NIGEL’S NOTES It has certainly been a traumatic week at the Club and still very much in the forefront of our thoughts is the tragic loss of our Dei Bri. His presence was still very much felt here at Maes Tegid last Saturday and we can only hope that he was looking down on us with a tinge of happiness as he saw the team produce an excellent performance in his memory. The outowing of grief and the number of tributes to Dei have been amazing and this magniďŹ es the esteem which we all hold for a person who has given this Club so much dedication and commitment over such a long period of time. Words can never do justice to the respect and depth of feeling which we all have for Dei but the tributes which have been written and piut out over our Social Media can only emphasise the loss which we all feel! I am so sure that once again this evening our thoughts will turn to Dei and to his family and we can only hope that he will again be spectating from above and will witness another performance to keep his spirit very much alive with us. Unwaith eto, Diolch Dei am bopeth!!
The bounce back to winning ways after the untimely home defeat by newcomers Haverfordwest was just what was required. It was indeed an excellent performance last Saturday and we must surely hope that the confidence gained will help us towards another crucial 3 points in tonight’s hugely important fixture. It is such a shame that spectators are still not allowed in to what we feel is a very safe environment for all but we are continually lobbying both the Welsh Government and the FAW for help in changing this policy. It was brilliant to see Liz Saville Roberts at our match on Saturday and her support will be so beneficial if we are to turn the restrictive policy around. We encourage as many people as possible to lobby their political representatives for change to the rules as we can only emphasise that we consider outdoor at Maes Tegid to be one of the safest places under the overall Covid pandemic. Thank you most sincerely for all your wonderful tributes to Dei and for your thoughts and prayers which will undoubtedly comfort his family and friends. Diolch Pawb.
Nigel Aykroyd, Chief Executive
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OPPONENT - BARRY TOWN EST. 1912 HOME: JENNER PARK ABOUT BARRY TOWN Barry Town United Football Club is a team based in Barry, Wales. They are known for representing Wales in Europe as winners of the Cymru Premier and Welsh Cup during the 1990s and early 2000s and have also competed in England's Southern League and FA Cup. The team, which has contained more than 50 full internationals, is now run by supporters. They play at their traditional home of Jenner Park, Barry, which holds 3,500 spectators. Barry Town United AFC’s storied history dates back to 1892 when an association football team named Barry and Cadoxton District was formed in the area. During the early years, this side endured many upheavals, playing on ďŹ ve different grounds under various identities, including Barry Unionist Athletic, Barry United Athletic and Barry District.
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Welsh League for a year, before Players who featured during these years included Ted Vizard and Billy Jennings; who would each go on to play in the ‘White Horse’ FA Cup Final. On 7 May 2013, mere weeks after their heroic Welsh Cup exit, Stuart Lovering moved to withdraw the senior team from the Welsh League, against the will of the BTSC, players and supporters; who were ready, willing and able to fulfill the remaining two league fixtures (both against Ton Pentre). Rejecting this perceived act of sabotage, those running the football outlined their intentions to continue as they were, adopting the United suffix to help symbolise their continuing unity and endeavour. However, a meeting of the FAW Council in Betws-y-Coed determined the team would have to play “recreational football” instead; a declaration that was met with widespread outcry. In the years that followed this landmark struggle, Barry would go and win two consecutive Welsh League titles, reclaiming their rightful place in the second tier and continuing to develop as a club, both on and off the pitch; adopting new youth, academy, female and pan-disability sections. Then, in April 2017, the club secured its return to the JD Welsh Premier League as Welsh League Division One champions.
ALEX RAMSAY
ANDREW BURNS
SEAN SMITH
NATHAN PEATE
ANTHONY STEPHENS
JONNY SPITTLE
LEE MOLYNEUX
WILL EVANS
HENRY JONES
KIERAN SMITH
STEVE LESLIE
DANIEL GOSSET
LLYR MORRIS
SHAUN KELLY
LASSANA MENDES
CHRIS VENABLES
OLIVER SHANNON
RAUL CORREIA
LIAM DAVIES
HARRI LLOYD
ANTONY KAY
PREVIOUS LEAGUE FIXTURE
BALA TOWN 5 ABERYSTWYTH TOWN 2
Lakesiders hit 5 in a convincing win!
Only a week ago, the Lakesiders had suffered a shock defeat to promoted side Haverfordwest after a last minute winner from Jack Wilson to compound a disappointing performance for the Town.
However back again at Maes Tegid, infront of the Sgorio cameras, it was a much different performance against Aberystwyth Town… The match started with an early chance for Chris Venables, as Leslie’s looping cross finds him at the back post, but he couldn’t get a good connection to stir it goalwards. Aber then went down the other end and had a chance of their own, although a deflected shot off a Bala player went safely into the hands of Ramsay. Then Will Evans had a great chance to take an early lead, as an Aber header went short to the keeper, and Will took advantage of the mistake, but his looping attempt over the keeper hit the top of the net for a goal kick.
Aber keeper Connor Roberts pulled off a stunning save on the 20 minute mark, after a deflected free kick from Leslie sent Roberts the wrong way, but got back across his goal to push the ball away for a corner. A decent start for the Lakesiders was cancelled out on 24 minutes as Aber took a surprising lead, as a cross was whipped in from the left, Marc Williams leaped highest between Anthony Stephens and the on-rushing Ramsay, and headed into the back of the net. Connor Roberts then made another great save, this time with his feet, as Venables took a left footed strike from inside the box, and Roberts was able to deflect the ball off his foot for a corner. On 39 minutes, Bala were awarded a corner, Leslie pinged the ball right into the danger zone, and there was Will Evans! Will leaped like a salmon to meet the cross and powered a header past Roberts in goal to grab an equaliser before half time! 1-1 with 5 minutes of the first half left to play! With 2 minutes left to play of normal time, Roberts made another brilliant save, this time keeping Nathan Peate’s header out from a corner, as he got down to his right and pushed the ball out for another corner. Just seconds later, Ramsay sent the ball towards Will, who took it down under his control and lobbed the defenders to put Sean Smith in on goal, Sean rushing in on goal took a touch and strook the ball underneath Roberts in goal and gave Bala the lead! Sean with his first goal of the season put the Lakesiders ahead going into the break! With seconds to go of the added time, Bala could of extended their lead, as a Chris Venables header took a deflection from a Aber player onto the bar, then Stephens put his header went over the bar.
The halftime whistle went with a late flurry of goals giving the Lakesiders the lead at the break. A good half for the Lakesiders who were unfortunate to go 1-0 down, although goals from Will Evans and Sean Smith gave Bala a well deserved lead. The second half got underway with an early free kick for Bala, although nothing came of it. Nathan Peate came close with another header, but this time his effort went wide of the post. Just before the hour mark… Bala were awarded a penalty! A trip on Chris Venables from Louis Bradford gave the referee no choice but to point to the spot. Venables stepped up to take the penalty, and smashed it home! Right down the middle into the roof of the net, to give Bala a 3-1 lead with half an hour left. Only 3 minutes after Venables got his first… he got his second! A great cross from Mendes from the left hand side was right into the path of Venables who headed in from close range, and gave Bala a 4-1 lead! Although just 5 minutes after the game looked to be comfortably won, Aber were awarded a penalty, after Stephens took down Steff Davies in the box after a clear foul on the Aber forward. Steven Hewitt took the penalty and creeped it in past Ramsay who went the right way, but couldn’t reach it, the score now 4-2 with less than 25 minutes to play. A yellow card was brandished to Nathan Peate for a foul in the middle of the pitch on 76 minutes. With 10 minutes to go of normal time, Bala sealed the win! A cross from the left hand side from Sean Smith went right into the path of Raul Correia who placed his header right into the bottom corner out of the grasp of Roberts, to grab his first goal for the Lakesiders! Now 5-2 to the Town, with the 3 points looking done and dusted!
PREVIOUS LEAGUE FIXTURE
BALA TOWN 5 ABERYSTWYTH TOWN 2
The substitutes started rolling in with Kieran Smith coming on for Lassana Mendes, then Will Evans making way for Henry Jones, and finally Liam Davies coming on for Steve Leslie. With just 2 minutes of time added on, the Lakesiders saw out the win, keeping the ball in the Aber half. The referee blew his whistle for the final time, to signal the end of a thrilling game! A convincing display from the Lakesiders, scoring 5 goals for the 2nd time this season, lifting the Town into 5th place, with 2 games in hand over league leaders Connah’s Quay Nomads. A fitting performance from the Lakesiders, which was dedicated to Club Legend ‘Dei Bri’ who we sadly lost this past week. We know you’ll of enjoyed that win Dei, Rest In Peace
#1
WILL EVANS 5 APPS 4 GOALS 2 ASSIST
#2
CHRIS VENABLES
5 APPS 5 GOALS
#3
SEAN SMITH 5 APPS 1 GOAL 2 ASSISTS
#4
NATHAN PEATE
5 APPS 2 GOALS
16
FIXTURES
SEPTEMBER SUN 20 SUN 27 WED 30
CEFN DRUIDS PENYBONT FC THE NEW SAINTS
OCTOBER
2-1 W 1-5 W 2-2 D
NOVEMBER FRI 06 SAT 14 FRI 20 FRI 27
CEFN DRUIDS PENYBONT ABERYSTWYTH NEWTOWN
SAT 03 TUES 06 FRI 09 TUE 13 SAT 17 SAT 24 SAT 31
HAVERFORDWEST FLINT TOWN ABERYSTWYTH BARRY TOWN UTD NEWTOWN CARDIFF MET UNI BARRY TOWN UTD
1-2 L PP 5-2 W H A H A
DECEMBER A H A H
SAT 05 SAT 19 SAT 26 TUE 29
CARDIFF MET UNI HAVERFORDWEST CAERNARFON CAERNARFON
A A H A
JANUARY FRI 01 SAT 23 FRI 29
CONNAHS QUAY THE NEW SAINTS FLINT TOWN
H A H
SPONSORS
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SMITHY GARAGE Bala Town are so grateful for the tremendous support which Smithy Garage of Dyffryn Ardudwy have given the Club over so many years. We are delighted that they continue to sponsor the Club's playing shorts and last year went a huge step further when they kindly agreed to sponsor our Academy's Head of Coaching car. This is so important for the development of our youth players and for the roll which he provides to our Community programmes. Smithy Garage offers a whole range of vehicle services and we would be delighted if our supporters could look them up whenever there is any vehicular requirements. Car/Van sales, MOT's, Servicing, Body Repair etc! Thank you most sincerely on behalf of us all at Maes Tegid. Long may our relationship together continue!
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PLAYER SPONSORS Player Sponsorship is on a first come first served basis. First team players £75.00 and at the end of the season, you will receive their match-worn shirt (home or away). Higher bids or offers will be accepted. Once the money has been paid, the sponsorship is sold and no further offers will be accepted. Andrew Burns – Emma Whitehouse Raul Correia – Gwyn & Jackie Penucha Colin Caton – Ado Vogt & Gee Gi, Liechtenstein Ffiona Evans – Arwel, Michelle, Hannah & Naomi Will Evans – Sion and John Roberts Stephen Fisher – Ado Vogt & Gee Gi, Liechtenstein Danny Gosset – Brian and Teresa Whitehouse
Henry Jones – Cigydd Bala Butcher – www.balabutcher.co.uk Steve Leslie – Evan Horwood Harri Lloyd – Felix Ospelt, Vaduz Lassana Mendes – Lee, George, Chris & Foxy Lee Molyneux – Ado Vogt & Gee Gi, Liechtenstein Nathan Peate – Kevin Swire Alex Ramsay – Cigydd Bala Butcher – www.balabutcher.co.uk Ollie Shannon – Ado Vogt & Gee Gi, Liechtenstein Kieran Smith – Jonah Armstrong Sean Smith – Peter Spitzmaul Jonny Spittle – Ado Vogt & Gee Gi, Liechtenstein Anthony Stephens – Katie & Matthew Spitzmaul Ryan Valentine – Top Personalised Gifts – www.toppersonalisedgifts.co.uk Chris Venables – Barry Yates & Stewart Venables Llyr Morris – Clwyd Williams, Family Butchers Llandyrnog Liam Davies – TBC Shaun Kelly – TBC Antony Kay – Marianne Taft
THANK YOU
PREVIOUS SHOWDOWN
BALA TOWN 1 BARRY TOWN 1
Town took on the JD Cymru Premier leaders on Saturday afternoon as we welcomed Barry Town United to Maes Tegid. The game started well but neither team took a full hold in the opening stages. Louis Robles’ header was saved by Radcliffe after eight minutes with the next effort coming from Venables capitalising on a mistake by Barry at the back and squaring the ball to Robles 7 yards out but it was hacked away. With eighteen minutes of play, Town opened the scoring. A corner taken short and quickly by Burke picked out an unmarked Henry Jones who was ten yards out and slotted the ball into the bottom left corner first time sending the Lakesiders 1-0 up. Barry almost hit back from the restart as Kayne McLaggon’s half volley from the edge of the box was saved by Morris. Town were seeing plenty of the ball and were creating chances with Henry Jones flicking a header wide of the upright and then firing past the post after some briliant work by Burns on the wing.
Down the other end, Green’s superb strike was brilliantly pushed away by Morris to deny the visitors. As the board for extra time went up, play was levelled as a quick break from the visitors saw play switched from right to left, delivered into the box by Hugh for Reffell to slot home to make it 1-1 at the break. The second half was a bit more fiesty as the pressure mounted and further chances for both sides. Barry could’ve taken the lead early in the second half when they were awarded a freekick which Spence rocketed against the post. Town were a danger on the counter with Venables and Robles creating problems for the Barry backline. Touray fired narrowly wide of the post from the edge of the box prior to Radcliffe gathering Jones effort down the other end. Confidence was growing by Town who could’ve gone ahead when a corner was cleared into Robles’ path which was going goalwards but a deflection at the last moment took the ball wide. On the left, Sean Smith did an excellent run forward and found Jones who struck the ball first time but it lacked power and was saved. In the final five minutes Bala had two golden opportunities to get all three points. Mendes firstly pounced on a lapse of concerntration at the back to force the ball forward to Venables but it was pushed around the post before the second came again from the influencial Mendes who put the ball over the crossbar from six yards out.
MATCH PREVIEW BY BRANDON DION WILLIAMS - Y CLWB PEL DROED
Barry Town made six summer signings ahead of their fresh campaign in the hope of guaranteeing European football with a top three place. The addition of Nat Jarvis in attack will be regarded as their most stellar signing of the summer. With Gavin Chesterfield hoping Jarvis will bring the link-up play with Kayne McLaggon that would have been missing following the departure of fan favourite Momodou Touray. Nat Jarvis has bags of experience having played for numerous clubs including Welsh sides Cardiff City and Newport County. The forward is also an international playing for Antigua & Barbuda for which he has 11 caps, scoring three times. Nat Jarvis has the potential to be a deadly striker, having scored two goals in three appearances he made while playing for Cardiff. However, has struggled to find his feet at any club since with his potential seeming to fade away. The 28-year-old will be hoping to reignite his career now in the Welsh Premier League and make his return to professional football in the future. He managed his first goal in Barry Town colours in what turned out to be the winner against Haverfordwest to hand them their third win on the bounce during the last week of September. Another key signing Gavin Chesterfield made ahead this current season, was the addition of Curtis McDonald, a player the Barry Town boss had admitted he had chased for a while. The 32-year-old brings added experience to the Barry backline as well as bringing much-welcomed leadership. The strong defender has already made his presence known in the air, having scored a bullet header for his side against Caernarfon Town. McDonald will be amongst similar faces having played previously for Chippenham Town for two and a half years, playing alongside teammates Nat Jarvis and Jack Compton. The summer transfer window also saw the return of Michael George to Jenner Park. The 21-year-old left Barry to gain some much-needed experience in Welsh football playing for fellow Cymru Premier side Pen-Y-Bont, where he made 23 appearances for the club last season. George was only the second player to make the switch to Barry from Pen-Y-Bont, with the club having the announced the arrival of Curtis Jemmett-Hutson. The forward was signed to bring some competition for places in the attacking department for the Linnets. He managed five goals in 22 matches during his last campaign for the Bont. There was also the arrivals of goalkeepers Lewis Gould and Harry Thomas-Barker at Jenner Park. Two young inexperienced goalkeepers, who will add some depth and hunger for game time in net for the club. Gould arriving from Swansea on loan for the season, while Thomas-Barker signing on a free transfer from Bristol Rovers.
Meanwhile, Bala have had the most impressive incomings out of all Cymru Premier clubs this summer. The Lakesiders lost some key players who helped push the side back into the top three having missed out previously. Josh Tibbets left Maes Tegid for local rivals Caernarfon. However, Colin Caton secured the signing of Alex Ramsay, who showcased his shot stopping talent at the Oval. The Welshman has played a huge role in his new side’s early success of the new season, helping his team reach the second qualifying round in the Europa League for the first time. The Lakesiders also secured the signing of Nathan Peate. Peate made the bench of the Cymru Premier Team of the Season last campaign as well as fellow arrival Ramsay. The former Cefn Druids defender maintained a blistering start to the season when the 29-year-old scored on his home debut having scored in his first game in Bala colours against champions Connah’s Quay on the opening weekend. Possibly Bala’s most influential signing has been Will Evans. Evans signed from Cardiff Met this summer and has quickly paid back Caton’s faith in him, having scored four goals in Bala colours already. The 23-year-old scored on his home debut for Bala, while following up with a double down in south Wales when the Lakesiders headed down to face Pen-Y-Bont. The attacker is quickly leaving his mark on the title challengers. With Colin Caton looking to take his side that one step further in their pursuit of the title, the acquisition of Evans will add star quality that will compete with the likes of TNS who have that in abundance. The Maes Tegid based outfit also turned to the English divisions in their search of strengthening their side. They secured the signing of long-term target Raul Correia following his release from Merseyside side Southport. The striker showed his potential having originally signed for Blackpool on a permanent deal. However, the Anglo-Portuguese forward has struggled to settle at a club, having numerous spells at teams in the non-league. Antony Kay was another exciting arrival, with the 37-year-old bringing his value in experience to Colin Caton’s side. Kay, having played for notable sides in Huddersfield, Barnsley, Tranmere and MK Dons, offering Caton a versatile player who can fit into various systems. Kay has already been used as part of a back three and covering a back four for Caton, showcasing the versatility of the veteran. Cymru Premier golden boot winner Chris Venables also put pen to paper in extending his stay at Maes Tegid at the start of a busy summer for the Lakesiders. Striker Llyr Morris swapped the blue of local rivals Ruthin for the black and white of Bala back in August. The 24-year-old was one of the hottest prospects in the Cymru Premier North division, having continuously been a reliable goal scorer for Ruthin. He brought interest from several clubs in the Cymru Premier however, decided to make the switch to Maes Tegid as it suited his career plans best. The latest arrival was 24-year-old Liam Davies. Davies is another welcomed addition to the midfield department, which Caton has looked to add depth to compete with the likes of the Nomads and Saints following their title challenge last season.