WHETHER it's just the brutal nature of following an English league team or maybe those following League of Wales teams are just good natured souls, there were marked differences between my only two trips to Caernarfon.
My first ever visit was to see Cardiff City play the Cofis in a Welsh Cup game. On the journey north the bus video screened a constant diet of vigilante movies and porn. When the coach arrived in Caernarfon it disgorged a band of Bluebirds foaming at the mouth and in search of blood lust.
On Saturday, the journey north on the Barry Town supporters' club coach was accompanied by Tellytubbies videos. When the coach arrived at the Oval, Barry Town supporters spilled out into the car park greeting people with "haro", "huggies" and "tubbytustard" - a much more civilised form of in-bus entertainment.
The good nature continued as the teams ran out onto the pitch , with Caernarfon club officials making a presentation to Barry striker and former Cofi, Eifion Williams, thanking him for his service to the club. That was the end of the good-natured bonhomie though as, within a couple of minutes of the game starting, Caernarfon's central defender, Emrys Williams, had floored Eifion with a shoulder charge.
The last time these two sides met the score was 5-2 to Barry, but while Saturday's result was the same they were completely contrasting performances.
Last season Caernarfon saw themselves as genuine championship contenders, but were swept aside by one od the best Barry performances of the campaign. That result had major repercussions for Caernarfon, who sacked manager, John Aspinall. The Cofis have not been th same since, and this season are genuine relegation candidates.
Barry were missing Danny Carter and Richard Jones through injury, and Dean Huggins, who had been sacked in the week for an alleged breach of contract, and were pushced back in the early minutes of the game by a determined Caernarfon. But the Town soon started to put their game together, pushing short passes in behind the full backs, and it was fomr one such move that Barry took the lead when Gary Barnett laid the ball back for Craig Evans to score.
Caernarfon's striker, Steve Hilditch, brought a fine save from Ovendale, but an identical Barry move involving Terry Evans and Gary Barnett saw Eifion Williams slide in to put Barry 2-0 ahead. It was Williams's 18th goal of the season. At this point last season, while playing for Caernarfon, Williams was the league's top goalscorer with 14 goals.
Caernarfon hit back when Hilditch placed the perfect header past Ovendale from a Ben Sweet cross, the ball hitting the base of the post before going in. But their joy was short-lived as Darren Ryan lashed home number three.
Again Caernarfon reduced the deficit. Martin Hynes hooked the ball forward for Hilditch to chase. Ovendale came charging off his line, and both plaers reached the ball at the same time. The ball could have gone anywhere, but the luck of the bounce was with Hilditch and the ball looped over Ovenadle and fell into an empty net. Barry's response was to score straight from the kick-off, with Ryan shooting low past the unfortunate Stuart Heeps.
The second half was a scrappy affair, with the referee, Mr G.D.Lewis of Caersws, ignoring the popular Caernarfon tactic for wrestling Barry players to the floor, and very little football was actually played, especially in the final 20 minutes, with Barry replacing Williams, Ryan and Evans with Pike, Hughes and Matthews.
But by then, Barry had scored their fifth goal with Craig Evans latching onto an overhead kick by Eifion Williams following a goalmouth scramble and a poor clearance from Emrys Williams, and it was tubby bye-byes for Caernarfon. The Dragons march on, and are now eight points clear of Cwmbran Town, who had a fine 5-1 win over Connah's Quay Nomads last Saturday.
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This report first published in the Barry Gem, 06.11.1997.
League of Wales match report, Caernarfon Town - Barry Town, 01.11.1997.
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