'Y Dre ar Y We' - Carmarthen Town 0 SK Brann 8

Welsh Cup winners Carmarthen Town lined up against a SK Brann side brimming with internationals. A first half hat trick for Scot Robbie Winters and a brace for Thorstein Helstad put the result beyond the Richmond Park outfit. And with Kristjan Sigurdsson, Jan Solli and Armann Bjornsson adding one apiece in the second period Town will only have pride to play for when they travel to Bergen in two weeks time.

Keeper Neil Thomas produced a defiant display and Town's wide men had some success on the flanks but with Brace's men unable to maintain any real momentum Brann exposed Town's defensive frailties mercilessly.

Neil Smothers was extremely unfortunate to be dismissed for a second bookable offence late on to compound Town's misery but Brann will be in positive mood for their top of the table clash with Stabæk Fotball on Sunday.

Town : N Thomas, Hancock, Smothers, Palmer, Warton, K Thomas, Walters, Ramasut, Fowler, Hicks, Cotterrall, Subs : D Thomas, Davies, Hughes, Adams, Poole (GK)

SK Brann : Thorbjørnsen, Dahl, Bjarnason, Sigurdsson, Hanstveit, Huseklepp, Andresen, Solli, Moen, Winters, Helstad Subs : Opdal (GK), Guntveit, Corrales, Jaiteh, Bjørnsson, Gashi.

Attendance 769 Referee Vitaliy Godulyan ( Ukraine )

BBC Wales - Carmarthen 0-8 SK Brann Bergen

Carmarthen 's Uefa Cup ambitions all-but ended at the first hurdle as they crashed to a strong SK Brann side, who started with nine full internationals.

Two of those - strikers Robbie Winters and Thorstein Helstad - shared five goals in the first half, ex-Scotland front man Winters bagging a hat-trick.

Kristjan Sigurdsson, Jan Solli and Armann Bjornsson completed the rout in the second half at Richmond Park .

To cap Old Gold's misery, Neil Smothers was sent off for a second yellow card.

The humiliation could have been worse but for a fine display of goalkeeping in adversity from home stopper Neil Thomas.

The result still equalled the worst-ever performance by a Welsh side in Europe .

Carmarthen now face a fruitless trip to Norway for the 2 August second leg.

Evening Post - IT'S SUMMERTIME BLUES FOR TOWN

MICHAEL REEVES 20 July 2007

Robbie Winters left Carmarthen Town wondering if summer football is the way forward after the talented SK Brann player ripped the Welsh minnows to shreds on their own patch. Previously, the record defeat for a Welsh side in Europe was Barry Town's 8-0 hammering by Dinamo Kiev and, had the Norwegian side not taken it easy in the second half, that dubious record would surely have been broken rather than equalled.

Former Aberdeen and Scotland forward Winters slammed home a first-half hat-trick, with his strike partner Thornstein Helstad bagging a brace as Brann put the game to bed as soon as they could.

With Carmarthen travelling out to Scandinavia in a fortnight's time Deryn Brace is going to have a job of lifting his players to salvage some pride from this Uefa Cup first qualifying round first leg match .

The dream for the Old Gold was all but over after eight minutes when former Scotland international Winters fired the Norwegian outfit into an eighth minute lead after Erlend Hansveit had put him through.

The Brann outfit were fully loaded with internationals and their class showed as Deryn Brace 's first competitive game in charge at Carmarthen was a baptism of a raging fire.

The visitors doubled their lead on 17 minutes when a Petter Vaagan Moen corner picked out Kristian Om Sigurdsson. He headed the ball against the bar but it fell nicely to Thornstein Helstad to drill home with venomous power.

Nathan Cotterall came close with a rare chance for the Richmond Park side, but he was always stretching to get on to Paul Fowler's through-ball.

Carmarthen could have been losing by double figures by the interval.As it was, it was only 5-0.

Helstad netted his second on 28 minutes when he linked up well with Winters to slot home Brann's third of the half.

Two minutes later Winters completed his brace when he headed home a Huseklepp cross.

Thomas did his best to keep the Norwegian side at bay with some stunning reflex saves, but the fifth of the opening period came on the stroke of half-time.

Huseklepp played through Helstad and he picked out Winters, who sealed a superb hat-trick.

Tom Ramasut nearly pulled a consolation goal back for the Richmond Park side when he tried his luck from outside the Brann area but his shot curled over on 55 minutes.

With the tie over as a contest by the end of the first half the Norwegians appeared to take their foot of the gas and the killer instinct they had showed in the opening 45 minutes was now on the back burner.

The rain started to come down midway through the second half after Brann had looked like racking up a cricket score.

Carmarthen must have wanted the Ukrainian referee Vitaliy Godulyan to stop play.

But this was not cricket and Brann grabbed their sixth in the 70th minute when Om Sigurdsson turned home a Huseklepp corner.

Sasha Walters should have pulled a goal back for the hosts on 77 minutes when he was picked out by Ramasut, but after going around Johan Thorbjornsen the Carmarthen winger took the ball too far and failed to find the net.

Jan Gunnar Solli netted the seventh with a superb solo effort.

Things got even worse for the Old Gold five minutes from time when Neil Smothers saw red for a second bookable offence.

Armann Smari Bjornsson completed the rout with the eighth to equal the heaviest defeat for a Welsh club in Europe .

Could summer football help Wales 's teams in Europe ?

Until the League of Wales give it a go, supporter of Carmarthen and the like will never know.

Jul 20 2007 Western Mail - Carmarthen Euro embarrassment

Carmarthen Town 0-8 SK Brann

A HAT-TRICK inside 37 first-half minutes from Robbie Winter and a Thorstein Helstad double before the break emphasised the gulf between the Welsh Premier league and Norway 's top division in this one-sided Uefa Cup round-one clash last night.

Sweeper Kristjan Orn Sigurdsson, ex-Rosenburg playmaker Jan Gunnar Solli and substitute Armann Smari Bjornsson also piled on the misery late on, with Town plunging into deeper despair when left-back Neil Smothers was dismissed for a second yellow card four minutes from the end.

Carmarthen, who came into this tournament as Welsh Cup winners, had prepared meticulously for this tie but paid the penalty for defensive frailties – rendering the return in Bergen on Thursday week academic.

Only the energetic performance of goalkeeper Neil Thomas prevented an even greater European embarrassment, which was still the biggest in the West Walian club's history.

A stomach bug ruled out former Leeds and Norwegian star Eirik Bakke and there was no spot for new £200,000 Swedish striker Joakin Sjohage, but the Norwegians included nine full internationals at the start – another five amongst the six substitutes.

Carmarthen Journal - Win Old Gold some respect - Brace

Manager Deryn Brace has urged Carmarthen to avoid further embarrassment in the Uefa Cup.

"I can't deny that SK Brann were the better team, but sloppy defending made the result so bad," he said after the 8-0 first-round, first-leg home loss.

"We have to work on our game plan to make the 2 August return fixture in Norway less embarrassing.

"Brann took the game to a level we have not been at. It was a massive learning curve - and we learnt the hard way."

The Richmond Park defeat equalled the worst-ever performance by a Welsh side in Europe .

"It would be easy for me to use the excuse that the Welsh Premier should be a summer league," Brace told BBC Sport Wales.

"With more games you would be better prepared and that would have to help our cause.

"But I don't want to get into that argument at this time. Thursday was just not a good night for us."

Jul 21 2007 Western Mail - Carmarthen coach to go 'back to basics'

MARK AIZLEWOOD says “getting back to basics” will be the key factor in keeping his battered Carmarthen troops out of the European record books.

Carmarthen face a frightening task going into their first qualifying round return leg with SK Brann in Bergen on Thursday having crumbled 8-0 48 hours ago – a drubbing that equalled the worst humiliation for a Welsh club in Europe.

Barry Town were dismantled by Dynamo Kiev and Porto in the Champions League during 1998 and 2001 and Aizlewood is well aware Chelsea once destroyed Luxembourg minnows Jeunesse Hautcharage 21-0 on aggregate in the Cup Winners' Cup 36 years ago this September.

That was also the scoreline Feyenoord beat Luxembourg 's US Rumelange 12 months later in the Uefa Cup and ex-Wales star Aizlewood said, “I don't want to be part of a setup that enters the European football record books for all the wrong reasons.

“There were absolutely no excuses for what happened at Richmond Park . People will go banging on about how the Welsh Premiership should be played throughout the summer... they might also refer to Brann having a number of internationals in their squad.

“But how can you say that the Norwegian league compares to Serie A and Spain 's Primera? We've had a hammering from opponents who are hardly amongst the best in European club soccer. Brann are a decent side but their players are not amongst the top professionals. Some of my lads have ambitions of turning pro, they honestly believe they are good enough. Well, maybe this will be a wake-up call to them – it'll show them how far short they are.

“We simply didn't do the basics correctly and that just emphasised the gulf between us and them. We didn't perform and would have probably lost 3-0 to an ordinary Welsh Premiership team on the day.

“When you don't show commitment or determination you are in line for a real mauling from opponents who are better technically than you. Frankly, the score is going to be anything from eight to 18-0!”

AWAY - Brann Stadion Thursday 2nd. August 2007

02.08.07 Town Positive of a Performance

Town face a strong SK Brann side tonight at the Brann Stadion as they look to restore some pride with a positive performance against the Norwegian league leaders in this second leg of the UEFA cup Qualifier.

With a couple of important games coming up Brann have rested captain Martin Andresen & striker Thorstein Helstad and Gunnar Solli is out through injury. Interestingly defender Bjarnason will play up front but the line up will test Town to the full.

To replace those resting Bakke and Jaiteh will start in mid field for the home side.

Town have also make a few changes. Richard Hughes will partner Warton in the centre of defence with Chris Thomas taking up the left flank. Danny Thomas has been recalled to the strike role he played against Cardiff.

Even with the early evening conditions drying a little the pitch still looks wet and soft .

02.08.07 SK Brann 6 Carmarthen Town 3

Carmarthen Town restored some pride with a defiant performance at the Brann Stadion on Thursday night.

A brace for second half sub Tim Hicks adding to Danny Thomas' first half effort gave Town some consolation for their efforts.

Having gone in at half time 4-1 in arrears Town produced determined second half performance that showed commitment and potential and despite a record equalling defeat there were plus points and positives to show for the short European campaign.

Euro Agony For Carmarthen - Aug 3 2007 Western Mail

SK Brann 6 - 3 Carmarthen

THE Old Golds displayed plenty of true grit, but Norwegian guile sent the west Walian part-timers plummeting to a new all-time Welsh Premiership European low in an entertaining Uefa Cup first round, second leg tie in Norway last night.

Deryn Brace’s battlers, who replied through Danny Thomas and a Tim Hicks’ brace, paid the penalty for caving in 8-0 at their Richmond Park ground 14 days earlier – another six strikes shipped in 48 minutes either side of the break eclipsing Cwmbran and TNS’s record 12-2 aggregate Euro defeats.

The gulf between the sides was evident on nine minutes – Petter Moen curling a sweet 20-yarder past keeper Neil Thomas.

And the slick Norwegians were ruthless as Armann Bjornsson added another in the 19th minute.Thomas had reduced the embarrassment six minutes after the half hour. But the Old Golds were four behind at that stage – Scottish cap Robbie Winters gleefully pouncing on 26 and 32 minutes.

Hicks added a second for Carmarthen, but Kristjan Sigurdsson and Eriend Hanstveit finished clinically, before Hicks notched another for Carmarthen.

Deryn content and Braced for the worst - Aug 4 2007

by Phil Blanche, Western Mail

THE threat of being buried under another Norse goal avalanche had Deryn Brace, the Carmarthen Town manager, fearing a crippling Welsh Premiership hangover.

Clearly bearing the scars from an 8-0 mauling at Richmond Park a fortnight ago, the Old Gold’s collection of salesmen, engineers, accountants and council green keepers were in danger of an unwanted Uefa Cup record for the biggest European defeat.

Almost 4,500 fans rolled into the Brann Stadion expecting another massacre – so many were disappointed with SK Brann’s second-leg 6-3 victory.

Carmarthen’s 14-3 aggregate defeat was a record for Welsh Premiership clubs in Europe.

Yet former Wrexham midfielder Brace left Scandinavia relieved, saying, “We sought a different attitude from our players this time and we saw that.

“We tried to salvage what positives we could from the first match.

“Brann were far more technically advanced to sides that we face every week in the Welsh Premiership.

“Nobody wants to suffer the sort of defeat we experienced at our place and it was completely foreign to my coach, Mark Aizlewood, and myself.”

Goals from Danny Thomas and substitute Tim Hicks (2) gave Carmarthen some consolation in a one-sided tie.

And, on bouncing back from first-leg humiliation, Brace said, “The first leg has taken us time to get over.

“We needed to take it on the chin and we have to come back all the stronger for it.

“There were two ways we could have gone. We might have been that much tougher mentally in the long term or we could have completely crumbled again.

“If that had happened it would have been a terrible knock-on effect – one that might haunted us going into our Welsh Premiership campaign.”

CamarthenTown Team : 1 N Thomas, 2 Liam Hancock, 6 Kris Thomas, 3 Richard Hughes, 5 Gareth Warton, 7 Sasha Walters, 4 Nicky Palmer, 8 Tom Ramasut, 9 Paul Fowler, 10 Danny Thomas , 11 Nathan Cotterrall (Cpt), Subs : 12 Tim Hicks , 14 Mattie Davies, 15 Deryn Brace, 19 Mark Poole (GK)

SK Brann Team: 1 Johan Thorbjørnsen, 3 Bjorn Dahl, 18 Olafur Bjarnason, 21 Kristjan Sigurdsson, 15 Erland Hanstveit (Cpt), 13 Erik Huseklepp, 17 Eirik Bakke, 14 Tijan Jaiteh 11 Petter Moen, 77 Robbie Winters, 28 Armann Bjørnsson Subs : 12 Hakon Opdal (GK), 4 Cato Guntveit 8 Martin Andresen, 22 Thorstein Helstad

Attendance 4,597

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