Having published a blog entry just four days ago I find myself in the very
rare position of being back behind my desk and in front of the laptop, having
another go at putting some Cofi themed thoughts together and providing a quick
update for any interested parties.
I finished the last entry by stating that the team
had not done too badly thus far for a relegation doomed long ball team and, despite
Saturday’s disappointing defeat to Newtown, nothing has changed. In fact, the
team’s performance against the Robins simply reinforced what I, and the
majority of Town supporters have been saying all season: We’re in a great
position in the league but, based on our performances, we should possibly be challenging
for the title.
This may seem a rather bold statement considering
we are just over half way through our first season back in the Welsh Premier
League, but I would challenge anyone who doubts my sentiments to disprove that
we don’t deserve a fair few more points on the board than we have now.
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| A rare start for Nic in goal. |
The match at Latham Park is the latest example of where
the team’s performance deserved more than defeat. In fact, I found it very reminiscent
of our fixture at the same ground back in August when the Cofis lost despite controlling
long periods of the game and creating the majority of goalscoring opportunities.
Having said this, Newtown are a good side and have the experience to get
through sticky periods in matches and clinch victories, especially on their own
patch.
The match itself was a real thriller and after a
barnstorming first twenty minutes I found it hard to believe that Town were not
ahead. Caernarfon had the hosts on the ropes early on and I’m sure the players
were frustrated at not quite being able to make their superiority count.
Newtown went ahead on the half hour mark, a lead
they kept up to half-time, but despite this I still felt Caernarfon had enough
to get back into the match and possibly gain victory. Things looked good for us
after a quickfire double from Bradley and man of the match Darren Thomas but
the Robins equalised immediately after Messi’s netfinder and, frustratingly,
went on to secure the points courtesy of a very good winning goal by Alex
Fletcher. Darren Thomas was named our man of the match on the day which I certainly
agree with but it must have been a close call between Messi, Sion Bradley and
Ryan Williams, all of whom were excellent.
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| Nic Bould. |
Despite the defeat, there were still many positives
to be had, on and off the field. Seeing Nic Bould being given his Welsh Premier
League debut, and playing well, was certainly one of them. Nic signed for the
club during the Summer and, with Alex Ramsay firmly established as our number
one, his opportunities to shine have
been rare thus far.
However, Saturday was his third start for the first
team and, from what I have seen, he looks to be a real prospect for us. I saw
him play for the Under 19’s last week and he did well then too so, whilst I may
have been worried in the past whenever Rambo was injured, this was not so much
the case this week, and won’t for as long as Nic is our number two. Incidentally,
the Under 19’s gave a strong Llandudno side a real run for their money and a
few of the side may well have done themselves a favour in front of the first
team management team, with Eards, Richard and Mike all in attendance.
Another massive plus for the Cofis at Latham Park was
the continuing outstanding form of Ryan Williams. Ryan is very much the quiet
man of the team and, as the club’s media officer, I suppose I am as guilty as
anyone that he does not always get the credit he deserves.
When we announced that he had joined us from Wrexham
in the summer of 2017 there was a real buzz amongst supporters. Unfortunately,
his first season with us was a disjointed affair due to injury but he has more
than made up for it this time around. I have heard that Ryan was on the verge
of breaking into the Robins’ first team when injury held him back and I can
certainly see why he would be. He is a proper footballer and, as such, can
adapt to a number of positions around the pitch.
Despite being a midfielder,
Ryan has played in the back for most of this campaign, and has been outstanding,
whether it’s at full back or at the heart of the backline. His quality with the
ball is obvious and you can see the midfielder in him when he plays out from
the back, especially from the centre half position. Ryan is also a great guy,
and a great ambassador for the club so, apologies to him for not always giving
him the media headlines he deserves, but hopefully I’ll be able to give him his
share of the limelight in the years to come.
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| Ryan Williams. |
A re-occurring theme recently in this blog is that modern
day football is very different from the game I knew as a youngster. One particularly ugly recent
‘development’ is that supporters of some clubs seemingly feel that every defeat
is the end of the World and cause to question the manager and his players. Thankfully,
Caernarfon Town supporters are a different kind and have a very different perspective. In so long as everyone is
giving their all to the cause, the Cofis will back the manager and his team. With
Eards and his charges, this will never be a problem as they always leave
everything on the pitch. Just as they did at Newtown.
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| Darren Thomas against Newtown. |
Before moving on from Saturday’s match, it was an excellent
gesture by the hosts to offer free chip baps to everyone at the ground,
although I missed out due to a schoolboy error on my part. I won’t go into too
much detail but I headed for the canteen for my freebie instead of the
supporters club and, although the kind lady who served me pointed out my error,
I was too embarrassed to cancel my order thus ending up paying. To be fair, it
was worth the £1.50p and especially so since the canteen reminded me of Sid’s Café
from Only Fools and Horses!
Scone-Gate. There was another food-related incident at the
ground that warrants mentioning although, again, details must be vague for reasons
that will become obvious. If I was to fully explain the details, the words President,
Buttered Scone, Former Vice Chairman and Pocket would feature prominently and so,
for fear of embarrassing anyone Ii will leave the story to your imagination.
The team’s next fixture may well be a first for the
club, as we will be facing champions The New Saints on Monday, 25th
February. I’m not sure if the Cofis have ever played a league match on a Monday
evening before but it should certainly be an interesting trial for us and the
league. The date was arranged to facilitate Sgorio’s request to broadcast the
match on their facebook live platform, and I can’t wait for it!
Taking into account that TNS is a professional
outfit, it seems a daunting task for the Cofis but we have proved competitive
in all our recent matches with them and, of course, defeated
them earlier this
season on their own ground. The players have already proved they’re good enough
to compete well at this level and one thing’s for sure, Eards and his charges
will be well up for the challenge, especially in front of what could be another
big crowd at the Oval.
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| Brads. |
Before that, however, former World Boxing Champion Tony
Bellew will be visiting the supporters’ club for a special event, which
promises to be a memorable evening for everyone who has a ticket. Despite the fact
he’s an Everton supporter, he seems a really good guy and I’m looking forward
to hearing his stories from inside and outside the ring. I believe there are
still a few tickets available from the club’s commercial manager, Phil Jones,
who can be contacted on Twitter @PhilOval.
That’s it for now, except to say that I am working on
an exclusive interview for the blog with Nathan Craig, about his time with us
up to now, and hopefully we’ll be able to publish this in the next week or two.
In the meantime, get your tickets for Bellew if you haven’t already done so!
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