League and cup double for Town
CAERNARFON Town Ladies manager Keith Fearns hailed the impact of youth after two 16-year-olds scored three goals between them in last Sunday’s 5-1 Betty Pickering Cup Final win over Pwllheli at Llangefni.
Alishia Dononue, younger sister of Chesterfield midfielder Dion, netted twice and fellow teen Efa Williams also made the scoresheet as the Canaries completed the double.
Already runaway champions of the North Wales Women’s League, Town added the cup to their collection, leaving Fearns a very proud man.
“The league and cup double - what more can you do?,” said the former Bangor City boss.
“We got the result (on Sunday) and while we didn’t play perhaps as well as we can, we did more than enough.
“To have two 16-year-olds score three between them is a major boost and proves we have the talent coming through.
“Both girls play up front and work really hard; they deserve their success.”
Caernarfon will rise to the Welsh Premier next season, regaining top flight status for the first time since 2013/14.
Fearns views Town’s current prospects of success at the higher level realistically.
“We’re too weak at the moment to go far, so we’ll be looking to strengthen in the summer, as well as aim to hold on to the players we’ve got,” he said.
Caernarfon were without 38-goal top-scorer Catrin Thomas last Sun- day, but took the lead when Ceri Slaney broke free and used her pace before applying the finish.
Donohue added a second when she capitalised on a fumble from the Pwllheli goalkeeper to score.
The Llyn side pulled a goal back, but Caernarfon captain Ffion Owen again showed her class by making it 3-1 with a magnificent 25-yard strike.
In the second half, Donohue added a fourth when she headed in a corner, then came the coup de grace.
Efa Williams was warned she may be in an offside position, but carried on running onto a through ball and her shot proved too good for the keeper.
For Pwllheli, it was not their day, but they still did well to reach the final and can look back on another decent season.