Friday Night Away

Caernarfon Town 5-0 Bala Town (Cymru Premier)

I'm feeling guilty for leaving the wife and dog overnight so before I head off to Wales for another three games this weekend, I'm fetching some bin bags a baguette some ham and coleslaw from Co-Op, before waving goodbye to the loves of my life and heading west to Cymru all over again.

Not as serene as Wednesday as there's a haze in the air today, which slightly greys over the magnificent panorama I get as I drive across this beautiful A55 and look out to the sea, a 3 hour journey from Nottingham through Stoke and up the M6 before taking the M56 and delightful North Wales Expressway, it's really lovely as I pull in to the walled town of Caernarfon a little jaded, the castle add theatre as I park up and walk the remainder to my overnight guesthouse, it's here I drop in my bags before taking a look around the wonderful cobbled streets.

A Roman Fort, established around AD80, these days housing shops, cafes and bars with the odd tourist walking within the huge stone walls which back on to the Menai Straight and Afon Seiont, I stop for a quick pint (as I'm on my holiday) in Jac y Do, a modern real ale hipster pub where I get a nice IPA, before heading back, freshening up, and walking again, this time towards the Oval, home of Caernarfon Town FC since formation in 1937.

The Venue

Located on a hill at the top of Segontium Road, it's very Yorkshire miners welfare this aged looking but idyllic old ground which is squeezed in between grey stone cladded terraced housing and narrow steep streets.

Mountains in the distance add beautiful backdrop as I head for the yellow painted clubhouse, a sign on the door says 'members only' and 'guests must sign in' which slightly put me off from entering.

It's only an hour to kick off but it's like a ghost town around here, hardly anyone outside in the car park as I walk through the entrance where I'm scanned in by a local, no sooner do I walk through the gates does the rain come down heavy, keepers warming up on the pitch in front as the heavens open out and give it some, I take cover behind the goal which is thankfully a small roofed stand before walking around quickly to the seated yellow and green painted stand on half way.

It's quintessentially gorgeous this place, without being perfect, no way near in fact, it has the look and feel of the sort of place you would play a County Cup final as a kid in the 80's. A big huge pitch with a horrible slope from wing to wing (this I'm told will be levelled next season), a roofed stand behind the goal that looks a little wonky, one decent seated area on half way, not a bad seated stand behind the right side goal which is elevated and really cosy looking, but that's it, nothing spectacular, quite simple on the eye, concrete walls around the perimeter, spaced out standing areas are plenty, the terraced houses line one side of the pitch with decent views of the action from some lucky bedroom windows.

I love it, the feeling is 'real' and the smell is of damp anoraks due to the weather gushing down but as I found out on Wednesday at Bangor, everyone around here is speaking Welsh, I'm a little uneasy with it all, so keep myself to myself, sit at the back row, hood up, and wait for the play to begin.

The Game

It's the Championship round of fixtures in the Welsh Premier League, I'm not entirely sure what it all means, but I think, like in Scotland, the league splits after the half way stage, both Bala and Caernarfon have struggled of late, the Canaries in fifth have lost their last two whilst the Lakesiders in sixth haven't won in six.

But despite their poor form, the visitors from Bala start well, a marauding run down the right by teenage winger Callum Edwards shows how electric he can be, whilst on the left, the experienced Osebi Ababaki is looking lively with plenty of touches, the hosts however do grow into the game and on their first corner on 33, take the lead through Downey who powers home from close range.

That goal gives Caernarfon and midfielder Downey in particular, some new found confidence as a few flicks and tricks pay off, still raining, the hosts now look the more up for it as their full backs start to contain the speedy away side wingers, whilst Ryan Sears barks orders next to Phil Mooney at centre half, both solid and experienced competitors, in midfield they play with some ambition and up front have a couple of likeable forwards, Adam Davies a tall number nine puts himself about brilliantly, taking the strain away from young Louis Lloyd whose going about his business much quieter, looking for pockets of space. He looks to have intelligence aged just 21.

The Score

At half time I check my phone to see England are beating Albania 1-0. The rain is easing but still falling as the players re-emerge, it doesn't look like Bala have bothered to come out though because Caernarfon blow them away in little more than fifteen, first adding to their opener on 51 when Louis Lloyd gets lucky to beat the goalkeeper then flick the ball home from inside the area. Five minutes later Sam Downey strikes again, this time his low shot from outside the box is too hot for Torrance to handle.

Lloyd then gets his second on 63 when the pass of the game by left back Owen carves open the Bala defence, the left footed number two who looks more like an Aussie Rules player with his mullet style hair and socks rolled down his ankles, smashes a 60 yard swerver into the path of Lloyd who runs onto the ball before calmly dinking over the goalkeeper.

There's room for one more as Lloyd grabs his hat trick on 75, running through after a lovely slid pass from midfield, but Bala have made it all too easy, they have pressed self destruct and from the moment they first conceded, probably decided they didn't want to be here.

The Stars

It's convincing from Caernarfon who's striker Lloyd didn't disappoint, he's got 14 goals for the season now and is joint top in the Welsh Premier League with Rhys Hughes of Connah's Quay.

Lloyd looks awkward at times, far from the finished article he does seem to have a natural finishing instinct although might lack pace, power, fitness, but he has a talent you can't teach, a player who I think could be worth a punt in taking to England?

Of the others, Sam Downey stood out with two goals in a dominant midfield display, he was next to Paulo Mendes who was brilliant in breaking up and starting play, he on occasion shown very quick feet in getting away from opponents, and won plenty of free kicks in the centre of the park.

A quick mention for Ryan Sears, a 26 year old English born centre half, who's previous clubs include Grimsby and Shrewsbury, he skippered the side and lead by example, always communicating with his back line and was up for the challenge in keeping the Bala attack quiet. Club legend Darren Thomas getting a late cameo to make his 400th Canaries appearance.

For Bala, not a great night, spells of pace from young Callum Edwards aside, their best player perhaps midfielder Lassana Mendes who's had spells in England with Radcliffe and Hereford, but even he didn't have much go his way. Young Irish midfielder Issa Kargbo did at least provide some hope from the bench, he worked his socks off in the centre of the park after coming on and was one of few players in white worthy of their pay cheque this week.

The Verdict

With only three games left to play of the season, Caernarfon have a slim chance of third place in the league, which will get them into a semi final slot for a Europa Conference playoff. Reaching Europe is a significant financial target for the top Welsh teams.

Bala will finish sixth, which is the best and worse they can do, I weren't impressed by their performance, but with the league table split as it is, they are simply playing for nothing but pride, and sometimes, that isn't enough to win football matches.

The Teams

Caernarfon Town: Ben Hughes, Jake Canavan (Danny Gosset 64), Adam Davies, Sam Downey (Darren Thomas 76), Steph Edwards, Joe Faux (Matty Hill 75), Louis Lloyd, Paulo Mendes (Oisin Ellis 84), Phil Mooney, Morgan Owen (Gruff Williams 83), Ryan Sears.

Bala Town: Joel Torrance, Osebi Abadaki (Liam Higgins 64), Aeron Edwards, Callum Edwards, Kieran Lloyd, Daniel Malone (Issa Kargbo 56), Lassana Mendes, Nathan Peate, Louis Robles, Ross White, Ben Woollam.

7:45pm Kick Off. Friday 21st March 2025, The Oval, Caernarfon (att 610).