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.