James Bond, Cofi Messi and the Serial Whistleblower.

Visits to Guilsfield are always tough, from the long and winding roads I’ve mentioned in the past, to taking on a home side that can turn over allcomers on their day. Despite the Cofis having enjoyed an impressive unbeaten run of ten matches, which included six successive victories leading up to our trip to Powys, I still felt that a point against the Guils would be a good one and, as things unfolded at the Community Centre Ground, I cannot say I was disappointed with the 2-2 draw the teams played out.

Caernarfon began the match well enough and, having peppered Gresford’s goal in the opening exchanges, Jay Gibbs put us ahead courtesy of a free-kick that took a deflection off the wall on its way into the net. At that time I half-expected Town to push on and possibly increase our lead before the break but it did not pan out this way and, in fact, there were signs that the Guils were in the mood to cause an upset. I liked their midfield duo of Andy Ford and Chris Cathrall but thought that the former was lucky to stay on the pitch after a high challenge on Darren Thomas midway through the first period.

I enjoy seeing players tackling, and one of the things I have come to dislike about the game today is the referees’ overuse of their whistles, most of them finding a reason to stop play whenever two players of opposing teams are within five feet of each other. Andy Harms is a fine example of this type of official but, on this occasion, he decided to keep his whistle dry, so to speak, which was surprising as the tackle was reckless in my opinion. The referee’s decision was not the reason Caernarfon seemed to lose their way slightly for the remainder of the half, but it’s worth mentioning that Mr Harms had another one of his inconsistent afternoons at Guilsfield, with a number of decisions being made that puzzled both sets of players, and supporters.

It was in huge contrast to the refereeing display we had seen seven days earlier when we played Lex at the Oval, when Cheryl Foster had once again impressed with her common sense approach to the action. Maybe she can give Mr Harms a few pointers?

Yet another stoppage by the referee....

Alex Ramsay came to Caernarfon’s rescue on a number of occasions as the hosts took control of the match, whilst Brookwell and Breese went close to doubling our lead. A quickfire Asa Hamilton double midway through the second period put the hosts ahead and from that point on, the Cofis struggled to get back on level terms. A late substitution by Iwan saw Kevin Roberts enter the fray and this seemed to do the trick for Town as he provided some impetus in midfield and a decent period of pressure paid off when Jay Gibbs headed in the equaliser. There was still time for a winner and whilst Town was the only team looking to get it, Guilsfield deservedly held on for a share of the spoils. Whilst hanging around after the final whistle for post-match interviews I could sense that the Town players were frustrated but, taking all things into consideration, a draw against the Guils on their own ground is a decent enough return.

The biggest disappointment as far as I was concerned was the performance of my satnav, which has definitely had better afternoons! I’m slightly embarrassed to confess to using it for a trip I’ve made on many occasions but did so in the hope that it might find an alternative, and faster, route than the usual journey from hell. To be fair, it did its job and got me to the ground, and did indeed take me on an alternate route, but only after a trip through Bala, a seemingly endless barrage of villages and a massive near-miss incident on the way down a dirt track that felt steeper than the drop James Bond faced in that opening scene in Goldeneye! 

Another tough trip awaited us seven days later as we travelled the short distance to Porthmadog, where Craig Papyrnik and his players awaited us for a second battle of the season at ‘Y Traeth’. We had inflicted a league defeat on Port earlier in the season courtesy of a late Darren Thomas strike and so their players will have been delighted to have an early opportunity to avenge that reverse.

The sprinklers were not required in Porthmadog.

The weather in the days leading up to the league cup tie had not been good, and the forecast was even worse, with heavy showers and very strong winds promised for the Saturday. It seemed to me  there was more than a decent chance the tie would be called off due to the conditions and I must have checked Port’s twitter feed every twenty seconds after waking up that morning. Despite my misgivings the referee’s call that the match could be played was the correct one and, during a decent first time showing by the Cofis, I was more than pleased with the decision. Despite the poor weather, Caernarfon were on top for most of the half and created a number of goalscoring opportunities, none of which they could put away. Predictably, we were made to pay for it with an improved second half showing from the hosts, who clinched the tie by scoring twice in three minutes after the break. The opener came immediately after Jamie Breese’s exit through injury and whilst I did not think Port were that much better than us, they deserved to win and it was good to see Cai Jones playing so well for them, the former Town striker enjoying a deeper role than usual and pulling the strings for the hosts.

The defeat meant an end to Caernarfon’s eleven match unbeaten run but what was particularly disappointing was that it marked the end of our two year hold on the League Cup. Of course the management staff has made absolutely clear on more than one occasion that the team’s only priority this season is to win the league and thus gain promotion, but it still doesn’t ease the disappointment of getting knocked out of a cup, especially when you’re the holders. Iwan had been unavailable for the match and so I carried out my usual post match interview with his assistant, Sean Eardley and was pleased that he pulled no punches when discussing the afternoon’s action. I always tend to ignore post match interviews on the television because the managers and players are afraid to say anything that may stray from the usual party lines but I believe we’re lucky at Caernarfon that the management team is honest and happy to discuss things in a straightforward way. It’s what the supporters want to hear and if they’re not being honest with their appraisals then what’s the point?

Sean Eardley was honest in his appraisal after the Port match. 

Yet another away cup tie awaited the team three days later and, as if recent trips to Guilsfield and Porthmadog had not been tough enough, this time the hosts were Welsh Champions The New Saints. The competition was the Nathaniel MG Cup and a semi-final berth awaited the victors. I was extremely disappointed to have to miss the match due to work commitments and was reliant on club president John Watkins to keep me abreast of the latest developments via text. I feared the worst when his first message arrived four minutes into the match and we were already a goal down and although I’ve seen plenty of Caernarfon Town sides capitulate against TNS over the years I still felt this current squad of players would dig deep and give the champions a run for their money.

This is exactly what they did and, having enjoyed parity with the hosts for the majority of the match, it took a late second goal to finally secure the holders’ passage to the next round. I arrived home from work with around twenty minutes of the match remaining and put on TNS radio in the hope of listening to the final stages. Unfortunately, despite hooking up immediately to the channel, I heard very little action being described and even less mention of Caernarfon Town and any of our players. Of course, I understand that any club’s radio station will always concentrate on its own team but I would have appreciated hearing a bit more about how we were playing, and not just the hosts. I have met the commentator, TNS media man, Stewart Bloor, and read his excellent blog regularly but recall mentioning after a friendly between the sides two years ago that he did not give Caernarfon the credit they deserved in his commentary that day and whilst I understand it can’t be an easy job, I hope that he might be able to give us at least a few mentions when we next play them, hopefully some time next season!

Despite the lack of information garnered through the radio I have been reliably informed that Caernarfon were impressive and matched up well to their hosts, showing what the Cofi Army already know, that we have a side capable of playing in the Welsh Premier League. I believe all our players are technically gifted and it would suit us to play on artificial pitches, as proved when we deservedly defeated Llandudno on their own ground earlier this season. As a traditionalist I can’t say that I agree with the FAW’s preference for these plastic pitches but, from a purely business point of view, it does make a lot of sense. The pros are many, from requiring less maintenance to providing an excellent training facility and a probable income stream, it ticks many boxes and I’m sure it’s just a matter of time before most clubs in the top two tiers will have 3G/4G pitches at their grounds.
After a challenging run of matches on the road we were back at the Oval for our next test, a tough-looking encounter with Gresford. Followers of the league will know that their manager, Steve Halliwell, has done a superb job since taking over at Clappers Lane early last season. He stepped into the post after Eddie Maurice Jones left the club for Denbigh last November and turned the side from a bottom half outfit to one that ended the season third in the league. They may have lost their opening four league matches of this campaign but arrived at the Oval full of confidence on the back of an undefeated seven match run, five of which they had won.

As an added point of interest, I had found out during the week that Darren Thomas was just one netbuster away from securing his hundredth goal for the club and I knew he would be all out to reach the milestone in front of the Oval faithful. I cannot pretend to be a font of all Caernarfon Town knowledge and must thank the club’s historian, and a lifelong supporter, Ian Garland for providing me with Darren’s goals tally. Ian co-authored the ‘Canaries Sing Again’ book in the eighties and is always ready to help with any and all information regarding the Cofis. He was a massive help to me when I wrote Oval Ways three years ago and a great friend to the club, so it was thanks to his record keeping skills that we knew how close Darren was to reaching his ton.

Breesey celebrates his second goal against Gresford.

After an exciting start to the match that saw both sides set a blistering pace, Nathan Craig put Town ahead with his thirteenth goal of the season and from that point onwards Caernarfon bossed the action, racing into a five goal lead before the hour mark and eventually winning by six goals to two. Nathan was voted man of the match and quite rightly so, completing yet another brace for the club when he slotted home from the penalty spot in the second period and Jamie Breese matched his captain’s efforts with a brace of his own. However, Darren Thomas was the star of the show for me as he notched up his hundredth goal for us with a classy strike to put us five ahead. Typically, Darren  was not content with just reaching his fantastic milestone and insisted on having the final word when he popped up at the far post late on to meet a Chris Williams cross and begin his quest for a second century of goals for the Cofis.

Readers of this blog will already know what I think of Darren, and the moniker ‘Cofi Messi’ sums him up perfectly. He is, without doubt, one of the finest footballers to have played for us in the last four decades and when club legends such as Ray Woods and Russ Hughes mention him as a stand-out player after watching us in action last season, then you know there’s something special about him. Incidentally, another former Town player Derek Highdale was also singing Darren’s praises earlier this year and he was a pretty decent ‘number ten’ himself.

The Cofi Messi celebrates his 100th goal for Caernarfon Town.

I’ve seen hundreds of Caernarfon Town matches over the years, both in the English non-league system and the Welsh Pyramid and I can’t remember too many players like Darren, if any at all. His pace, movement, trickery and his eye for goal make him unique and I can imagine he must be an absolute nightmare for opposing defences! If I could point out any weakness with Darren it is that he has thus far refused a post-match interview with me but, fingers crossed, we’ll get one done before long!

So there we have it, a mixed bag for the Cofis that began with a decent away draw and elimination from two cups but ended with Messi’s hundredth goal as we reclaimed top spot in the Cymru  Alliance League.

Next time up I’ll be giving my thoughts on the Welsh Cup, a shock resignation, new manager and a barnstormer at Airbus. Oval Ways and Exciting Days….