LAKESIDERS LIVE AT MAES TEGID BALA - LIVE AT MAES TEGID BALA - LIVE AT MAES TEGID BALA
LIVE AT MAES TEGID BALA - LIVE AT MAES TEGID BALA - LIVE AT MAES TEGID BALA
THE OFFICIAL MATCHDAY PROGRAMME OF BALA TOWN FOOTBALL CLUB
@?J?? RMU L SATURDAY 8TH MAY 2021
VS PENYBONT
NIGEL’S NOTES We’re all going on a European Tour” is the song which has been resounding around Maes Tegid since last Saturday afternoon when an excellent win at Barry Town and a late goal to deny Penybont a win sent the Lakesiders through. Another remarkable achievement for the Club, our 7th qualification in 9 years, which emphasises the high standards which Colin has managed to maintain over such a long period of time at the Club. It will be Colin’s 19th season at the helm in June and his dedication and commitment to the Club is legendary in all footballing circles! We will play in the new Europa Conference Cup in July. This is the 3rd European tournament and allows lesser known Clubs the chance to progress further through the rounds to Group stages. The draw will take place on June 15th and the First Leg will take place on July 8th with the Second Leg on July 15th.
Hugely exciting times again as we await our opponents and try to resolve the considerable difficulties of both hosting the match and travelling away in the midst of the stringent Covid regulations. This is our final home fixture of the season and in normal times we would be planning an end of season presentation. However as things stand this is not possible but we will hopefully try to put together some virtual events to recognise the commitment that individuals have made throughout the season. And what a season it was!! It started with the dramatic victory in Malta which sent us on the visit to Standard Liege in Belgium and a never to be forgotten European adventure. We then had to start the domestic season off at a later date with no spectators and a plethora of covid regulations to overcome. We then had the December lockdown and only resumed playing in March. We then had the pressures of 2 matches per week but have managed somehow to complete a full JD Cymru Premier fixture list. This is a testament to all concerned and the hard work everyone has put in to achieve this result. It has been a fabulous achievement both on and off the pitch! Our 3rd place finish is a brilliant performance and one which will allow us to build upon again in readiness for next season both in Europe and in the JD Premier. I must thank personally our incredibly hardworking Secretary/Treasurer Ruth who has managed the stressful Covid protocols and regulations superbly – the amount of work behind the scenes is staggering! My thanks to my Chairman Arwel Tynant for his support his hard work and his advice. My thanks to Joe in his new found role as Media Officer and the excellent manner in which he has managed to fulfil all the very testing requirements of this position. To Gill who has managed the 3G facility again facing strenuous Covid protocols and putting up with me! And of course to all our very dedicated Management Committee members who have performed superbly throughout the whole of the stop/start season and allowed all our matches to progress and to be stewarded in a most professional manner. I can only hope that next season will see a return to some “Normality” and that we can once again welcome spectators to Maes Tegid. We have overcome the challenges of 2020/21 and look forward to the new and improved horizons of 2021/22. Diolch ofnadwy PAWB.
Nigel Aykroyd, Chief Executive
GWASANAETH PÊL-DROED DIGURO UNBEATABLE ON WELSH FOOTBALL CYNGHRAIR Y CENHEDLOEDD UEFA 2020 UEFA NATIONS LEAGUE 2020 CYMRU PREMIER JD CWPAN CYMRU JD JD WELSH CUP CWPAN NATHANIEL MG NATHANIEL MG CUP UWCH GYNGHRAIR MERCHED CYMRU WELSH PREMIER WOMEN’S LEAGUE
O F F I C I A L
B A L L
S U P P L I E R
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OPPONENT - PENYBONT EST. 2013 HOME: SDM GLASS STADIUM ABOUT PENYBONT Penybont FC was formed in 2013 with the merger of the two premier clubs in Bridgend County, Bryntirion Athletic and Bridgend Town. Both clubs decided for the good of football in the borough, that they should unite and push forward in their pursuit of the higher echelons of Welsh football. The club began the season with a series of away games as Bryntirion Park's 3G pitch installation was incomplete until January 2014. The club's first league game was away against Ton Pentre, the result of which was a 1–0 loss. The new pitch was officially opened by former Cardiff City manager Malky Mackay on 7 January 2014 at a friendly game played against a Cardiff City Development XI. Cardiff's development team won the match 5–0. The club's first manager was Francis Ford, who had managed Bryntirion Athletic prior to the merger of the club with Bridgend Town.
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Pen-y-Bont ended their inaugural season in a third place finish in the Welsh Football League Division One. On 18 January 2015 the club announced that it had reached a sponsorship agreement with Bridgend-based KYMCO Healthcare UK, which included renaming Bryntirion Park as The KYMCO Stadium. The club finished the season in 5th place in Welsh League Division One. On 12 September 2015, the club announced that it had applied for a Football Association of Wales Domestic License for the Cymru Premier. This indicated that the club was committed to improving the facilities at The KYMCO Stadium in order to make the club applicable for promotion. In May 2016 Francis Ford resigned from his post as the manager to be replaced by former Plymouth Argyle, Newport County and Cymru Premier footballer Rhys Griffiths. On 11 June, former Cardiff City and Newport County player Martyn Giles was appointed as his assistant. On 13 April 2019 it was confirmed that the club had secured promotion to the Cymru Premier after promotion rivals Cambrian & Clydach Vale B.&G.C. and Cwmamman United A.F.C. suffered defeats. On 4 July 2019 it was confirmed that former Dundee F.C. and Partick Thistle player Daniel Jefferies had signed for the club.
ALEX RAMSAY
ANDREW BURNS
SEAN SMITH
NATHAN PEATE
ANTHONY STEPHENS
JONNY SPITTLE
RYAN PRYCE
WILL EVANS
HENRY JONES
KIERAN SMITH
STEVE LESLIE
DANIEL GOSSET
JACK MACKRETH
SHAUN KELLY
LASSANA MENDES
CHRIS VENABLES
OLIVER SHANNON
RAUL CORREIA
LIAM DAVIES
HARRI LLOYD
ANTONY KAY
PREVIOUS FIXTURE Bad day at the office for the Lakesiders.
CAERNARFON TOWN 3 BALA TOWN 0
After securing European Football for another season last weekend, we were tasked with a trip to The Oval to face Gwynedd Rivals Caernarfon Town on Tuesday night (04/05/21) with nothing other than pride to
play for between the two sides, as league positions are almost done and dusted with the possibility of the hosts climbing as high as 5th in the table, depending on the last two results. The game got underway at The Oval, and our shotstopper Alex Ramsay was called into action early on, as he had to stop a free kick from around 25 yards out. Mike Hayes won the home side a corner with a deflected shot 10 minutes in, and from the corner the hosts took the lead. Max Cleworth was unmarked inside the box and quite easily headed home from the corner to give his side the lead. Paulo Mendes then tried to double the home side’s lead with a shot from outside the box, thankfully his effort sailed over the stand.
The hosts had a penalty shout against Anthony Stephens as he was deemed to have handled the ball, but the referee dismissed the appeals. Mendes again tried his luck this time from inside the box, but his effort hit the outside of the net. Chris Venables almost equalised for us in added time, yet Lewis Brass leaped across his goal to push the header away and the hosts were able to clear. The hosts doubled their lead in added time with Max Cleworth grabbing his second from a corner again, although the linesman had put his flag up with no explanation and the goal was given. The whistle then went for half-time with us behind by two goals. Seemed the celebrations of European qualification had took it’s toll on the lads over the weekend… Colin Caton made a half-time change with Steven Leslie coming on to replace Jack Mackreth. The second half got underway, and within 10 minutes of the restart we were 3-0 down. Mike Hayes won a free kick on the edge of the box, which Sion Bradley stepped up to take and he slotted the ball into the bottom right hand corner to further extend his side’s advantage. Antony Kay came close to grabbing a goal back on the hour mark, but his shot from the edge of the area was dragged wide of the post. Will Evans also came close, but he couldn’t direct his header between the posts as the ball went out for a goal kick. A few good crosses came in from the right hand side from Andrew Burns, but Lewis Brass was always alert to come and collect the ball.
Antony Kay was denied a goal from his header after it was cleared off the line by a Caernarfon defender. Really summed up our luck throughout the contest. Again Antony Kay was given space on the edge of the box, but his first time effort was sent over the bar. The home side almost extended their advantage as Andrew Burns got back on the line to clear a shot which beat Ramsay, but the quick thinking of Burns saved us from going down 4-0 with a brilliant clearance. Despite there being three minutes of added time at the end of the second half, we left The Oval empty handed as the full-time whistle went. A bad day at the office for the Lakesiders, but having just secured European qualification it was understandable with nothing now to play for with just two games remaining. Yellow Cards: Anthony Stephens (52), Sean Smith (69), Kieran Smith (79). Substitutions: Steven Leslie (46), Danny Gosset (66), Liam Davies (82).
PREVIOUS FIXTURE
CAERNARFON TOWN 3 BALA TOWN 0
#1
CHRIS VENABLES 29 APPS 24 GOALS 2 ASSIST
#2
WILL EVANS 29 APPS 13 GOALS 3 ASSISTS
#3
STEVE LESLIE 22 APPS 4 GOALS 6 ASSISTS
#4
LASSANA MENDES 23 APPS 3 GOALS 7 ASSISTS
16
FIXTURES
CHAMPIONS CONFERENCE FIXTURES SAT 10 APR TUES 13 APR SAT 17 APR TUES 20 APR SAT 24 APR WED 28 APR SAT 01 MAY TUES 04 MAY SAT 08 MAY SAT 18 MAY
THE NEW SAINTS PENYBONT FC CAERNARFON CQ NOMADS BARRY TOWN CQ NOMADS BARRY TOWN CAERNARFON PENYBONT FC THE NEW SAINTS
0-1 L 2-3 W 5-2 W 0-2 L 1-0 W 2-1 W 1-4 W 3-0 L H A
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
WE’RE GOING TO EUROPE BARRY TOWN 1 BALA TOWN 4
European Football confirmed for another season!
After our superb 2-1 win in mid-week against the Champions Connah's Quay Nomads, we'd have the chance of confirming our place in the inaugural season of the UEFA Europa
Conference League against Barry Town at Jenner Park. It would all depend on the result between Caernarfon Town and Penybont, along with our result at Jenner Park. Therefore it was a tense day down in Barry... The match would be played on a weekend where all Cymru Premier League clubs and many sporting associations across the country, would participate in a 'Social Media Boycott' in a coordinated fight against online abuse, in hope that it would spark conversation and triggers real change on these social media platforms. We got underway at Jenner Park, and we could of gone behind early as Kavanagh capitalised on a mistake in our backline, but thankfully no harm was done.
Jonny Spittle then went down the other end and had a header on target, as he got on the end of a Henry Jones corner. After just 10 minutes of the match we took the lead! Another corner was swung in from Henry Jones, and on the end of it was Antony Kay who powered his header into bottom right hand corner of the net to give us an early lead! However it took us just one minute to be back on level terms. Chris Hugh raced down the left hand side and put a good ball into the middle of the box, where Nat Jarvis managed to direct a header into the top right hand corner of the net. Back to square one! Chris Venables attempted to take us back into the lead on 15 minutes, as he got on the end of a Andrew Burns cross, but his headed effort went over the bar. Evan Press also tried to give his side the lead with a header, thankfully his effort also went over the bar. On 34 minutes we should have retaken the lead, as Chris Venables saw his header crashing into the bar, with the ball then rebounding out to Will Evans who then headed wide of the goal. So close! Although just a minute later, we had a stroke of luck! Andrew Burns sent a looping cross into the box, where Michael Lewis looked to have come to collect but mistakenly lost grip of the ball and handed Chris Venables a simple tap in to not only regain the lead, but also score his 200th Cymru Premier League goal! They all count, especially that one! Just two minutes from the break, Henry Jones had a certain goal cleared off the line as he entered the box he had time and space to decide where to place the ball, but
luckily for the hosts they had the goal line covered and managed to block the shot and cleared the danger. The half-time whistle went to bring an end to the half, in what had been a decent half for the Lakesiders with plenty of chances created, but should have been further ahead! We got the second half back underway, and within five minutes we were 3-1 up! An Andrew Burns ball down the right hand side into the path of Venables who had a clear run on goal, entered the box and hit an arrow into the top left hand corner. A superb goal from the Captain! Just a couple minutes later we should have extended our lead. A 3 on 3 attack gave Henry Jones the chance to have a shot at goal, but his shot was saved and his rebound was also saved by Lee Idzi in goal. With 15 minutes to play, Jonny Spittle almost got in on the act as he got on the end of a Henry Jones cross, but Spittle's header went wide of the goal. The home side tried to grab one back with 10 minutes to play, but Mikey George dragged his shot wide of the goal. With three minutes of added time at the end of the second half, there was still time for Chris Venables to possibly grab his hat-trick...and grab hit he did! A ball down the right from Jonny Spittle with the home side attempting an offside trap, the Captain had plenty of time to decide what he wanted to do, as he rushed into the box and sat the keeper down and slotted the ball home into the net. A perfect ending to a superb performance from the Lakesiders, and a perfect way to finish off the day for Chris Venables, not just for scoring a hat-trick, but also entering the Cymru Premier League's 200 club!
WE’RE GOING TO EUROPE BARRY TOWN 1 BALA TOWN 4
The full-time whistle went to bring the game to a close, however our Europa Conference League claim was still unknown with Caernarfon and Penybont still playing... Minutes after our final whistle, we learnt that Penybont had conceded in the 95th minute and they'd drawn their game with Caernarfon, meaning it was confirmed that we had qualified for the Europa Conference League for next season! A huge achievement for the club, meaning we've qualified for European competitions 7 out of a possible 9 occasions, which is unbelieveable for a club in the small town of Bala. Yellow Cards: None Substitutions: Liam Davies (89), Danny Gosset (89), Steven Leslie (89).
@?J?? RMU L NCL W@ML R VENUE: MAES TEGID BALA KICK OFF: 14.30PM REFEREE: JOHN ANDREW JONES LINESMEN: LEWISS EDWARDS & JORDAN CHRISTOPHER FOURTH OFFICIAL: NICK PRATT MATCH OBSERVER: RYAN STEWART
MANAGER: COLIN CATON MANAGER: RHYS GRIFFITHS ALEX RAMSAY ANDREW BURNS SEAN SMITH NATHAN PEATE ANTHONY STEPHENS JONNY SPITTLE LEE MOLYNEUX WILL EVANS HENRY JONES KIERAN SMITH STEVE LESLIE DANIEL GOSSET KEL SHAUN KELLY LASSANA MENDES CHRIS VENABLES OLIVER SHANNON HARRI LLOYD LIAM DAVIES RYAN PRYCE JACK MACKRETH
ASHLEY MORRIS BRAD BORGE RHYS WILSON SAM GOODWIN CONNOR DAVIES DANIE DANIEL JEFFERIES IAN TAYLOR IOAN EMMANUEL KANE OWEN KOSTYA GEORGIEVSKY LEWIS CLUTTON LEWIS HARLING LIAM WALSH MAEL DAVIES MATTHEW HARRIS BEN AHMUN BILLY BORGE ASHLEY EVANS OLIVER DALTON NATHAN WOOD SAM SNAITH ISMAIL YAKUBU MASON JONES-THOMAS RHYS STEVENS MATTHEW GREENWOOD
@?J?? RMU L SATURDAY 8TH MAY 2021
VS PENYBONT