Bala Town’s Kieran Smith eager to replicate 2017 JD Welsh Cup success
Kieran Smith of Bala Town celebrates scoring his sides fifth goal Penybont v Bala Town at Bryntirion Park in the JD Cymru Premier on the 26th September 2020. Lewis Mitchell/YCPD.
It has been quite the week for Bala Town forward Kieran Smith. Involved in a historic 17-1 victory over Brymbo in the JD Welsh Cup and finding the net twice followed an excellent midweek performance against Aberystwyth that saw him make his 150th JD Cymru Premier career appearance.
“It was nice to reach this milestone and it’s something I’m very proud of” Kieran revealed on Saturday evening following their JD Welsh Cup tie.
“I’ll be honest, I think I should have more appearances but a few injuries over the years set me back a little bit. I’m hoping now that I can stay fit and work towards the next milestone” the 29 year old admitted when asked for his reaction to reaching the 150 match milestone.
Currently the longest serving player at Maes Tegid, Smith is edging closer to 200 club appearances for the Lakesiders and has seen numerous players come and go in the Town dressing room over the last nine years. Bala’s performance at Park Avenue on Tuesday night showed promising signs of the new-look Bala side starting to click after three consecutive draws. Kieran described how buying into the club’s ethic is crucial for anyone joining the Bala Town squad and that it will take time for them to gell.
“I know it still seems a bit crazy to me that I’m the longest serving player but I’m proud of what’s been achieved since I signed as a 20/21 year old. There are a few new faces this season – all great footballers but also really good lads as well.”
Smith continued “That’s always been important during my time at Bala. Yes, we had three draws in a row and maybe just lacked a little bit of quality in the final third, but I’m confident now that on the back of two victories and after scoring plenty of goals we will push on. The confidence in the camp is good and players are starting to build relationships both on and off the pitch.”
Saturday saw Bala almost make JD Welsh Cup history as they secured the biggest win in the Welsh Cup since Mold Alyn Stars lost 21-0 against Shrewsbury Town in the 1894/95 first round and the match in tow becoming the second highest score in the history of the competition since 1877. The centre forward opened his goal account for the season scoring twice and told Y Clwb Pel Droed that he’d never been involved in such a goalfest during your career.
“It was a bit of a crazy game and we started a bit lethargically in all honesty – I certainly could have done better for the Brymbo goal, but after that it was all one way traffic and the lads were ruthless in front of goal with some brilliant finishes. I haven’t been involved in a game like that since I was a kid. We beat Afan Lido by six or seven I think a few years back but nothing in double figures.”
Bala today secured the biggest win in the Welsh Cup since Mold Alyn Stars 0-21 Shrewsbury Town in the 1894/95 first round. @BalaTownFC’s 17-1 win over Brymbo is the second highest score in the history of the competition since 1877.#JDWelshCup 🏆🏴pic.twitter.com/Ly07moPafs
— Sgorio ⚽️ (@sgorio) September 4, 2021
Bala have received quite the reaction on social media after their goal scoring spree but Smith was full of praise for their Ardal Leagues opponents.
“It sounds quite daft to say but credit to Brymbo because they could easily of thrown the towel in but they kept trying and working hard to the end.”
Lakesiders captain Chris Venables returned to the Bala line-up following his three match suspension which saw him net five goals. Alongside Smith who scored twice, Bradley Bauress scored a hatrick and Danny Walker-Rice adding a brace, there were plenty of goals contributed from all over the park. With Bala only scoring three goals in the JD Cymru Premier to date, Kieran explained that it bodes well that goals will come from more than one source this season but also the influence of last season’s Golden Boot winner to the Town squad.
“Yeah it’s always nice when your striker and talisman scores a couple of goals and it can only fill Venners with confidence after missing a few games. However, like you say we do have other players in the squad who can chip in and help out.”
He elaborated further “It feels like we have more options this season when going forwards which should make us less reliant on Chris. There’s no denying though that Chris is our focal point and will be looking to be our top scorer again this season.”
Bala are fully aware of the important of a JD Welsh Cup run following their historic 2017 win against The New Saints at Nantporth and automatically sealing their spot in the UEFA Europa League. With Wales only having three automatic spots due to their co-efficiency ratings, Smith explains that it’s imperative that the Lakesiders do well in this season’s Cup competition.
“Ahhh the memories of 2017 – 100%! We want to do well in every competition this season but there is no denying that the Welsh Cup provides a great opportunity to get into Europe”
“When we won it back in 2017, it made qualification even more special and the memories from that day are my fondest in football – it would be great to repeat that this season with this group of lads” he concluded.
