When I last put pen to paper, or
fingers to keyboard, the Cofis were flying, having won nine of the previous
eleven matches, losing just the once, and to Welsh Premier League opposition at
that.
And then we lost at home to
Llanfair United and all the talk outside of the club was of how the team had
lost its way, and were a spent force. After one lacklustre performance and
defeat. Keyboard warriors were out in force, the usual suspects were sniping
away and suddenly it seemed that the wheels had come off the champions’
wagon. Sounds ridiculous doesn’t it, and
yet here we are, facing another year in the doldrums if you believe everything
you read on social media.
I don’t believe it, and I’m sure
that most people who know the players and management team will feel the same.
There’s no denying that the team was not at its best against Llanfair and,
judging from what I saw after the match, no one knew it more that the players
themselves. The truth is, after going a goal up early on the team did not take
advantage of their superiority in the opening twenty minutes and the visitors
made them pay with an excellent performance thereafter. It would be easy to blame
the defeat on a few things during the match that may have had an effect on the
result, Chris Williams’ early exit after injury being one, missed opportunities
and Danny Brookwell’s sending off another two, but these things happen from
time to time and on the day I felt Llanfair deserved the victory.
I’ve been carrying out post-match
interviews with the manager this season and, to be perfectly honest, I had
thought of heading straight home after the final whistle as I’m sure that
answering my questions was the last thing Iwan would have wanted after the
defeat. However, I braved the possible consequences and am glad that I did
because I think it epitomises our manager and his standards. If you’ve seen the
video (available on the club’s twitter and facebook feeds) and, having looked
through my ever present book of idioms I believe the one that best reflects his
approach to my questions is that he “pulled no punches’.
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| Grahame Austin. |
I decided against an interview
with any of the players who had played and took the opportunity instead to ask
Grahame Austin for an update on his injury. The club captain has been out of
action all season due to a back problem and it was good to hear Aussie saying
that he still hasn’t given up hope of playing again this season. Incidentally,
we had to pause the interview at one stage because, just as we were about to
start, the Llanfair United players appeared from the dressing rooms, loud,
proud and all clad in fancy dress! It was the last things I wanted to see after
such a disappointing result but, to be fair, some of the outfits were pretty
good (there was a bear and a Indian chief if I recall correctly) and really, it
just about summed up the day.
The next match could not come
quickly enough and seven days later the team travelled over the Britannia
Bridge for a Welsh Cup tie with Llangefni, and what an encounter it turned out
to be!
The sides had played at Cae Bob
Parry in a pre-season friendly that the Canaries had won quite comfortably,
although by just a solitary goal but this clash was a very different affair as
we were treated to eight goals, a penalty shoot-out and some fine chanting by
the home crowd!
When Jamie Breese put us ahead in
the second minute I hoped it would signal a stress-free afternoon but the hosts
had other ideas and it ended up being one of the best matches I’ve seen for a
number of years. I think it’s fair to say that Caernarfon bossed possession for
long periods of the match and certainly played the better football but, by
failing to add a second goal they allowed Llangefni to keep themselves in the
match and, once the hosts levelled before the break, the match was very much one of those blood and thunder
cup ties that the older generation would have us believe only happened in the
good old days. Each time Caernarfon got back in front, Cefni would find a way
to peg us back and it came as no surprise when they forced a penalty shoot-out
in the last minute of extra time.
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| Tom Quinn celebrates his goal against Llangefni (he's somewhere at the bottom of this pile-up!). |
I’m not a supporter of penalties
deciding cup ties and would much prefer replays but thankfully on this occasion
Town’s spot-kick takers had the edge on their opponents and managed to put the
club into the hat for the third round. I was pleased that both Tom Quinn and
Danny Sullivan scored their penalties (Tom had scored during the match also)
because they’ve had a difficult start to their time at Caernarfon and I hope
that the influence they had on the match will give them the confidence to push
on now because they’re both excellent players, and nice guys too.
Many people have mentioned how much character and determination Cefni showed to get back on level terms on four occasions during the match and I agree, but it's interesting that not many have said the same thing about Caernarfon, who also had to roll up their sleeves and react positively having been pegged back so many times. Both sides deserve lots of credit for their efforts.
A quick mention also to Cory
Williams, who I thought was excellent and easily the man of the match. His goal from twenty five yards was very much
worth the price of admission alone and I know there’s more of the same to come
from him. Cory has been in and out of the side this season but had his best
match for the club in Llangefni and I firmly believe he has the tools to make a
massive impact on the team this season. Cory has great quality, on and off the
pitch.
It had been a heartpounder of a
tie and was proof enough that the country’s premier cup competition still means
a lot to the clubs and true football supporters. In fact, I would go so far as
to say that the FAW should consider giving the cup more backing and maybe
consider pushing the competition as much as they do the Welsh Premier League.
Likewise those in charge of television coverage of Welsh football. Would
supporters and casual followers of the game in Wales prefer watching a cup tie
between sides they don’t normally see or witness yet another encounter
involving The New Saints, Bangor or Rhyl? I understand that they need to push
the WPL but at the moment it seems that everything is taking a backseat to the
top tier, and I can’t imagine that it does too much good for the grass roots
game.
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| Was the segregation barrier really required? |
Anyway, back to our afternoon in
Llangefni and just a few things I must mention before moving on. Firstly, upon
entering the ground I was surprised to see that there was segregation in place.
Seeing the barriers behind the goals was a reminder of ugly days of the past
when such things were the norm at football matches (who could ever forget the
awful red cage we had at the Oval for away supporters in the eighties?). I
found it quite insulting to everyone attending the tie and was puzzled that the
Caernarfon Town Board had not been informed beforehand. I believe the local
police had asked for the segregation and if this is so, then both clubs should
have been informed so as to tell the supporters. I’m not blaming Llangefni at
all, but the police should have told us.
I don’t think the segregation was
warranted and what made it even more questionable is that supporters of both
teams were allowed into the supporters club before, during and after the match
for a beer. And, having frequented the bar, I can confirm that there was no
segregation barrier in sight!
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| The PYS Supporters Stand. |
I mentioned earlier that the home
supporters were in fine voice and I think they’ve already won the best, and
most amusing, chant of the season for their excellent rendition of Old
MacDonald which rang around the ground as two of the local constabularies’
finest walked towards the PYS Supporters Stand. All good fun and yet another
throwback to the old days, although a much funnier one than the barriers!
Something else that made an
impression on me was the music played at the ground, which consisted of Neil
Diamond, Neil Diamond and more Neil Diamond. In fact, at times it seemed as if
we were at one of the Solitary Man’s concerts, his voice filling the rather
cold air with classics such as Red, Red Wine and I’m a Believer, both of which
fitted my mood as Sully’s winning penalty hit the onion bag to send us through
to the next round!
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| There's only one Messi! |
Our reward for winning in
Llangefni is a tough but very exciting home draw with Carmarthen Town. The last
time we faced top tier opposition in the Welsh Cup was the televised tie
against The New Saints in November 2014. On that day, we gave the Welsh
champions a real run for their money, the wall collapsed and Darren Thomas
proved that there’s only one Messi, and he works at the Oval!
The tie is certainly something to
look forward to but before then the side has two tough fixtures to play,
beginning with a trip to Halkyn Road to take on Holywell Town. There’s really
no need for me to say much more about this much-anticipated match, as past
fixtures between the sides, over a number of years, have proved there is a
strong possibility it will be a real cracker!
Come on the Town!
