they gave Conwy little change and Gareth Edwards in particular dealt confidently with the aerial threat posed by the visitors.

Ellis Healing in action against his former club, Conwy.

Town’s winner came from Ellis Healing, who scored from the penalty spot against his former club. I was not too far away from the action when he was brought down just inside the area and thought the referee got it right, although Conwy’s management team were less than happy about the decision. That is to be expected of course, but I had to laugh when I read the match report on Conwy’s official site the following day, where it proclaimed Caernarfon had been awarded a ‘dubious’ penalty. Really?  How many times do we hear people call penalties ‘dubious’ whenever it’s one against their own team? Seeing this on the club’s site suggested a touch of sour grapes from the author and whilst I know only too well how hard it is to try and be impartial when writing match reports, this type of thing never looks good. 

We were on our travels again a few days later and my usual away day companion, Bob, didn’t fancy the trip so I was on my own. I’ve been watching football with Bob for well over thirty years and the last five seasons have seen us miss just a handful of away matches so it’s always odd when I’m travelling solo. To be fair, I couldn’t really blame him for giving it a miss as even I have to force my way up the A55 when we’re playing up the coast. I put this down to my fellow Caernarfon Town committee member Kevin ‘Becks’ who apparently has something to do with putting cones down the lanes at ridiculously regular intervals!

A very quiet welcome at Cae y Castell.  

I arrived at the free car park in plenty of time and it was so quiet that began thinking the match had been called off for some reason. This might have been something to do with a previous visit to Cae y Castell two years ago when we arrived at the venue only to be told that the match had been postponed, just twenty minutes before kick-off! Thankfully there was no such call this time and my mind was put at ease when I saw John Watkins perusing his match programme the other side of the turnstile.

The match itself was a much more entertaining affair than the one at the Oval in midweek although it very much followed the now customary pattern of the Canaries dominating

Jamie Breese.

possession and spending most of the match looking for ways to unlock a resolute defence. The team played really well and deserved the three points and whilst we won courtesy of an own goal, it may as well have been credited to Jamie Breese because he created the problem for the Flint defence out of nothing and did everything but find the net himself. When Jamie signed during the Summer I thought he would be in the team to put away chances in the box, a 'goal poacher' in the mould of someone like Gary Lineker, but how wrong was I? Yes, Jamie is a great finisher but he is so much more than that and I can honestly say that I can’t remember a striker at Caernarfon who ever worked as hard as he does over the course of a match. Iwan’s system of using so many flair players in the team means that Jamie has periods in matches where he ploughs a lone furrow up front and he works his socks off doing it. He’s already proved a favourite with the supporters in his short time at the club and I imagine he will be a key figure for us in the future.

A rare cameo from Iwan.

There was a decent sized Cofi Army in attendance and the players’ celebrations with some of them after the goal was worth the entrance fee alone. Iwan often talks of being one club, and everyone pulling together in the same direction, and I think the celebration was a great way of proving that players and supporters have already got a great rapport.

If there was one negative aspect from the afternoon it was seeing Kevin Roberts walking off the pitch injured. I can only assume that he must have either kicked a rock or tackled himself, as no other footballer could possibly have given him a knock in a tackle! Iwan made a rare appearance as a replacement in the final minutes and found enough time to get in two bone shakers of his own in midfield, which shows that he, too, loves a tackle! 

Kev Roberts with his bag of ice......

Before setting off home I saw Kevin emerging from the dressing room with a slight limp and a bag of ice cubes. Having got over the shock of what I was seeing I managed to take a photo as proof that my eyes were not deceiving me and Kev assured me he’d be back to full fitness in no time, which was no surprise!

So, another tough match, and a third successive victory for the Cofis, who again proved that they can ‘win ugly’ when needed. I think we were all still waiting to see the free flowing football we'd been hoping for but I’d much rather see the team grinding out wins than playing pretty football and losing. With the players Iwan has in his squad I am convinced it is just a matter of time before the team starts putting on the style and winning matches by more than the odd goal. 

For once, the A55 was clear on the way home and there was the prospect of a very interesting match against our greatest rivals, Bangor City, on the horizon….

      

A Reality Check and How Many Times....

The First Month Part One.

Four weeks have passed since the last blog and, on the whole, it’s been a great first month of the season for Caernarfon Town.

I wrote the last entry following the team’s first match of the campaign, the goalless draw at Holywell and, since then, the Canaries have had a pretty good time of it, bar the home defeat to Prestatyn.

Reality Check.

As a Caernarfon Town supporter the Prestatyn match has obviously been the team’s only real low point so far and if ever a defeat provided a reality check, then this was it.

Prestatyn proved more than a handful for 'Pritch' and his defence.

Following an excellent pre-season campaign, confidence was high amongst everyone at the club, and when Daily Post reporter Dave Jones named the Canaries as his favourites to win the Cymru Alliance League, he seemed to be merely justifying our belief that the team has a real chance of returning to the Welsh Premier next March.

However, I’m not sure how many of us had quite that same belief following the defeat to Prestatyn, when the team was very much second best to the Seasiders on the day. From what I have heard, Prestatyn have retained the majority of the team that got relegated from the top tier last term and they certainly looked a very physical, and direct side at the Oval. In fact, as  far as I’m concerned they are the perfect example of the type of teams we will come up against every week the season. 

We already know that Town manager Iwan Williams wants to play an expansive, high tempo style, with lots of quick, smart passing, and we had seen it during the pre-season friendlies, but Prestatyn didn’t allow the players to get into their rhythm and, for want of a better word, bullied us out of the match. There were one or two positive passages of play from Caernarfon, especially in the first half, and if we had held on to the lead following Nathan Craig’s opener until half-time, things could have been different, but there’s no denying who was the better side on the day.

Ellis Healing impressed on his Town debut.

One bright spark of the day was Ellis Healing, who came on as a second half substitute and showed enough glimpses to hint that he could be an excellent addition to the squad. Quick and skilful, Ellis fits into the team’s playing style perfectly and Iwan has done well to bring him to the Oval on loan from Airbus UK.

One point from two matches was not what most people would have expected and the first week of the season underlined just how hard it will be to push for the title in a league that probably surpasses the Welsh Premier for competitiveness, if only for the fact that The New Saints are so dominant at that level.

A few days after the match Iwan sent me an email to publish on the club’s website in which he gave his reaction to the defeat and I was mildly surprised, but also pleased, by how forthright he was: “…..the performance was well and truly below par. We scored early on and instead of shutting up shop for five minutes we showed naivety and went looking for a second goal which left us exposed at the back. You can have all the talent in the world but you also need heart and desire which we lacked in certain parts of the game on Saturday. However, I will continue to back my players to the fullest. I will be looking for leaders this week and I believe that I have plenty of strong characters within my squad.”

Iwan and his assistant Gareth Parry had plenty
to discuss following the Prestatyn reverse.

I don’t think anyone could ask for a more honest appraisal than that and I have rarely heard, nor read about, managers at any level (except for the ‘Little Fergies’ in junior football, but that’s another matter!), stating quite bluntly that the team had underperformed.

Of course, certain factions on social media were not slow in highlighting the slow start to the campaign, and could not wait to reference Dave Jones’ pre-season prediction. There were even some calling the Presatyn match a ‘six pointer’, which was ridiculous for just the second fixture of the season, and I certainly had the feeling that people from outside the club and supporters were looking closely at Iwan and the team, and waiting to see how they would respond.

The response came a few days later at Denbigh, and I’m pleased to report that it was an excellent one!

We have not done too well at Central Park in recent seasons but it’s a venue that I always enjoy visiting. The surface never fails to look good and there’s a decent welcome to be had by the club, if not by all the ‘older’ local supporters who frequent the ground (an episode you can read about on page 192 of the ‘Oval Ways’ book).

Iwan got his selection spot-on against Denbigh.

I saw the team sheet upon arrival, and noted that the manager had made two changes, with  Clive Williams and Ellis Healing named in the starting eleven at the expense of Grahame Austin and Kevin Roberts. It was an interesting decision by Iwan, with Grahame and Kevin having been stalwarts of the team in recent seasons but it also showed he isn’t afraid of making hard decisions, which is something every good manager is expected to do.        

Iwan’s selection on the night was the right proved spot on as, from the very first minute Town bossed the match. Despite going a goal down and missing a few opportunities to equalise, the players stuck at it and their perseverance finally paid off with two late goals to win the match. Having ‘knocked on the door’ for the whole of the second half, once Gareth Edwards rose at the far post to head in the equaliser, there was only ever going to be one winner and I think it’s fair to say that we were all thrilled it was Jamie Breese who got us the winner. Jamie arrived at the Oval with high expectations and I am sure he will prove to be a match winner on plenty of occasions for us again during the course of the season.

Gareth Edwards rises at the far post to equalise.

He deserved his goal and the celebrations with the Cofi Army after his effort found the net was a great way to mark his first competitive goal for the club.

I take photographs during most matches in the hope I can manage to use one or two on the club’s website and facebook page and, although I am the first to admit I’m no Richard Birch, from time to time I do manage a good photo. However, most are unusable and two such examples are the shots I took of Gareth and Jamie’s goals, which are out of focus, and generally just a blur. As this is a personal blog, I’m including both here, if only to give people an idea of how they looked from where I stood. So near to being good photos, but oh so far….   

Jamie Breese nets the winner at Central Park. 

On a personal note I had been due to attend a family wedding but used a ‘Get Out of Jail’ card with my wife to attend and will, I fear, be paying my instalments for quite a while.  However, the team’s performance was worth it, and the manner of the 2-1 victory was probably just as pleasing as the three points.

How Many Times?

I left the ground with a huge smile, not only because of the victory, but also because Jamie’s winner had instantly pressed a ‘mute button’ on Denbigh manager, Gareth Thomas, who would be odds on favourite for any award given to the least imaginative shout of the

The referee should have given Gareth Thomas his answer
before kick-off.

season. His default shout whenever any of his players were challenged, tackled or generally just fell over, was ‘How Many Times, Ref?’

He bellowed this out at the man in black throughout the ninety minutes and stopped only when we went ahead. I spotted Thomas enjoying a chat with the referee and his assistants before kick-off and just wish they had answered his question at that time!
The Canaries have played four more matches since the visit to Denbigh, and I’ll be catching up by taking a look at them in the next entry, to be published in a few days….Paul.