Cofis 'Refuse To Lose'!

When the season’s fixtures were announced over the Summer, I’m sure I was not alone in thinking the Canaries had been handed a tough opener. The Cymru Alliance is a tough league and there are no easy matches, but I can certainly think of one or two more appealing openers than having to travel to Holywell to face the reigning Welsh Alliance League Champions.

Their manager John Haseldin has been at the club for a number of years and has been successful in turning things around for the Wellmen. He has always had a good side there and, having seen them enjoy a remarkable promotion winning season last time around, I think everyone connected to Caernarfon Town would have expected a difficult challenge on Saturday. And this is certainly what the team got!  

This was my first visit to Halkyn Road since that infamous evening in March 2013, which saw firecrackers, sending offs, a rather disjointed performance from an inexperienced referee and his  linesman and, ultimately, defeat for the Canaries, who were so near at the time to clinching the league title and promotion. It was such an odd and disappointing night that I felt it warranted a chapter in my ‘Oval Ways’ book, which I titled ‘The Battle of Halkyn Road’. A tad over the top maybe, but it conveys how I feel about the experience. 

Thankfully, Saturday was nowhere near as dramatic but one thing is for sure, the football on display  was every bit as good, and exciting, as had been expected. 

Welcome to Halkyn Road.

The first thing I noticed when walking through the old entrance is that the club has built a fence to properly enclose the pitch and added a new turnstile block. It is certainly a massive improvement from the old entrance and, just to finish the job off properly, there was even a Welsh speaker operating the turnstile itself. Surprising, but impressive! Incidentally, I took a quick look at the old turnstile near the main stand and was pleased to see that, although closed on the day, it is still there, and still proudly sports the club’s motto ‘Refuse To Lose’.

Another addition to the ground from three seasons ago was a very smart looking clubhouse, which my mate Bob told me serves 

My son Iwan at the new turnstile block. 

a decent pint of Worthingtons. I’ll take his word for that but my son  Iwan and I can certainly vouch for the cheeseburgers they serve! Someone told me at the match that Holywell paid for the clubhouse with money they received from their Welsh Cup run two season ago and whilst I have no idea as to how accurate this is, I do know that it’s been an excellent addition to Halkyn Road.

There’s nothing quite like the feeling of attending your teams first match of the season. The hopes, fears and a nervous tension are unique to the opening day of a new campaign and Saturday was no different. In fact, the feeling was probably more intense this year as Caernarfon are under a new manager and, although the team has done well in pre-season, there are a number of new faces in the squad, and so they’re all still gelling as a team.

However, as we travelled up the A55 the mood amongst us was one of quiet confidence that the team could get a positive result and, after a very good first half performance, I felt we could go on to  win the match. I’m sure there’s a cliché about former strikers finding the net against their old sides and the Cofi Army must have been thinking along these lines when they saw that former Town striker Steve Lewis was in Haseldin’s starting line-up. ‘The Beast’ received some criticism when he arrived at the Oval last season, mainly because he did not look in the best of condition, fitness-wise, but he proved before the end of the term that he has plenty to offer as a frontman, and is a real handful for any defence.    

Holywell started well but the Canaries had improved after a slow start and were the dominant force for the majority of the half. Michael Platt made a number of good saves during the first forty five to keep the Wellmen level, and they could also thank the linesman for spotting an infringement in the box when Nathan Craig put the ball in the net in the eight minute. I’m not sure what he actually saw, but, judging from my photo, assume it was an offside verdict against Jamie Breese?

Nathan found the net with this effort, but his 'goal' was disallowed for an infringement.  

The Oval Ways Man of the Match was 'Pritch'.

To be fair to Holywell, they were excellent in the second period and created a number of decent opportunities, although nothing special enough to beat Town’s number one, and my man of the match, Paul Pritchard. I’ve been saying for the past three years that ‘Pritch’ is the best keeper outside the Welsh Premier League and probably on a par with the best in the top tier too. He was in inspiring form all afternoon and, together with an impressive never say die attitude from the whole team, Town came away from the match with a deserved point.

I’ve read a few messages on Social Media from people of a Holywell Town persuasion who feel their team deserved to win but I would point out that the Canaries were much the better side in the first period and could have been two or three goals ahead at half time. Platt also made a superb save to stop Toby Jones scoring a late winner, whilst Jay Gibbs too had a decent opportunity for the Cofis before the final whistle. Taking the match as a whole, I’m sure both managers felt their team could have won, but I believe the draw was a fair result.

Toby Jones' late effort is pushed wide by home
Holywell stopper Michael Platt

It’s impossible to make any predictions after the first match of the season but things that I learnt on Saturday were that Caernarfon can play fast, decisive football in patches (as showed in the first period, during which Jamie McDaid was outstanding) and. despite Hollywell’s motto, they are not the only team to ‘Refuse To Lose, as the Cofis showed in the second half.

Finally, whilst pre-season friendlies serve a purpose and help teams prepare for the new term, Saturday’s thriller at Halkyn Road showed that the real thing is finally back. I can’t wait for the next instalment this Saturday as Town host Prestatyn and I’m pretty sure it’s going to be another cracker!

Come on the Town!

   

This Can Be Our Year!

Nathan Craig has enjoyed an impressive pre-season in midfield. 

The Canaries have played four friendly fixtures since the last blog, all of which have been encouraging to varying degrees. The victories over Llangefni and Gwalchmai were probably to be expected, and although both teams are from lower leagues, they still provided tough opposition, especially in the first half of our encounters.

From a personal point of view, when Iwan had announced his pre-season fixture list I had been particularly pleased to see that Gwalchmai were amongst our opponents, as I wanted to meet up with their manager Paul Owen. Those who have read my book ‘Oval Ways’ will know that I mention Paul in it a few times, making a few observations about his touchline antics during our past matches with his team. I had thought long and hard before deciding to include my comments as I did not want to offend Paul but, since then, he has been in touch to say that he enjoyed the book and had taken no offence.

With Gwalchmai's Paul Owen, a great sport!

Thankfully, Paul was true to his word, and whilst at the Oval we had a laugh and some banter about my observations. He’s a good sport, a nice guy, and agreed to pose for a photo. Thankfully he decided not to throw the punch!

The team’s performance in the 3-2 win over The New Saints was probably the best I have seen in pre-season, and the victory was thoroughly deserved. As expected, TNS enjoyed plenty of possession but the Canaries worked extremely hard to stop them from settling down, and it was brilliant to see us looking so dangerous going forward. Jamie Breese showed his predatory qualities with a fine finish on the night whilst Jamie McDaid continued his fine scoring run from last season and I don’t think anyone could have argued with the final score.

Jamie Breese scored against The New Saints
and is looking the business for Caernarfon.

I spoke with The New Saints’ Press Officer, Stewart Bloor, before the match and he was telling me about the club’s recent European escapades. He relayed a few stories from the trip to Videoton and had me imagining how fantastic it would be if Caernarfon could one day manage to make it on to foreign soil for a

competitive match. It would certainly be an interesting affair with a travelling Cofi Army! Something else Stewart mentioned is that, as the Saints’ Press Officer and Radio commentator, he genuinely feels he is ‘living the dream’. Trying to do my bit for Caernarfon Town, I can certainly resonate with that!   

Incidentally, it was good to see our former manager Lee Dixon back at the Oval on the night. He was taking part as Stewart’s guest on TNS Radio and, having listened to the broadcast a few days ago, the old Gaffer did a decent job too, although he seemed to talk more about local eateries than the football! Seriously, the commentary was excellent and worth a listen and, just in case the listener was not aware, Stewart reminds us regularly that the New Saints had made a number of changes to their usual line-up for the match! Not that he was making excuses, of course!! Here’s the link: http://www.tnsfc.co.uk/tnsradio/

Town completed their pre-season preparations at Airbus UK Broughton on Saturday and, despite the 0-2 defeat, the players again shone against Welsh Premier League opposition. To be honest, I thought Caernarfon were the better side in the first period, and could have been two goals up had it not been for excellent saves by James Coates in the home goal. Airbus were on top in the second half but even so, we had opportunities to score and all in all, it was an excellent showing against a top side. It is also worth noting that the Canaries were without Joe Williams, Gareth Edwards and Jay Gibbs on the day, which proves how strong the squad is. Former Town midfielder Jordan Barrow lined up for the home side and played well, but for me the outstanding performer of the day was Nathan Craig, who continued his impressive pre-season form with another excellent display in centre midfield.

This was my first visit to the Hollingsworth Group Stadium and I was impressed. Bathed in sunshine, the 3G pitch looked immaculate, as did the ground, its three stands and facilities in excellent condition. The club staff were very friendly and I was really pleased to have made the trip with my son, Iwan. Just as importantly, I also dropped my wife off at the nearby Retail Park and am therefore also in her good books, which should come in handy when the league season kicks off!     

So, things are looking good for Caernarfon Town. Pre-season has been good, Iwan has settled well at the club and all the new players seem to be quality additions. I always tend to err on the side of caution at the start of every season but I just can’t this time around as I believe we’re in with a great chance of winning the Cymru Alliance League. Having declared this I will look foolish if we’re not crowned champions in April, but the simple truth is I believe that, this time next year, the Cofis could very well be looking forward to a return to the Welsh Premier League.

Of course, other teams will also fancy their chances, with Cefn Druids and Prestatyn obviously looking to bounce immediately back into the WPL after last season’s relegation, and you’d expect Porthmadog and Guilsfield to be targeting an improvement from their solid campaigns last time around. It will also be interesting to see how old friends at Holywell Town fare in their first season in the second tier following promotion from the Welsh Alliance.

Iwan looks on during Saturday's match at Airbus. 

We face the Wellmen in our season opener on Saturday, and I’m sure their manager John Hasseldin will give us a warm welcome! As many of you will know, when Caernarfon won the third tier in 2012/13 we had a fierce rivalry with Holywell and they pushed us hard in the league, but I always felt we were the stronger side and proved it by not only winning the Cymru Alliance, but by also  knocking them out of the FAW Trophy at the semi-final stage and defeating them in the Cookson Cup final. I haven’t seen them since those days so have no idea if they’ve improved as a team but do know that we certainly have, and whilst it will be a opener at Halkyn Road, I’m sure the Canaries are more than ready and able to rise to the occasion.

So, my final thought on the eve of the season is that whatever the strengths and expectations of our rivals, I am quietly confident that Caernarfon Town’s squad is good enough to finish off the job that the current committee started five years ago, which is to get the club back into the Welsh Premier League, and to do so with a team and ground to be proud of. I'm convinced this

can be OUR YEAR!

Pob lwc I Iwan, y tim hyfforddi ac y chwaraewyr I gyd! Amdani!!