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!!