GREEN’S PIECE BY TREVOR GREEN
Good Evening, Caernarfon Town were here in October for a phase one game that we won by 4-2. Sounds comfortable, but was anything but, with the visitors giving Lewis one of his busiest nights of the campaign. Our visitors did well to confirm a fifth place finish and left it to Newtown, Met and Druids to scramble in. Newtown won that race and in last weeks first game of phase two produced a result that justified their inclusion by winning 2-1 at TNS. As always the Canaries are welcome visitors, in Sean Eardly they have a good manager and his acquisition of Huw Griffiths to work alongside him might prove to be the scoop of the season. Jamie Crowther and Noah Edwards both played for us and are welcomed back along with their colleagues, staff and supporters. Nomads made the most important signing of our recent history last week. No one has ever had as positive an effect upon this club than Andy Morrison has. He joined us on 2 November 2015. At that time we were on 13 points and second bottom of the League (Jay Catton as care taker manager had got us off bottom the week before with a 4-0 win at Port Talbot). Under his leadership and with the same set of players that were in last place shortly before his arrival, Nomads climbed to their highest ever finish; leading the side to fourth and winning the play off final against Airbus UK Broughton. That giving us the club’s first ever venture into the UEFA Europa League. We have reached the top four on every season he has been here, won the League Cup, The Welsh Cup and beaten Kilmarnock, HJK Helsinki and Stabaek in European competition and reached the final of the Scottish Challenge Cup. His overall record in the League is a sensational played 138, won 78, drew 30 and lost 30. We have netted 240 goals and conceded only 121. In all cup ties we have played 58, winning 37, drawing three, (winning three penalty shoot outs). We lost 18. So Andy’s total competitive record in charge so far is ; Played 196, Won 115, drawn 33 and lost 48. He has seen us rise to 237th out of the 452 clubs recognised by UEFA and we have a Europa co-efficient of 3.250. Long may he continue here. Tonight is an important game for us. All the games in phase two will be. Saturday’s great win at Barry means that if we win all of our remaining nine league games we will be league champions for the first time. Tonight, Bala entertain The New Saints, they cant both win. A victory for TNS goes a very long way to sealing our Europa League qualification, a win for Bala and ourselves puts us two points clear at the top. Then we face TNS here next Friday night (21st) in front of the Sgorio cameras with an 8pm kick off. Exciting times. The win at Barry was strange affair. Against eleven men in a wind free first half we coasted at times and Lewis was mostly a spectator. Great build up,no nonsense defending and chances created but not taken. Then nearing half time Kayne McLaggon went in on Declan. We know him not to be that sort of player, but it was a reckless and dangerous tackle and he deservedly saw red. However, he showed his class by apologising to Declan before going away. One up and against ten men 18 Connah's Quay Nomads vs Caernarfon Town
