And so to the Oval and a Welsh Premier League Europa League play off between the Canaries of Caernarfon Town and the Archers of Cardiff Metropolitan University FC. Or the home of Clwb Pel Droed Tref Caernarfon, befitting a town that boasts greater than 86% of the population being Welsh speakers - Caernarfon residents are colloquially known as Cofis, and Cofi is used to describe the local dialect incorporating many words not used in the Welsh language. The overall winners of the Europa League play offs secure a place in the cup draw and a guaranteed £200,000 prize money....
The first football club in Caernarfon was established in September 1876 and known as Carnarvon Athletic, playing at various grounds and moving to The Oval in 1888. Athletic folded in 1891 and what followed was a plethora of short lived clubs - Carnarvon Ironopolis, Celts, RWF (Royal Welsh Fusiliers), United and a reincarnation of Athletic which was liquidated in 1930 and then revived two years later before quitting over problems using The Oval.
In 1937 a group of local soccer enthusiasts began Caernarvon Town FC (now Caernarfon Town FC). The Canaries had a 39 year unbroken membership of the Welsh League (North), winning the championship twice, until internal problems caused the club to withdraw from the league in 1976. Within months Town was reborn and immediately won consecutive titles.
The Welsh FA then gave Caernarfon permission to join the Lancashire League, becoming a founder member of the North West Counties Football League in 1982.
In 1985 the Canaries were elected to the Northern Premier League and during the 1986/87 season, under the tutelage of John King and inspired by Austin Salmon (a missed car name if ever there was one !! ), embarked on a record FA Cup run. Fourth Division Stockport County were beaten 1-0, Third Division York City 2-1 in a replay at Bootham Crescent (a match I shall never forget) before losing 1-0 in a replay to Second Division Barnsley. Cofis finished third in the NPL and felt that, if not for the FA Cup run, they would probably have gained promotion to the Football Conference.
After King's departure, to Tranmere Rovers, and the disappointing tenure of Tommy Smith, Town were relegated to the first division of the NPL in 1990. Thereafter followed five seasons of indifferent performances prompting the board to make the decision to return to Welsh football. The Canaries were welcomed back into the League of Wales in August 1995.
In March 2009, with finances at an all time low and the club's entire future in doubt, the chairman and board of directors resigned and a band of volunteers managed to guide Town through to the end of the season. A year later Caernarfon sank to the third tier of Welsh football.
The team won the Welsh Alliance in 2013 and then the Huws Gray Cymru Alliance in 2016, but were deprived of promotion as the FAW denied the Canaries a domestic licence with Cefn Druids going up instead. Nonetheless two years later another championship was bagged and this time the licence was granted - Town finishing 4th in their first season back in the Welsh Premier League, and securing a home Europa League play off.
The visitors,
'The Archers' of Cardiff Metropolitan University FC, were formed from a series
of mergers and name changes.
It all started with Lake
United renaming themselves AFC Cardiff in 1984. In 1990 the club was taken over
by Sully FC to form Inter Cardiff FC, which became Inter CableTel AFC in 1996.
This club represented Wales in the old UEFA Cup three times, including playing
Celtic in the 1997/98 season.
In 2000 a merger with UWIC
(University of Wales Institute, Cardiff) produced UWIC Inter Cardiff which
became Cardiff Metropolitan University FC in 2012. The Archers, or unofficially
known as The International, The Sheep (!) or The Div's (Car-DIFF), then won
three promotions in four seasons to reach the Welsh Premier League.
Since then the club has
qualified for the Europa League play offs every season, this time via finishing
top of the relegation group, but without winning the final and moving on
to play in Europe. Also this season The Archers won the Welsh League Cup
for the first time, beating second tier Cambrian & Clydach Vale
Boys & Girls Club 2-0 in the final, all under the managerial reign of
ex pro Dr Christian Edwards.
So onto Manchester Road, some
drizzle, cloud then unbroken sunshine as I pass the carved wooden eagle before
reaching the M56 and Stanlow with its belching fumes and overworked wind
turbines. And immediately a competition for the worst personalised numberplate
- today's contenders are SO 61DDY, SO0 6LAD, M3FLU, 4ODD (factually incorrect
!!), T4KCE (yes a taxi !!), GH05T GC and ARK1D. No further comment
required.....
Then to Queensferry, where
the speed limit is reduced for emission reductions, and the A55,
Bodelwyddan Castle, straddling the coast as I approach the abandoned pier at
Colwyn Bay. Then panoramic views of Snowdonia and the Great Orme before the
Conwy, Penmaenbach and Pen-y-Clip tunnels. Beyond Bangor and the Vales Fall
Whisky Distillery and into the royal town of Caernarfon (Fort of Arfon)
advertising next weekend's Rail Ale Festival. A sharp left onto Henwalia
and right into Marcus Street where I find the car park full a good six
hours before kick off, possibly because of the S4C Sgorio live coverage of the
match later on.
Caernarfon itself is
absolutely packed - today is the annual Food Festival with live entertainment,
market stalls and the biggest queues at The Tipsy Giraffe cocktail bar. Slowly
I wend my way past the walls of Caernarfon Castle, with its polygonal
towers, the statue of David Lloyd George (Caernarfon's most famous son) to
Victoria Dock and the Walled Town to a cacophony of Welsh language lilt.
My final stop is the harbour,
the River Seiont and the Menai Strait with Anglesey glistening in the sun and
then the Welsh Highland Railway, a 25 mile two and a quarter hour journey
to Porthmadog - but at £41.50 return and bearing in mind last month's runaway
locomotive incident it's probably an attraction I can resist......
To the football, £7 in and
directly facing me is the Rondo Stand, 3 rows of covered yellow and green seats
emphasising the steep gradient from left to right. The main grandstand is to my
right with yellow CPTC seats set amidst green, and a curious covered standing
area in the corner complete with window....The near end features a part covered
terrace behind the goal together with a snackbar, whilst to the left is
terracing, grass bank and gravel, the press box and dugouts. A bumper crowd of
1280 waits in anticipation....
With the sun still blazing
the teams enter the fray - the Canaries in yellow and green as
expected and goalkeeper Alex Ramsay in all black - the same as the referee
and his two assistants. The Archers are in claret and blue with yellow trim,
and shotstopper Will Fuller in orange but with a large amount of yellow on his
top...
Cofis start well and the
Archers sluggishly as in the first minute Darren Thomas is given too much space
and Fuller saves his shot with an outstretched foot. Thomas has two other good
chances, one crowded out, the other just wide before the inevitable
happens. A free kick from captain Nathan Craig and a towering header from
Thomas that loops over Fuller and the Canaries are chirping !! A surge at the
Town End, a crush and the perimeter wall and advertising hoardings collapse...
There is a lengthy delay with one youngster suffering a minor arm injury and discussions as to whether the match should continue. Eventually play resumes with the Town End patrolled by three stewards, but not evacuated, and only cordoned off at half time when the home fans move to the Rondo Stand. Nine minutes of injury time are played at the end of the first period.
The delay appears
to unsettle Caernarfon and Met start to come more into the game.
On 36 minutes Chris Baker's deflected shot from a corner restores parity and
three minutes later Eliot Evans, who has already come close, hits the post from
another corner.
The second half mirrors the
first with the Canaries starting strongly - Leo Smith has a shot cleared off
the line and Thomas hits the post but crucially Caernarfon don't score. Midway
through the half Cardiff's centre forward, the excellent Adam Roscrow, is found
in space on the left wing and with sheer power and pace advances to beat his
marker and smash the ball into the roof of the net. A quite magnificent
individual goal...
Leo Smith then hits the bar
in a goalmouth melee at a corner, and Eliot Evans is denied by a wonderful
fingertip save from Ramsay, before with nine minutes remaining Kyle McCarthy
arcs his run beautifully and produces a superb shot across Ramsay, low into the
corner, for 3-1.
Into injury time a needless
trip gives the Cofis a lifeline - Craig scores the penalty kick but there is
insufficient time for an equaliser. The Archers now go to Maes Tegid and Bala
Town next Sunday for the final Europa League spot and that £200,000...
