Damning Evidence and the ladies.

It’s not often that football supporters will walk out of a ground, having just seen their side on the end of a 0-3 reverse at home, feeling positive about their team’s performance. I know that I certainly have not been in that position before and yet, as odd as it sounds to someone who is not particularly a fan of the cliched positivity of modern-day football, this is indeed how I felt after Caernarfon lost to The New Saints.

As I mentioned in the last blog, the team started the season with two victories from the opening three matches and, in all honesty, the six points were the least the Cofis had deserved, after a very good performance, but frustrating defeat, at Newtown. 

An impressive away victory at Cardiff Met saw the Cofi Army in buoyant mood for the arrival of the Welsh Premier League champions and, as is always the case on a Friday evening under the floodlights at the Oval, the old ground was rocking in anticipation as the Cofis took on the professional outfit from Oswestry.

It’s been well-documented on websites, social media, Sgorio and in podcasts that Caernarfon could, or should, have been three goals up in the first half an hour and, to be brutally honest, The New Saints would have been out of the running had it not been for their excellent goalkeeper, Paul Harrison. He was superb all evening, and thwarted Jamie Breese, Dany Brookwell and Gareth Evans amongst others and it’s not the first time in recent years that he’s had to be at the top of his game to avoid defeat at the Oval. Failure to make the most of our opportunities cost us in the end however and, as tends to happen against quality opposition, they took theirs to clinch a flattering 3-0 scoreline. Of course, I’m biased but feel free to check other sources for the accuracy of this comment, including quotes from the Saints manager, Scott Ruscoe.  

Breesey was unlucky not to find the net against TNS

Granted, it had been a frustrating evening for Caernarfon but, when looking back at the match I cannot imagine that any one of us wearing a yellow and green scarf will have felt anything but pride in the players’ performance. In short, we took The New Saints on and gave them as tough a match as they’ll experience all season. The action was high quality, the atmosphere excellent and the result extremely harsh on us. Oh, and the attendance of 1345 was the tenth highest in Welsh Premier League history! I had a feeling the attendance was special because Gwyn Derfel, Secretary of the WPL, could not stop grinning from start to finish.

What was just as positive as the performance was the manager and players’ response to it. Whilst happy with their efforts there was definitely a feeling of frustration that they’d let their opponents off the hook. I think the supporters felt the same way about the performance too, and an example was when one of the Cofi faithful told me at the end of the match that anyone who complained about the result should not be allowed back into the ground again! I knew exactly what he was saying and agreed to a large extent.

Surprisingly, I had a chat with The New Saints chairman, Mike Harris, and found him to be good company, which goes to show that it’s never a good idea to believe everything on social media! He was a stark contrast to another member of the visiting contingent I came across, who seemed the worse for wear and was giving our canteen staff some serious vocal abuse. No need to elaborate here but it was an ugly, and uncalled for, affair.

The ladies team warming up

I attended the Caernarfon Town Ladies’ match two days later and was very impressed by what I saw. I confess to not having seen much women’s football and would guess that this was only the third match I’ve been to. Swansea were the visitors and the current Welsh Cup holders are an excellent side but the Cofis fronted up and gave them a tough challenge. I know that the management team of Keith Fearns and Tanya Jones have been busy recruiting over the summer months and something that stood out was the number of young players they now have in the squad. The match was pretty even for long spells and I hope the players didn’t take the 0-4 defeat too badly because they created plenty of goalscoring opportunities and on another day it could have been a much closer scoreline. I was very impressed with Town’s Ffion Owen, who shone in midfield, and the speedy right back Cara Hughes, a recent signing from Pwllheli, who is definitely ready for the step up in class. As the club’s media officer I would like to provide more coverage to the ladies and working closer with Keith, Tanya and the players is an aim of mine this year. The extra expectations on media officers in the Men’s WPL has added hours to my weekly duties as it is, but we’ll definitely have to work something out.           

The first team had to wait ten days for the next match and when it arrived, it proved to be an absolute belter! Connahs Quay Nomads are big hitters in the top tier and have been tipped to challenge TNS for the title this season. They have already defeated the champions this campaign and, three days before we visited the Deeside Stadium, they enjoyed an excellent victory away at Falkirk in the Irn-Bru Cup. The challenge in front of the Cofis was tough but the players responded in style and pulled off a superb 1-0 victory against Andy Morrison’s men.

Eards gives his team some immediate feedback after their defeat of Connahs Quay Nomads

Sean Eardley again tinkered with his line-up for this one, with Cai Jones, Sion Bradley and Nathan Craig making the starting eleven having missed out the previous week and, once again, the manager got it right as the team looked solid throughout and dangerous up front. We had forced the hosts keeper into a number of early saves and, just as I was thinking that it might prove to be another Newtown or TNS experience, Bradley found Jamie Breese with an excellent pass that our number nine made the most of. Jamie still had plenty to do when he ran onto the ball forty yards out but he showed a clean pair of heels to his marker before finding the net with a powerful strike that gave John Danby no chance.

The second half was squeaky bum time for Caernarfon supporters as Nomads dominated possession and tried to get the ball inside our penalty area from wide positions. I had always though they were a direct side and, whilst they certainly seemed to prefer the long deliveries into the box, the substitutions Morrison made after the break gave them more pace and they looked to play a bit more.         

However, Caernarfon were superb on the night and no matter what the hosts threw at them, they refused to buckle and held on for a very impressive victory. Obviously, I was delighted with the result, but it was made even more special by the identity of the match winner. This is Breesey’s fourth season with the club and he’s been top scorer in each of his three campaigns with us. However, whilst his goalscoring record for the Cofis is impressive, it only really captures half the story, and everyone who has followed the club over the years will know that Jamie is much more than a goalscorer. I know that he’s a fan of Ian Rush and he’s got the same workrate and attitude, where the first line of defence comes from the strikers.

Far from the action at the Deeside Sstadium

I can’t move on without mentioning a poor decision by the referee in the first half that saw the hosts remain with eleven players on the field. I’m not sure what his reasons were for the decision to ignore the incident but the match highlights on the Sgorio sites is pretty damning evidence of what happened and why he got it so wrong.       

This was my first visit to the Deeside Stadium and it’s a very different set-up to the ones I have watched my football at for the past forty five years. There was a decent crowd there but the athletics pitch around the pitch didn’t help the atmosphere and whilst the main stand is undoubtedly impressive, the remaining three sides around the pitch are as barren as any Caernarfon and District ground I used to frequent weekly as a child in the seventies.

The Cardiff Met ground was similar, with large spaces around the pitch, and I do wonder if this is a reason why the Welsh Premier League gets lambasted so much when it comes to comments about atmospheres at grounds. Like I said, it’s not a criticism, just something that’s stood out during our last two away trips.     

The staff at the ground were very friendly, and welcoming, and special thanks to the steward who helped me put on my press bib! It was also good to hear Andy Morrison’s post-match interview, where he was fair and classy as he made it clear that his side had played well but so had Caernarfon. I finished posting my match report, photos and post-match interviews at 2:00am but it was well worth it!

Following up such a fine performance was not going to be easy but that was the challenge put in front of the players on Saturday as we welcomed Barry Town United to the Oval. I had seen Barry get beaten at Llandudno the preceding Saturday and thought we had a decent chance against them. However, the Barry Town who turned up against us was a very different team and looked a very strong outfit. Their defence looked more robust against us, whilst the front two of McLaggon and Touray were a threat all afternoon. I’ve already mentioned that I’m not a fan of modern clichés but don’t mind using an old one here, and say it was a match of two halves. Barry were the better side in the first half, whilst we turned the tables after the break and were on the front foot for most of the second period. The winning goal, from Marc Jones, was a belter and arriving as it did in the eighty eighth minute made it an uphill battle to salvage a point.

The players could not be questioned about their attitude and efforts and these are things we know we’ll never have to worry about where the present squad is in the question.

Every defeat gives me a new problem to think about; what do I ask in the post-match interviews? A given with Sean and Nathan is that they’re always going to give honest answers, and that’s what they did again after this result. I can’t say I’m a fan of post-match interviews we see on a nearly daily basis from the professionals. The Sky Sports interviewers try their best to goad the interviewees, who are obviously well-versed in how not to go anywhere near giving a proper opinion. Just watch any interview with Brendan ‘we should great character’ Rodgers and you’ll see exactly what I mean. I’m obviously an amateur in what I do but feel that if I ask questions like a fan, which I do, then I know Sean, Nathan and all the players will answer honestly. They’ll say if the team hasn’t been good enough and will point things out that you’ll never get to hear on national television.

Noah Edwards joined the line-up of interviewees after the match and it was good to hear his thoughts on the match. It was also good to see him start a league match for the first time and he certainly showed that he is a fine addition to the squad.

Llanelli Town visit the Oval this Saturday for another tough looking encounter (is there any other kind in the top tier?) and it will be interesting to see how things pan out between the two latest additions to the WPL. Hopefully, the post-match interviews will be a little easier to carry out this time!