Welsh Cup, Sgorio and Safe Hands.

In my first blog of the present season I referred to the opening month of the campaign as being akin to riding a rollercoaster, with plenty of ups and downs and thrills and spills having already been successfully negotiated and lots more to look forward to. Thankfully, there have been many more ups than downs so far, and in fact the next three matches Caernarfon played following the last blog have been an accurate reflection of the first half of the season.

Caernarfon Town supporters will be only too aware that we have a rather poor record in the Welsh Cup, especially in recent years, and although we’ve had very strong sides at certain periods over the past quarter of a century or so, we have rarely been in the running to capture the nation’s premier knockout competition. I know that our manager, Iwan Williams, is still seething at having lost to Goytre in the third round last year (in fact, he’s probably still having sleepless nights about it!) and so it’s safe to say that he must have been looking forward to our third round tie with Carmarthen more than most.  

In my opinion, the match should have been broadcast live as it was the standout tie of the round but the powers that be at ‘Sgorio’ decided that Ton Pentre hosting Bangor was a better bet. I don’t want to knock them for making that decision but, trying to look at things in a purely footballing sense, a tie between the Cymru Alliance League champions and a Welsh Premier League side must surely have been a  more attractive prospect than the match they decided on? Anyway, safe to say whoever made that decision may have been doubting their wisdom twenty four hours after we beat Carmarthen when the television company’s ‘showcase tie’ was postponed due to a frosty pitch.

Breesey scores his second against Carmarthen. 

Our match with the Old Gold was a real thriller, one of those old-style cup-ties where both teams played it hard, no quarter given, and it was through a combination of heart and talent that the Cofis were victorious at the final whistle. The encounter had begun in typically cagey fashion, and whilst Caernarfon probably edged proceedings up to the break I thought the goalless scoreline at half-time was just about right. The second period was very different, however, and it seemed to me that Iwan had taken the shackles off his players during his team talk at the break because we really put  Carmarthen on the back foot immediately after the restart. Once Jamie Breese put us ahead the signs were there that we’d be in the hat for the third round and what impressed me most was the players’ belief and confidence to regain the lead after Carmarthen had got back on level terms. They obviously saw the equaliser as a temporary setback as it made no difference to the team’s attacking intent and whereas the opener had been a real poacher’s goal, Jamie’s second netfinder and then Messi’s strike, were top quality finishes to prove, as if we didn’t already know, that the side is more than capable of causing havoc to any defence in the Welsh pyramid system.

I was second best this time around!

As I hung around after the match to interview Iwan and Jamie Breese, the excitement amongst the players and coaching staff was obvious and who could blame them? Unfortunately, it seemed that the presence of the tv cameras at the ground (to show highlights in the weekly Sgorio show) seemed to confuse Iwan somewhat as he prioritised an interview with them over our weekly post-match efforts! On the downside this meant I was later than usual getting back home, but I can’t really complain because it also meant I didn’t have to sit through yet another offering of Strictly Dancing. On a more serious note, I think it’s fair to allow Iwan his oversight on this occasion, considering his side's impressive victory!

I happened across a number of comments on social media and certain reading outlets that Town’s victory was a shock and whilst I acknowledge that Carmarthen were slight favourites beforehand, I can’t think that the result was too much of a surprise when considering the side’s impressive record against Welsh Premier League sides under Iwan Williams. It should also be remembered that were it not for our off the field shortcomings last season the side would have taken its place at the top table  this year.

It was a superb performance from the team and I doubt that anyone at the ground would disagree that the Cofis deserved victory. It was good to hear Carmarthen manager Mark Aizlewood later state that the best team won and I wonder if Iwan was right when he hinted that the visitors may have underestimated his side? I’m not convinced they did but, following this excellent performance, Rhyl won’t be doing so when they visit the Oval in late January in the next round!

Gareth  Edwards goes close to putting us ahead against Buckley.

A return to league action beckoned seven days later and a trip to Buckley. This latest of our seemingly endless runs on the A55 was made easier by the prospect of visiting another of my favourite away destinations. Globe Way is a decent ground (though impossibly hard to find first time around!) and whilst a lot of it is quite spartan they have two decent stands and a very good canteen! However what makes our visits to Buckley stand out is the warm welcome always afforded to visiting supporters from club officials. There’s always a smile at the turnstiles, and it’s always good to see their secretary, Mike Williams, who always has time for a chat. I was particularly pleased to see Mike because he had originally planned to step down at the end of last season due to a lack of support behind the scenes but things are a bit easier for him these days following an influx of a few new faces.  

Jay Gibbs.

The match did not start well for Caernarfon as James Rumsey put the hosts ahead in the first minute but the Cofis responded well and Kevin Lloyd scored a belter to put us back on level terms, finishing impressively with the outside of his right foot from twenty yards out. Gareth Edwards went close to putting us ahead with a header soon after and Jamie Breese found the net in the seventeenth minute with a great finish, reaching a Darren Thomas cross at the far post to bullet the ball past Adam McGee in the hosts’ goal. The match was played at a frantic pace early on and there were some tasty challenges all over the pitch.  When Danny Sullivan got cautioned around the half-hour mark, and followed it up moments later with an interesting looking discussion with the referee, Iwan showed good sense to take the former Buckley captain off and replace him with Jay Gibbs. This is no slight at all on Danny, who is proving just as good as I thought he would be, but in a time when officials seem to love brandishing cards out for the slightest of things, it made perfect sense to make the change. Readers of this blog will already know how highly I rate Jay and it was great to see him back in the yellow shirt. I think we’re a better side when Jay’s playing well and in our engine room and I have to say he was outstanding after he entered the fray. He soon got back to his old ways with a stunning free kick that put us two goals ahead and, whilst it was frustrating we couldn’t score in the second period, any away victory in the Cymru Alliance League is a good result and I for one was more than happy that another three points were in the bag. 

Highlights of the afternoon were seeing Nathan receiving his League Player of the Month award for October from Iwan (right), the manager’s face when I asked him to step into the ladies’ toilets with me for a post-match interview (are you sure we should be doing this, Paul?), committee member Terry Roberts getting hit in the head by a rogue football, Caernarfon president John Watkins’ face at half-time as we stood next to the Buckley announcer when he pronounced Penrhyncoch as Penrhyn Cock  and finally the excellent home-made mince pies that Buckley officials were handing out throughout the match! All in all, another very enjoyable away day with the Cofis!

At the forefront of everyone’s minds for the next few days was our upcoming match at Prestatyn. The Seasiders had not only defeated us convincingly at the start of the season but have also done the same to nearly every other side on the way to a commanding lead at the top of the table. Whereas the Canaries have played very well in patches this season, there have also been one or two blips (Llanfair Utd, Caersws) and this had given our title rivals a six point advantage going into the match at Bastion Gardens. I had only ever been to the ground once before and so already knew they have an excellent set-up, with a hub at the entrance that includes the dressing rooms, canteen and clubhouse. Very impressive! I took the club’s advise to park at the nearby Nove Centre and am glad I did because it gave me an opportunity to see the ground from afar, and it looked pretty decent!

Bastion Gardens.

In the media, there had been a big build up to the match and that favourite old saying, ‘six pointer’ was bandied about more often than you’ll hear Gary Neville saying ‘when I was at United’. In truth though, it was a huge match and one the Cofis certainly didn’t want to lose. Unfortunately, despite a promising start where we looked quite comfortable around the pitch and tested Prestatyn keeper Carl Jones enough to suggest we could get the win we wanted, an unfortunate slip by Keighan Jones resulted in the hosts going ahead and if I’m being totally honest at that point I would have gladly settled for a point. There was nothing between the sides, but the Cofis couldn’t quite get back on level terms and when Prestatyn doubled their lead after the break I am sure that most teams would  have crumbled (indeed, most have this season!) but Iwan encouraged his side on and Jay Gibbs scored one of the best goals I’ve ever seen to get us back into it. The midfielder had already done well to steal the ball off an opponent on the halfway line to gain possession and I doubt that anyone in the ground would have expected his next move, as he looked up and nonchalantly struck the ball over the home keeper and into his net! An outstanding goal and one that Sky Sports (or even Sgorio for that matter) would have been repeating all night had they been there. Alas, this was as good as it got for Caernarfon supporters as the hosts soon regained their two goal lead and, despite Jamie Breese finding the net late on, we couldn’t find a way to equalise, although Leigh Craven went close in the dying seconds.

Not our day at Prestatyn.

So, a disappointing result for the Canaries but if there’s any consolation, it had been an excellent match, and probably one of the best I’ve seen in the Welsh Pyramid. I was obviously not the only one to think this as social media was full of people’s comments on the quality of the football on show and I was mightily proud of the players for their efforts. There can be no doubt that the best two teams in the league were on show that day and I would say that both sides would more than hold our own in the Welsh Prem.

And, for the second time in two weeks I was left wondering why Sgorio had not decided to break with formula and either broadcast the match, or at least send cameras to capture and share the highlights. It probably seems that I’m criticising the Welsh television company but really it’s more about questioning the way they’re covering Welsh football. I mentioned this on Twitter this week and ‘Sgorio’ presenter Dylan Ebenezer replied that it would be difficult to cover matches in a regional league at the expense of the national league. I totally understand and accept this, however I’m sure there could be a way they can widen their net a bit and include occasional live matches or highlights from the remainder of the Pyramid system? I think their coverage of the Welsh Premier League is excellent but, much like the top tier itself, the public must be fed up with watching the same teams playing against each other every week? Would it not have made more sense to show our match with Prestatyn live than the latest victory stroll by The New Saints? I may be completely wrong and viewing figures might be strong for their live WPL matches but, if the trend is anything like match attendances across the top tier then it can’t be a good thing.

Iwan during the post match interview at Prestatyn.

Anyway, this a subject I’ll be returning to in a future blog and so I’ll finish off this time with a word about our manager. I mentioned earlier that he had ignored me at the expense of the Sgorio cameras after the Carmarthen match but my words were said in jest of course and in reality I think his willingness to carry out our post-match interviews, win or lose, is a huge credit to him. It’s easy to discuss things when the team has won but Iwan will always stand up and talk after we’ve lost and, from what supporters have told me, it is very much appreciated. As a supporter myself I’m always gutted when we lose and it helps to hear what the manager has to say and to know that he feels the same as we do! Having said this, though, I was having doubts about approaching him after the Prestatyn match and, whilst I am sure he didn’t particularly want to discuss it with me, he still did so and, if you look at the video again after reading this (it’s on the club’s twitter and facebook feeds) you’ll see how much he was hurting. This is why I remain extremely optimistic about this season, it’s also one of the reasons why I know we’re in safe hands, and that the club’s goals will be achieved! I’ll be covering the final two matches of the year in the next blog, which includes the Christmas Cracker against Porthmadog when 1247 spectators came to watch the Gwynedd Derby.

Until then, Happy New Year and thanks for reading in 2016!