Archers Hit The Bull's Eye - Lakesiders Pay The Penalty !!

And so to Maes Tegid, home of Bala Town FC - Clwb Pel Droed Y Bala Town - another area where Welsh speakers amount to nearly 80%. This for the final game of the Welsh domestic season, the Europa League play off final against the Archers of Cardiff Metropolitan University FC, and that guaranteed prize money of £200,000.

Bala Town FC was formed in 1880 but there is record of a football club in Bala playing in the 1877/78 Welsh Cup. Bala North End, Bala South End and Bala Thursdays merged to form the current Bala Town, with the first record being the 1921/22 campaign in the Welsh National League North Division 2 East.

In the early 1950s the Lakesiders (naturally enough !!) moved to Maes Tegid from the adjacent Castle Park. The team played in the Welsh National League Wrexham Area between 1950 and 1954, then rejoined the Cambrian Coast League in 1954, winning titles in 1959 and 1963. The club re-entered the Welsh National League Wrexham Area for the 1963/64 season.

For the 2003/04 term Colin Caton (cousin of the late Tommy) took over the managerial reins - he is still in charge - and Bala won promotion to the Cymru Alliance in his first season.

In 2009 the Lakesiders were crowned Huws Gray Cymru Alliance champions and promoted to the Welsh Premier League. In their first season Town finished 11th out of 18, but the Welsh Premier League committee decided to reduce the league to 12 clubs - relegation seemed inevitable but was avoided as no feeder league club was deemed able to reach the criteria to obtain a Domestic Licence.

The Lakesiders took their place in the 'Super 12' but again finished 11th in 2011, once more evading relegation due to Licensing issues.

Since then there has been no more flirting with relegation - Bala finished runners up in 2014/15 and 2015/16 (when the club was being bankrolled by local businesses keen to bring an end to The New Saints' monopoly on titles). The Welsh Cup was won in 2017 when Town fought back to beat TNS 2-1, and the club has qualified for the Europa League five times but is yet to win a tie on aggregate.

Last time the Lakesiders finished a disappointing sixth, but beat fifth placed Newtown 2-1 to earn a home final play off against Cardiff MU.

Last weekend's win at Caernarfon will live long in the memory but a swift resume of the visitors, 'The Archers' of Cardiff Metropolitan University FC, who 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 Welsh international Dr Christian Edwards.

So on a cloudy, breezy afternoon I set off past the property that is now styled as the Brexit House, then the well appointed Denzell Gardens, The Stretton Fox and Daresbury Park. Not long before the ridiculous numberplates appear - today we have X 11ON X, H1 2OLD (too old for what ??), N1NJA, ADD 2 (add two what ??), GR03 VEG, CAR 123X (??) and D3KLN. A fool and his money are soon parted....

Then the wind turbine farm and belching fumes that is Stanlow before I join the A494, skirting Buckley and Mold. A wry smile at the We Three Loggerheads, in Loggerheads itself, the Druid Inn at Llanferres and some glorious Welsh countryside scenery on the winding road from the heights of Llanbedr Dyffryn Clwyd.

That takes me to Ruthin and its Gaol, a brief flirtation with the A5 and a left turn at The Druids, beyond Glassblobbery and into Bala. Time is on my side so I take in the magnificent views of Lake Bala - 3.7 miles long by 0.5miles wide. It was the largest natural body of water in Wales until its level was raised by Thomas Telford to help support the flow of the Ellesmere Canal, and the sight of it is utterly breathtaking.

Then I take the minor B road by the eastern side of Lake Bala down to Llanuwchllyn, a one track road with the odd passing place - I, uncomfortably, come head on to several classic cars, all sporting a 'Hills and Valleys Tour' blue badge.

At the foot of the hill Llanuwchllyn is the home of the Bala Lake Railway, a 4.5 mile ride taking 25 minutes (and £11.50 return !!) to Bala Penybont, along the side of Lake Bala. The locomotive shed and heritage centre reveal 6 engines and various wagons, plus Winifred, the steam engine operating today.

Then into Bala, with its eclectic mix of pubs, galleries and cafes - including one called, naturally enough, Sospan Fach !! Not much to Bala away from the High Street, bearing in mind its population of less than 2,000 at the last census. However there is a striking clocktower in honour of John Jones of Tremynfa, and a statue of Thomas Edward Ellis, a prominent Welsh Liberal politician, emanating from the Bala area.

Left at The White Lion and then onto Castle Street brings me to Maes Tegid and Bala Town FC. No problem parking at the ground this week but it comes as no surprise, given the shambolic marshalling and sheer imbecility and selfishness of some drivers, that there is utter chaos and gridlock at the final whistle; fortunately I am away within ten minutes.

£6 at the gate and a crowd of 623 for the final, including a healthy number of away fans making the near 300 mile round trip and several groundhoppers.

Inside the main stand is to my left, a piecemeal affair made up of no less than 5 separate covered structures plus a press box - and with stunning views of  Snowdonia shrouded in mist in the background. At the top end is the house on the hill, whilst opposite are the dugouts and TV gantry with the near end providing the dressing rooms, snack bar and a small three step terrace behind the goal. It is here that the Bala Ultras congregate, their flags completely outnumbering the solitary 'The Roving Sheep On Tour' at the far end - a Merthyr Town supporter who is 'neutral'. Dial M for Merthyr....

The Lakesiders are in white with black sleeves and shorts, the Archers in claret and blue with yellow trim, and the officials in all yellow - so no colour clash this week. Bala start with 4 Welshmen and 7 English players - by the end it's 2 Welsh and 9 English - whilst Met have the complete reverse - 7 Welsh and 4 English.

Unlike last week the Archers start strongly with Adam Roscrow hitting the bar in the first minute and then heading against the inside of the post on 12 minutes. However Bala take the lead eight minutes later when Nathan Burke's cross is flicked on to Kieran Smith and glanced in by Henry Jones.

Four minutes later parity is restored - Will Evans given far too much space, drawing a save from Keighan Jones, but Eliot Evans pounces on the rebound to equalise. Smith hits the sidenetting for Bala as we approach half  time.

The second half is a cagey affair with few chances and solid defending. The Archers' keeper Will Fuller denies Henry Jones and Mike Hayes, whilst Met's Will Evans has a goal disallowed and is then booked for simulation in the penalty box.

Tension mounts as we move into extra time; in the first period Chris Baker heads against the post for Cardiff, whilst in the second Fuller makes a splendid save from Anthony Stephens but is then helpless as Hayes and Stuart Jones strike the bar within seconds - how the ball does not cross the line defies belief.....

Inevitably penalties and further unbearable tension which transmits itself to the players.... After 6 penalties the score is 1-0 to the Archers, with Keighan Jones saving two weak Cardiff penalties, and Bala skying one over the bar and having two saved, the second superbly by Will Fuller. The final three are scored, the last by Eliot Evans for a 3-1 win for the Met, and ecstasy on the pitch and the terraces as the students' team qualify for Europe !!

Archers Arrow In On Play Off Final - Canaries Sick As A Parrot !!

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...

Nomads Home From Home With A Stunning Finnish

And so to the last week in June and the recommencement of European club competitions. Tonight the visit of HJK Helsinki to Connah's Quay Nomads, appropriately at the Bangor University Stadium, a mere 107 mile round trip for the 'home' side, in the Europa League.

Before the Nomads, Connah's Quay FC was founded in 1890 and disbanded after a second Welsh Cup final loss in 1911. Connah's Quay & Shotton was then formed in 1920 and beat Cardiff, featuring several players from the team that beat Arsenal in the 1927 FA Cup Final, in the 1929 Welsh Cup Final. Six months later the club went bust....

The existing club was formed in July 1946 as Connah's Quay Juniors, and a senior team was formed and joined the Flintshire League in 1948. Prior to the 1952/53 season the club's suffix changed to Nomads; the Nomads joined the Welsh League (North) and, despite returning to local leagues for 7 years, rejoined it in 1966. In 1974 the club joined the newly formed Clwyd League and, following 3 successful seasons in the Welsh Alliance, became founder members of the Cymru Alliance in 1990 then the League of Wales two seasons later.

The Nomads, an odd name for a club that had spent 51 seasons at the Halfway Ground, moved after a season of groundsharing at Rhyl to its current home, the Deeside Stadium in 1998. After bereavements and retirements the club was taken over by gap personnel in June 2008 to become gap Connah's Quay Nomads.

2010 saw the club narrowly miss out on the cut off for the Super 12 League - thus the club began the 2010/11 season in the Cymru Alliance which they won the following season but were deprived of promotion after failing to gain a domestic license. Notwithstanding this setback the Nomads were again crowned Cymru Alliance champions in 2013 and this time the ascent to the Welsh Premier League was granted.

Last year saw the Nomads qualify for the Europa League - and a giantkilling as the club beat Norwegian team Stabaek over two legs before bowing out to Vojvodina from Serbia. A second place finish last term, a mere 27 points adrift of The New Saints, brings about another Europa League adventure starting tonight with the club also removing gap from its name in the close season.

Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi, 'The Football Club of Helsinki', was founded on 19 June 1907 by Fredrik Wathen. HJK, or 'Klubi' (The Club) have won 27 Finnish championships, including six in succession between 2009 and 2014, 12 Finnish Cups and 5 Finnish League Cups.

The visitors from the Telia 5G-areena were a multi sport club until 1978, but other official sports - bandy, tennis, bowling, ice hockey, handball and figure skating - are no longer endorsed. Runners up in last season's Veikkausliga, HJK stand 8 points clear at the top this time after 15 games and today's game sees a return to Bangor - in 2011 a 3-0 away win against Bangor City formed part of a 13-0 aggregate victory in the Champions League.

It's hardly flaming June as the rain teems down under battleship grey skies. Past Little BigHeads and a slight detour via Thelwall and Warrington before rejoining the M56 and overtaking a car and trailer carrying a septic tank - foul like the weather.....

Then the A494 where the traffic is held up by a Dewulf combine harvester, past Bodelwyddan, and through the Conwy, Penmaenbach and Pen-y-Clip tunnels. Penrhyn Castle greets us on the outskirts of Bangor, 'City of Learning' - one of the UK's smallest cities with a population of 19,000 including 10,500 students !! It's also the home of a multitude of empty shops and closed pubs - even The Black Bull, the local Wetherspoons offering, is shut....but the rain has relented. The cathedral dates back to 546 AD and we pay a quick visit before climbing Bangor Mount, shrouded in cloud.

Lunch is at The Feral Cat with a pint of Palomino from the Wild Horse Brewery. Then a trip to Garth Pier, 50 pence to get on - scandalous but no one is collecting... All the outlets are closed leaving just the view of the Menai Bridge and a couple of bemused HJK fans for your 50p ! Back to the car, passing Peep nightclub and the Lash Lounge, both of which conjure up unwanted images, and the rain returns.

A quick pootle down the Holyhead Road brings us to Bangor University Stadium in Nantporth, the home of Bangor City Football Club, Club Pel-droed Dinas Bangor. The Citizens were founded in 1876 as Bangor FC, and have played in the inaugural season of the Welsh Cup and the Europa League - as well as being founder members of the North Wales Coast League, Welsh National League, North Wales Combination, Welsh League (North), Northern Premier League, Alliance Premier League and League of Wales.

The club moved to Nantporth in 2012 after 43 years at Maes y Dref (now housing) and 92 years at Farrar Road (now the town's Morrisons supermarket). The Citizens have won 3 Welsh titles, the last in 2010/11, and 8 Welsh Cups, and are tonight on Europa League duty themselves in Lyngby, Denmark.

The car park backs onto the main grandstand where the 'home' supporters sit, with the segregated Finns in the smaller family stand opposite, next to the press gantry. The HJK tifosi have brought two banners - 'Forza' and 'HJK kannattajat' - and a travelling support of 29 (we count 33 !), two of whom are topless..... The other three sides of the ground are tree lined, preventing views of the Menai Strait.

In the swirling rain our neighbour in the main stand turns to ask 'It is June isn't it ?' - he leaves, shivering, ten minutes into the second half, whilst other spectators are wearing winter coats and gloves - but 12°C is positively tropical for the HJK hardcore two !!

The tannoy officiously informs both teams that there are 10, then 5, then 2 minutes of warm up time left, before instructing the players to leave the field. We are also told that HJK's Brazilian captain, Rafinha, is celebrating his birthday today (he's 35). Andy Morrison, Nomads' manager, takes his seat three rows ahead of us and provides us with a typically animated performance, the language naturally industrial.

Nomads are in red with white trim, HJK in blue and white with an eclectic team mix of 5 Finns, 5 Africans and a South American. Unsurprisingly Helsinki, overwhelming favourites tonight, take control and start to exert pressure. Akseli Pelvas rolls his man and shoots, but Nomads' custodian John Danby saves well and Demba Savage's follow up is heroically blocked.

Savage beats his man to dink over an inviting cross but there are no takers, whilst Rafinha warms Danby's hands. Shortly after, Ghanaian international Anthony Annan's shot is deflected, just, wide into the side netting. Nomads have defended superbly but hardly threatened until the 38th minute when they are awarded a slightly dubious free kick.

Mike Pearson rolls the ball to Nathan Woolfe thirty yards out, and his delivery into the corridor of uncertainty causes mayhem, missing everybody before going beyond HJK's unsighted keeper, Markus Uusitalo, hitting the inside of the post and trickling in. Nobody can quite believe it, certainly not HJK who look shell shocked and create nothing more before half time.

The second period sees Nomads best spell with Callum Morris forcing a decent save from Uusitalo, and Jay Owen's header is touched aside. Thereafter HJK dominate possession, but in the face of resilient defending never look convincing enough to force the equaliser.

Wild long range efforts from Faith Obilor sail out of the ground, whilst Vincent Onovo, Evans Mensah and Rafinha, again, only require regulation saves from Danby. As time ticks on two moments of goalkeeping madness nearly provide a Finnish finish (sorry!).

First, flailing at a cross he could never expect to reach, Danby tips the ball to Savage whose lob is headed off the line by Pearson. Then inexplicably carrying the ball outside the area gives Klubi a dangerous free kick which is blocked and the subsequent goalmouth melee and flurry of corners come to naught, leaving the Nomads with an unexpected and famous victory. ‘Is Connah's Quay Nomads win the Welsh Premier's greatest in Europe ?’ asks the BBC.

Terminally Rhyl - De Blaa Blaa Blaa....

 

Before the Nomads, Connah's Quay FC was founded in 1890 and disbanded after a second Welsh Cup final loss in 1911. Connah's Quay & Shotton was then formed in 1920 and beat Cardiff, featuring several players in the team that beat Arsenal in the 1927 FA Cup Final, in the 1929 Welsh Cup Final. Six months later the club went bust....

 

The existing club was formed in July 1946 as Connah's Quay Juniors, and a senior team was formed and joined the Flintshire League in 1948. Prior to the 1952/53 season the club's suffix changed to Nomads; the Nomads joined the Welsh League (North) and, despite returning to local leagues for 7 years, rejoined it in 1966. In 1974 the club joined the newly formed Clwyd League and, following 3 successful seasons in the Welsh Alliance, became founder members of the Cymru Alliance in 1990 then the League of Wales two seasons later.

 

The Nomads, an odd name for a club that had spent 51 seasons at the Halfway Ground, moved after a season of groundsharing at Rhyl to its current home, the Deeside Stadium in 1998. After bereavements and retirements the club was taken over by gap personnel in June 2008 to become gap Connah's Quay Nomads.

 

2010 saw the club narrowly miss out on the cut off for the Super 12 League - thus the club began the 2010/11 season in the Cymru Alliance which they won the following season but were deprived of promotion after failing to gain a domestic license. Notwithstanding this setback the Nomads were again crowned Cymru Alliance champions in 2013 and this time ascent to the Welsh Premier League was granted.

 

 Stabaek Fotball, the visitors from the Nadderud Stadium, are based in Baerum, voted the best place to live in Norway. The club was established on 16 March 1912 and forms part of the multi sport organisation Stabaek IF.

 

De Blaa (The Blue Ones - after their all blue strip) won the Norwegian Cup in 1998 and the Tippeligaen (Norwegian Premier League) in 2008. After finishing third last season to qualify for the Europa League, this term sees them lying next to bottom with 9 defeats in 13 games and pressure mounting on manager Billy McKinlay - David Moyes' assistant at Real Sociedad.

A glorious Thursday morning quickly fades to grey as we join the M56, passing the belching fumes of Stanlow and becalmed wind turbines. Then onto the A55 for fabulous views of the Great Orme and Snowdonia, we turn off past pretty Rhuddlan Castle and enter Rhyl.

 

We park by Patagonia Avenue, alongside the well kept and attractive Botanical Gardens, home of Sunny Rhyl Bowls Club, a blizzard of prohibition and warning signs, muted floral colour and a carved wooden bear. Then past the superbly named Sun of a Beach tanning salon before emerging by the world famous (?) Rhyl Sun Centre - now closed (gutted !!) - on the front.

 

Beyond the Pavilion Theatre, a quick look at the RNLI lifeboat and views of the glorious Prestatyn Sands before we return to a quiet Rhyl, surprising given it's the holiday season, slightly tatty in the centre and with several development opportunities and sites of partial demolition. One oddity is the 250 ft Rhyl Sky Tower on the sea front, bizarrely transported from the 1988 Glasgow Garden Festival, and now cordoned off amidst safety fears.

Then it's further down the coast to Kinmel Bay, past the Breaks Family Entertainment Centre which holds no appeal despite the name ! We cross over the impressive new Pont y Ddraid bridge at Foryd harbour and a walk across Kinmel dunes to the edge of Towyn - a landscape dominated by vast wind farms in one direction and huge static caravan parks in the other. Lunch is faggots and a pint of Beachcomber Blonde. We pass the Wales Crown Green Bowling Centre on the way back to the ground - but given the overgrown state of one of the greens the comment of the 'Wembley of Bowls' is rather inapt..........

 

Belle Vue holds 3,000 with all bar 300 seated. The main Don Spendlove Stand, named after Rhyl's 629 goal local legend, houses the majority of fans and UEFA delegates. At either end are the Lilywhites Legends bar and canteen and the NWPS Stand. The final stand, with yellow and green seats as opposed to the blue ones elsewhere in the stadium, is again the Botanical Gardens and houses the away fans and a TV gantry.

The match begins in teeming rain with the 40 or so Norwegian fans singing raucously from behind their Ultras 1912 and Inferno 99 banners. The Nomads are in all red, and De Blaa naturally in all blue, sponsored by Smartfish Muscle Recharge..... Their Indian international goalkeeper, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu is in all white. The match is refereed by Johnny Casanova, who spreads the love by only booking one player (Mr Disney), and is ably assisted by linesman Mr Tuttifrutti - and no I'm not making this up !!

 

Nomads start much the better with Michael Wilde having two goals disallowed - the second a tight offside call as he beats the flapping Sandhu to head home. Sandhu is subsequently substituted due to a suspected broken thumb; his replacement, Mande Sayouba from Cote d'Ivoire, inspires little more confidence.

 

Callum Morris goes close and Stabaek, with 73% possession, pass, pass and pass with no end product. Their first effort is a 41st minute shot well over from Ghana international Kamal Issah, whilst number 99, Ohikhuaeme Omoijuanfo, provides a rather flaky performance....

 

The second half is that bad that it isn't even within hailing distance of awful - like watching a game of chess ! Rumours that the S4C highlights were cancelled and a cartoon shown instead prove unfounded, though.....

 

There is one chance for the Nomads with Wilde through one on one with Sayouba who makes a comfortable save. De Blaa also fashion one opportunity with Jeppe Arctander Moe's cushioned cross tucked away by Albanian forward Agen Mehmeti - but the former is offside. Two wild shots close proceedings on a damp squib of a match.

 

Next week's return visit to see the Lakesiders of Bala Town play Swedish club AIK Solna has to be better.....