Caernarfon Town make their European bow on Thursday when they host Crusaders at Nantporth.
After many near misses, the Cofi’s finally get to grace the European stage, albeit against opposition from Northern Ireland. It’s Wales versus Northern Ireland, and it’s a fixture that will allow us to compare the standards of the Cymru Premier and the NIFL Premiership.
Crusaders finished fourth last season and like Caernarfon won the play-offs. They beat Coleraine 3-2 at Seaview at the start of May, and now get to play in Europe for the third consecutive season.
Peter Cinnamond hosts the Kicking Match podcast which focuses on all things Irish League. He’s well positioned to provide an insight in to the Crusaders and tells us all about Caernarfon Town’s opponents.
What’s your personal opinion of Welsh domestic football, from where you’re from? There have been some meetings between the two countries over the last few years.
For many years I would have looked at the Welsh domestic league with a sense of kinship. A smaller league trying to grow and compete against the behemoth that is the Premier League/EFL football.
Perhaps this may sound bold, but I’ve always believed that ultimately the Irish League is better. When the European draw comes around the Welsh league would be one our teams would want to be drawn against.
TNS would of course be known as the big boys of the league and a tough test, but a more winnable tie in comparison to some other nations, such as the larger Scandinavian leagues.
Does the record book back up this assumption? Not exactly. However, we are a league seeing a boom period recently. There are higher attendances, increased professionalism, better players coming to the league and a pipeline of players being sold for significant money to England & Scotland.
Final piece of the puzzle is making a statement in Europe like a number of nations have in recent years. Might this be the year that finally happens? People are quietly confident.
What transfer business have Crusaders done ahead of the tie? Are they well positioned for it?
From a squad-building point of view there has only been a few tweaks rather than a full overhaul so far this summer. Their main additions have added extra firepower to revamp their frontline.
Tricky Wide Forward Jordan Stewart joins the club from Linfield with a lot of experience and a point to prove. Meanwhile, 20-year-old Kieran Offord is a St Mirren loanee who has already scored in preseason.
One of Crusaders’ strengths right now is that they’re a squad where a majority of the team have played a lot of games together, they go into these games with a sturdy spine of a side which helped them to win two Irish Cups in a row in previous seasons and guided them through a multi-game league playoff to earn their place in Europe this summer.
What players should Caernarfon Town watch out for?
There’s no doubt Ben Kennedy will catch the eye. An attacking midfielder who can pop up all over the pitch. Excellent range of passing and dangerous with the ball at his feet.
He’s a goal scorer – and creator – who has been considered one of the league’s most talented players in fans’ eyes in recent times. However, an injury derailed his campaign last season. Crues fans will hope he wastes no time getting back to his best.
Elsewhere, Adam Lecky is a towering striker who leads the line. Don’t let his size fool you, he is the epitome of ‘good feet for a big man’. He can often surprise when given the opportunity to work the ball in tight situations.
Then there’s the experienced central midfielder Phlip Lowry who was just pipped to the post for the League’s Player of Season in 22/23; the quality of his late career output has made him a key asset to the Crues. He can drive with the ball in possession and his large stature makes him a nightmare from set pieces.
How do you expect Crusaders to line up?
It’s going to be hard to tell how Crusaders will approach this game. A bright-eyed new boss with fresh ideas means almost anything could be on the cards.
If continuity was to persist a classic 4-3-3 would be on the cards with multiple bulking midfielders happy to mix it up, throttling space in central areas.
The Crues commonly play a front line led by a central traditional striker backed up by dribble-happy wingers who can take players on, provide width and hit you on the counter. They’ll be without former talisman Paul Heatley who tortured defences over a decade.
The big question for Crusaders’ fans coming into this campaign – who is set to inherit his place in the team? My guess would be Jordan Stewart, who would have a similar style of play.
What kind of team are Crusaders? Is/Are things going to look a lot different under Declan Caddell compared to Stephen Baxter?
Crusaders are a team boasting a huge amount of experience. They’ve always had a reputation for being a physical, hard-working team who aren’t afraid to take the game to their opponents. As a club, they wouldn’t boast the same size of fanbase as some of their other Belfast rivals, but over the past two decades, they’ve continually delivered success on the pitch, winning titles, cups and regularly playing in Europe.
However, there’s no question that they are about to enter a new era. Their most successful ever manager Stephen Baxter (and the longest-tenured in the world at the time) stepping down is an Alex Ferguson-esque seismic event for the club.
However, they’ve been planning for his successor for months. The new boss is a former player and somebody hand-picked to help guide a smooth transition.
It’s not clear just yet what impact or changes Caddell will have on the side. This game is the first real test.
Finally, how do you expect the game to pan out?
I think the Crues will start slow but will do enough to win it over two legs. I’d suggest 1-1 or 1-0 to Crusaders after the first game, then a 2-1 or 3-1 victory back in Belfast. Crusaders are excellent at home and use the tight artificial pitch to their advantage.
It’s the competitive debut of Declan Caddell in the dugout and with it being his first-ever managerial job at this level, he’ll be keen to impress the fans and get off to the best possible start. A recent 3-2 friendly victory over Airdrieonians is a decent signal that this team is ready to compete, but as is the nature of pre-season knockabouts, it shouldn’t be read into too much.
That being said, if the North Belfast side don’t make it through the tie it would be considered a significant failure. The pressure is on!
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