Welsh Premier Review - Saturday March 13th

Top Day for Rhyl
By Chris O'Brien
March 14 2004

It was a great day for Rhyl, as the Lillywhites closed the gap on TNS with a 3-0 victory over Afan Lido, with the leaders only managing a 2-2 draw against Caernarfon Town. 685, the biggest crowd of the day, saw Bangor City beat 9-men Aberystwyth 2-1, ending Aber's slim title hopes.

Aberystwyth Town 1-2 Bangor City
Aber's Welsh Premiership title hopes seem to have finally died with a home defeat at the hands of Bangor City. An own goal from Chris Short gave the Citizens the lead on 15 minutes, with Les Davies doubling the advantage for the visitors with 20 minutes to go, sending their travelling contingent into delight. Anthony Wright hit a late goal for the hosts, but it was scant consolation for Aberystwyth who now sit 12 points behind TNS at the top of the League of Wales. There was further incident at the end with Town duo John Lawless and Lee Spike both dismissed infront of the leagues biggest attendance of the day.

Caernarfon Town 2-2 Total Network Solutions
The Saints' Welsh Premiership title hopes were dented at the Oval, only picking up a point against a Canaries side who are chasing Premier Cup qualification. However, Ken McKenna's side will be satisfied with the point after going two goals down following an early own goal from Martin Naylor and a Calvin Davies strike minutes from half-time. The hoops stages a second-half comeback, with fatigue clear amongst the Caernarfon ranks, with Tommy Holmes and Mike Wilde helping the visitors to a point in front of 274 supporters.

Caersws 3-0 Welshpool Town
Graham Evans, Chris Venables and Geraint Lewis were on the scoresheet as Caersws secured a comfortable three points over struggling Welshpool Town.. The visitors rarely posed a threat and the three points were never in doubt, with the result taking Caersws to 6th place in the table with Intertoto qualification still a slight possibility. Welshpool remain in 15th, but would seem safe from relegation with bottom placed Barry Town 15 points behind Russ Cadwallader's side.

Connah's Quay Nomads 1-1 Carmarthen Town
Carmarthen gave their hopes of Welsh Premier survival a boost with a well-earned point at the Deeside ground. A meagre 104 were in attendance to see Dale Price give the visitors a surprise lead, with Stuart Rain equalising for the home side with only moments left. The fierce match saw 6 bookings in all, but referee G M Davies was not forced to send anybody off. The draw is a blow to Nomads' hopes of finishing in the top 8 as they sit 10th with 32 points, whilst Carmarthen are now 8 points clear of bottom-placed Barry Town.

Cwmbran Town 1-0 Porthmadog
Cwmbran sit 8th in the Welsh Premier table after a sold 1-0 victory over Porthmadog at Cwmbran Stadium. The only goal of the game came on 74 minutes courtesy of Adam James in front of 152 fans. Three visiting players were booked in the closing stages of the second-half. Viv Williams' Port sit 11th in the table following the defeat, and would appear resigned to mid-table mediocrity this term.

Port Talbot 2-0 Newtown
Talbot rose to 12th in the table with an impressive home victory over Newtown, who are now 9th. Robert Cockings and Craig Lima were on target for the hosts, securing a victory that will delight manager Mark Jones. Lima, who hit the winner, was one of two players booked at Victoria Road. A disappointing 102 were in attendance, which was only 1 person off being Talbot's worse turn-out of the campaign.

Rhyl 3-0 Afan Lido
The Lillywhites closed the gap at the top of the Welsh Premier table to just one point with an impressive victory over Afan Lido, who remain 14th. Highly-rated Andy Moran netted twice after the break, after James Brewerton had given the North Wales outfit the lead in the first-half.