Recently by Andy Davies

Last Friday was a horrible night as we once again failed to take three points in a game which was there for the taking.
2-1 up at half-time, it should have been a case of playing out the second half without giving our opponents a sniff and ensuring we secured a crucial win. We're not in a relegation dogfight yet but should we fail to pick up wins in the next few weeks we may find ourselves in the middle of one.
We have our first home game of the season this Saturday and it offers a fantastic opportunity to put last week behind us. Our home form has been fantastic and if that continues then I'm sure we will start to climb the table.
A huge positive was the performance of loan signing Matthew Hurdman who has joined us from Wrexham. He did very well and took his goal superbly and so should be a great asset to us in the coming weeks.
The manager has said he is looking to bring in more new players which will make competition for places stronger than ever and ultimately improve our squad.
While the January transfer window remains open I'm sure we will be linked with several players and if they come in it will hopefully give us a boost which new signings always do. But if they don't, there is a determination that we can and will turn our form around. The feeling in the dressing room on Friday was that enough's enough.
The time for putting things right on the pitch starts this Saturday.

Apologies for my absence for the past couple of months as I have been trying desperately not to become victim of the credit crunch whilst enjoying Christmas and New Year.
I say enjoy, but of course December 27 will be remembered by myself as one of the lowest points I have ever felt on a football pitch. Having taking over goalkeeping duties after Dunty's sending off against Rhyl I couldn't prevent a further two goals to make the final score 7-2 in Rhyl's favour.
It was hard to take because Rhyl is a game a lot of our players wanted to prove a point in, there was a desire to show those watching how good we were and how much we deserved to play in the same league as Rhyl. We let everyone down, badly.
I had been an emergency 'keeper last season for the closing minutes of a Welsh Cup tie, the difference then being that I hadn't had a save to make. The duration of my time spent in goal was half praying the opposition didn't shoot and the other half that they would be off target.

Since then the weather has seen our return fixture against Rhyl and games against Welshpool and TNS postponed which has been frustrating and has meant there has been a long hangover from the Rhyl game. What it has done though is set up this Friday's game at Cefn Druids brilliantly with both teams now keen to get a much needed win and put points on the board.
Before the Rhyl game there had not been a great deal wrong with our performances and we shouldn't dwell on what's gone on then. Instead we can look forward to starting 2009 with a win and ending our poor away record of 2008.
As a team, squad and club we need to ensure that we carry on the good work of 2008 to make 2009 another unforgettable year.

THE biggest positive to come out of Friday's 1-1 draw was that our unbeaten home record remained intact.
The game was hampered by the strong wind causing both sides difficulties on what was a freezing night at Bastion Gardens.
We will point to the chances we missed and the opposition being down to 10 men as reasons we should have won, however we were up against a determined Connah's Quay side and a goalkeeper in fantastic form who was able to repel anything we had to throw at him.
It's easy to say that the result was still a point gained and not two lost but there was a genuine feeling amongst the players for some time after that it was an opportunity missed. That fact was emphasised in the results the following day with teams below us picking up points and gaining ground on us. I think maybe some people have been looking at our league position and our home form and believing we're already safe. We're not. We need to find a consistency in our results that see's us not win one game then lose two, but get a win and remain unbeaten in the other two games. Picking up those extra points over the course of a season are what can keep you up and that is why we need to address our away form this Saturday.
If we can go through our next three games unbeaten and get five points it will give us a massive boost going into the festive period and the big games we have coming up then.
If we continue to struggle producing performances and more importantly results on our travels, we will soon find ourselves looking over our shoulders and not chasing those ahead of us.

A NEW system was put in place for our trip to Aberystwyth with a recall for myself in a new role playing just in between the back four and midfield.
It was a system designed by the manager with the intention of making us hard to break down and hopefully allowing us to get a result from the game. For nearly an hour, it worked.
I don't feel it was a defensive move by the manager as I feel it allowed our other two midfielders to push forward and commit themselves to attack knowing that they had the 'insurance' of me sitting in. Indeed, we started really well and for a spell in the early stages penned the home side in and caused them problems.
The difficulty was always going to be after half time and who got the all important first goal. Aberystwyth got that goal and we quickly went two down a couple of minutes later and in was very much a case of back to the drawing board as we went in search of goals.
We just couldn't get a goal quick enough. If Dave Hayes' header comes back off the bar and one of our lads taps it home with 20 minutes left then I believe we would have got something out the game.
Unfortunately it wasn't to be and we were left to ponder another away defeat. The performance had been a good one with some good football played and excellent work-rate from the lads. With the game being our first with a new system, we coped well and will be better off for that experience if we ever choose to employ that formation again.
This Friday its back to home matters and a Connah's Quay side we have already faced in the League Cup twice and lost both times. In both games we felt we could have gained a result and I don't think you can pay much attention to those results. Friday will be an opportunity to continue our good home form and consolidate our position in the league.
Hopefully with a good crowd at the game to cheer us on, we can do just that.

Saturday's 1-0 home win against Neath would have delighted the manager because of one reason. We won 1- NIL.
For several weeks, even months, the manager has spoken to us about the need to keep it tight at the back and not concede goals.
Conceding goals has been a problem at home, away, in the league and cup competitions so far this year so the manner of our victory would have been as appreciated as the three points that came with it.
It was a gritty performance which we need to try and replicate this Saturday when we travel to a very good Aberystwyth team who will most likely be looking at our away form and thinking they can beat us easily.
But if we show the same grit and determination as Saturday and accompany that with our passing football and attacking play, we could cause them a few problems.
And having kept the opposition out on Saturday there should be a confidence in the squad that we can go away from home and do the same. When you've struggled away from home, as we have, its vital you go back to basics and start from the defensive side and work forward. Picking up a 0-0 or 1-1 will be by no means a disaster.
Of course we defend as a team and I'm confident that should we keep together as a group of players and work for each other, we will reap the rewards.
Questions have been asked recently of players morale and the answer is in the scoreline and the match report from Saturday. We stuck together and fought for each other and got the result.
Since I've been here the morale and team spirit has been fantastic. There may be issue's to be resolved over certain things and they will be sorted I'm sure.

As for Saturday, the time is right to kick on from last weeks result and start gaining momentum as the big games start to come thick and fast in December.

JOHN Deakin is in favour of scrapping Saturday games in favour of Friday nights and Sunday afternoons.
This idea was born out of the fact that there were good attendances when sides from the WPL were forced to play on a Sunday recently due to Wales' International match on the Saturday.
The fact is crowds were high because the weather was excellent on the Sunday (particularly in Llanelli where we played) and there was nothing else on in terms of Premiership action from England.
All of a sudden now based on that weekend we should tear the heart out of our traditions in favour of making our league a more 'family-friendly' product. It's nonsense and shows a complete lack of respect for those who play the most important role in the league- the players and managers and coaches who give up their time week in week out training and preparing for games.
Playing on a Sunday will drive players away because quite frankly, there is only so much time you can give. There are only so many occasions you can get an hour off work to travel to TNS on a weeknight to play in a cup format which defies any sense of logic.
There's only so many occasions players can give up time at home with their families to leave at 7am and get back at 10pm on a Saturday. To be forced to make that sacrifice on a Sunday before going to work on a Monday would be a bridge too far for many. In the current climate, risking losing your job over a game of football for many is unthinkable.
Friday nights to be fair have worked for us this season. So long as the games allow players and supporters from the away teams clubs time to finish work and travel to the game then they should remain. A lot of people who attend games on a Friday will view it as an opportunity to see their local team before the likes of United, Liverpool and other English sides take over on the Saturday.
But we have to keep playing on a Saturday, even if we reduce the prices and attempt to make those who attend the Friday games turn up on a Saturday, we have to give 'customers' an alternative.
We have to give them the option of not going to English league games or sitting in and watching Jeff Stelling on a Saturday. By scrapping Saturday games we will be merely turning supporters away.

Deakin said: "It begs a question whether we should be playing games on a Saturday. Certainly the attendances are better on Sunday and perhaps we need to be playing more games on Sunday than Saturday, although I'd stick with Friday. The traditional Saturday doesn't work for our league - there are so many alternative attractions.
"I know that's still the case on a Sunday but maybe we could time our kick-offs so they don't clash with the big 4pm game on Sky."
Reading that makes you wonder just where our game could end up.
As a player you can only hope that common sense will prevail over this issue and the idea is thrown out. If it's not, the WPL could become a product with a distinct lack of a workforce producing it.

The performance at Haverfordwest last Saturday was excellent and we can feel aggrieved not to have taken a point back up to North Wales.
For an hour we looked confident, energetic and comfortable after having survived a couple of early scares. The game was the first away performance where we gave ourselves a good platform to go forward in the game by keeping our opponents at bay and playing our way into the match.
When we took the lead early in the second half, it was like we had followed the 'away day plan' to the letter- keeping tight at the back, being patient then hitting them on the counter attack.
But again we were given a harsh lesson that teams at this level make the most of any opportunity given to them and when they scored their equaliser it was a huge blow as I felt had we been able to stay at 1-0 for 20 minutes after scoring, they would have got desperate and committed men forward leaving more gaps for us to exploit on the counter.
But it wasn't to be and with the wind at their backs and the momentum from equalising, Haverfordwest went on to win 3-1. It was another defeat, but not a disgrace. Instead we can look and analyse the game for when we host Haverfordwest and will most certainly feel we can beat them.
It's back on the road in the Welsh Cup this Saturday to Gresford who are still without a win in this season's Cymru Alliance. As has been said so many times before, league form counts for nothing in the cup and they, like Bala in the previous round, will be 'well up' for trying to claim a Welsh Premier scalp especially top a team they were competing with in the Alliance last term.
There is a belief in the squad that we could go far in the competition and when you consider cup performances against Rhyl (two years ago) and TNS (this season's league cup) why shouldn't we think we can go far.
But our dreams of a cup run will be dashed if we fail to perform this coming Saturday.

OUR 5-2 victory against Porthmadog on Friday once more showed how important home advantage can be.
In front of another excellent crowd we were able to put on another brilliant performance and respond to disappointments in the league to Llanelli and TNS in the cup by producing a five-star display.
Jon Fisher-Cooke returned from suspension with a hat-trick and showed just how big a player he can be for us. His trouble with injuries is hopefully behind him now and you hope he can stay fit and help us push forward up the league.
But now we have to prepare for another trip to south Wales and to a Haverfordwest side who are enjoying a good start to their season and will be out to send us back up the country on the back of a defeat. At Port Talbot and Llanelli, we have lost and struggled with the rigours of a long coach journey but like I've said before, we have to just put those defeats down to experience and hope that we soon get the right results away from home starting on Saturday.
While our home form is obviously pleasing, we can not rely on that alone to keep getting us points and we need to get results on the road as well.
The win on Friday means that only TNS, Rhyl and Llanelli have scored more than us which is a terrific achievement and shows that we certainly haven't come into the league looking to defend and hit teams on the counter attack.

We've managed to put a bit of breathing space between ourselves and the bottom teams and its important now that we keep looking to pick up points to pass the teams in front and not necessarily be looking over our shoulders, trying to avoid the teams below.
That means going to Haverfordwest this weekend and putting in a Friday night performance on a Saturday afternoon.

SUNDAY saw us suffer our heaviest defeat in the WPL at the hands of Llanelli on a day which may well see us learn more lessons than from any victory this season.
Serving the second of my three-game ban I took my seat in the stand gutted that I wasn't involved. The Llanelli away was one of the first fixtures I looked for when the games were announced and I so wanted to be on the pitch when we played the champions.
Also, as I mentioned in the previous blog entry, was already in south Wales having watched the weekends Wales games so only had to travel an hour on the train instead of the five hour coach journey the lads had to go through.
At any level that sort of travelling can effect your performance. We've had two long journeys down to Port Talbot and Llanelli and have lost both times and what Llanelli highlighted was how important it is to be able to get used to travelling those distances and performing. That of course comes with experience and the players finding out what they can do to make the journeys less arduous in the future.
Soon we will travel to Haverfordwest and its vital we try and cure our away day blues.
Llanelli was going to be tough wherever we played them, a lot of people saw the game against Rhyl and wrote them off but they're champions and you don't win titles without knowing how to overcome setbacks. They started like a house on fire and 2-0 down after five minutes was a nightmare which only got worse with Bevan's red card.
I've not seen the incident on television yet and the challenge and the referee saw it as a sending off. All of a sudden you feared the worst for the lads against the full timers with a man less but as we always do, we rallied and played some decent football.
But we were playing a team with good players and a team who are very good at using the wingers and full-backs to whip crosses in for Rhys Griffiths.
The second sending off looked ridiculous, the referee seemed to be stood between Griffo and the player he was shouting at Dave Hayes and yet the referee appeared to go on the advice of his linesman. It all seemed a bit surreal because no-one knew what had happened, even our players.
But like I've said before you hope these decisions even themselves over the course of a season. Four players sent off in two games sounds a lot worse than the situation is. At the moment we're maybe suffering a little from what happened at Bala.
Referee's are maybe looking at what happened there and being more watchful of what we do, but we just have to learn to keep calm and play our football (myself included).
But that game has gone and what we need to now is learn from it an move forward to what has become a massive game on Friday. Porthmadog at home is a game we'll go into confident we can win especially with being unbeaten at home in the league and having won our previous two Friday night home games.
It's our home form which is already looking vital in picking up points and climbing the table. The away results will come I'm sure as the squad gain more experience.
We haven't been the first team to concede six goals at Llanelli and certainly won't be the last, but like when Llanelli lost 5-1 to Rhyl, people may start to question our resolve.
As a squad of players we need to rally and bounce back with a winning reply on Friday.

We do of course have a game tonight in the final group game of the League Cup at home to TNS. Hardly the most ideal fixture to face after Llanelli but with nothing to play for the opportunity is there for players to make a claim for a place on Friday and if they play as they did for periods against Connah's Quay last week, it will present the manager with a selection headache for Friday.

LAST weekend I was able to attend three games down in south Wales.
Representing the club I was able to watch a thoroughly entertaining game on Friday night between Wales U21 and England U21 at Cardiff City's Ninian Park.
In front of a sell out crowd who created a terrific atmosphere, the Welsh lads played some excellent football. Packed with energy and imagination, the first half performance was as good a performance I'd seen from a Wales side at any level for years.
Aaron Ramsey looked a class apart for an hour before tiring and Church up front was exceptional. If Ramsey continue's to catch the eye as he did on Friday then Sir Alex Ferguson may regret losing out on his signature this summer to Arsenal.
England had a strong side packed with Premiership experience but are well away from the level they think they are. Steven Taylor will always give opposing strikers a chance, Noble worked hard but flattered to deceive and Tom Huddlestone served as a perfect example of why Spurs are in the position they are in. With the game evenly contested and frantic in the middle of the field, he was nowhere then suddenly once the impressive Agbonlahor had put England ahead he wanted the ball, looking to spread passes all over the field. It's this type of player and attitude which will keep Spurs languishing near the bottom of the Premier League table.

On Saturday I had the pleasure of watching the Wales senior side from the press box where Wales beat Liechtenstein 2-0 thanks to goals from David Edwards and a deflected Ched Evans header.
But the result was overshadowed by the performance. It was sloppy at best.
You could hear the press pack around me hammering their laptop keys after every missed place pass and poor first touch. It was sad to watch the difference between the game the night before which was full of energy and commitment and Saturday's had instead Karl Fletcher and Carl Robinson.
You wonder about these periods of transition which Wales are supposed to be in. In my view it simply isn't working. We're now at a stage now where I believe we may as well have an overhaul and drop the 'deadwood' in the squad for young, hungry players who the supporters can get behind. Is there not a Welsh centre half in any Premiership academy or reserve side?
Forget this 'feeling them in' nonsense and just play them. If we lose, as we did the night before, it will be not through like of effort.
For this to happen, a fresh approach is needed in terms of the manager. As one of the 'perks' of the weekend I was able to sit in on John Toshack's pre and post match press conferences. They were boring. Talk of Paisley and Shankly when he should have been talking about Vokes and (Ched) Evans. This Liverpool old boys act needs to stop. In fairness to Saunders he may well be a future Wales manager. But why is Roy Evans there? Why is there a constant need for Toshack to refer to either Liverpool's past or what he's done in the game? I sat there after the game fuming that Wales had at times struggled on Saturday and the buck stops with the manager. Every question was fended away with a reference to the fact that Saturdays game and the Germany game will be very different. Well I never!
For Wales to move forwards there needs to be an energetic team on the field and a manager looking at future success, not a team with Fletcher and a manager blinkered by glories of decades gone by.