| 18/06/01 A few remaining copies of Saturday's match day programme are still available. Please send a stamped addressed envelope together with £2 per programme to : Vince James, 2 Pantglas, Bronwydd Road, Carmarthen. SA32 2AY. Cheques made payable to Carmarthen Town AFC. 15/06/01 13/06/01 Town's specially commissioned Intertoto badge is now on sale at the clubhouse and will be on sale at the ground on Saturday. Ticket sales are reported to be brisk at all ticket outlets in Carmarthen and Aberystwyth. The club has also been busy with postal applications. Final arrangements are now being made and whilst the game is not a sell-out as reported on SKY today it is anticipated that there will be a good attendance at Park Avenue on Saturday. 03/05/01 - Ticket outlets Aberystwyth -
Dai Whitney, Newsagents, Northgate Street 29/05/01 - Postal applications for tickets . There is already great deal of interest in the game.
Tickets will be available next Monday . Prior purchase is recommended.
Postal applications to: STAMPED SELF ADDRESSED ENVELOPE. 28/05/01 - AIK Accept Intertoto Nomination. Reports from a Swedish Press Agency suggest that AIK have accepted the Intertoto nomination. AIK's website www.aik.se has an article regarding the fixture on their home page. The Swedish leg of the fixture will most probably be played on Saturday 23rd. June at AFK's Råsunda Stadium. The 37,000 seater stadium is also the Swedish National Stadium and situated some six kilometres north of Stockholm in the suburb of Solna. 27/05/01 - Ticket Arrangements. Tickets will be available from several outlets in
Carmarthen. Ungoed Thomas & King (Solicitors) Siop Y Pentan - (Market Precinct). J. D. Drinkwater (Lammas Street). Carmarthen Town Clubhouse between 5.30 pm and 7.30 pm. Prior purchase advisable. 26/05/01 - Who are AIK? AIK have been Swedish Champions on ten occasions. Most recently in 1992 and 1998. They have won the Swedish Cup on seven occasions, three times in the 1990s - in 1996, 1997 and 1999. They have participated in numerous European competitions - Cup Winners Cup 5 times, UEFA Cup 7 times and European Cup twice. During season 1999/2000 after a number of victories including AEK Athens AIK progressed to the Champions League and were in a group comprising Barcelona, Arsenal, Fiorentina and AIK. They lost 3-1 to Arsenal at Wembley (Attendance 71,227), Arsenal scored two goals in the 89th. & 90th. minute (Henri & Suker). At home they lost 3-2 to Arsenal with an attendance of 33,000. At Barcelona they lost 2-1 with Dani scoring the winner in the 90th. minute. Attendance 30,543. 25/05/01 - Swedish Cup Final. Elfsburg beat AIK to win the cup. Following a 1-1 draw at full time and no further score aftre extra time the game went to penalties with Elfsburg winning 10-9 confirming AIK Stockholm as the Swedish Intertoto nominated team. 24/05/01 - Home venue and dates agreed. Town's home game will be played at Aberystwyth's Park Avenue on the 16th. June, 2001. Kick off is scheduled for 4.00 pm. REPORT - Western Mail 18/06/01 Carmarthen Town 0 - 0 AIK Stockholm Postman Robert Fitzgerald delivered the game of his life to inspire Carmarthen against the 10-times Swedish champions in a gripping InterToto Cup-tie at Park Avenue, Aberystwyth. The 21-year-old keeper defied AIK with a series of stunning saves to keep the tie alive for the second leg in Stockholm on Saturday. Some of Rob's saves were unbelievable. It was one of the best goal-keeping performances I've seen at any level for a very long while, enthused Aston Villa's Wales defender Mark Delaney who was snapped up from Carmarthen by Cardiff City. AIK coach Olle Nordin also raved about Fitzgerald. We played well enough to win, said the 18-times capped former midfielder who later became Sweden's national team manager. We created 12 or 14 really good chances but we just couldn't beat their keeper. Fitzgerald saved his team with some brilliant saves. He played enormously well. The beefy keeper crowned a colossal contribution with a breathtaking double stop in the 72nd minute, fingertipping Patric Andersson's shot against the crossbar, then keeping out a follow-up volley by Luke Casserly. Essentially, though, one of the competitions best displays by a League of Wales club was the product of a superb all-round team effort by Tomi Morgan's men Nordin, resting six first-team regulars, confessed to under- estimating his opponents. Yet AIK could still boast three full Swedish internationals, including Martin Aslund who played in the World Cup last week, four under-21 caps and Australian international Casserly. Carmarthen's feat was all the more praiseworthy for the fact that they had had only one practice game in six weeks while AIK are in the middle of their season. Also, they had to surrender ground advantage because their Richmond Park pitch wasn't up to size for Uefa undefined a situation chairman Jeff Thomas is determined to remedy. Ironically, there were pitch problems at Park Avenue where vandals had dug up large areas overnight. Ground staff toiled to lay new turf before the surface was passed fit by Uefa delegate Andreas Akkelides from Cyprus. Despite having to travel 50 miles to Aberystwyth, Carmarthen enjoyed the support of a 1,624 crowd undefined almost four times their average home gate. As expected, the Scandinavian visitors exerted plenty of pressure but were resisted by a resilient, well organised defence. It was certainly not one-way traffic, however. Strong second-half runs by Wyn Thomas, Dean Rossiter and Chris Summers put AIK on the back foot. Shaun Chapple's powerful 20-yard drive would have earned the first InterToto Cup victory in 20 attempts by Welsh clubs but for a flying save by Swedish international keeper Dime Jankulovski. Carmarthen created other openings. Ryan Nicholls missed the target with a header and an angled shot, Sion Meredith couldn't capitalise on a defence splitting Chapple pass, then hit the side netting from a tight angle. The 28-year-old Chapple used his guile and league experience gained with Swansea City to become an influential midfield operator. Wing-back Gavin Rees caused an early scare by losing his footing to let in Sharbel Touma. But David Barnhouse's timely block tackle stopped the youngster in his tracks. Minutes later the former Swans defender was in the right place to head clear from Casserly's volley. John Jones came to the rescue by clearing David Ljung's downward header off the goal-line from a corner undefined one of the rare occasions his keeper was beaten. Fitzgerald came into his own in the second half, making one breathtaking save after another. The 16st 4lb keeper showed remarkable agility and sharp reflexes to deny danger man Aslund from point-blank range and keep out efforts by danger man Joen Averstad, Casserly and Aslund again. Instinctively he thrust out a leg to spare 85th-minute substitute Dylan McPhee the anquish of conceding an 88th-minute own-goal and enjoyed the luck he deserved when Aslund hit a post in the second minute of stoppage time. It was a red-letter day for Fitzgerald and his team-mates. Dave Collins' (Welsh Football Magazine) view of the game. CARMARTHEN TOWN 0 AIK (STOCKHOLM) 0 Attendance 1,624 CONGRATULATIONS
to Carmarthen for a very professional performance on and off the
pitch. Tomi Morgan did extremely well to get the side so
well prepared and to ensure they avoided the usual downfall of Then in the last 20 minutes, there were chances at both ends, with Sion Meredith close with two headers, while Fitzgerald made another fine save from Australian defender Luke Casserly after Andersson's shot had rebounded off the crossbar. Carmarthen Town : Fitzgerald, Rees (McPhee 84), W. Jones, Thomas, O'Brien, Ba5nhouse, Summers (Johnston 89), Rositer (Evans 86), Nicholls, Chapple, Meredith. AIK : Jankulowski,
Thylander, Ljung, Averstad, Casserly (Vasiliou 78), Ishizaki (Rubarth
60), Jevtushenko, Tjernstrom, Touma, Aslund, P. Andersson. |