29.03.09 The New Saints 8 Carmarthen Town 0

TNS exacted full revenge for their Welsh Cup exit by subjecting Town to their third consecutive and worst ever Welsh Premier defeat. With Saints almost certain to gain third spot Town will now have to look to the Welsh Cup to keep their European ambitions alive.

Manager Deryn Brace felt that Town had been harshly dealt with. He told the Journal "For thirty, thirty five minutes we were OK and there was little in it. Doddy's fouled the centre forward and in all fairness there was little he could do to get out of the way as the lad came across him".

"Yes it was a foul and yes it was a penalty but no way did I think it was a sending off. I thought the referee was very harsh a literal interpretation of the law instead of a sportsman's and things just escalated from there".

"Second half they opened us up just after the restart and where we should have shut up shop we didn't. It's been a very very disappointing day. We've now got to rekindle our form, get our pride back and certainly we've got to keep our focus on that fourth spot. The teams behind us have closed up a little over the last week or so. What was a very promising season has suddenly changed into a bit of a struggle".

"It was great that we had three boys back today. Tomo came back and was in no way to blame for the goals and he and Nicky Palmer got through the game fine. Smudger had an hour and if there are any positives from the game that's about it".

With Mark Dodds dismissed just before the break his fellow defender Liam Hancock joined him in the dressing room five minutes after the resumption. And despite Neil Thomas’ return the Old Gold were unable to compete in what became a one-sided affair.

A foul by Hancock on former Wrexham defender Steve Evans paved the way for John Leah's first spot kick on 36 minutes and the second soon followed after Matthew Berkeley was brought down by Dodds who was harshly red-carded by referee Darren Adie.

A minute after the break and with Town chasing the game winger Craig Williams made it 3-0. With Town reduced to nine men shortly after there was no way back for the Richmond Park outfit.

Alex Darlington got the fourth and the romp continued when John Toner came off the bench to score on 71 minutes. Evans got his name on the score sheet with the sixth and with nine minutes remaining Scott Ruscoe made it seven before sub Craig Whitfield made it eight and a record breaking result two minutes later.

Brace's mission now will be to lift his players and halt Town's sudden slide in form ahead of the next two home games. With a Welsh Cup Semi also on the horizon there is very little time to play with.

TNS : Harrison, Hogan, Holmes (Murtagh 67'), Baker, Evans, Leah, Ruscoe, Darlington (Whitfield 58'), Berkeley (Toner 58'), McKenna, Williams.

Town : N Thomas, RHughes, Smothers (Walters 59'), Palmer, Dodds, Hancock, Roberts (C Thomas 46'), Hicks, Fowler, C Hughes, Hudgell (Cotterall 80').
Sub not used: Evans. Attendance: 293 Referee: Darren Adie

24.03.09 Neath FC 2 Carmarthen Town 0

A sharp Neath outfit kept Town on the back foot for most of the game as the Richmond Park outfit slipped to second consecutive defeat. With the hosts moving into relative safety Town's challenge for a third place finish took a severe dent having now lost three of their last four outings.

A long ball from Cotterrall to Sacha Walters saw Keeper Wyn Walters make a good early stop to his right but with the hosts playing some neat one touch football and breaking at pace the ball was soon back up the other end as Morgan fired just wide of the far post to sound an early warning to the visitors.

Then on the 14 minute mark a neat one-two out of defence released Ingram into acres of space down the left and having cut inside he fired a bullet of an angled shot past Evans to give the Eagles the early opener they had threatened.

Fowler’s stinging free kick was tipped over by Wyn Walters but Morgan should have added a second for the hosts on 20 minutes when he somehow ended up in the net instead of the ball which had been steered over by Evans' strong hand.

The Eagles continued to dominate. Michael Walters had the better of Hughes but went just wide with his finish and following Hill's persistence through the middle Morgan once again squandered his chance before a timely last minute touch from Kris Thomas denied the diminutive front man just before the break.

Following the resumption there was little respite as Evans got a foot to the ball to keep out Morgan and with the the resulting corner going narrowly over the signs were ominous as the hosts pushed for a second.

On the hour Hicks replaced Hudgell up front and Town made more of an impression forcing the hosts to defend for a period. But breaking free Neath finally added a second as hesitancy in Town’s back line in dealing with a long ball let in Morgan who finished well to double the tally, much to the delight of the home supporters.

With Town piling forward Walters held Hicks’ on-target header and Evans who'd clearly been the busiest of the two keepers was forced into one last stop before the whistle finally put an end to Town's miserable evening. A comprehensive and priceless win for the Eagles that sees them put some daylight between themselves and the relegation dogfight.

Having competed so well all season Town will want to quickly redress a worrying blip in late season form. But with Bangor beaten at home Town maintain their three point advantage over their North Wales rivals.

Neath FC : Walters, Graves, Ingram, Cronin, Folland, Rees, Pockett (Shaw 85'), Chambers (Burrows 76'), K Morgan (French 76'), Hill, Waters Subs not used: Shannon, L Morgan.

Town : Evans, R Hughes, Hudgell (Hicks 56'), Morris, Dodds, K Thomas, Walters,
Roberts, C Hughes, Fowler, Cotterrall Subs not used: Hancock, Brace. Attendance: 287 Referee: Phil Southall

21.03.09 CARMARTHEN TOWN 0 WELSHPOOL TOWN 1

Geraint Winsor's 76th. minute headed from Kyle Jacobs' corner proved the difference between two poor sides as Welshpool completed the double over Town that moved the visitors into the top half of the table.

In an uninspiring performance, where both sides were guilty, there was little quality on show and the ball spent large amounts of time aloft. And with Town lacking cohesion the defeat put a slight dent in the European aspirations of the Richmond Park outfit.

A disappointed Mark Aizlewood felt it was discipline rather than tactics that had cost Town the game. "No I don’t think it’s down to tactics. Our tactics were no different from when we beat TNS away. They were no different from when we ran Rhyl close recently.

"Against Rhyl we lost in the last minute from a set play free kick and we lost today from a late corner. That’s simply down to players doing what they want to do rather than how you have asked them to defend".

"Yes probably the worse game you’ve seen but you get them at this time of year. The pitch is rock hard the opposition come for a draw with five in midfield and probably got two points more than they came for. I thought it had nil-nil written all over it".

"That doesn’t disguise the fact that we were rubbish today. But if you look at it between now and the end of the season there will be other shock results; we’ve got to make sure, starting Tuesday, that we’re not involved in another one. There will be shock results elsewhere so it’s far from being all done and buried".

E H Factors and Clothing sponsored Carmarthen Town were without Neil Thomas and Nicky Palmer through injury and with Neil Smothers unavailable Danny Thomas made a start in midfield with Sacha Walters restored on the right and Kris Thomas moved into mid-filed.

Following the early aerial pin pong Stuart Robert's raking ball went wide of the far post after Nathan Cotterrall, Craig Hughes and Danny Thomas had worked the ball well on the quarter hour. But it took a superb save from Welshpool keeper Danny Jones a couple of minutes before the break to deny Thomas the lead after Hughes had chased down the ball to provide.

Ominously Town conceded a number of free kicks in dangerous positions on the stroke of half time but with neither side finding a way through it remained goalless at the break.

Following the resumption the visitors dominated possession and it took a finger tip save from young keeper Alex Evans to deny Steve Rogers' lobed ball after the powerful forward had broken through.

On the hour Hughes controlled a long ball well before feeding Walters who's well weighted ball was headed just wide of the mark by Paul Fowler. Thomas was then well blocked out on the point of striking by defender Phil Doughty before the visitors turned the tables on Town.

With a quarter hour remaining Evans palmed away Paul Roberts' vicious drive and a minute later it took a back post clearance from Nathan Cotterrall to keep the ball out before Winsor finally broke the deadlock and got above the defence from the set piece to head home the winner.

Manager Deryn Brace conceded that his side had lacked invention in the second half.

“I hope it was a one off. We didn’t play well in the second half. First half we were in control, our tempo was good. It was a case of having that little bounce of the ball and it really only came once at the end of the first half when the keeper’s made a good save off Guppy (Craig Hughes). Had that gone in then we could have been looking at something else”.

“But it didn’t and in all fairness to Welshpool they came out and dominated the second half. There’s not many times when we’ve said that the opposition has dominated us so give a little bit of credit to Welshpool they came down and did a job on us especially second half”.

“It’s disappointing. We’ve said a couple of things that needed saying but that will stay within the dressing room walls. Yes it’s a defeat but we’re still in there. It’s not a case of panicking but things do need to improve. So, if we’re getting a little bit lax some, if not all, of the players have had a rude awakening”.

“It’s easy to look at the game with the benefit of hindsight and say yes we should have changed this or that. The fact was that in the second half they put us under pressure and we couldn’t really get to grips with the game. I honestly believe that whatever system we would have played it would not have made any difference because Welshpool came out a different side in the second half”.

“All our games are important but none more so than the next one because that’s how the season will go now. They will be important if we keep winning. But if we don’t then things will become difficult in terms of challenging for a European placing”.

“It’s not all about beating TNS or Llanelli it’s about winning games against sides like Welshpool, Newi Cefn Druids and Neath. At the moment we’re three points down”.

“There’s more there and just because we lost on Saturday doesn’t take us out of it whatsoever. It makes it a little bit more difficult, it makes it little more interesting. But the thing is everybody knows we are quite capable of going on another run of seven games full of wins. We look to do that starting on Tuesday night at Neath”.

Town : Evans, R Hughes, Hancock, Walters (Hicks 66'), Dodds, C Thomas, D Thomas (Hudgell 79'), Roberts, Fowler, C Hughes, Cotterrall Sub not used: Brace.

Welshpool : Jones, Windsor, Boardman, Doughty, Edwards, Keegan, Jacobs (McCubbin 86'), Davies, Rogers, Roberts, Hughes Subs not used: Bloom, Mulliner. Attendance: 298 Referee: Dean John

14.03.09 Airbus UK Broughton 0 Carmarthen Town 1

For the second time this season a solitary Stuart Roberts strike was enough to seal the points in Town's favour following a competitive but at times very scrappy game With the wind an influencing factor there was little quality on show but Town coach Mark Aizlewood felt that credit must go to the hosts who made things very difficult for Town.

“We have to give them some credit. I thought that was the best Airbus team there has been in my time in the League. They are in the highest position that they have ever been and they made it difficult for us today”.

“On the back of that we were very poor, first half especially. I thought we had too many people who were looking for reasons why they were playing poorly. We didn’t have enough people, first half, who were prepared to do the ugly things and were probably hiding behind conditions a bit”.

“Conditions don’t stop you from tackling, conditions don’t stop you from being close to people and from winning your personal battles. But the truth is we didn’t have enough in the first half”.

However Aizlewood was quick to praise Town’s back four. “I think Mark Dodds, Richard Hughes, Liam Hancock and the goalkeeper were fantastic. I think they probably, almost single handidly won us the game. We had a little bit of quality with the goal”.

“The bottom line is, come end of the season, its three magnificent points again. You get the same here as you would if you went to TNS and won so we are delighted with the three points but acutely aware that we can do better”.

With Town looking to maintain their unbeaten record at the Airfield the ‘Wingmakers’ were looking to redress the balance in a drive for their highest League finish and the game lived up to its billing as a very tight encounter.

Manager Deryn Brace made a couple of changes. With Nicky Palmer injured and the influential Neil Smothers suspended Tim Hicks and Richard Hughes were restored to Town’s starting line-up. Nathan Cotterrall returned to his left back berth following injury and with Town adopting a 4-4-2 formation Chris Thomas moved into mid-field.

Without suspended defender Mark Cadwallader  Airbus played with the gusting wind at their backs and following the early aerial ping-pong the ‘Wingmakers’ spurned an early chance on the twenty minute mark when the ball fell kindly for Ryan Edwards who rounded the keeper but shot weakly into the side netting.

Ashley Williams and Dan Desormeaux bossed the mid field play for Airbus but as the break approached Lee Hudgell’s curling corner ball was headed goal-wards  by Liam  Hancock but cleared off the line by a scrambled Airbus defence to leave it goalless at the break.
Following the resumption keeper Alex Evans reacted well to hold a sharp deflected ball as Town and Airbus competed for a long throw in. But as the game settled Town made the most of the wind to keep pressure on the Airbus defence.

Craig Hughes broke though to chip the keeper and, unfortunately, the bar and with the hosts breaking Dodds and Hancock made a series of timely tackles to shackle Edwards who was becoming influential down the right.

On the hour Sacha Walters replaced Lee Hudgell and shortly after Town made the breakthrough they had threatened. Hick’s persistence forced a corner and Roberts’ curling set piece found the top corner of the net for what proved to be the only goal of the game.

Shortly after as Town continued to press Airbus keeper Chris Doran was carried off following a goalmouth clash with top scorer James McIntosh taking over the gloves. But Town failed to kill off the game. Paul Fowler took one touch too many after Roberts and Hughes had beaten the cover and again minutes later was crowded out after Hughes and Walters had combined well to provide.

But Town needed to be vigilant as Matthew Cook caught the visitors on the break but blasted over. And with Town seeing out the late pressure to claim a full quota of points manager Deryn Brace was able to celebrate  a birthday win  despite a disappointing performance.

Airbus : Doran (Rowlands 70'), Edwards, Feliciello, Woodward, Sudlow, Allen,
Williams, Desormeaux, Molyneux, McIntosh, Cook (Kilgannon 85'). Sub not used: Gary O'Connell

Town : Evans, Hudgell, R Hughes (Walters 59'), Hancock, Dodds, C Thomas, Roberts, Hicks (D Thomas 74'), Fowler, C Hughes, Cotterrall. Sub not used: Brace.

Attendance: 93 Referee: Andy Harms

07.03.09 CARMARTHEN TOWN 1 RHYL FC 2

Having remained unbeaten since the turn of the year Town’s impressive run was halted by a late, stoppage time, goal from Rhyl’s Luke Sherbon who gave the League leaders all three points and a record breaking tenth consecutive win.

Having fought back to level Rhyl’s first half advantage Town will be disappointed not to have something to show for their second half endeavour. But with the visitors having missed two first half sitters and had a penalty saved just after the break the game remained a tense, competitive affair throughout until Sherbon's late effort was enough to maintain Rhyl's dominance at the top of the Welsh Premier table.

Town coach Mark Aizlewood told the Journal. "Disappointed yes. But they were never going to give us the game. I felt fortunate that we were only one-nil down at half time. But having got back in it, them down to ten men, it was a game that needed winning. But I don’t think we did enough today".

"I think we played at 75%. When you play the top teams in the League you have to play for 90 minutes. All we did today was play for little spells in the second half but you won't win the game like that against the top boys. Fair play to them they came back at us and a lack of discipline from set play cost us. I didn’t think we deserved to win it but maybe it was a cruel game in the nature we lost it".

Town made just one change from Tuesday night’s comprehensive win over Haverfordwest with Neil Smothers returning to the starting line-up. Rhyl were without the suspended Mark Connolly.

In a physical and evenly balanced opening 20 minutes there was little between the sides. George Horan's raking angled, far corner ball was well saved by young Alex Evans and Town had a well placed set piece chance after Sacha Walters was brought down by Danny Roberts.

But it was Rhyl’s Jamie Reid who broke the deadlock on 28 minutes. Following a high challenge between Liam Hancock and Roberts the ball fall kindly for Rhyl and with the referee waving play on Reid ran on to net past Evans.

Rhyl could have doubled the tally a minute later when Luke Holden dispossessed Nicky Palmer and squared the ball for Sherbon who put it wide from 12 yards. And Holden himself spurned a good opportunity a couple of minutes later when, finding himself clear, he put the ball wide of the target under pressure from the keeper.

Despite being in arrears Town put pressure on the Rhyl defence with Craig Hughes causing all sorts of problems for the visiting centre backs and Kris Thomas and Walters linking well down the right.

Following the break Rhyl looked to have been given a golden opportunity to extend the lead when Nicky Palmer brought down Gareth Owen as the mid-fielder burst into the box. But with Evans palming away Reid's spot kick Town gained confidence and momentum.

Evans was in action again to turn over Holden's shot but Rhyl were reduced to ten men just before the hour when the influential wing man received a second yellow and his marching orders. With Town breaking forward Hughes trapped the long ball before Walters squared to put Danny Thomas clear in front of gaol for the sub to coolly lob the keeper and bring Town level with twenty minutes remaining.

Paul Fowler's low free kick went just wide of the mark as Town pushed forward and Rhyl looked to close the game down. But with sub Craig Jones providing fresh momentum he forced Evans to turn the ball over yet again. But with the visitors regaining the initiative in a late push Robert's long free kick found Greg Stones who nodded the ball down before Sherbon slid in at the back post to deny Town a share of the spoils - much to the obvious relief and delight of the travelling support.

Aizlewood was full of praise for Town's young keeper. "He's young and he's come into a tough game. He's had a couple of very good promising performances so he's a positive. Don't get me wrong, we didn’t play particularly badly but I was disappointed we didn’t perform as we could".

Read Deryn's comments...

Town: Evans, Hancock, Hudgell, Palmer (D Thomas 52'), Dodds, K Thomas(c) , Walters, Smothers, Fowler, Hughes, Roberts Subs not used: Brace, Hicks.

Rhyl: M Jones, O'Neill, C Roberts, Horan (c), Strong (Stones 58'), D Williams, Owen, Sherbon, N Roberts, Reed (C Jones 67’), Holden Sub not used: M Williams.

Referee Dean John Attendance 369

Tuesday night @ Richmond Park 03.03.09
CARMARTHEN TOWN 3 HAVERFORDWEST COUNTY 0

Following a hard fought encounter at the weekend Town produced a dominant performance to open up a seven point lead over fifth placed Bangor and continue to close the gap on third placed TNS.

A brace of goals for Craig Hughes from the penalty spot and a well struck effort from Nicky Palmer set the seal on a convincing win that saw young keeper Alex Evans produce an assured senior debut in the absence of Neil Thomas. With injury also ruling out Richard Hughes, Nathan Cotterrall and Neil Smothers, Liam Hancock was recalled to Town's back line and Danny Thomas made a mid-field start.

County welcomed back top scorer Jack Christopher but Brace was boosted by the availability of Hughes following the striker's successful appeal against Saturday's Welsh Cup dismissal. And it was Hughes that put Town ahead in the 34th. minute from the spot after defender Mark Dodds, who had gone forward for a free kick, had been brought down in the box.

Following the break the visitors made more of an impression on the game for a period but Hughes extended Town's lead on 68 minutes, again from the spot, after Lee Jarman was dismissed for a deliberate hand ball and the Bluebirds were reduced to ten men.

Two minutes from time Palmer rounded off Town's well deserved win when Tim Hick's cross to the far post was headed down by Hughes and the midfielder netted powerfully from twelve yards. Whilst Evans will be delighted to have kept a clean sheet with a confident first team performance, Hughes will be equally pleased to be Town's top scorer with an eight goal tally from the last six appearances.

Town: Evans, Hancock, Hudgell, Palmer, Dodds, K Thomas © (Hicks 34) , D Thomas (Squires 89'), Walters, Fowler, Hughes, Roberts(Morris 89') Subs not used: Brace, E Thomas

County: Idzi, Evans ©, Hanford, Elliott, Jarman, Blain, Morgan (Robinson 73'), Michael, Woodrow (George 73'), Christopher, Briers Subs not used: Speake, Davies. Referee: Brian James