REFLECTIONS

REFLECTIONS David Rapson looks back at previous league games against Caernarfon Town

Wishing to remain in the English non-league pyramid upon the formation of the League of Wales, Caernarfon Town played in the Northern Premier League’s second tier between 1989 and 1995 when a decision was taken to join the Principality’s national league. The Canaries’ first game was against The Nomads at the Halfway Ground on 19th August 1995, Connah’s Quay winning 4-1, a victory that was repeated at The Oval in the return fixture in May 1996. Having scored one of our goals in the first game, left-winger Danny McGoona notched a hat-trick as Nomads completed a league ‘double’.

Despite the foregoing, Caernarfon enjoyed a good inaugural season finishing sixth in the table, four places and eight points above Connah’s Quay. The following campaign saw them finish fourth, equal on points with Ebbw Vale. A European spot was in their grasp when they arrived at the Halfway Ground for the last game of the season, but a solitary goal scored by Chris Davies in front of 507 spectators condemned Cofi to a 1-0 defeat and the European chance was snatched away. As if to rub salt in the wound, Nomads completed a league ‘double’ in 1997/98 without conceding a goal, Davies and Stuart Rain netting on Deeside and Carl Smyth scoring the game’s only goal in the return fixture at The Oval in late February 1998.

Honours were even in 1998/99 as both matches were drawn. Jamie Hughes equalised down at Caernarfon after Jason Sadler had given the home team a first-half lead and Hughes grabbed a brace inside 10 minutes in the return fixture. Goals from Steve Fisher and Chris Pickering either side of the interval rescued a point for our visitors. Nomads claimed a third league ‘double’ in 1999/2000 despite Mark Edwards giving Caernarfon an early lead at the Deeside Stadium in October 1999. Jon Kenworthy scored just after the break and with five minutes remaining Julian Pepper struck our winner. Our victory at The Oval was rather more comfortable after Andy Griffiths (penalty) and Carl Smyth had put Nomads two goals to the good inside the first 12 minutes.

The Canaries suffered relegation at the end of that campaign having won just a solitary match (3-0 v Rhayader Town) but took the Cymru Alliance title twelve months later after scoring 105 goals in their 32 games. Once again, their first match back in the national league was away to Connah’s Quay Nomads and this time they went home happy. Former Nomad Darren Wynne scored after eight minutes George Horan equalised two minutes later, but Wynne completed the scoring on 25 minutes.

Strangely, the return on 4th January 2002 had the three goals at the back end of the game which had been goalless until Tommy Mutton (another with Nomads connections) put Caernarfon ahead (83 minutes). Andy Griffiths equalised with two minutes remaining only for Ryan Baker to grab victory for the Ovalites in the dying moments. Since then results have fluctuated without either side taking command for long spells. A trio of second-half goals earned Nomads a 3-0 home success in September 2003. The away fixture that season, however, was amongst the most memorable in which either club has played in the competition, the game at The Oval in February 2004, 16 years ago this week, ending with a 5-5 scoreline. Steve Watkin (penalty) and Mark Hobson put Caernarfon 2-0 up before Stuart Rain quickly pulled a goal back. The Canaries went in at half-time 3-1 to the good after Waynne Phillips’ 42nd minute strike. Rain then completed his hat-trick early in the second period, scoring twice either side of a goal for Caernarfon from Calvin Davies whose second strike in the 66th minute made it 5-3 to the home team. In a breathless finale, Gareth Owen reduced the deficit before Stuart Rain earned Nomads a point with his fourth goal of the afternoon in the 82nd minute. Over the ensuing five seasons Connah’s Quay won four of the ten fixtures with four others drawn. A 2-2 draw on Deeside in September 2006 witnessed Tommy Mutton scoring for Nomads against his former club while Adam Dickinson registered the other goal. Dickinson was also on target as Nomads won 2-0 at The Oval four months later with Chris Williams adding the second. Caernarfon Town suffered relegation from the league for a second time at the end of the 2008/09 campaign although they gained a 1-1 draw here. A Peter Smith own goal had given Nomads the lead but Ged Courtney (yet another former Nomad) claimed a point for Caernarfon in the last minute. Season Home Away 1995/1996 4-1 4-1 1996/1997 1-0 1-3 1997/1998 2-0 1-0 1998/1999 2-2 1-1 1999/2000 2-1 2-0 2001/2002 1-2 1-2 2002/2003 1-1 0-2 2003/2004 3-0 5-5 2004/2005 1-2 1-1 2005/2006 2-1 2-4 2006/2007 2-2 2-0 2007/2008 1-0 1-1 2008/2009 1-1 2-0 2018/19 0-1 0-0 Phase Two 6-2 0-1 2019/20 4-2 0-0

There was to be no quick return to the Welsh Premier League this time and ten years passed before The Canaries regained their place. In fact, Caernarfon suffered another relegation in 2010 dropping out of the Cymru Alliance into the Welsh Alliance for the two years that Nomads played in the Cymru Alliance, hence no league matches between our two clubs.

Since Caernarfon returned to the top-flight, we have opposed one another on six occasions with honours even. Two wins apiece and two drawn games. The odd fact about those games is that Nomads’ two wins have been by 6-2 and 4-2 yet we haven’t managed a single goal in the other four fixtures!

P W D L F A Pts Home 16 9 4 3 33 18 31 Away 16 5 6 5 23 21 21 Total 32 14 10 8 56 39 52