Month from Hell and On the Cusp of Something Special.

In the days following the Welsh Cup win over Llanfair United I think it’s fair to say that everyone connected with Caernarfon Town had a spring in their step. For the first time in nearly three decades we had a semi-final in the competition to look forward to and, as if this wasn’t already exciting enough, we had further cause for celebration when, just days after the quarter-final victory, Iwan  Williams signed a two year contract to stay on at the Oval.

I know the manager will not want me to sing his praises on here or anywhere else, but as this is my own blog then I’ll be doing it anyway! For me, Iwan signing the contract is probably the most positive news we’ve had for many a year. In fact, when considering what he’s already done since arriving it probably ranks up there with John King’s appointment in the eighties.

The success he’s brought us on the pitch has already been widely reported on but what may not be quite as obvious is the work he does behind the scenes. Iwan introduced the ‘one club’ ethos to Caernarfon when he joined and as a Board member I can confirm that he makes absolutely sure we implement it! The ethos has made a huge difference to the way we see and do things and at our latest meeting we had representatives of the Canaries supporters club, the academy and the ladies team in attendance and this has become very much the norm in recent months. There’s more we can do, and we will, but there’s a definite feeling of togetherness at the club and whilst it would be wrong to deny that success on the pitch helps foster this feeling, it would be equally wrong to deny that the manager’s ethos is just as important.

Former chairman Arfon Jones started the ball rolling when he and a handful of supporters helped save the club seven years ago and he made it clear then that he wanted Caernarfon Town to be something it had not been for a long time, a community club in its true sense. I know how hard Arfon worked towards this end because I was present at all those committee meetings he chaired when he would remind everyone of the message and what the club should be about. When considering where we were back then, he worked wonders in getting so many people to re-invest their passion for the club and Iwan’s arrival in 2015 has pushed things on again.

Iwan with chairman Richard Morris Jones.

The first time I met Iwan was at his interview for the manager’s post and one of the first things he mentioned was his ‘One Club’ ethos. If I’m being totally honest I probably felt at the time that it might be an uphill battle to get his ideal going but such was his enthusiasm and belief in it that I couldn’t help but be impressed by his plans and how to make it a reality. In the last two years he’s implemented his ideas and from what I’ve seen I believe that the club’s stakeholders fully believe in the ethos. I am absolutely convinced that we’re on the cusp of something special as a club and securing Iwan for another two years will give us the chance to finally punch our weight in the game.

It was with great pleasure that I met with the manager and chairman for a quick photo shoot and interview to announce the news and the response when we put it out on the website and social media was excellent, proving the most popular item we’ve released in recent years.

Danny Brookwell against  Guilsfield.

The day following the announcement the team was back in action for the third of four consecutive trips to mid-Wales, this time to play Guilsfield. I’ve mentioned in past blogs that visits to the Community Centre Ground can be quite difficult, not only because the Guils are always tough opposition but also because, despite their small home following, there is always someone on hand to offer match officials and visiting supporters alike plenty of advice of the vitriolic kind. I am, of course, referring to my old acquaintance, the purple faced one, who seems to think that every refereeing decision against his team is an injustice of biblical proportions. Unlike my past visits to the ground, however, at least he hadn’t brought his mates with him this time around and so he was slightly less animated than usual!

Alex saves a late penalty at Guilsfield. 

The match itself was an entertaining encounter, despite remaining goalless, and whilst Caernarfon were the better team for most of the encounter I thought the hosts just about shaded the final quarter of an hour of the match and it was thanks to an excellent penalty save by Alex Ramsay late in the match that we managed to hold on to a point.

Alex was excellent throughout and, considering Guilsfield’s direct approach, he needed to be. Danny Barton’s side are always tough opposition and rarely deviate from their playing style, being as direct as they can at pace and throwing everyone and everything into the penalty area where they try and bully defenders. Such is the aerial bombardment from them that I imagine playing the Guils must be bottom of every centre back’s list of ‘favourite places to play’. I’m not criticising them though because they’re a decent side and always give it their best shot. They also have one of the best players in the league in Chris Cathrall, who always seems to play well against us.

Nathan Williams. 

Nathan Williams was named the Cofi supporters man of the match and rightly so. As already mentioned, Guilsfield threw everything at Caernarfon’s defence, especially in the latter stages and Nathan dealt with it all superbly. Considering that he is still to reach double figures in matches at this level, he is already proving to be an outstanding addition to the squad and, as we all love local lads in the squad, he has already become a favourite with the supporters. Iwan keeps mentioning him in our post match interviews and it’s not hard to see why.

A return visit to Llanfair awaited us seven days later and whilst another three hour round trip was the not what any of us wanted after so many away matches, I was consoled by the fact that it would be our last to Powys this season.

One thing I felt sure of on the way to the match was that the hosts would be doing everything possible to avenge their Welsh Cup defeat and I expected them to put up much more resistance this time around. The pitch was still understandably heavy although it looked much better than it had two weeks previously and I was not surprised at all to see a much smaller crowd this time around! There may not have been buses full of supporters for this encounter, but the local constabulary still deemed it necessary to send three of their finest to the match, which was rather puzzling, but at least they could enjoy the football!

As predicted the match was much closer this time around and the opening quarter was pretty even, although the hosts were again finding it difficult to deal with Gareth Edwards at set-pieces. Having scored twice in the cup match Gaz was again giving them all sorts of problems with his height and whilst he couldn’t find the net this time around he went close on a number of occasions in the early stages. Jamie Breese and Danny Brookwell also went close to scoring before Llanfair were given a boost when Rob Jones was given his marching orders in the twenty fourth minute.

Rob Jones. 

I could not see the incident clearly from where I stood but was told at the time by a home supporter that the referee’s decision was very harsh and so, not for the first time in recent weeks I was left wondering if certain players get a rougher ride than others where match officials are concerned. I mentioned in the last blog that Jay Gibbs seems to get more than his fair share of questionable decisions against him and I think the same can be said about Rob. This was his third red card of the season and I’m not convinced that they’ve all been warranted. One of the problems for Jay and Rob is that they are both ready to tackle for the ball and, whereas midfielders have always been expected to do this in the past as they try and gain control in the engine room, officials are making it increasingly impossible for them to try and win the ball. As soon as a player challenges another for the ball, the whistle is blown and, more often than not, a card is shown. Goodness knows where this epidemic of the game started or will go next but it must be as frustrating to the players as it is to supporters. It also needs to stop, because players are getting booked and sent off for just looking at the ball these days. I spoke with Rob after the match and he was frustrated with the decision and I could see how upset he was about it too. Rob has plenty to say on the pitch and seems to enjoy the vocal jousting always available with opposition but off the pitch he’s a really nice guy and I hope he gets a bit more luck with match referees in the future because it’s a shame to see him miss matches  because referees cannot seem to accept that tackling is part of the game.    

Jamie Breese worked his socks off at Llanfair. 

So the Cofis were down to ten men but it did not seem like it and, after an initial five minute burst by the hosts following the sending off, Caernarfon regained control and went ahead before the break when Danny Sullivan finished from close range following a melee in the penalty area. Rhys Stephens’ side got back on level terms soon after the break with an excellent Paul Griffiths strike from twenty yards and the hosts certainly had their tails up at this point. Caernarfon weathered the storm however and eventually clinched the points courtesy of a fine Darren Thomas strike.   Although the match had been much closer than the one two weeks earlier, it had still been an impressive victory for Town under the circumstances. Llanfair are fighting to stay in the league and so every match is a cup final for them now but the Cofis showed that, whilst they’ve lost the league title, they want to secure the runners-up spot and showed real determination to hold on to their lead in the closing stages when the hosts threatened to equalise.

My man of the match was Jamie Breese, who showed once again that there is much more to his game than goals. We all know that our number nine can score, and he is likely to top our scoring charts again this season, but there is much more to his game than this and, quite apart from bringing other players into the game with his ability to link-up play, his workrate during this, and every match  is outstanding. He may not have scored against Llanfair but he worked his socks off and in my opinion was our main man on the day.

Chris Williams enters the fray against Llanfair. 

Another massive positive from the match was the introduction of Chris Williams as a second half substitute. Chris suffered a bad injury last October and so it was great to see him back in action for the first time in five months. There's no need for me to say how good Chris is and how much of a boost it must now be to have him back in contention for the first team. He slotted in seamlessly for the final thirty minutes at Mount Field and did a great jon just in front of Nathan Craig on the left flank. So, our month from hell on the road to mid-Wales was finally over and we could look forward, at last, to a long-awaited return to the Oval for a match with our friends from Holywell, and a rather special reunion with our FA Cup legends of 1986/87. I’ll be taking a look at this special day in the next blog….