Friday’s night’s impressive
victory over Denbigh Town at a wet and blustery Oval is the only place to start
this time around. I mentioned in the last blog that, after an excellent run of
results, Denbigh had suffered three successive defeats, including two 1-6
reverses. Despite this, I think most spectators would have expected a tough
battle against Gareth Perry Thomas’ side and this is how it panned out in the
first half.
Playing with their backs to the
wind I felt the Canaries struggled to get into their usual playing style and,
despite leaking fourteen goals in three matches, the visitors’ rearguard looked
solid enough. With most of the balls played to Jamie Breese either falling into
the hands of keeper Elliot Power or sailing out of play (due to the wind, and
not the players ability I should point out) I felt we might have had to settle
for a point on the night. However, when Darren Thomas managed to sneak a goal
late on it would at least give the team something to hold on to in the second
period and, as Town have the league’s best defensive record I suddenly felt
there would be every chance of us getting the points.
And then, the second half
happened! We scored six more goals. Against the wind. And it could have been
more!
Considering the difficult conditions,
heavy rain and blustery wind, I would go as far as to say that the Cofis’
performance after the break was amongst the best I’ve seen in many a year. Once
Nathan Craig doubled lead with a simply outrageous free kick it was game over
for the visitors, who seemed to lose heart immediately. It was a five star
performance from Caernarfon from then on and an excellent way to finish their
home fixtures for the year. Nathan’s free kick was the highlight for me,
followed closely by Kev Lloyd’s goal. Kev had not scored since returning to the
club in October and I think it’s fair to say that everyone was as desperate as
he was for him to find the net. He has played well since coming back and been
praised by the manager for his performances and it was brilliant to see him
score again in the yellow shirt. His celebrations spoke volumes about how much
it meant to him and it was good to see all his team mates celebrating so much
with him. In fact, Grahame Austin rolled back the years (about ten in my opinion!)
to sprint the length of the pitch to congratulate Kev, although he did struggle
on the way back for the restart!
I had been looking to get hold of
Iwan before the match for a photo and although he is always approachable and
helpful I often find it quite awkward to do this on matchdays as the manager is
always the busiest man in the ground before kick-off. Having held a team
meeting beforehand in the Boardroom I was aware that time was particularly
short and so I’m sure being asked to pose with a Santa cap and beard for a
photo was the last thing he wanted. Thankfully, he was as accommodating as
always and, judging by the response the shot has had on social media, I hope he’ll
agree it was worth doing! Iwan comes across to me as being a progressive
manager who is always looking at ways of improving the team but I’m not sure
that the formation he was looking at for the Denbigh match would have  |
| Healing at Centre Half? |
suited
the players. Three goalkeepers with Ellis Healing at centre half is definitely
an interesting idea but I’m pleased he decided to stick with a more orthodox
line-up!
Before moving on I must mention Darren
Thomas’ celebrations after his third goal. Darren is not usually prone to bouts
of excessive showmanship and so it was quite a surprise to see him stop
suddenly after his netfinder before suddenly completing a forward tumble and
ending on his back. It all looked particularly innovative and quite unlike
Darren until I realised that he was, in fact, suffering from cramp.
 |
| Cramp or an elaborate goal celebration? |
He received
plenty of help from his team-mates but I noticed that this time Grahame Austin
decided against another full pitch sprint towards a team mate!
Which brings me nicely to the
annual Dave Jones Football Awards. I have enjoyed reading Dave’s end of year summaries
over the years and was delighted, and proud, to be included in this year’s
list, as Best Press Correspondent. Last year, Dave named Oval Ways and Treble
Days as his book of the year, so it was nice to be named again in the list and
get Caernarfon Town amongst some very big hitters. I was not alone either, as
Grahame Austin was given the ‘Evergreen Award’ and Iwan was named as the
‘Manager to Watch’. Both deserve their recognition more than I do although
thankfully Dave did not see Grahame taking an age to return to his own half after
congratulating Kevin on his goal as he may have had second thoughts! On a
serious note, I feel very proud to be part of the list and look forward to one
day catching up with Dave, who is such a vital part of the grassroots game in
North Wales.
Those who read my last blog
entry, titled ‘A chameleon car and state of the art lawnmower’ may recall that
I mentioned the gift made by the Football Association of Wales to Bangor City
of pitch covers and a state of the art lawnmower. Not long after I posted the
blog I received a tweet from the FAW’s Head of Competitions, Andrew Howard, who
pointed out the equipment had been paid for out the Welsh Premier League
broadcast money and not from the FAW’s budget. This had not been made clear in
the newspaper article I had read, which included a quote from FAW Secretary
Gwyn Derfel, but my point remains unaffected, being that the equipment was
bought for a club that enjoys big gates, and therefore decent gate receipts.
Gwyn Derfel stated that the FAW needs to assist clubs with grass pitches which
is good, but it was not too long ago that they gave the same club £350,000 to
spend on a 3G pitch, as part of a scheme to improve playing surfaces in Wales.
I gather this 3G pitch is used for training purposes by the Academy, which is
brilliant, although I’m not sure if the first team use it? I’m certainly not criticising
the Citizens but do believe it’s a shame the FAW can find money from one pot to
help one of the biggest clubs in North Wales whilst smaller outfits, and
particularly those in the lower leagues, are finding it almost impossible to improve
their facilities. As I pointed out to Mr Howard in my reply on twitter, if the
FAW can use the broadcast money in this way, it may be a good idea to look at
trying to secure television coverage for matches at more of a grass roots level.
It’s been brilliant seeing photos
on social media of supporters wearing the Caernarfon Town kits Father Christmas
has brought them this year. Judging from the shots, Jamie Breese and Kevin
Lloyd have been popular choices although I think we may well be seeing a few
shirts around town in the next few weeks bearing the numbers three and ten,
those usually worn by Nathan Craig and Darren Thomas respectively.
Finally, I just have to include a
photo of this year’s best Caernarfon Town Christmas jumper. I’ll keep the very
happy recipient of this Christmas gift to myself for now but whoever designed
it is a true artist!
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