Heavy defeats for Canaries in warm-ups
CAERNARFON Town’s last preseason friendly before they begin their 2019-20 campaign saw them lose 4-0 at home to Halesowen Town.
The Canaries were given another stern test by English opposition in readiness for their return to competitive action, which starts this Saturday with a Nathaniel MG Cup second round clash at newly promoted Cymru North side Corwen on Saturday (2.30pm).
The visitors made a strong start to the contest and opened the scoring after just seven minutes when Josh Hawker unleashed a 25-yard free-kick that flew into the top corner.
Things got even better for the away side midway through the half when Luke Yates was sent through on goal, and the attacking midfielder demonstrated tremendous composure to fire into the net and double their advantage with 29 on the clock.
A miserable afternoon for the Cofis got even worse on 38 minutes as new signing Montel Gibson showed what he can bring to the side with a superb effort from the edge of the area to all-but seal their success in the first period.
After the break saw both sides enjoy large spells of possession without adding to the overall score line, but the visitors did manage to extend their lead even further late on when Jamie Ashmore rounded off a fine team move to tuck away the final goal of the friendly and condemn Allan Bickerstaff and Sean Eardley’s side to their second heavy defeat in as many weeks.
They will be hoping for better fortune during their trip to Danny Jellicoe’s ambitious side, who secured promotion to the secondtier last term and have a squad littered with quality.
Another huge benefit to the setup is the presence of Tom Mutton, a former professional with Swansea City who is part of the coaching staff.
Last week, Caernarfon suffered 6-1 home reverse at the hands of Ramsbottom United.
The Rams were in irresistible form during the friendly fixture to run out convincing winners, which was another very worthwhile exercise for both clubs as they look to make a significant impact in their respective divisions this season.
Striker Jamie Breese got them back into the game with a welltaken finish before a late rally from the visitors.
The club also confirmed another shirt sponsorship deal for their third kit, with Gwêl y Fenai lending their support to the Cofis.
A Caernarfon Town spokesman thanked company owner Peter O’Dowd for supporting them, and they will be wearing the black and yellow strip for the first time in their opening Cymru Premier fixture against all-conquering champions The New Saints on Sunday, August 18.
Following a number of enquiries, the club announced that chairman Marc Roberts has unavoidably had to take a short-term absence from board duties due to an ongoing illness.
He is unlikely to return to the board until the beginning of October and the club would like to apologise to everyone for his absence during this pre-season, but unfortunately this has been unavoidable.
Day-to-day running of the club will be done by the vice-chairman Paul Evans.