Caernarfon Town spoil Colwyn Bay’s party with heavy thrashing
COLWYN BAY, CONWY, WALES - 13th AUGUST 2023 - Caernarfon's Darren Thomas celebrates his opener during CPD Bae Colwyn vs CPD Tref Caernarfon in Round 1 of the JD Cymru Premier at The 4 Crosses Construction Arena, Old Colwyn, Colwyn Bay (Pic by Sam Eaden/FAW)
Caernarfon Town shocked many as they defeated Colwyn Bay 4-0 in the first televised game of the Cymru Premier season.
Darren Thomas put the visitors one up after great play by Marc Williams down the right found the ‘Cofi Messi’ in space at the far post to nod in.
Adam Davies doubled the away side’s advantage with a deflected effort into the net before recent signing Zack Clarke showed composure to strike a third, set up by Davies.
The Cofis afternoon was rounded off nicely when Davies found the bottom corner from a Rob Hughes acrobatic pass.
The first chance of the match fell to Tommy Creamer after four minutes who was found in space inside the box, but his header deflected off a defender and out for a corner.
Alex Downes then went close from the edge of the box after some tidy movement from the right back and a pull back from new signing Nick Rushton.
There was another glimpse of goal for Creamer not long after when he received the ball and spun inside the area before shooting across goal and past the post.
Matty Hill was the next to fire off the mark after a drive infield from the right-hand side before unleashing a powerful shot over the bar.
The visitors had their first opportunity not long after when a strong challenge on the Bay captain Lewis Sirrell midway into the Bay half saw the ball land kindly to Zack Clarke whose low shot was well saved by keeper Joseph Smith.
Sam Turner saw his first glimpse of goal as the 20-minute mark ticked by after receiving the ball down the left and cutting inside before firing over from the edge of the box.
There was a great opportunity for Caernarfon after 25 minutes when Gosset found Clarke in space on the right, his cross narrowly evaded the onrushing Adam Davies.
The Bay’s first yellow was handed to captain Sirrell who brought down Clarke on the edge of the area, the resulting free kick from Sion Bradley was well saved down to the keeper’s left.
Caernarfon nearly found themselves ahead only a few moments later when Adam Davies headed towards the keeper’s left, it looked goalbound, but a Bay player was on hand to clear off the line.
The Cofis went ahead with ten minutes of the half remaining when Darren Thomas sneaked in at the far post, found by Marc Williams’ cross before heading past the keeper to send the travelling support wild.
Bay went close to coming level not long after when Danny Holmes glanced Turner’s corner just past the post.
Caernarfon closed out the half the better of the two sides with a few efforts from the edge of the area well blocked by the Bay defence.
The first chance of the second half fell to Clarke who headed wide from a Bradley corner.
The home side’s first chance of the second half was created by Hill down the right with an inviting low cross but Ryan Austin did well to clear the danger.
Caernarfon doubled their lead on 62 minutes when Sion Bradley fed Adam Davies on the edge of the area before cutting onto his left foot and finding the bottom right-hand corner thanks to a defelction on the way through off the foot of Sirrell.
It was soon to be three nil to the Cofis when Ryan Edwards had the ball pinched off him by Davies who broke down the right before feeding his strike partner Clarke who finished well.
Three turned to four after 72 minutes when the ball landed at Davies’ feet from a Rob Hughes acrobatic pass only a few yards from goal and proceeded to roll the ball into the far corner.
It was a barren second half in terms of chances for the Bay with Hill and Rushton’s blocked efforts as well as Downes high and wide shot their only notable efforts at goal.
A dissapointing Cymru Premier debut for the Bay in front of a 1400 strong crowd.
Colwyn Bay: J.Smith (GK), A.Downes, L.Sirrell ©, R.Edwards (G.Williams 73’), M.Hill, L.Marsh-Hughes, D.Holmes, N.Rushton, S.Turner (S.Edwards 73’), D.Jones, T.Creamer (S.Downey 62’)
Unused Subs: A.Brooks (GK), J.Cumming, J.Giblin
Yellows: L.Sirrell, S.Downey
Caernarfon: R.Woods (GK), I.Cartwright, R.Austin, D.Donohue,D.Thomas ©(R.Hughes 70’), S.Bradley (B.Wynne 80’), D.Gosset, A.Davies (L.Lloyd 80’), M.Williams (B.Maher 86’), Z.Clarke, P.Mooney
Unused Subs: T.Pritchard (GK), C.Roberts
Goals: D.Thomas 36’,A.Davies 62’, 72’,Z.Clarke 67’
Yellows: D.Donohue, D.Gossett, D.Thomas, Richard Davies, P.Mooney, S.Bradley, L.Lloyd
