Tag: Sgorio

Flint on form ahead of Barry tv test

On Saturday evening Flint Town entertain Barry Town in Sgorio’s live Cymru Premier game, giving supporters of the Cymru Premier their first chance to take a look at both sides this season. Niall McGuinness’ side are currently sit 2nd in the Cymru Premier, albeit a somewhat artificial position given we’ve only had three rounds of fixtures so far, but two wins from their first three games represents an excellent start to the Silkmen’s first top flight campaign in over two decades.

Gavin Chesterfield’s Barry team will undoubtedly provide the sternest test yet for last season’s Cymru North runners-up but there is an air of confidence and belief around the Silkmen. Their opening day home win over Newtown was achieved in adversity, after Rob Hughes’ red card left Flint defending a 1-0 lead for 40 minutes. They bounced back from a 3-1 defeat at Aberystwyth last weekend with a 2-1 midweek win at Cefn Druids, including a first goal of the season for veteran Mark Cadwallader, who fired 26 Cymru North goals last season.

In most of his media work Niall McGuiness – at 29 by far the youngest manager in the league – has spoken in a way that suggests Flint aren’t simply happy to be in the league this season, they want to compete and work towards becoming a proven side at this level.

Barry Town are the perfect role model in that sense. No recently promoted side has done as well as the Linnets, with 7th, 3rd and 4th place finishes respectively since their promotion in 2017. Gavin Chesterfield’s sides have been masters of racking up early points and it’s their consistency in phase one that has put them alongside the frontrunners in the last two campaigns.

Despite a rocky summer, which included a heavy Europa League defeat, Barry’s 3-1 win over Caernarfon last Saturday suggests any doom and gloom may have been misplaced, especially while Kayne McLaggon’s shooting boots are on form. The Linnets will certainly arrive at Cae-Y-Castell as the favourites but with early season confidence and match winners of their own in the likes of Cadwallader, Ryan Foulkes and Nathan Craig, is now the best time for Flint to send their visitors back south on the end of an upset?

On Friday night Aberystwyth travel across the Cambrian mountains to take on Newtown in the first mid-Wales derby of the season. With just 1 point on the board from their first three fixtures, Newtown will be desperate to get their season up and running with a win. The Robins will be boosted by the return of manager Chris Hughes in the dugout after he missed last week’s trip to Haverfordwest due to Coronavirus-related self-isolation.

Seven summer signings have been slow to bed in at Latham Park but the quality and experience they have means results will pick up. However, Chris Hughes will not want to be too far off the pace when everything begins to click into place.

Cefn Druids will be hoping to put their first points on the board at home to Cardiff Met. Issues around the FAW Safer Return to Football Protocols have disrupted Druids’ start the season and a home defeat to Flint on Tuesday would have been a blow after pushing Bala Town close last Sunday. Cardiff Met have a mixed bag of results so far, although there won’t be many alarms about last week’s defeat at TNS. The Rock isn’t a happy hunting ground for Met though, with a solitary win from eight league visits to Cefn Mawr.

Bala travel into “locked down” Bridgend County Borough to take on Penybont. Late goals have been the feature of Bala’s season so far. Having been denied a win at the champions on the opening day by an injury time goal, Nathan Peate’s late winner sealed three points for the Lakesiders last week at home to Cefn Druids.

Last season Bala won this fixture 6-1 and although Penybont are a more confident side at this level now, if Bala are going to mount a serious title challenge nothing but a win will be acceptable for their return to Gwynedd on Saturday night.

Connah’s Quay Nomads and TNS are in action on Sunday. Nomads embark on their longest away trip of the season to play newly promoted Haverfordwest County. Both sides are unbeaten having played two fixtures each. The New Saints travel north west to play Caernarfon Town, yet to concede a goal. Huw Griffiths’ new-look Cofis will hope to emulate the 1-0 win achieved last season at The Oval when Caernarfon were managed by Sean Eardley.

Haverfordwest show plenty of spirit for the fight.

If Haverfordwest County’s new chairman Rob Edwards cut a slightly nervous figure in his debut Sgorio interview during half-time of his club’s first televised home game of the season on Saturday, there is little sign of any anxiety from the players on the field amidst their new surroundings in the Cymru Premier.

It’s not meant as a slight towards the Pembrokeshire club to suggest they may have been many people’s favourites to go down this season. Cymru South runners-up last season, County are benefactors of Swansea University FC’s inability to meet the FAW Tier 1 Licence criteria. The last time they were promoted to the top flight, five years ago, was also as runners-up and their only season in the then Welsh Premier League saw them finish bottom having lost 21 of their 32 fixtures.

There hasn’t been a major overhaul of the playing squad at Bridge Meadow, manager Wayne Jones opting mainly for younger players with potential to supplement his promotion-winning side. Big changes off the field though have seen County embrace promotion positively and although the club has always been well-run, the atmosphere around the club looks more modern, more progressive, more engaging.

Ultimately, it’s what they do on the field that counts and two points from their opening two fixtures represents a respectable start. A clean sheet at Cardiff Met in midweek was followed up with a hard-earned point in a full-throttle televised game with Newtown on Saturday evening.

Danny Williams’ ‘brace’ (the second may be one for the ‘dubious goals panel’ to adjudicate) salvaged a point County deserved, particularly on the back of the second-half performance when they created numerous attacking opportunities. There may be disappointment in the two goals they conceded, but those momentary lapses of concentration are part of the learning curve, things you will get punished for more often than the Cymru South so need to reduce. The overall competitiveness, though, against an experienced – if off colour – Newtown should be encouraging, as well as twice coming back from a losing position.

Converting these performances into wins will be essential and it could take time to do that more consistently, but the early evidence suggests Haverfordwest are here to have a go.

Conversely, it’s been a troubling start for Newtown. On paper, Chris Hughes may have expected more than one point from their opening three fixtures against both promoted sides and a Caernarfon team that have lost some key players. But soft goals and an inability to hold on to a lead has cost them heavily already. They do have the look of a side that is still gelling but you would expect a side with their experience will eventually sort things out and when the likes of Jamie Breese, Jordan Evans and James Davies begin to click together in attack they should start putting wins on the board.

Two weekends in and TNS are already top of the league. Another goal from Adrian Cieslewicz helped Saints to a 2-0 home win over Cardiff Met on Sunday. Europa League counterparts Bala Town and Connah’s Quay Nomads also picked up wins on Sunday.

Kris Owens’ crisp left foot finish gave champions Nomads a 1-0 home win against Penybont, ending a mental week on Deeside of COVID crisis, European heartbreak and PR faux pas. Nathan Peate was the matchwinner for Bala Town, bundling home a late winner against former club Cefn Druids. Naim Arsan had earlier cancelled out Will Evans’ first goal for the Lakesiders.

Barry Town and Aberystwyth Town got their first wins of the season. Aber came from behind to beat Flint Town on Friday night, with the help of another booming left foot strike from Jonathan Evans. Kayne McLaggon bagged a well-taken brace as Barry ended Caernarfon’s unbeaten start to the season at Jenner Park.

Dool worldie saves Nomads but are Bala ready to challenge?

Such is the cruelty of football sometimes, you can watch your team pull off the game plan almost to a tee, nullify your opponent and create chances at the other end, only to be undone by a 25 yard worldie in the 4th minute of injury time.

Sameron Dool’s brilliant, bamboozlimg blockbuster denied Bala Town a memorable win on the opening day of the 2020/21 season, while ensuring Cymru Premier champions Connah’s Quay’s title defence did not begin with a defeat.

Bala were excellent and for most of the match made Nomads look mediocre. Apart from a spell early in the second half with Andy Morrison’s words no doubt ringing in the ears of the champions, Bala dealt with Connah’s Quay’s direct, physical style comfortably. Bala’s goalkeeper Ramsey wasn’t required to make a meaningful save until he kept out Michael Wilde’s injury time header and sustained a bloody nose. Ironically the treatment for this provided the additional time in which Dool made his intervention.

Colin Caton’s side might rue missed second half chances, particularly a couple of opportunities Chris Venables failed to take, but generally they should take confidence from their performance on Deeside. Having flirted on the outskirts for a few years, some observers have pushed Bala’s title credentials during the summer and this kind of display validates those predictions.

Bala look to have recruited well during pre-season. Will Evans and Nathan Peate were both excellent on debut, Alex Ramsey is as good as any goalkeeper in the league. With the likes of Henry Jones on the bench, there is also more strength and depth at Maes Tegid.

It’s only the first round but this was an impressive start for Bala. Less so for Nomads, whose robust style is unlikely to change but looked predictable and laboured on Saturday evening. When bombarding the opposition isn’t working, what’s the back-up plan? Ultimately, a wonder strike in the final move saved them from a defeat that wouldn’t have been undeserved.

There is no doubt better to come from the champions.

The New Saints began their bid to reclaim the Welsh football crown with a dominant 3-0 win at Jenner Park against Barry Town. It’s certainly a big statement win from Scott Ruscoe’s side, especially as the Linnets have proven a thorn in TNS’ side in recent campaigns, albeit usually at Park Hall.

In isolation it’s not overly concerning for Barry, who many may fancy for a top 4 finish regardless of results against TNS. Hoeever, on the back of their Europa League humiliation in the Faroe Islands, Gavin Chesterfield’s side will need to find some momentum and get back the kind of form that has seen them challenge at the top over the past two campaigns.

Flint Town have waited 22 years to play top flight football again and they got off to a superb start. Nathan Craig’s free kick (shock!) was enough to give the Silkmen a 1-0 win over Newtown, despite playing with 10 men for most of the second half following Rob Hughes’ red card.

Ollie Hulbert had a Cymru Premier debut to remember. The teenager, who joined Cardiff Met on loan from Bristol Rovers last week, scored twice in the final ten minutes to help the Archers come from behind at Aberystwyth Town and claim a 3-2 opening day win. Elliot Evans was also on target for the visitors, with Liam Jarman and Harry Warwick (the latter also on loan from Bristol Rovers) featuring in the attack, fears about Met’s goal threat this season may prove short-lived.

The other fixture played saw Penybont take a point home from Caernarfon Town. Mael Davies fizzed home a debut goal from distance before an equally superb finish from Mike Hayes earned a point for the Cofis at The Oval.

Haverfordwest’s home match with Cefn Druids was postponed on Saturday morning by the FAW after Cefn Druids allegedly failed to meet the FAW’s Safer Return to Football protocols. Druids vehemently denied this claim and on Twitter the club account stated it was “appalled” by the FAW’s statement. On Sgorio, Cymru Premier General Manager Gwyn Derfel said the FAW would be reviewing whether Druids next two league fixtures can go ahead.

Hopefully the truth of the matter will see the light of day, but overall a thoroughly disappointing and deflating turn of events on the opening weekend of the Cymru Premier.

Ruscoe concedes more than just the points advantage in Nomads loss.

Connah’s Quay Nomads’ 1-0 win over The New Saints at the Deeside Stadium on Friday night confirmed we ACTUALLY have a phase two Cymru Premier title race. Craig Curran’s goal amidst swirling winds of Storm Ellen was enough to send Andy Morrison’s challengers four points clear at the top with seven rounds left to play.

The game itself wasn’t a great advert for the Cymru Premier as a spectacle, although it is easy and lazy to direct accusations of “poor quality” at a semi-professional league based on one game played in conditions that would have affected games at several “higher” levels. Judgements should always be relative and what is more important to take from this game is that we have a genuinely competitive title race going into the latter stages. I would argue a league’s competitiveness and strength in depth is as important as what is perceived as “quality”.

The Cymru Premier has now provided plenty of talking points for the coming months and for the right reasons this time. Along with the title race, we have an intriguing three-horse fight to avoid possible relegation between Penybont, Carmarthen Town and Airbus Broughton. A battle between Cardiff Met and Cefn Druids for the final Europa League play-off spot. Not to mention the ongoing scuffle between Barry Town and Bala Town for 3rd place; which potentially guarantees European football next season depending on the final destination of the Welsh Cup. There are few dead rubbers at the moment, so the focus should be on matters on the pitch instead of the usual “gaffes” the wider media often jump on for clickbait.

Ironically, the best entertainment came after the turgid 90 minutes between Nomads and TNS when the latter’s manager Scott Ruscoe spoke to the media. Clearly rattled, Ruscoe launched his very own ‘Kevin Keegan moment’ when he was highly dismissive of Connah’s Quay’s title credentials and, less surprisingly, the direct style of Andy Morrison’s outfit.

Speaking to Sgorio‘s Nicky John, Ruscoe said the match was “probably one of the worst games we’ve been involved in. Poor conditions, poor quality throughout.”

Nothing controversial there I’m sure most viewers would agree. Ruscoe admitted conditions played their part in his side’s struggles and acknowledged it was something “both sides had to deal with” before launching a thinly-veiled attack on the Connah’s Quay approach to the game.

“They play like that every game,” Ruscoe told Sgorio, “they play like that in the wind, in the rain and if it’s nice, they like that on a good pitch or if it’s a bad pitch, it doesn’t really matter.”

Adding in an interveiw with The New Saints’ in-house media: “we like to get the ball down and the conditions are not conducive to pretty football. The wind was as bad as you’re going to get and it was very difficult for us to get any momentum in the game.”

This kind of snobbery isn’t new in football or exclusive to Ruscoe, but it smacks of the bitterness and the tension that is clearly being felt in the ranks at Park Hall. It’s ridiculous to criticise the style of a team that has just beaten you in a crucial title “six-pointer” and taken a four point lead at the top.

The best was to come when Ruscoe told both Sgorio and TNS TV that “We’ll beat Connah’s Quay at home so we’ll be hoping for someone else to get a draw.”

When asked if Connah’s Quay were pushing TNS as hard as anyone has, Ruscoe dismissed the notion “we’ve been pushed harder [and by better teams] than what these are.” Ruscoe denounced the prospect of Connah’s Quay navigating their way to the title.

“They are not going to win seven games in a row. No doubt, no chance at all,” he told TNS TV, stating “I think we’ll be alright.”

Although, Connah’s Quay only need to win six games from here to secure their first ever Welsh league title.

The comments are telling of the pressure Ruscoe is under as he now faces the real possibility of being the manager that oversaw the end of TNS’s monopoly of the Cymru Premier / Welsh Premier League title. Having led Nomads by four points at the end of phase one, Ruscoe’s side have now taken a single point from their first three matches in the ‘Championship Conference’ phase while Andy Morrison’s side have been unerring. The title isn’t in their hands anymore and it has been a long time since TNS were in this situation.

I doubt Andy Morrison will be losing any sleep over Ruscoe disrespecting his side; the interviews probably provoked a smile if anything. Nothing is won yet and the smart money would still back The New Saints to secure a 9th consecutive Welsh league title. However, Ruscoe’s public display of vulnerability confirms the threat from Deeside is being felt acutely in Oswestry but it also the kind of interview that shows the Cymru Premier matters more than than it’s low-profile.

It’s also added even more fuel to the fire of what is becoming a sparkling title race and we need more of it.