1

THE DRUID

IN THIS ISSUE

LATEST LEAGUE TABLES

FORTHCOMING FIXTURES

Down memory lane

Academy reports

SUPPORTING

Ysgol Rhiwabon

@YsgolRhiwabon

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MATCH REPORTS

Druids continued their relentless pursuit of the League title with a 1-0 win over Flint

Town United to make it 11 league games without defeat. Cheered on by the very noisy

“Druids Till I Die” contingent making their annual visit was probably the difference

between the 2 sides giving Druids a slight edge. In an evenly balanced match and Druids

short of their best, goals always looked like they would be in short supply and it took a

penalty after an hour to separate the sides. Adam Hesp was brought down by ex-Druid

player Joe Culshaw as he made his way into the box. Mike Pritchard dispatched the re-

sultant penalty to give Druids all 3 points to remain 4 points behind Caernarfon who won

5-0 at Conwy. It now looks increasingly like a 2 horse between these 2 for the title and

any slip up by either side could be fatal. Caernarfon have 4 of their last 7 games at home

while Druids have 6 of their last 8 games away.

CEFN DRUIDS 1 FLINT TOWN UNITED 0

Gresford A Porthmadog A

Holywell H Caersws A

Flint Town H Denbigh Town A

Llanfair United H Holywell Town A

Llanfair United A Gresford H

Cefn Druids A Guilsfield A

Caersws H Carnarfon H

Rhayader A

THE RUN IN

CAERNARFON DRUIDS

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ACADEMY NEWS

Caernarfon U16 0 druids u16 3

Conwy u15 0 druids u15 2

Druids u12 3 Caernarfon u12 0

Before the game a number of changes were made due the absent of Wil Scott and Dan Smith unavailable, so Dale Hughes and Kai Welch played in unfamiliar roles. The game started with Druids dominating the possession and moving the ball very well. Druids could have taken the lead after 5 minutes with Ben Williams floating a free kick to far post for Ryan Littler to have his header saved on the line. Druids eventually took the lead when a brilliant move down the right from Morgan Bagnell who beat one man, found Ben Williams and played a brilliant one two and fired the ball across the box for Kai Welch to score his fist goal for Druids. Disappointingly towards the end of the half Druids struggled to keep the ball on the ground. Caernarfon resorted to high balls with Druids replying with the same similar to a volleyball match for the last few mins of the half. Second half began very slow for Druids and gave Caernarfon their only spell of pressure of the game with a few chances for the oppositions which didn’t test Jamie in Druids goal. Druids made it 2-0 in the 17th minute when Ben Williams found space on edge of the box to fire the ball into the bottom right corner. Druids added their 3rd through Morgan Bagnell in the 22nd minute. Druids could have added a few more, Dale Hughes hit the bar from dis-tance, Cobie Lees had a shot brilliant saved and Dylan Thomas had a fierce shot saved. FT Druids 3-0. Very pleasing performance from the lads. MOM Dale Hughes who was out-standing as Centre back today.

Our under 15's took to the road today to face Conwy Borough in what was a "scrappy game" de-scribed by coach Phil Bathers. First half both teams found it hard to settle early into the game with mistakes happening all over the pitch. Harry Jones came close with an effort 10 minutes before the break but his shot just found the side netting. Second half was better and Druids played at a much higher tempo and started causing Conwy problems. Substitute Tyler Wilkinson put us 1 -0 up with a well taken goal after 55 minutes, Leighton Kendrick made it 2-0 after 66 minutes with a low drive from 20 yards. Final score:- Conwy Borough 0 Cefn Druids 2

Druids U16's keep their winning form against a very defensive Caernarfon team. Druids got of to a quick start with a fine goal from Rhys Powell after five minutes. Caernarfon were very de-fensive and hard to break down, but Druids kept trying to break the defence down without suc-cess. Half time score 1-0 to Druids. After a team talk at half time, Druids came out the stronger side and scored a quick goal within five minutes from Ben Palmer. Caernarfon settled them-selves back into the game but in the 23rd minute Sean Phelan made it 3-0 to Cefn Druids. Cefn Druids U16's finish their season on a high with a 3-0 win over Caernarfon. A fine performance from all players all season with the manager and coach more than pleased with the way the team have developed. All players are looking forward to having trials to get into the U19's squad.

Druids u19 0 flint town u19 2

In a game best forgotten, Druids went down 2-0 at the Rock to a “very old” looking Flint Town

United. Druids ultimate downfall was the fact that they missed 2 penalties which in the end cost

them any chance of getting something from the game.

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CURRENT LEAGUE TABLE

THIS WEEK’S RESULTS

HUWS GRAY ALLIANCE LEAGUE

NEXT WEEK’S FIXTURES

HUWS GRAY ALLIANCE 12th March

Pd W D L F A GD Pts

1 Caernarfon 23 17 3 3 63 17 46 54

2 Cefn Druids 22 16 2 4 43 20 23 50

3 Denbigh 24 14 3 7 59 43 16 45

4 Gresford 24 13 4 7 40 34 6 43

5 Guilsfield 21 13 2 6 46 34 12 41

6 Holywell 21 12 4 5 45 22 23 40

7 Porthmadog 26 12 1 13 43 49 -6 37

8 Flint Town 22 11 3 8 45 29 16 36

9 Prestatyn 24 11 3 10 50 41 9 36

10 Holyhead 25 9 7 9 39 37 2 34

11 Buckley 23 7 4 12 39 54 -15 25

12 Conwy 23 6 3 14 26 48 -22 21

13 Llanfair 21 6 0 15 29 51 -22 18

14 Caersws 22 5 2 15 28 48 -20 17

15 Mold Alex 22 4 4 14 29 48 -19 16

16 Rhayader 23 3 3 17 21 70 -49 12

HGA RESULTS 19th MARCH

Cefn Druids 1-0 Flint Town

Conwy 0-5 Caernarfon

Denbigh 1-1 Holywell

Guilsfield 3-1 Prestatyn

Llanfair 1-2 Buckley

Mold Alex 0-1 Caersws

Porthmadog 1-0 Holyhead

Rhayader 0-1 Gresford

HGA FIXTURES 23rd MARCH

Flint Town V Buckley

HGA FIXTURES 26th MARCH

Buckley V Rhayader

Conwy V Guilsfield

Denbigh V Caersws

Gresford V Caernarfon

Holyhead V Flint Town

Holywell V Mold Alex

Llanfair V Prestatyn

Porthmadog V Cefn Druids

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U19 DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE P W D L F A GD Pts

Bangor City 17 15 1 1 69 13 56 46

TNS 16 13 2 1 62 13 49 41

Gap C Quay 16 12 2 2 43 12 31 38

Airbus UK 20 11 2 7 48 33 15 35

Rhyl FC 18 10 4 4 56 27 29 34

Bala Town 14 8 2 4 33 25 8 26

Druids 18 6 1 11 23 36 -13 19

Llandudno 16 3 5 7 39 46 -7 14

Newtown 18 4 2 12 25 60 -35 14

Flint Town 14 3 3 8 19 44 -25 12

Conwy 18 2 2 14 24 69 -45 6

Prestatyn 17 0- 1 16 6 64 -58 1

CURRENT LEAGUE TABLE

WELSH NATIONAL LEAGUE

THIS WEEK’S RESULTS

NEXT WEEK’S FIXTURES

CURRENT LEAGUE TABLE

Reserves Division P W D L F A Pts

Mold Alex 19 15 1 3 66 22 46

Ruthin Town 21 13 4 4 57 25 43

FC Nomads of CQ 17 13 1 3 62 23 40

Chirk AAA 18 12 3 3 73 28 39

Cefn Druids 18 11 1 6 40 25 34

Gresford Athletic 19 10 2 7 43 31 32

Hawarden Rangers 16 8 2 6 35 38 26

Holywell Town * 15 9 0 6 57 23 24

Corwen 16 6 4 6 25 29 22

Queens Park 14 5 2 7 25 27 17

Castell AC 18 4 4 10 36 64 16

Llangollen 18 3 4 11 30 50 13

Llay Welfare 17 4 1 12 26 58 13

Penycae 19 3 1 15 26 60 10

Coedpoeth Utd 21 2 0 19 21 119 6

U19 DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE

RESULTS 20th March

Bala Town 1-4 Bangor City

Druids 0-2 Flint Town

Conwy 3-1 Prestatyn

Gap Connah’s Quay 1-1 Airbus

MBI Llandudno 4-4 Rhyl

TNS 5-0 Newtown

Castell AC 1-6 FC Nomads

Llangollen Town 1-1 Chirk AAA

Llay Welfare 0-6 Holywell Town

Penycae 0-2 Corwen

Ruthin Town 7-0 Coedpoeth Utd

LEAGUE CUP

Gresford Athletic 3-0 Mold Alex

FIXTURES 26th MARCH

Castell AC v Hawarden Rangers

Cefn Druids v Ruthin Town

Chirk AAA v Queens Park

Corwen v Llangollen Town

FC Nomads v Coedpoeth Utd

Llay Welfare v Gresford Athletic

Mold Alex v Holywell Town

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DRUIDS REMAINING home FIXTURES

HUWS GRAY ALLIANCE

Friday 22nd April Gresford Athletic 7.30pm

Saturday 30th April Caernarfon Town 2.30pm

WELSH NATIONAL LEAGUE RESERVES DIVISION

T.B.A. Queens Park

Saturday 26th March Ruthin Town 2.00pm

Saturday April 9th Llangollen 2.30pm

Saturday April 30th Castell AC 2.30pm (At the MUGA)

WELSH premier u19 development league

Sunday 3rd April Mbi Llandudno 2.00pm

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North east wales cup draw

Cefn Druids have been drawn against Gresford Athletic in the semi-final of the North East

Wales Cup. The other semi-final will be between the winners of Holywell Town v Queens

Park and Chirk AAA. No date or venue has been announced yet.

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Glantraeth fear new rules will inhibit promotion

FORMER Huws Gray Alliance champions Glantraeth fear a return to the second tier may be impossible after the FAW decreed that, from the 2017-18 season, clubs must be able to provide 250 seats for supporters.

Glantraeth told S4C's Newyddion 9 it would rule them out.

The FAW said the aim was to improve standards and grants were available but Glantraeth chairman Gareth Evans bemoaned: "There aren't many people living in Glantraeth, there aren't 250 people who would come and watch us.

"A lot of the clubs on Anglesey won't be able to do it, it's impossible to do it."

Glantraeth, which has actress Naomi Watts as its honorary president, currently plays in the third tier Welsh Alliance League and attracts crowds of about 40 people, with seating ca-pacity at the Trefdraeth ground for 63.

The club won the Huws Gray Alliance league and cup double in 2005/6 after finishing

league runners-up the previous season.

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News from around the leagues

Rhyl & haverfordwest looked doomed

In the Welsh Premier League both Rhyl and Haverfordwest look doomed with both needing

at least 10 points from their last 5 games to survive. Cardiff Met University look favourites

for promotion from the South trailing Barry Town United by 1 point at the top with 3 games

in hand. In the North it looks like a 2 horse race between Caernarfon and Cefn Druids with

Caernarfon having a superior goal difference.

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HUWS GRAY ALLIANCE PROMOTION CANDIDATES

There are 5 clubs in the hunt for the Welsh National League title but promotion to the Huws

Gray Alliance will be between FC Nomads, Ruthin, Brymbo and Queens Park as the only

clubs to apply. In the Mid Wales League 5 clubs have applied and all are in with a shout for

promotion. Carno, Knighton Town, Llanidloes, Llanrhaeadr and Penrhyncoch are all former

Huws Gray Alliance clubs hoping to return. Llangefni Town are the only applicants from

the Welsh Alliance League.

8

Cefn Albion 1975.

Back LtoR I.Jones, A.Jones, A.Owens, J.Sloane, P.Valentine, P.Davies,

Front: C.Wiseman, A.Lockley, A.James, W.Richards, P.Edwards

Back LtoR: G.Phillips, G.Richards, L.Morris, A.Jones, P.Halbert,

S.Rogers, Front: J.Jones, S.Cox, N.Hughes, P.Hayward, P.Laity

Cefn albion reserves 1975

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19th MARCH

League leaders Caernarfon Town fired five without reply at Conwy Borough to maintain there four point lead at the top. They led three nil at the break with Danny Brookwell, Gareth Edwards and Jamie Breese on target and deed two in the second half through Clive Williams and a Nathan Craig penalty

Second placed Cefn Druids were involved in a tight game at home to Flint Town United with only goal coming from a Mike Pritchard penalty after fifty eight minutes to give Cefn the points, Flint finished the game with ten men after the dismissal of Simon Thelwell

It was also a penalty that gave Holywell Town the lead at Denbigh Town with Paul Wil-liams converting the spot kick. Denbigh had to wait until the final minute for a share of the points with Alan bull on target

A Chris Cathrell goal in the second minute gave Guilsfield the lead at home to Prestatyn Town and a Paul O'Neill own goal increased their lead two minutes into the second half. A Mike Parker goal after seventy four minutes put Town back in the game only for Adam Jen-kins to add a third for the Guils from the penalty spot four minutes from time

Porthmadog won their second game on the trot one nil with Gruff Williams on target against visitors Holyhead Hotspur a minute before the break.

The battle is on at the bottom of the league to avoid the dreaded drop and Caersws did their chances no harm with a hard fought one nil win at Mold Alex. The first half saw Mold Alex on top but the ball would just not go in the net as they his the post on three occasions. Scott Williams netted the only goal of the game a minute before the break to give Cws three valu-able points

Llanfair United found themselves a goal behind after twenty minutes at home to Buckley Town with Matty Roberts on target. James Davies equalised before the break for United. Buckley took the points with a sixty second Adam Pugh goal

Rhayader Town remain bottom of the table as they lost at home to Gresford Athletic, Jon Taylor scoring the only goal of the game after thirty one minutes

Match round up

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6 MATCH PREDICTOR

All entries to be handed to / or

texted to 07915054145 / emailed

to Julie j.gildersleve@sky.com by

3pm on Saturday

by 3pm on Saturday.

There was 1 winner this week with Kelvin Guildersleve winning £110.

The results were :- 2, 2, 3, 2, 2, 1.

There are 2 chances to win this week with the prize starting at £20.

Matches for Saturday are:-

Chesterfield v Fleetwood

Chester v Barrow

Gateshead v Macclesfield

Woking v Kidderminster

Hungary v Croatia

England v Germany

Teams for Monday 28th March:-

Port Vale v Barnsley

Millwall v Burton Albion

Cambridge v Oxford

Plymouth v York

Bromley v Forest Green

Torquay v Eastleigh

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PICTURE GALLERY V Flint town

PICTURES COURTESY

OF

MIKE PLUNKETT

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March 5 Sat Brickfield (NEW Cup 2) A 1.30 W 10-1

8 Tue Mold Alexandra H 8.00 W 1-0

12 Sat Llanfair United A 2.00 W 2-0

15 Tue Brynford (NEW Cup 3) H 7.30 W 3-0

19 Sat Flint Town United H 2.30 W 1-0

26 Sat Porthmadog A 2.30

April 2 Sat Caersws A 2.30

9 Sat Denbigh Town A 2.30

16 Sat Holywell A 2.30

22 Fri Gresford H 7.30

26 Tue Guilsfield A 7.45

30 Sat Caernarfon H 2.30

May 7 Sat Rhayader A 2.30

ALL FIXTURES SUBJECT TO CHANGE

REMAINING FIXTURES