LoW
11.10.97 Aberystwyth Town 2-2 TNS Llansantffraid
There have been bribed referees who have given less farcical penalties than the one C Jones of Pontypridd awarded to Aberystwyth Town after ten minutes of the second half. John Morris fell over, unchallenged, and got up to find that the referee had stopped play and was apparently pointing at him. What no one, not even those of us in the Shed with a superb view of the 'action' was that this South Walian nut was pointing through the player at the penalty spot. The visitors were just too stunned to complain, Morris walked like a king of the hill in front of the Shed and the crowd applauded, bemused. Thus Aber were gifted an equaliser in a match they should never have been allowed back into and into which they would not have come back were it not for the referee. Total Network Solutions had, up until then done an effective job of limitting Aber's chances though they had to rely on defensive ball watching in order to go in 1-0 up at half time. The match was played in pretty awful conditions as a spray type rain drove across the pitch in waves from Penparcau and the temperature was none too high either, prompting the first peppered Bovril of the season at half time. The crowd were mostly in the Shed or in the Stand, so the match appeared to be being played to the proverbial one man and his dog with shouting student accompaniment. The second half was better for the neutral because both teams were more actively involved (though only thanks to the ref). Aber took the lead around the hour mark via an excellent finish from the improving Andy Evans. Llansantffraid rallied well and were well kept out by the tight Aber defence, again well marshalled by Donald Kane, making good use of Nigel Nicholas and Leigh Vick on the wings. TNS attacked well through Powell and Abercrombie and dealt with Gari "Maddo" Lewis in the midfield reasonably well. Their equaliser came at the death from another ball watching moment but it was no more than they deserved after their excellent first half performance had been undermined by a truly awful refereeing moment.
JDS Oct '97
96/97 Match Reports
For our non-bilingual readers I apologise for the fact that this
match report is in Welsh only. Jon was being a stroppy bugger and
decided that as the match was so awful, hardly anyone would want
to read about it anyway. He will not get his customary issue of
cola bottles for this piece. That I may assure you!
22.02.97 Tref Aber 1-2 Llansantffraid
O'flaen y BBC roedd y gem 'ma yn ofnadwy iawn. Ac, achos Richley wedi cael
ei stopio gan yr heddlu yr wythnos diwethaf, roedd rhaid i mi deithio i
Aber ar y bws. Cyn y gem, cwrddais i a Mrs Morris a Steve Moore, ddywedodd
hi ddim byd, dim ond "John's on the bench again", ond dywedodd e lawer am y
rhaglen (dwy e ddim yn ei olygu e nawr). Prynodd Dewi sglodion i fi o'r lle
seimllyd yn y cornel a cyrhaeddodd Richley eiliadau cyn y kick-off am ddau
o'r gloch (roedd rhaid iddo fe fynd at yr heddlu ar ol profiad road-rage).
Y gem 'ma oedd y gwaetha ar Coedlan y Parc eleni. Sgoriodd Aber o gic rhydd
yn yr ugainfed munud gan Steve Williams (gyda help gol-geidwad Llansantffraid)
. Cyfartolodd y Saints (mewn crysau arswydus) cyn yr egwyl gyda streic dda
a gryf, doedd dim siawns gyda K i stopio hi. Ddigwyddodd ddim byd diddorol yn
yr hanner cyntaf ac roedd yr hanner ail yn waeth. Doedd Aber ddim yn y
gem. Llansaintffraid oedd hi bob tro. Roedden nhw'n taclo'n well, rhedeg
yn well a perfformio'n well. Yn midffild, dim ond Martyn Griffiths
chwaraeodd fel pel-droediwr hyderus, roedd gweddill y tim yn edrych fel
ochr sy'n colli gormod o emau pwysig. Doedd neb yn nhim Green and Blacks
yn meddwl a doedd dim siawns i Aber sgori yn yr ail hanner. Ond doedd
yr ymwelwyr ddim yn sgorio cyn y pum munud olaf pan sgoriodd Mottran ei ail
gol. Mae CPD Caerfyrddin mewn gem pwysig arall i'r Seasiders nos Fercher, bydd
rhaid iddynt chwarae'n well nag heddiw.
J.D.Smalldon Feb 1997
8.10.96 Llansantffraid 3-2 Aberystwyth Town
Llansantffraid have apparently spent some of their Euro money on improving the
ground. Treflan must have been one helluva dump in the past. The stand is small,
just like the village it's situated in and the players have to run up two
flights of steps to reach the pitch. AND the fanzine is the biggest pile of
horsewaste ever committed to paper. But maybe my view of the Welsh Cup winners
is clouded by the bitterness that losing a two goal halftime lead can cause.
After all the good work the YELLOW and blacks did beforehand, it was, again,
disheartening to see them throw it away with another poor second half
performance. Goals from an Aizlewood free kick and a Harrison header gave the
Seasiders the lead but the Saints raised their game after the break and
dominated the midfield. An own goal close to time gave them the three points.
Once again, the opposition were more organised than Aber, who alternated
between sturdiness and stupidity. But it's all part of the fun. As is being
stopped by Dyfed-Powys Police on the way back. Penycae are up next week
and should be an easier task.
J.D.Smalldon Oct 1996
