Pre Season Friendly
By Robert Nisbet

For much of the time this looked like a closely-fought game between two good Welsh Premier sides, and this gives us a measure of how well the Bluebirds are shaping up. They defended well throughout and the whole side passed and moved so fluently that their fans are now eagerly awaiting the league programme.

On the Tuesday night the West Wales Properties-sponsored Bluebirds had played a fine draw against a strong Cardiff City side, with Nicky Woodrow’s second half equalizer giving them the 1-1 draw. On Saturday they began as they’d left off against Cardiff. In midfield they were harrying and competing for every ball, and movement after movement was built up quickly though some fluent passing triangles. 

Debutant keeper Craig Morris was the first object of the fans’ interest and he played extremely well, even though Martin Langdon’s displays against Port Talbot and Cardiff suggest that he will run Morris close for the first team spot.

There was one setback after 20 minutes though, when Woodrow picked up the pulled muscle which may keep him out for a week or two. He was replaced by one of the pre-season’s surprise packets, ex-Newcastle Emlyn winger Anton Owens, who played as striker in the first half before switching to the right flank in the second. 

It was Owens who gave the Bluebirds the lead in the 28th minute and the provider was Richard Ryan, who is regularly showing that as well as being a proven goalscorer he has a few deadly assists up his sleeve. On the Tuesday it was his unselfish lay-off which had played in Woodrow, and on Saturday he played a lovely ball from a deep position to send Owens haring in from the left to drive right-footed past one of the Welsh Premier’s most accomplished goalkeepers.

As the Bluebirds continued to flow, crosses from Owens and Dave Evans twice set up Ricky Watts whose efforts went very close. But the Seasiders got back into the game well and Morris was twice forced into extremely good blocks before, in the 41st minute, Aber’s Conor Lewis was able to beat him at the second attempt.

The Black and Greens started the second half purposefully and the Blues defence began to be taxed more severely. But with a back line able to call on players of the calibre of Simon Gilderdale, Phil Cattlin, Gareth Elliott, Kristian Griffiths and the newly-signed Dave Evans, the Blues defence will take quite a bit of prising open this season, and they weathered the second half well.

Again, from the hour mark, the Blues built more and more attacks, with the industrious Chris O’Sullivan seeming to be thriving on his central midfield role. Owens was prominent on the right, and from the 70th minute he set up three dangerous raids in three minutes. First he fed Ryan, whose shot just crept wide, before a minute later Owens cut in himself and fired wide. Then, a minute later again, Owens seemed to be tripped as he steamed into the penalty area, but the referee and his assistant read the incident differently.

And so the game ended with honours pretty even and the Blues were able to mark the ending with a rasping shot from Nathan Evans which keeper Cann clung on to with a little trouble.

There are two more pre-season games, both at the Conygar Bridge Meadow, against Newcastle Emlyn at 7.30 on Thursday 4th August and against Tatar Steel at 2.30 on Saturday.

County: Craig Morris; Simon Gilderdale, Dave Evans, Phil Cattlin (Kristian Griffiths, 45), Gareth Elliott, Ricky Watts, Chris O’Sullivan (Nathan Evans, 80), Gary Taylor, Richie Ryan (Jay Brockway, 80), Nicky Woodrow (Anton Owens, 20), Richie Lewis.