07.11.09 Bangor City 2 -2 (H)

Manager Deryn Brace told Y Dre ar Y We. “I think overall we have to be satisfied. It is disappointing because we could quite easily have been 3-0 up in the opening ten minutes before Bangor had strayed into our half”.

“We’ve talked about putting pressure on ourselves several times but that’s what we’ve done again today. Although we’ve come out with a point we have to put our chances away. We’ve got to be better in the last third with our crossing, with our passing, just be more decisive; otherwise we’ll have more days that’ll come back to haunt us like today”.

“Their keeper has had one of those days when he’s pulled off save after save. Again with our finishing it has to be more clinical but when it wasn’t clinical he pulled off some great saves. But Brace was pleased with his two goals and the performance of his midfield. “The first one I thought was nice link up play and a good ball into Tim. After a couple of near misses Tim’s actually shown great composure turning in the box and placing it into the far corner.

“The second goal I was really pleased about because it was neat one, two touch football into feet. Cots put a delightful ball into the box and Palms has timed his run brilliantly. It’s a fantastic finish, it’s one of the hardest finishes you will see and he’s made it look easy. Really pleasing on the football side of things.

“I thought the three in the middle of the park, Smudger, Paul and Palms did really well. I thought Palms’ running late into the box caused them all sorts of problems, Smudger just sat in the hole and used the ball really, really wisely. It takes a little bit of pressure off Paul Fowler and he can go and find some space and be that battering ram that we know he can be. So I was really pleased with them.

“Hicks is in fine form at the moment and a lot of Pritch’s work goes unnoticed but he takes a lot of pressure off players.

Describing Bangor’s goals Brace felt his side had switched off at a crucial moment.

“The first one I thought we defended the long throw, the set piece well; which we did all game. We’ve worked really, really hard on set pieces because we knew it was a weakness. And then we switched off because we cleared, they won it, put it back out wide and people forgot that there was a second job to do in terms of defending the second phase. So we switched off for the first goal”.

“The second goal was the free kick. In all fairness I thought Smudger won the ball fairly but the ref has given a free kick and unfortunately a little bit of magic from Marc Limbert has secured them a point.

21.11.09 CPD Porthmadog 1 - 3 (H)

Manager Deryn Brace was frustrated by his side’s lack of finishing,

“Today was a bit of a Jackyl and Hyde game. I think everyone saw what we were capable of in the first half. But our finishing is still something to be sorted. How the game didn’t finish at half time four nil or maybe five nil we can only wonder.

“Second half was the horror story where unfortunately seven of the players thought that they only had to turn up and it would be just like the first. Porthmadog had other ideas and the few chances they created they took them and we were heavily punished.

Brace refused to apportion any blame on the appalling conditions.

“No the conditions didn’t have anything whatsoever to do with the result. Jonathan and his helpers worked fantastically to get the game on. Actually the conditions made for a really, really good game. Yes it was difficult under foot but in all fairness it helped the way we played, especially in the first half. We got the ball down, we cut them to ribbons but our finishing was woeful. Some of the easiest chances you will ever witness on a football field and we couldn’t even hit the target”.

“Unfortunately we do not score enough goals when we are on top, which is probably for the majority of the games that we’ve played in. But we also have this knack of conceding when we’re not on top. We’ve played well now in three games, Llanelli, Bangor and first half today and yet we’ve conceded eight goals. And that’s playing well. Now that’s a concern”.

“The truth is if we do score more goals we probably won’t concede as many. It has a knock on effect. But we need that will to win week in week out. Yes they can do it when they want to but that week in week out will to win needs to be rekindled. We have to regroup again and make sure we get a result at Bala”.

“We’re perfectly capable of going to Bala and getting not just something but all three points. Lets be honest its not going to be an easy game. They’ve only lost the one game at home, to Champions Rhyl, so they’ve got a proud record. But we need to show some consistency especially if we want to compete with the top sides”.

28.11.09 Bala Town 3 - 1 (A)

"Today was a fantastic reaction to last week’s shocking result. It was a hard fought victory but a thoroughly deserved victory. The payers have answered the questions I've asked with another big performance".

"Yes we got off to the worst possible start but again our reaction from that was really positive and at the other end I thought we were ruthless in taking our chances well".

"Today's result was vital. It was important to get the points to close the gap between us and the top eight because now we're now breathing down their necks. But what we need to do is make sure we go on a positive run of wins".

"It was important to get our defensive duties right. Neil Thomas was as solid as he has been over the last couple of months. But I thought that the back four, for the first time in a complete ninety minutes, played as a real unit which gave us the basis to attack".

And with Danny Thomas celebrating his return to the starting line-up with his 50th. league goal Brace added, “Danny's had to be patient after his illness because it’s coincided with us having a good run. Every time he comes on he gives us a spark and has done very well. I felt today it was important to give him as much game time as possible so we gave him a start. It wasn't the fact that anyone else was playing badly, but he's taken the opportunity well".

Craig Hughes had a twenty-minute period following injury. “With Guppy we've not rushed him. We knew it was right to let him take his time to make sure he was over his injury. It’s been frustrating for Craig because he obviously wants to get on the park instead of watching games. As soon as he does come on he gives everyone a huge lift. Today you could see he's craving every minute of playing time but naturally he's still got a little bit of rustiness to get over”.

Deryn's Dugout