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Prior to the midweek fixtures, Barry remained eleven points clear of second placed Inter Cabletel, with both clubs having played twenty six games, and Barry on 62 points and the Cardiff side on 51.

INTER AND CWMBRAN PULL AWAY FROM THE PACK

Inter's successful run has continued in recent weeks, with victories in the quarter-finals of both Welsh Cup and Premier Cup meaning that the Cardiff club are in the semi-finals of all three cup competitions. However, they've only played one League of Wales match in the past few weeks, and that was last Saturday, when an eighth minute goal from Paul Giles ensured all three points in a 1-0 home victory over Rhayader Town. In the Welsh Cup, a draw away at Connah's Quay Nomads led to a replay, where two second half goals from Paul Evans and another from Neil Davies led to a 3-1 win.

Below them in third are Cwmbran Town, their opponents in the Welsh Cup semi-finals. Cwmbran remain in very good form, and are four points behind Inter with two games in hand. Their most recent LoW games show their ability to destroy sides mixed with their resilience when under the cosh. A 6-1 home win over Rhyl resulted a few weeks ago, with Mattie Davies and Chris Summers leading the charge. That pair were on target again last Saturday, as Cwmbran went behind to Caersws, but scored twice in the final three minutes to win the game 2-1.

POWELL OFF TO UNCERTAIN START AT ABER

Aberystwyth remain in fourth place, now firmly under the charge of Barry Powell. Their home win over Carmarthen was sealed with the final kick of the game to make it 3-2. That was followed by a 2-2 away draw in a rearranged match away at Afan Lido, with another draw coming their way last week away at Newtown. Aber had taken the lead away at their mid-Walian rivals, through an own goal from Newtown's Scott Taylor, but the home side struck back to level the game at 1-1. Aber have 41 points from 25 games, and are some six points behind Cwmbran.

Caernarfon Town are in fifth spot, with the North Walians maintaining their consistency. Last Saturday saw them pull from a goal down at Conwy to earn a point, with Steve Fisher scoring from the penalty spot after an hour. In the previous weeks, they maintained their good home record with a 3-1 midweek victory over Newtown, and that was followed by a 2-1 away win over Holywell Town, the game being played at its FOURTH attempt.

MID-WALIANS STILL IN THE HUNT

Total Network Solutions are in sixth place in the LoW, following their draw at Afan Lido last Saturday. The Llansantffraid-based side came from behind to win a point at Aberafan Beach, with Jamie Fairhurst's goal on the stroke of half-time pulling them back to 2-1. Garry Powell equalised after 55 minutes, and Ken McKenna put them 3-2 clear in the 68th minute. However, the Lido scored again to draw the match. Prior to that, TNS had been knocked out of the Welsh Cup by Cwmbran Town and drew with fellow mid-Walians Caersws.

Newtown remain in seventh place, with 36 points from their 24 games. They drew at home to Aberystwyth last Saturday, failing to exact revenge for their 5-0 hammering at Aber earlier this season. Aber took the lead last Saturday, before Nicky Ward's 70th minute penalty gave Newtown a point. Before that, Newtown had visited Jenner Park and left empty-handed after a 1-0 defeat, and had also lost 3-1 away at Caernarfon Town.

Only a point below them are their local rivals, Caersws. The Bluebirds, though, have played two games more than their neighbours. They must be kicking themselves after last Saturday, though, when after Timmy Steel put them ahead at Cwmbran after 83 minutes, they relaxed too soon and the home side scored twice to take all three points. In recent weeks, they also forced a draw against Total Network Solutions.

BANGOR HAND OUT 4-0 HAMMERING

Bangor City are in ninth place, despite some strange results. Their away game at Connah's Quay Nomads was postponed due to the poor state of the Deeside Stadium pitch, and that was followed by a surprise home defeat to Rhayader a fortnight ago. Last week, though, saw a return to form, with a 4-0 thumping of Carmarthen at Farrar Road. Chris Sharratt put them in the lead in the 10th minute, giving them a half-time lead. In the second half, a 63rd goal from Robbie Williams made it 2-0, with a goal from Aaron Thomas three minutes later punishing a now disheartened South Walian side. Sharratt's second goal, five minutes from time, merely rubbed salt into the wound.

Fellow North Walians, Conwy United, on 33 points, are a point below Bangor having played the same number of games. They earnt a home point last weekend, with a draw against Caernarfon Town. Mally Tidswell acored after 25 minutes at the Morfa to earn a point for his side. That, of course, came hot on the heels of Conwy booking their second ever Welsh Cup semi-final place with a 1-0 win over CC ports League side, Ammanford, in a replay.

WEST WALIANS SIDE BY SIDE

Eleventh placed Haverfordwest are only a point further behind, with 32 points from 25 games. Last Saturday, the West Walians earnt a valuable three points at home to Connah's Quay Nomads. A Jones goal fifteen minutes from the end was enough to win the game against the Deesiders.

Their local rivals, Carmarthen Town, are in twelfth, after that hammering from Bangor City. The West Walian club have 27 points from their 23 matches, but consider themselves to be having a successful season after reaching their first ever Welsh Cup semi-final, after their single goal victory over CC Sports Welsh League side, Port Talbot Athletic. They go on to meet Conwy in the semi-final.

Below them are Connah's Quay Nomads, who are seven points below but have games in hand on every club in the League of Wales. Due to continued problems at Deeside Stadium, the Nomdas have played only 20 matches in the LoW this season, and have earnt the same number of points. Last Saturday, the Nomads travelled to Haverfordwest's Bridge Meadow and lost 1-0 to a second-half goal. That match came upon the disappointment of the Nomads being knocked out of the Welsh Cup by Inter Cabletel. The match at Deeside Stadium ended at one apiece, with Stuart Rain, Nomads's scorer against Barry, finding the goal. Rain hit the back of the net again in the replay, giving Connah's Quay the lead, only to see Inter score three times and advance to the semi-final.

LIDO CLIMB THE TABLE

Afan Lido are now level on points with Connah's Quay, even though the Nomads have five points in hand on the Port Talbot club. The Lido have had a very successful few weeks in their bid to maintain their League of Wales status. Three draws in as many home matches has seen them slowly climb away from the bottom spot. A goalless draw at home to Barry a few weeks ago gave them the spirit to hold Aberystwyth to a 2-2 draw at their Aberafan Beach ground, before last week saw them draw with Total Network Solutions - again on the seafront in Port Talbot. Mitch Patton's 23rd minute goal put the Lido in front, with Andrew Pearson scoring five minutes later. Despite giving the impression that Lido were in command, the visitors hit back, and were winning 3-2 before Pearson scored again to equalise at 3-3 and earn Afan Lido a point.

Our visitors today, Rhyl, were in fifteenth place after last Saturday's matches. Like Afan Lido, they have 20 points from 25 matches, but were unable to improve their position last Saturday. The Lilywhites were the LoW's odd-one-out last weekend, and haven't played for some time. Their last match was the away League of Wales game at Cwmbran, where the North Walians had to endure a 6-1 defeat, with Gary Curtiss scoring the consolation goal.

Rhayader Town were in sixteenth place prior to their midweek meeting with Afan Lido in Port Talbot. The mid-Wales village side have also made strides in moving away from the relegation spot. Last Saturday, they were unlucky to lose 1-0 away at Inter Cabletel, an improvement on their 5-0 defeat at home to the Cardiff club. The week before, they had defeated Bangor City 1-0, with Dylan McPhee scoring the important goal. Additionally, they have games in hand on the sides around them.

Bottom of the table, Holywell, who entertained Barry last Saturday, are now four points adrift at the bottom of the table and don't have the luxury of games in hand on the sides above them. It might be unimportant, as if Llanelli don't finish in second place in the CC Sports League then no club will be relegated from the LoW this season. However, Holywell won't want to take that risk, and fought hard last Saturday, despite losing 3-2 to Barry. The Wellmen went ahead twice, once through Steve Jones and then through player-manager, Vernon Keep. However, having lost 2-1 to Caernarfon a week earleir, Holywell are going to have to find some points in their last seven matches to ensure that they reach a survival place and don't face the spectre of relegation.

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This page edited by the Yellow Dragon, 1999.
This article first published in the Barry Town Matchday Magazine, v Rhyl, League of Wales, 27.03.1999

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