Merthyr Town v Bristol Manor Farm

 

               2nd January 2012

       Penydarren Park, Merthyr

 

 

The next month is hugely significant for Merthyr Town as they seek to gain back to back promotions and secure a place in Division 1 of the Southern League for the first time since the original Merthyr Tydfil club were liquidated two years ago.  The home game against Bristol Manor Farm on Monday is the first in a succession of five consecutive league games which the club hope will leave them challenging Larkhall Athletic and Willand Rovers at the top of the Toolstation Premier Division.

After a hugely successful first season in which Merthyr Town were promoted to the Premier Division after running away with the Toolstation Western League 1st Division title, the Martyrs are dreaming of another title.  A quick glance at the average attendances in the division provides an indication of the relative stature of the club compared to others in the division, with the Martyrs currently averaging over 400 people per home game, more than double many of the other clubs.  The return to Penydarren Park at the start of the season also means that, unlike most in the division, the club have a ground that is suitably equipped for the Southern League.  However, on the field itself, the challenge is much greater than it was last season. Current champions Larkhall Athletic also harbour ambitions of promotion after having failed to achieve the required Grade E status for their ground in sufficient time to be promoted last season and so far this season their form has been more consistent than Merthyr’s.

The Martyrs were in imperious form since their return to Penydarren Park, notching up five consecutive wins which included the seven goal thrashings of Odd Down and Barnstaple Town.  However, in their last two outings the club were held to disappointing draws by Bridport and Longwell Green Sports, meaning the loss of 4 very valuable points.  Merthyr need to try and pick up a minimum of four wins from these next five games if they are to be serious title contenders.  The return of former Neath player Matthew Harris, who has missed most of the season with a broken leg, and defender Steve Williams who has just served a three match ban, will provide manager Gary Shephard with options over the coming few weeks. Harris in particular is a useful asset as he is able to play in both midfield and at right back, though the Bristol Manor Farm game has come too soon for him.  Merthyr have been trying to organise friendlies to help Harris regain full fitness over the Christmas period, but have been thwarted on two of the three occasions, one of which was last Thursday against Welsh Cup giant killers Merthyr Saints.

Merthyr' Town’s opponents on Monday are Bristol Manor Farm, who are enjoying another decent season after having finished 7th in the Premier League in 2010-11.  Bristol Manor Farm are currently 6th in the table, just one place beneath Merthyr, though they have played 5 more games than the Welsh side.

Having won 3 of the last 4 games in all competitions, the Bristol side are experiencing their own decent run of form and they will therefore believe that they can get a result at Penydarren Park.  Much will depend upon striker Luke Clarke, who has returned to The Creek this season after a spell with Bitton.  His ability to lead the line has created numerous problems for defenders this season, as Ilfracombe and Sherborne found out to their cost in suffering heavy defeats to Bristol Manor Farm.

Given that Willand Rovers and Larkhall Athletic will expect to win their respective fixtures against Bridport and Corsham Town respectively, Merthyr desperately need to win this match.  That desire, coupled with the extra quality in their squad, should see the home in what will be a tightly fought game.

Wrexham Target Fifth Straight Win

                New Year’s Day
                       v
  Racecourse Ground, Wrexham

The end of the calendar year is traditionally a time for both reflecting on the past 12 months and for looking forward to the future.  As Wrexham and Telford United prepare for their second festive meeting in a week, the clubs may reflect on just how long a period 7 months can be in football and just how dramatically fortunes have changed since the play offs were concluded last May.

Both clubs made the play offs last season; Wrexham made the Conference play offs after having finished 4th, only to have their entire season’s work undone during a disastrous 20 minute spell in their semi final home leg against Luton Town, during which they conceded three goals and effectively lost the tie.  In contrast, Telford United finished runners up to Alfreton Town in the Conference North and then safely negotiated the play offs to earn promotion to the Conference in front of an impressive 5,436 crowd at New Bucks Head, Telford.  Instrumental to this success was 29 year old midfielder Phil Trainer, who netted crucial injury time goals in both the semi final first leg at Nuneaton and in the final itself.  Consequently Telford United, one of the biggest names in non league football, entered the 2011-12 season in buoyant mood, full of the hope and expectation that promotion brings, whilst Wrexham not only had to contend with the disappointment of play off failure but with the very real possibility that they would go out of business due to crippling debts.

Fast forward to the end of December and the future of the two clubs looks very different.  The Wrexham Supporters Trust successfully completed their acquisition of the club after the Football Conference ratified the takeover on 12 December and the Dragons sit proudly at the top of the Conference having gained an impressive 56 points from their opening 25 games.  Much of the credit for this must be given to former manager Dean Saunders, who assembled together a group of talented players who have exceeded all expectations this season.  However, since the departure of Saunders to Doncaster Rovers in the middle of September, Wrexham’s form has just continued to improve.  Since Andy Morrell took over the managerial position for what seemed to be a tough away trip to Grimsby, Wrexham have won 11 of their 15 league games and are now on a run of 13 without defeat during which time they have only conceded 3 goals.

In contrast, as so often happens with newly promoted clubs, Telford United are experiencing an alarming mid season dip in form which has seen them win only 1 of the last 14 games.  This poor sequence of results, whilst admittedly against some of the bigger clubs in the league, included a recent 3-1 defeat at basement club Bath City, and has caused Telford to become embroiled in an 8 team relegation battle that is developing at the foot of the table.  It also caused manager Andy Sinton to try deflecting some of the pressure off his beleaguered side before last Monday’s encounter with Wrexham by claiming that the pressure is actually on the bigger clubs in the league.  However, in front of a bumper Boxing Day crowd of 4500 at New Bucks Head, Wrexham ran out 2-0 winners despite a relatively lacklustre performance.  Now, with form and statistics against them, Telford have somehow got to blunt Wrexham’s attack whilst finding a way past what seems to be an almost impenetrable defense.  Furthermore, they have to do this without midfield talisman Phil Trainer, who was sent off in the closing stages of the first encounter for a second bookable offence.

Despite the challenges facing his own side, Andy Sinton is right in claiming that the pressure is on Wrexham.  The club are desperate for a return to the football league but, despite their impressive form, they have still not managed to open up a significant gap between themselves and Fleetwood.  However, with the Cod Army having to travel to Southport on Sunday, this represents Wrexham’s best opportunity of establishing some daylight.  Given the contrasting fortunes of the clubs at the moment, it is difficult to see anything other than a Wrexham win in this one.

Colwyn Bay v Vauxhall Motors Preview

 

 

                      New Year’s Day

                      v

 
 

Hearing manager Jon Newby discuss the possibility of bringing himself back into the team in order to address a mini goal drought amongst discussion of the need for a big performance is a measure of just how far Colwyn Bay have come as a club over the last two years.  Having beaten FC United of Manchester last May to secure back to back promotions under Dave Challinor, who left the club at the start of November to take over the reigns at Fylde, Colwyn Bay are now enjoying live at the elevated level of the Conference North.  Given this dramatic rise and the recent change of management, it is perhaps unsurprising that Bay are currently experiencing a few challenges as they adjust.

After a very promising start in which Bay picked up 16 points from their first 9 games in a run that appeared to be placing them on the cusp of yet another promotion battle, form has dipped.  Defeat to a 91st minute Holsgrove goal at Vauxhall Motors on Boxing Day followed a home defeat against Worcester and an away day thrashing at Harrogate, leaving Colwyn Bay with some concerns as they approach the New Year.

Although a third consecutive defeat without scoring since the 6-3 drubbing of Droylesden undoubtedly needs to be addressed, Bay should be well satisfied with their performance over the first half of the season.  Having been promoted in two successive seasons, their current position of 12th should be considered a success, as demonstrated by the steady increase in attendances over the course of the season.

As Colwyn Bay prepare for the return fixture against Vauxhall Motors on New Year’s Day, Newby knows the importance of clinching the three points that could see his team move back into the top half of the table.  Perhaps lively young left winger Danny Lloyd and Newby himself, joint top scorers with five goals each, are Bay’s best hope of getting back on track.  Lloyd was the one player who looked threatening at Rivacre Park and it is important that he is given the opportunity to run at defenders on Sunday.

One other record that Colwyn Bay will want to erase on Sunday is the run of nine consecutive games without a clean sheet.  They came within a couple of minutes of achieving that on Boxing Day but with the side having conceded twelve goals in the four games prior to the game at Vauxhall Motors, confidence is fragile.  However, given that Colwyn Bay were the first team to fail to score against Vauxhall Motors this season, the return fixture can be expected to yield a few more goals.  Newby will be hoping that it is his team that come out on top to help retain their comfortable mid table position.

Rose Signs For Fleetwood

 

Newport County last night confirmed that Danny Rose had agreed personal terms and will be signing for Fleetwood Town when the transfer window reopens next week.  Whilst County fans have been expecting a January departure for the talented Rose ever since he spent a week training with Crystal Palace at the end of October, most had anticipated that he would be moving to a higher league rather than to another club in the Conference.

Reproduced with kind permission of Sam Shingler    

The 23 year old midfielder, who signed from Oxford United in 2008, drew attention last season when named Conference Young Player of the Year during County’s first season back in Conference.  He has been similarly impressive this term, even though Newport find themselves embroiled in a relegation fight and County, already short of goals having failed to score in 10 of their 25 league games this season, will now have to address this problem without their most creative player.

The move is further evidence of the ambition and spending capacity of Fleetwood Town, as they seek to secure a place in the football league for the first time in their history.  Town are currently locked in what is increasingly becoming a two way battle for automatic promotion with Wrexham.  With key player Lee Fowler handing the Dragons a transfer request yesterday evening in contrast to the squad strengthening occurring at Fleetwood, Town manager Micky Mellon will be confident that his side can overhaul the two point deficit that currently exists between the sides.

Meanwhile, Newport must now face what is potentially their most important match of the season at basement club Bath City without both Danny Rose and the still suspended Sam Foley.  The amount of pressure that County will be under will depend upon results on New Year’s Day, as favourable results for two of Kettering, Hayes & Yeading, Alfreton and Stockport would see County drop into the bottom 4 before they kick off.  Further pressure comes from the fact that four of the next five games are away from home, with difficult trips to Luton, Cambridge and Gateshead coming up during January.

The glimmer of hope in all this is that Newport County have produced better performances on the road than they have at Spytty Park, where a waterlogged pitch caused the home Boxing Day tie with Bath City to be postponed.  There is a strong argument that the condition of the pitch over the last couple of months has contributed significantly to their poor home form, in which The Exiles have lost five of the last seven matches and failed to score in four of them.  As the last of these defeats was the return fixture against Fleetwood, County having won at Highbury Stadium 4-1 back in October, at least they will not have to face the talents of Danny Rose as they battle for survival during the remainder of the season.