Caton reflects on a historic 12 months for the Lakesiders

2020 was a year to forget for many as life grinded to a halt due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However for Bala Town, it was another memorable year with the highlight being the progression in the Europa League for the first time.

Bala Town boss Colin Caton reflects back on another historic twelve months for the Lakesiders, adapting to the Covid-19 pandemic and Town’s title hopes.

A top three finish after the League was curtailed back in March saw Colin Caton’s men embark on a sixth visit to the Europa League drawn away against Maltese champions Valletta. Six games were left to play of the domestic season and Caton still wonders if Bala would’ve finished higher in the table.

“2020 was a fantastic year I thought the football that we played from last Christmas (2019) up until the lockdown was outstanding and we were pushing the big guns in the league. It would’ve been interesting to see what would’ve happened if the League had continued.”

“We were close to TNS and Connah’s Quay, it was strange how everything ended and obviously Connah’s Quay were awarded the title on merit on where they were at the time but with the number of games still left to play, it would’ve been interesting to see where the points would’ve gone.”

“There was still 18 points left to play for at the time with the cancellation of the league. We’ve moved on and don’t want to talk about that too much but we were playing so well at that time.”

The months passed before the Welsh clubs were able to return to some form of training mid-summer ready for the imminent European fixtures that were due to take place in September.

“It was then revealed who was qualifying for Europe. It was difficult because of Covid and it has been incredibly hard for us to train and abide by all the protocols in preparation for our European games. We were still blessed and fortunate that we could play, fortunate that we qualified for Europe in the first place. In preparation for Malta there were loads of restrictions on us as individuals, in training and in the pre-season friendlies but we had a good pre-season to be fair considering all the restrictions placed on us.”

“We had good quality games against Shrewsbury and Crewe and they were great preparation for the opposition we were due to come up against. The Valletta trip was very good, it was really strict on arrival, we had to be on one floor in the hotel, we all had to use one room, sit outside together in the same area and those restrictions were put on us by the hotel and rightly so.”

Bala have been unlucky in previous European fixtures, with late losses, excruciating heat and individual errors proving costly against Differdange, Tre Fiori, Vaduz and Levadia Tallinn. However everything seemed to click into place over in Malta.

“We were worried about the heat, it was going to be a big factor in the game. I spoke to numerous English based coaches out there in Maltese football which was a massive help in our preperation for the game. Everything was great from the preparation, to the food to the hotel – it was just a shame that we were put in a confined space – luckily we are a close knit group and that bonded us a lot during that trip as we were always together as a team.”

“The night we went to the stadium to train we realised the temperature wouldn’t be anywhere near what it normally was in the day, it was huge boost to see that it wasnt going to be as hot as it would be during the daytime. We travelled 25 minutes to the stadium from the hotel and the sun dropped behind the mountains and we all throught ‘woah we have a great chance here’ – it’s one major factor which we’d been worried about that wouldn’t stand in our way. The night of the game it wasn’t anywhere near as warm as what people had warned us about.”

“The training was excellent, we did all the press conferences, the Maltese people made us all feel welcome. During breakfast the next day you could see that everyone was focused on the game, it gave an opportunity for the new lads were able to bed into the group and the lads who’ve been with us for a long time were a huge part of making sure they new lads settled but the characters that we’ve brought in didn’t need much help as they are quite lively.”

“We had a pre-match meal three and a half hours before kickoff, travelled then to the game and there was a feel that we had a resilience about us. Valletta seemed quite confident in their press conferences.”

A Chris Venables goal in the 38th minute saw the Lakesiders secure an impressive win on the Mediterranean Island but Caton explains that it was slightly bitter sweet as they couldn’t celebrate with the Lakesiders faithful.

“During the game I thought we were outstanding, the chances we had were excellent and chance for chance wise we had four brilliant chances where they had only one and the penalty was never a penalty. The scenes and the occasion was something that’ll live with me forever.”

“Obviously winning but not having the supporters there that have always travelled to the European matches, there’s always a good core of top supporters who’ve followed us around Europe and it was heartbreaking for them but I know that people were in each others houses, sat in their gardens all watching via the live streams.”

“When we got back to the hotel they opened the bar for us on the beach so we celebrated as much as we could two metres apart on the sun loungers social distanced but not too much as we had an early flight back on Friday. There was a magnificent buzz and the excitement of what we’d just achieved. It was unbelieveable that everything we’d worked for, all the hard times we’d suffered in the Europa was now gone as we’d finally got over the line and progressed. Not just over two legs but to go over to Malta to beat the Maltese champions was an unbelieveable achievement.”

“The staff, Stephen Fisher, Ryan Valentine, Ffiona Evans, Lee Molyneux and Harri Lloyd had all worked so hard during pre-season with all the restrictions on the training pitch it was overwhelming to achieve what we had as a group. We made history again and an achievement that’ll live with me forever. It was a great occasion for all involved and something that especially Chief Executive Nigel Aykroyd deserved for all his support and a reward for everything he has given me, the coaching staff and the players.”

Bala’s reward for their first round victory was an away tie at Belgium Premier League side Standard Liège. If they thought they were underdogs against Valletta, they sure were against Liège but despite everything, it was a performance to be proud of by the Lakesiders.

“We then had the excitement of waiting the draw for the next round and were given Standard Liège and what a draw to have a team of that stature to play against. It was away again and we knew it was going to be a tough test especially in a one-off tie. Everyone wrote us off in the game, in the press conference over there they didn’t give us much chance – they were intrigued about how were part time and how our lads were getting time off work but our preparation was good for that.”

“We chartered a plane from Liverpool and on arrival in Belgium, we were ushered in to the terminal off the plane, onto three coaches to travel to the hotel into an area where we could mix and stick to.”

Embed from Getty Images

“We went to the stadium the night before and we were all in awe at the stadium, we all got our phones out to take photos of each other and we were in a daze during the session looking at where we were. Everything about the place was like being at a Premier League club that we were going to compete against which hit home when we were on the pitch. It was hard to get the lads focused as they were all excited, we went back had a sleep, and then it was matchday. We had meetings and had a game plan to go against them, we didn’t want to sit back, we wanted to play with freedom.”

The Lakesiders did themselves justice against the European giants, giving a good account of themselves which made the Bala boss proud of his club’s display on the European stage.

“The game will always be a great occasion for everyone involved at Bala Town to how we held a top Champions League qualification team for so long and compete with them. Will Evans, Raul Correia, Chris Venables all had chances, our full backs were getting forward, in midfield we did well. It was a proud moment for me to see how far we’d come, how well the lads could do in these big games and a huge reward for everyone after the Valletta game.”

Embed from Getty Images

“It showed that we can hold our own against some of the big teams and showed how far the Cymru Premier has come to compete with these teams that are in the European competitions year after year. The game itself was unbelievable, in the post-match press conference they applauded us as we went in and had nothing but total respect for us and were pleased with how well we’d done as a part time team and how much we’d pushed Standard Liège.”

After their European exploits, it was a return to domestic action for the Lakesiders who have been excellent in their sixteen matches to date. Currently third in the table, Town are on a run of eleven matches unbeaten which has pleased the Bala boss.

“We came back then and began preparation for our domestic season which has gone very well. The new lads have done excellent aswell as have our existing squad, its never a case of that the new lads have come in and kicked us on, its always that they have contributed alongside the old lads who’ve done so well for years at the club.”

“It was a fantastic year, I think we’ve played great football, been outstanding in the Cymru Premier so far, had a couple of blips, we’ve drawn too many games but still pushing the two full-time teams, there’s a long way to go but I hope we can restart soon. We respect that there is a lot going on with the Covid restrictions at the moment but as soon we can get going the better so we can get back to some normality, get crowds back into the grounds and get that buzz and excitement of playing infront of our supporters.”

New additions in the summer saw Alex Ramsay, Will Evans, Nathan Peate, Liam Davies, Anthony Kay and Raul Correia join the Lakesiders which has certainly bolstered the Maes Tegid squad. Caton emphasises that his new signings have made an impact on his squad but as a group not as individual performers.

“I am very happy with the new lads that I brought in over the summer, I won’t name any individuals who’ve made us so much better but it’s a collective effort that the new players have come in and gelled with the existing players. We go about our signings in a shrewd way and we just don’t sign lads purely on their ability, they have to tick every box in terms of socially aswell.”

“They have to be good lads, they have to buy into everything we do as a club including the commitments not just on the pitch but also off it. They have to take part with activities in the community which we ask of them and in the Academy which we do a lot with. It’s been difficult to do that this year due to situation we’re in at the moment such as mixing with the Academy, but the lads all know their roles and responsibilities when they come into the club and what is expected of them.”

“It’s always a collective team performance which has improved us all as a group and as a squad not actual individuals.”

We are currently at a standstill in the Cymru Premier season due to the current lockdown that has seen the elite status revoked and fixtures cancelled until the end of January. In his seventeen years at the helm at Maes Tegid, the pandemic is one of the most difficult challenges that the Town manager has had to deal with.

“It’s been difficult times, we’ve had to scale training down to specific sessions ensuring that everyone is 2 metres apart to accomodate the Covid protocols but it’s the same for everybody. We are lucky that we are able to carry on and let’s hope we can get our elite status back but we must all respect the situation that we are in and I’m sure the government will give us the go ahead when they feel it’s right to do so and we will accept that when we find out.”

Hot on the heels of The New Saints and Connah’s Quay, the race for the Cymru Premier title is hotting up with Bala also being tipped to pick up the Cymru Premier trophy. He isn’t getting ahead of himself nevertheless and just wants to be back playing and for the season to be completed first of all.

“People have said that we can challenge the top two for the title, the two full-time teams but it’s hard for us to do that as we are training one night a week. They get so many more sessions to drill on, to work over things much more than we do. We are competing at the level we’re at and that’s good at the moment but if the gap gets bigger we might need to review how we do things. It’ll be interesting and there is a long way to go.”

“Everyone hopes we can play the 32 game season. Like I’ve said previous, the restrictions on us at the moment means we need to wait for the government to give us the go ahead but they are there to save people’s lives and that is more important than football. We’ll get back to it as fast as we can, hopefully we can keep achieving, keep pushing the top two and who knows where we will be at the end of the season. There’s a lot of points to be played for against some top teams in the league.”

2021 has now arrived so what are the Lakesiders targets for the year ahead? What do they hope to achieve?

“Our target for 2021 is to keep improving individually, for our staff to improve, to push the staff, to push the players, and to keep trying to achieve and try to qualify for Europe but also push the top two. That’s our aim, we are not just going to happy to take 3rd or 4th place or an European place. Everyone’s after them places and there’s a lot of teams coming up trying to also push for them places and try and knock people off their perch. We want to push The New Saints and Connah’s Quay – that’s our aim for 2021.” he concluded.

(Featured Image: Lewis Mitchell)