It’s never an easy task to be overly positive following
a disappointing defeat and after Saturday’s reverse it would be easy to park
this latest blog until the team has had a victory. Hopefully this will come on
Saturday when we face Porthmadog, although it’s certainly not going to be the
easiest of tasks.
However, it can be no worse than having to write
the match report last Saturday evening, where I did my best to sound more
positive than I felt, whilst also trying to give Guilsfield as much credit as I
could muster. As the club’s press officer I have to be as fair as possible but
you and I know that this is virtually impossible because I’m a supporter first
and foremost. Anyway, having managed to put the report together I thought I
might as well have a go in writing this blog and at the very least get the
Guilsfield defeat dealt with and out of the way, blog-wise at least. So, here
goes….
Firstly, it doesn’t need a brains trust to say that
the team was not at its best against the Guils and Danny Barton’s side took
full advantage to take the points. I was at the match when we beat them 4-0 on
their own ground in October and such was Caernarfon’s dominance that day that the
scoreline could have been much wider. I have seen Guilsfield many times over
the past three seasons and they had always impressed me, so it was surprise
that we had won so comfortably three months ago. However, they’ve been on a
decent run lately and I thought they were back to their normal selves at the
Oval last week. They are very much a team that play in the opponents faces and
in fact mirror their managers own playing style, combative and lethal in front
of goal. They were excellent on Saturday and deserved the points.
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| Dave Littleford tips a Nathan Craig free-kick over the bar. |
Having said this it’s also fair to say that the
Canaries created a number of goalscoring opportunities and, on most other Saturdays, I’m sure they would
have got at least a point. It was an odd match because, despite going a goal
ahead through a well-worked Danny Brookwell goal, Caernarfon just seemed to
lack the usual spark, although one thing the players are never short of is
effort, which they certainly provided enough of. When the visitors went ahead a
minute into the second
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| So near yet so far as this Darren Thomas effort finished inches wide. |
half I still felt we’d be able to turn things around but
as the match entered its final quarter and the score remained unchanged it did
seem it might just be one of those days when a team can’t quite hit its stride.
Certainly, I felt the writing was on the wall when our talisman Darren Thomas
missed an opportunity that he would probably take ninety nine times out of a
hundred, shooting inches wide from eight yards from goal.
Another odd occurrence on the day was that for once
I was glad it was my turn to clean the dressing rooms! I admit it’s one of the
least enjoyable parts of being on the club’s committee but needs must and we
all take it in turns to do our bit on match days. You can imagine it’s not the
best of jobs but five years experience
of doing it has taught me to give the players plenty of time to ‘gell’ up
before venturing in to clean the room!
I saw the players as they headed out and could see
that each one of them was just as disappointed as the supporters at the result,
and that’s a good sign. I’ve never seen any Town player in the last five years
looking as if he didn’t care about a defeat and maybe this is why we’ve been
so successful in that time?
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| Gareth Edwards was voted the Canaries Club's Player of the year for 2015. |
Those who know or who have spoken to our centre
half Gareth Edwards will be aware that he’s a really nice guy and the epitome
of the term gentle giant. He always has a smile but couldn’t manage one when I
saw him after the match, such was his disappointment. However, he made a great
point by saying that nothing is ever won or lost in January and he should know,
having captained Cefn Druids to the Cymru Alliance League title just two
seasons ago.
Champion.
I was delighted to hear that the big man has
recently been voted the Canaries Club’s Player of 2015. Judging from his
twitter feed, the accolade meant a lot to Gareth and it was very well deserved.
He has been an absolute rock in the Town defence since signing in the Summer of
2014 and is finally getting the plaudits he deserves. Watching the team warm-up
on Saturday, it was interesting to see his training bib, which bore the word ‘Champion’.
Very apt given the supporters’ verdict!
Three Wise Men.
And before moving on from Saturday’s match, I must
mention an old acquaintance who travelled from Powys to support his team. In
the blog where I covered Town’s victory over Guilsfield three months ago I mentioned
a purple-faced gentleman of advancing years who obviously knew the game better
than the officials and was unhappy with them to the point of shouting a stream
of vitriol and obscenities for two or three minutes after a goal against his
team. This carried on for the remainder of that match. And for the majority of Saturday’s
match! Unfortunately, there were three wise men this time as he brought some
friends along to the Oval so you can guess the rest….
One In, One Out.
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| Ellis Healing. Footballer. Dancer. |
Following the recent departures of Jamie McDaid and
James Bell we’ve had another player leaving the club in Ellis Healing, who has
headed to a new life in Australia. The young striker has been excellent this
season and his loan signing was a a canny move from Iwan. When I saw him during
his debut against Prestatyn I thought he might be a bit light in stature for
this league but I could not have been more wrong! His trickery and skill were eye
catching during matches and he’s had a big influence on the way the team has
played. Fitting perfectly into the manager’s preferred style of play, he’s been
excellent and I’m gutted he’s left. Ellis even managed to fit in an appearance
on prime-time national television when he appeared in ‘Take Me Out’ recently
and whilst he certainly didn’t disappoint on the show, his dancing skills left
a lot to be desired. Ellis will be playing for Armadale FC in Australia and is
sure to be a big hit with them.
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| Good Luck Toby! |
Ellis’ exit saw Iwan bring Toby Jones back to the
club and it will be interesting to see how things work out for him this time
around. The striker was one of Iwan’s first signing last summer but, despite his
best efforts he could not quite settle in the team and left for Conwy in October.
Toby enjoys a big reputation in the Welsh pyramid system and has all the
attributes to be a big player for Caernarfon in the run in. It was good to read
his comments upon his return, and especially that he is determined to play a
big part in the team’s push for promotion. I think he’s a great addition to the
squad and a front four of Toby, Darren Thomas, James Breese and Danny Brookwell
sounds good to me!
Garden Gnome Fleet Expands.
The interview with Iwan that I posted earlier this
month has proved extremely popular and the feedback has been brilliant. I know
that Iwan spent
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| Chris Williams. |
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| Kevin Roberts. |
Bouncing Back.
And so we now look forward to the visit of
Porthmadog to the Oval on Saturday and there’s every chance it’s going to be a
real thriller. Some have said that Town’s victory at the Traeth earlier in the
season was a tad fortunate but I think we deserved it, certainly if we go by
the way of goalscoring opportunities created. The match was played in
torrential rain throughout and the Cofis came from a goal behind at half time
to win, thanks to a James Breese brace. Port are a good side and, having won
their last two fixtures, they’re up to eighth in the league and will be full of
confidence.
It goes without saying that Caernarfon will need to
improve on last saturday's performance to get a positive result but I am
confident that Iwan and the team will step up to the plate and give us a big performance.
Every setback this season has seen a positive response from the team and I am
sure this will be the case again this time.
I was watching the Rocky Balboa film this week and
think this quote from the iconic character says it all:
“It ain’t about how hard you can hit, it’s about
how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done….”
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