[FM24] Discovering Britain & Ireland while winning some trophies (1/49 | we've got a start)

[AM23]

January 2027

So, given that we love our home games, we should at least win those. Then looking at the away games, Rhyl are low on the table, so should be beaten as well. Porthmadog is definitely going to be a tough fixture, as they usually have the better over us.

                    

Rhyl 1879 - Llanidloes

xG: 1.13 - 1.50;  Shots: 14(7) - 15(6);  Possession: 40% - 60%

If you can't win your away games, you are never ever, never ever going to challenge for any title. If you can't convert your chances, you are never ever, never ever going to win any title. Story of this season really. Just not good enough.

I thought we did it again, taking the lead in the first minute, but it was the post we had hit squandering a big chance. A counter and suddenly we were trailing. Then we equalised, twice, and immediately gave them the lead back, twice. Some awful concentration in this game and actually the first time this season we conceded more than 2 goals in a match. 

I feel like our title dreams end here. Teams at the top lost points, but we couldn't capitalise yet again.

                    

Llanidloes - Airbus UK Broughton

xG: 1.32 - 1.46;  Shots: 6(4) - 8(3);  Possession: 48% - 52%

Bloody hell this is annoying. We just keep giving away leads too. 

This match seemed to be whizzing past with nothing happening, but really broke loose in the last quarter of it. That man Jamie Breese was once again the end of two good attacks which were the only two chances up until then. They did something back soon after we doubled the lead, but it was in injury time when disaster struck once again. David Roberts is on an awful lot of money as I expected him to carry our defence this season. He has not lived up to expectations at all and today gave away our win by pulling someone down inside the box for no reason.

                    

Porthmadog - Llanidloes

xG: 2.53 - 0.65;  Shots: 22(4) - 3(1);  Possession: 67% - 33%

Another very late loss...

Seamus Famer was the best player on the pitch in an equal first half, and then he got his second yellow. We held back and it seemed to give us a point in the end, as they had only created one real good chance. It was heartbreak that came though, as another late goal fell against us.

We have actually fallen as far back as 10th now, being passed by our next opponent Hay St. Marys in the process.

                    

Llanidloes - Hay St. Marys

xG: 2.44 - 0.54;  Shots: 21(6) - 8(1);  Possession: 62% - 38%

Good game, a very good game. Might have been our best of the season even. We needed a corner to break it open but with John Hughes immediately doubling our lead we were never in doubt. Billy Osborn had the time of his life distributing passes left, right and centre.

                    

Back in the top half after that last win and that is where we need to be at the very least. Somehow we still have the best defence in the league.

                    

Transfers

Two players have left the club in the winter transfer window. Mac Masters could still do a job for us in midfield but was on the bench for most games and just earned to much for that. Another player that didn't feature much was Callum Humphries, so we let him go too when offers came in.

[AM23]

February 2027

With two away games February looks difficult. One of them being against in form league leaders Holyhead doesn't make things better. We should at least play a good game at home against Flint Town, who have only just escaped the relegation spots.

                      

Gresford - Llanidloes

xG: 0.51 - 1.81;  Shots: 6(2) - 12(9);  Possession: 29% - 71%

It's a miracle, an away win! Injury time goals galore for us as a visit to 'The Rock' gets us since August.

This game looked a boring affair in the first half, but we went into the break as the happier side after Seamus Famer had put us on top just before. He has been getting better for us lately and eventually got an assist too in this match, while substitute Daniel Ola got a late brace. 

                      

Llanidloes - Flint Town

xG: 1.25 - 0.56;  Shots: 9(3) - 8(2);  Possession: 61% - 39%

Back-to-back-to-back wins and clean sheets! Not as good a performance this time, but a win nonetheless. We got gifted the lead from a penalty and never looked like giving it away after that. Ryan Forde picked up the MOTM award as he didn't concede for the third time in a row.

Next up is the big one against league leaders Holyhead. We won't be challenging for the title, but we can still make a statement of our intentions for next season here.

                      

Holyhead - Llanidloes

xG: 0.68 - 0.89;  Shots: 13(4) - 9(3);  Possession: 37% - 63%

Well that certainly was a statement! It only lasted 15 minutes really, but that was more than enough to get the win here. For a second time this season Malachi Ogunleye scored a free kick and it put us in the lead here. Everything went our way early on as every attack resulted in a goal. The funniest thing about this game is that our only real big chance was missed. 

                     

4 wins and it seems like the tide has turned. It is too late for us to get anything tangible from this season, but it is still good to see. We are still in 8th place, although we have closed the gap to some teams above us, which gives us the chance to play for a higher position in the last 2 months of the season.

                     

Awards

Even when we win every game I can't get it.

[AM23]

March 2027

Let's keep our good run going through these last two months to end our season on a high! In March we meet Ruthin, who we can overtake with a win, and a relegation fighting Abergavenny.

                    

Llanidloes - Ruthin

xG: 1.60 - 0.05;  Shots: 16(6) - 3(0);  Possession: 57% - 43%

Our defence has been a wall lately. Only one goal conceded in 5 matches, and today not even a chance given up. Coincidence or not, this streak has started at around the same time Ben Davies got a definite starting XI spot at right back. He put in another very good shift today. Only thing that could have gone better this game was scoring earlier. We eventually needed substitutes Archie Hatcher and John Hughes to link up for the only goal of the match. 

                    

Abergavenny - Llanidloes

xG: 1.52 - 2.22;  Shots: 10(3) - 14(5);  Possession: 49% - 51%

Playing for nothing and then we go on the best winning run under my reign. Something you love to see really 

A clear man of the match today, as Riley Lonergan got a goal and an assist, before going of injured in the second half. We got a big scare at the end as they looked to score a 97th minute equaliser, but it was miles offside.

                    

I'm not leaving until we have won the league!

                    

We are somewhat saving our season with this recent run of results. Holyhead on the other hand are throwing their season away. They looked an almost certain champion not too long ago, but have fallen to 2nd place now.

                     

Not surprised.

[AM23]

April 2027

Last two games of the season and we are just playing for placement. If we win both we will end up in 4th, which is the highest we can probably go now too. Not losing against Caersws would mean a full season unbeaten at home.

                    

Llanidloes - Caersws

xG: 2.14 - 1.24;  Shots: 16(9) - 8(5);  Possession: 56% - 44%

We have done it! Unbeaten at home throughout the whole season is quite the achievement. Just a shame that we couldn't perform without our fans for most of the season.

We were all over Caersws in the first half, and even though we couldn't keep that going in the second half, the damage had already been done. Youth product John Hughes was the standout performer with a goal and an assist, while Jamie Breese made it a great last home game before his retirement with one last goal at Victoria Park.

                    

Aberystwyth Town - Llanidloes

xG: 0.39 - 2.95;  Shots: 7(1) - 13(5);  Possession: 36% - 64%

Wow! We end our season on a real high with an 8 game winning streak where we only conceded 3 goals too. It started almost from the moment I declared our title dreams to be over and even saw us start winning away games. This match everything came together and in his final match ever Jamie Breese got his 10th league goal of the season, which was the 5th year in a row for him and the 9th time in 9 seasons at Llanidloes. What a player!

He doesn't appear on the scoresheet, but Seamus Famer had another great match today getting an assist in the process. Since I moved him to his preferred right wing position he has really flourished and shown he has a big future ahead of him (in relation to our level at least ). The MOTM award went to Riley Lonergan, who not only scored, but also created plenty of chances and dominated in midfield.

                    

With that crazy late run of form we have gotten ourselves up to 4th, with only 5 points less than champions Llandudno. Last season's 60 points would have seen us become champions this season, though we were closer to it in points difference this year. In the end I can't speak of a bad season, we just gave it away through the middle part which is a shame.

There was some last day drama all around the league, as Airbus UK failed to capitalise on Llandudno losing points, meaning Llandudno will be going up after their dramatic second place on goal difference 2 years ago. Holyhead were in pole position for a long time, but fell apart towards the end partly caused by their loss to us. At the bottom of the table Flint Town have saved themselves with a draw, preventing a second relegation in as many years on goal difference, while Carmarthen Town do go down despite being in the Cymru Premier two seasons ago.

                    

Awards

Finally! First one in four seasons.

Ben Davies has been really good for us lately.

Edited December 6, 2023 by AM23

[AM23]

Season review 26/27

In the end I don't think I can really call this a bad season. We even ended 5 points closer to the top than last year, though that had more to do with the competitive nature of the league this season. The biggest disappointment comes from the fact that we didn't really challenge for the title, and only came close to the top spots due to our impressive run at the end of the season. We were not effective enough in front of goal before that, and had a horrible time away from home too. The positives from this season are that we conceded only 27 goals in the league, which makes us the best defensive side, and also our unbeaten home record.

                    

Competitions

This graph is always good at showing the story of a season and does its job here once again. We had a great start to the season, with 13 points from 5 matches. During that time in August, we also managed to seriously strengthen the squad, bringing in some amazing new players. This seemed to be a prelude to a fantastic season, but this did not come true at all. In the next 17 games we only won 3. The biggest problem lied in our inability to keep focussed throughout the match, as in this period we lost 3 games extremely late, while giving a 2-0 lead away twice as well. On matchday 22 we hit rock bottom after a late defeat away to Porthmadog, falling to 10th place. Not long before that we had already concluded that our title dreams had to be put away, as the gap had become too big. After this though, suddenly things started clicking, and we went on the best run of form I have seen in my time at Llanidloes. We won our last 8 games while we only conceded 3 goals in the process. It was too little too late, but does show our intentions for next season.

Nothing too special in this Welsh Cup campaign. We beat two non-league sides comprehensively before coming out on the wrong side of a penalty shootout. We did give Cymru Premier side Barry Town a good game though, which is something to be happy about.

Oh we do hate Ammanford. Second time that we met the Cymru South side in a cup, and for the second time they turned around the match late and scored an injury time winner. This was our worst performance in the League Cup so far.

In previous seasons I marked this cup as our best chance to win a trophy, but I didn't even bother this season. We only passed the first round once, and this year had an unlucky draw where we went out on penalties too.

                    

Squad

• Ryan Forde: the main man behind our 10 league clean sheets. He has had another very good season for us.
• Ben Davies: our versatile man at the back. He managed to get the starting right back spot above Wayne Staines in the second half of the season and we never looked back after. Might have been our best performer in defence.
• Craig Edwards and David Roberts: Edwards had a very good season. He got named in the team of the month multiple times and never lost his starting spot as our left center back. Roberts wasn't too bad, but definitely didn't live up to expectations. Coming in as our biggest earner, I expected him to provide more assurance at the back. He will have to do better next season.
• Durell Manhertz: another signing that didn't fully impress me yet. Not bad, but not great either. He might not be here next season as he is unhappy because of his playing time.
• Malachi Ogunleye: his average rating is nothing special, but I feel he might have been our best signing last summer. He was already one of the best players when he came in, and has shown some incredible progress too during the season.
• Billy Osborn: after two seasons as a ball winning midfielder he finally got to play in his preferred deep lying playmaker role and he did so well there. Just a very consistent performer for us. My only concern is that I have not yet agreed on a contract for next season with him as he asks for quite a lot of wage.
• Riley Lonergan: the last man of our midfield trio. They really came together towards the end of the season and Lonergan was the most attacking man there. He contributed to goals regularly making him a good addition to the team.
• Kristian Pierce: got the best average rating of the bunch once again. Starting to get old now but he is still able to deliver. Towards the end of the season I did give Seamus Famer more playing time at the right wing too. I have not yet made up my mind about Pierce's future at the club. I honestly don't think he will feature much more next season, but an experienced player might be very useful in the squad hierarchy.
• John Hughes: our own youth product. He had quite the breakthrough season as he featured in the starting XI regularly. My only worry is that he isn't developing a lot.
• Jamie Breese: what a servant of the club. I thought he would mostly be a supersub this year, but he won back his place in the starting XI even after a horrible injury. I hope to keep him at the club as a coach.

                    

Awards

Well deserved!

To be honest, Durell Manhertz is not one of the players I had expected to be here. Might just be the lack of good left backs at this level.

                    

Next season

Another increase to the wage budget, allthough I still don't think I will be making full use of it. The board have upped their expectations for next year too, as they want a top half finish now.

I'm going to be straightforward about my personal goals: I want to win the title next season. I have had a great time here at Llanidloes, but given the challenge I need to start winning trophies now. I am not leaving here before we have been crowned champions, so this is what we have to do.

                    

Progress

[AM23]

Pre-season 27/28

This has to be the season. I really want to get the count started here winning my first trophy. If we could become champions here it would be amazing, and then I can finally move on to the next club. We have had a relatively quiet pre-season, as I did not make too many transfers. I think we already have some good quality in the squad, so not too much change is needed. If we can go on the same way we ended last season in, we are in for some very good times.

Just the 3 matches this pre-season as I forgot about the League Cup which always gets planned a little bit later. Some good results though, demolishing both Mold Alexandra, who we play in the first round of the League Cup too, and Baglan Dragons, a newly promoted Cymru South side. It looks like we are continuing the way we ended things last season.

                    

Finances

Not spending close to the wage budget and again not planning on doing so. 

A little more debt than before as we have started spending more on wages. Another reason not to fully make use of the budget.

                    

Transfers

As I said, not a lot of transfer business so far. Some players of note that are no longer at the club:

• Camden Duncan: two seasons in the starting XI as a left back and left winger, but was more of a fringe player last season.
• Durell Manhertz and Ollie Leggett: both of our left backs last season have left us. I never really decided on my preferrence and eventually they were both unhappy because of playing time. Not managed too well by me...
• Hari Roberts: a right winger who didn't do much in three seasons here. Was on loan last season too.

Then the two new signings:

• Danny Williams: a new left back. Still pretty young and I hope to sign another player there so he can be the back-up.                     
• Jack McCourt: a young left winger with some experience already. He honestly doesn't look like anything special, but has already played 3 seasons in the first team at Llandudno. His stats there were very good, so happy to get him in.                                                                  

The places I am still actively looking for improvements are left back and striker. Up front Archie Hatcher is yet to show his full potential, so would like real goalscorer there.

                    

Squad

Nothing changed in goal as Ryan Forde has been very good for us.

Not a lot of depth here, so might look for an extra player or two. I am happy about the quality of the intended starters though. David Roberts should step up as the leader of our defence this season, while next to him Livesey Barkhuizen and Craig Edwards will be fighting for the second spot in the center. Due to his performances last season Ben Davies gets the nod at right back, while on the left side we will start with Danny Williams.

In central midfield another option wouldn't hurt us either. I don't mind the starting trio we found last year though. With Billy Osborn as the deep lying playmaker and Riley Lonergan as the most attacking player both doing well. Behind them Malachi Ogunleye is a great player, though he is currently unhappy as I rejected Cymru Premier sides that came in for him.

On the wings we will start Seamus Famer on the right and Jack McCourt on the left. Both good young players with plenty potential. The other two have shown they can be important for us too when called upon, while we also have Daniel Ola who can do fill in on both sides.

Another option here would be nice, especially as Archie Hatcher did not score enough last season.

                    

Tactic

So this is how our tactic eventually ended up last season, and also what we got our 8 game winning streak with. I moved the deep lying playmaker up as we weren't scoring enough and this seems to have helped, while the defence has still been good too.

                    

Season preview

Predicted in the top half for the first time ever and with some good odds too. Another notable thing is Malachi Ogunleye being in the league's best XI.

                    

Board expectation

Top half is where the board want us too. They don't care about the cups still.

[AM23]

July 2027

A good draw in the League Cup, where we meet one of the two wild card non-league sides. We beat Mold Alexandra easily in our pre-season, so should be able to do the same here. Flint Town is a big test immediately, and the Ruthin game could go either way.

                      

Llanidloes - Mold Alexandra (League Cup)

xG: 2.37 - 0.27;  Shots: 17(9) - 4(0);  Possession: 57% - 43%

Great start to the season! I was very confident going in to this match and that confidence got justified. A great allround performance and very nice to see all of our attackers on the scoresheet within the first half even.

The best of the bunch were our wingers, who both got a goal and an assist to their name. Especially great to see Jack McCourt open his account at the club just 14 minutes into his first competitive fixture here.

We have been drawn at home to Cymru Premier side Haverfordwest in the next round. We knocked them out of the Welsh Cup after penalties two years ago. The schedule this season is a little bit different than before which means we already play them at the end of this month.

                      

Llanidloes - Flint Town

xG: 2.77 - 0.51;  Shots: 16(7) - 5(0);  Possession: 55% - 45%

Oh yes! What a way to win it! We deserved it so much but it looked like it wouldn't happen. Just when I thought the draw was a certainty, we finally managed to get the scoreboard to change.

We started the game of very well and hit the woodwork twice early on. We didn't let that faze us and kept on pushing forward. Then shortly after the break we hit the woodwork again, but still we kept on going. Then 5 minutes of extra time were added and looked to pass by without anything happening. That was until a last minute highlight, where we hit the woodwork for the 4th time in the match. After that I thought we had to settle for a draw, but the highlight kept on going and suddenly substitute John Hughes was put behind their defence with a through ball. He kept his calm and put in a perfect cross for Archie Hatcher to put it into the net. 

                    

Ruthin - Llanidloes

xG: 1.24 - 3.31;  Shots: 10(6) - 22(6);  Possession: 43% - 57%

Despite the result this was another amazing performance. We just kept on going the whole match again, and though we did not get the win we deserved this time, I do think this is a very good sign for the rest of the season.

We got the lead after scoring a rebound, but they pegged us back with a header just before halftime. Then a Ben Davies screamer put us in front again, but sadly this lead didn't last either. Another game in which Seamus Famer was the best player on the field, he has been really good for us lately. Today it was just a shame that he also gave away the penalty, which actually led to their only shot after the break.

We now take on Haverfordwest in the League Cup to end the month. I feel like we have a real chance the way we're playing at the moment. We do have some tired legs though, as it is our third game in a week.

                    

Llanidloes - Haverfordwest (League Cup)

xG: 1.40 - 1.88;  Shots: 11(7) - 10(7);  Possession: 56% - 44%

We beat them again! It could have gone either way in this match, but we manage to come out on top.

Both sides had lots of chances in an entertaining first half, and eventually we were the ones to go into halftime with the lead. In the second half we even doubled that lead courtesy a perfect Jack McCourt assist, but after that fatigue started to show and we mostly just tried to hold them back. We did that just about enough, helped by some good Ryan Forde saves.

                    

We have started the season dominantly and are unlucky not to have won both games. The only worry I have so far is that we haven't been finishing our chances, which is a problem we also had in the first half of last season.

                    

Awards

No complaints here.

Don't think Archie deserved to win this anyway. Yes he scored two, but those were both sitters, while he also missed a few chances.

Great to see for both of them.

[AM23]

August 2027

A big month with no less than 6 league matches. After this we will already be through a quarter of the league season, so important to impress here. The 2 first fixtures are the most difficult on paper. Porthmadog have won their first 2 matches 3-0, while Bala Town were the pre-season favourites to go back up after their relegation last year.

                    

Llanidloes - Porthmadog

xG: 0.54 - 1.36;  Shots: 7(3) - 12(6);  Possession: 59% - 41%

Porthmadog always seem to give us a hard time, and today was no exception to that. We needed our defence to step up, which is what they did with David Roberts leading the line. When their attack did create chances, we still had Ryan Forde in goal who bailed us out on multiple occasions. We really can't complain about the draw here.

We travel to Bala Town next. Like what seems to be the case every year, the side relegated from the Cymru Premier are having an awful start to their season, losing their first 3 matches.

                    

Bala Town - Llanidloes

xG: 0.96 - 1.10;  Shots: 12(4) - 11(1);  Possession: 58% - 42%

What a match, what a fight! Incredible to keep the gates shut like this even with 10 men. We took the lead very early through a deflected shot after a corner, and where the better team too. This naturally changed after the red card, but we never stopped fighting and actually restricted them to mostly shots from outside the box. Even with a man less on the pitch, Billy Osborn seemed to be able to pass to the right person every time, keeping the pressure away from us.

                    

Llanidloes - Conwy

xG: 2.07 - 0.70;  Shots: 14(6) - 7(3);  Possession: 47% - 53%

Wow! I can't recall ever seeing this happening in one of my saves. A center back scoring a hattrick, with David Roberts' goals even being the only ones today. Incredible match by him.

Unlike the stats and scoreline suggest, this game was actually pretty close. It was only after the 2-0 that we managed to get the upper hand. Before that we had taken the lead with a banger from long range and doubled it through a corner. Roberts was then given the chance to put the cherry on top of his performance with a penalty and did so calmly.

                    

Guilsfield - Llanidloes

xG: 1.32 - 0.61;  Shots: 8(2) - 8(1);  Possession: 48% - 52%

Meh... Not good at all this, especially because Guilsfield were in last place with only 2 points from their first 5 matches. This game also ends our 13 game unbeaten streak in the league. An indirect free kick saw us concede for the first time this month, and it was decisive immediately, as we couldn't get to real chances in attack.

                    

Llanidloes - Gresford

xG: 3.34 - 0.15;  Shots: 19(5) - 4(1);  Possession: 66% - 34%

Perfect way to react to a loss! From an impenetrable defence to an entertaining attack, we had it all this match. 

No stress either, as we took the lead early after some great teamplay in the build up to Riley Lonergan's first goal of the season, he doubled his tally towards the end of the match, when he was assisted by Billy Osborn for the second time. The latter has been quite the sensation this year creating chances effortlessly. He took his second MOTM award of the season back home today.

                    

Mumbles - Llanidloes

xG: 1.10 - 3.52;  Shots: 13(3) - 12(6);  Possession: 45% - 55%

Another dominating win, and away from home too this time! We did not get a huge number of shots in today, but we did create quite few enormous chances.

The big man today was Archie Hatcher, getting an assist on the first goal and putting two in the back of the net himself after that. Another player who I want to praise is David Roberts. I criticised him last season because I expected more, but this year he has stepped up so far. In the 9 matches he played in we only conceded 2 goals, while today Mumbles only started creating chances after he had been subbed off.

                    

Good month to give us a good start in the league. Very promising for the rest of the season if we can keep this up. Especially the way we have been dominating games pleases me.

                     

Awards

First time one of our players win this, and we have even got the full top 3 here! The most special thing is the fact that none of them are attackers either, as most of the time this award is won by attackers.

I think the record was 2, maybe 3 players before this.

Edited December 9, 2023 by AM23

[AM23]

September 2027

Another busy month, though a little bit of variety this time with all the cup fixtures. In the league we have some difficult opponents, with all of them being in the top 6 currently. We have had some good draws in the cups though. I don't have any expectations for the Tier 2 Cup anymore, but we do have a good draw there as Conwy are at the lower end of our league table. In the Welsh Cup we meet a non-league side, while in the League Cup we have been very lucky to not be drawn against a top tier side, but against Llanellit Town from the Cymru South instead.

                    

Llanidloes - Conwy (Tier 2 League Cup)

xG: 1.03 - 0.91;  Shots: 11(4) - 4(4);  Possession: 48% - 52%

Phew... I really do hate this cup with a passion, but this time we manage to sneak through to the second round. For the second time this season Jack McCourt brings us in disadvantage with a red card after half an hour. I do think it was a harsh decision this time though, as he got a second yellow for a minor foul.

We had started the game as the better team, but after the red card Conwy went forward and got the lead too on the brink of halftime. Somehow we managed to restrict them to 0 shots in the second half. A well-placed shot by Ben Davies got us the equaliser, and it was Conwy that then tried to hold on to the draw. 

For the penalty shootout I did something I never did before. I really do love our goalkeeper Ryan Forde, but in more than 2 seasons here, I have never seen him stop a penalty. Someone who I have seen do just that is our reserve goalkeeper Linden Bridge-Wilkinson. I did my best Louis van Gaal impression and brought him on in injury time. It turned out to be a good choice, as he became the hero of the day stopping two penalties.

We have been drawn away to Hay St. Marys for the second round, which is probably one of the weaker teams we could've met.

                    

Llanidloes - Aberystwyth Town

xG: 0.48 - 0.66;  Shots: 8(2) - 6(1);  Possession: 59% - 41%

Boring game, fair result. It was only towards the end of the match that both teams started to get some chances, but nothing spectacular there either. Can't be too unhappy about this as Aberystwyth is a good team. 

                    

Llanidloes - St Asaph (Welsh Cup)

xG: 5.36 - 0.19;  Shots: 24(12) - 2(2);  Possession: 53% - 47%

Not as easy as I would have liked, but we do get the job done eventually. We played a very much rotated XI with two midweek fixtures around this game. Had our back-ups just finished their chances we would have gone through without any trouble. Because they didn't, St Asaph's gave us quite the scare by getting the scores equal with their only two shots of the game. We were lucky to have Daniel Ola today, as he prevented us from having another penalty shootout and even became my first player in this save to score 4 goals in a match.

We meet mid table Cymru South side Cwmbran Celtic in the second round.

                    

Llanelli Town - Llanidloes (League Cup)

xG: 1.63 - 0.55;  Shots: 4(2) - 8(2);  Possession: 47% - 53%

No quarter finals for us as this time we can't win the penalty shootout. Llanelli Town are actually leading the Cymru South at the moment, so there is no shame in losing out on penalties here.

It was a very weird game actually, with both teams creating close to nothing. Our problem was that we gave away a penalty after 15 minutes, which was missed just for us to give them another chance from the spot in the second half. Earlier this month I said I never saw Ryan Forde stop a penalty. Well, I might have to take my words back, as he stopped one during the game and two in the shootout here. He was unlucky that we didn't take our penalties well enough, otherwise he would have been the hero.

The fixtures keep coming thick and fast at the moment, with only 3 days rest until an important league game against Airbus UK.

                    

Airbus UK Broughton - Llanidloes

xG: 1.12 - 1.20;  Shots: 9(1) - 11(5);  Possession: 50% - 50%

A very tense game, and just like against Aberystwyth Town, it ends in a fair draw. I was really sweating watching this match with quite a few highlights on both sides. When Billy Osborn got us the lead with only 20 minutes left to go, I was already thinking about how huge a win here would be, but they managed to equalise. A draw away from home against one of the best teams in the league is not really something I can be unhappy about though.

Finally a bit of rest now as we take on Holyhead for our last match of September in a week. Would be nice to grab a win there after those two previous draws in the league.

                    

Llanidloes - Holyhead

xG: 1.35 - 0.37;  Shots: 15(6) - 5(1);  Possession: 61% - 39%

I am honestly chuffed with this win. Holyhead are not an easy opponent by any means, but we managed to keep their offence at bay today. Also, I did fear losing points again here could lead to a little bit of a slump, so it's nice to avoid that.

We thought we took the lead early on, but it got called offside. Still we got what we wanted in the first half, as Daniel Ola put one past the keeper. I gave him the nod as a striker today after his clinical finishing in the Welsh Cup earlier this month, and he repayed faith with his goal. We couldn't get another goal, which meant we were never really comfortable. In the 80th minute I thought disaster had struck, as they scored a beautiful goal, but this one was ruled offside too. It was a sign for us however to get an extra man back, which worked out well as they didn't get another chance after that.

Special shootout to Craig Edwards, who was the best man on the pitch today. Before the season I thought that he would probably lose his place in the starting XI to Livesey Barkhuizen, as the latter is rated a lot higher by my staff (though their attributes are quite similar). The former has however kept performing well and so far has shown there is no way around him.

                    

It is very tight at the top of the table, with the top 6 being within 6 points of one another. We do have the best schedule coming up now, as the only 4 teams we are yet to play are all in the bottom five of the table.

                    

Awards

Billy Osborn really is performing like one of the best players in the league right now.

[AM23]

October 2027

Four away games before we finally play in front of our own fans at the end of this month. In the league we meet the current bottom three, so should get some wins there, although we do have some history losing against teams at the lower end of the table.

                    

Llangefni - Llanidloes

xG: 0.44 - 2.12;  Shots: 9(6) - 18(6);  Possession: 34% - 66%

Incredible first half! To score four in one half away from home is not something you see often. It's a shame we gave two goals away in the end, but not too bothered by it.

We actually had a difficult time in attack at the start. It was one moment of magic from Seamus Famer that broke the game open though, as he dribbled past 3 men and put it on a plate for Billy Osborn, who received his 4th MOTM award of the season today. After that everything went our way for 15 minutes. After him being at the club for more than a season, I finally seem to have found his best position, as Daniel Ola once again delivered as a striker.

A Welsh Cup fixture against a top half Cymru South side coming up now. Would be nice to get through to the next round there.

                    

Cwmbran Celtic - Llanidloes (Welsh Cup)

xG: 1.10 - 1.89;  Shots: 12(4) - 11(4);  Possession: 43% - 57%

An even game but we get the win eventually. Some luck going our way as we got the lead through an easily given penalty. They struck back just before the break, but it was Ben Davies who became the matchwinner with his 3rd goal of the season from right back. We do leave the pitch with some worries sadly, as our best defender David Roberts had to go off late with an injury.

We will play Cymru Premier side Gap Connah's Quay at home in the third round. They are currently mid table.

Could have been a lot worse.

                    

Hay St. Marys - Llanidloes (Tier 2 League Cup)

xG: 1.06 - 3.06;  Shots: 7(3) - 20(7);  Possession: 43% - 57%

5 goals for the second time this month! A very convincing win to bring us to the quarter final.

Some competition for the striker position has done Archie Hatcher well, as he scores a brace early in his first start in a month. In the second half we put the difference in quality here today into the score. Most notable player for the rest was Danny Williams, who got two assists from left back.

In the quarter final we will travel to 'The Rock' where we meet Gresford.

                    

Rhyl 1879 - Llanidloes

xG: 0.69 - 1.97;  Shots: 8(4) - 16(4);  Possession: 38% - 62%

We really are in some amazing form right now. Another easy win here. The only thing we haven't been able to do this month is to keep a clean sheet, but if we keep scoring as much as this we don't even need to.

Another early penalty got us in the driver's seat, and after Danny Williams got his first goal for the club we never looked in doubt. 

                    

Llanidloes - Caersws

xG: 1.77 - 0.71;  Shots: 15(9) - 5(2);  Possession: 53% - 47%

Another comprehensive victory. Just a shame we keep giving away Agoals so easily, but a win is a win.

It was a masterclass by Seamus Famer today, as he got two assists before getting on the scoresheet himself too. Another brace for Daniel Ola up top made sure that we didn't have to worry too much during this game.

                    

A perfect month gets us up to second place. We're doing well keeping up our good form so far.

                    

Awards

Could have gotten it I feel, but Airbus UK did win against Flint Town.

Find of the season so far Daniel Ola as a striker is.

[AM23]

November 2027

A very quiet month with just the one league fixture for some reason. It is one that we should win, especially as we beat Hay St. Marys 5-1 in the Tier 2 League Cup last month. In that particular competition we meet Gresford this month, while our most difficult match is first up in the Welsh Cup.

                    

Gap Connah's Quay - Llanidloes (Welsh Cup)

xG: 1.33 - 1.62;  Shots: 13(5) - 12(5);  Possession: 47% - 53%

Heartbreak. We gave it our all and have every right to feel like we deserved more. We should have at least gotten the game to a shootout, but a late penalty threw a spanner in the works.

We came flying out of the gates, creating some good chances and hitting the crossbar early doors. They then gave us a lesson in effectiveness, as they scored from their first shot. We got the scores level quickly after a perfect Jack McCourt assist, and were found unlucky in the end.

                    

Hay St. Marys - Llanidloes

xG: 0.54 - 1.93;  Shots: 4(3) - 16(5);  Possession: 36% - 64%

Disappointing result. We played very well again, but our problem at the moment is that chances for our opponents are flying in too easily. Also giving two leads away isn't great. 

Next up we have a match in the competition I hate the most. Win this and we are in the semi final already, with suddenly a real good chance of winning something.

                    

Gresford - Llanidloes (Tier 2 League Cup)

xG: 1.58 - 1.36;  Shots: 10(6) - 11(5);  Possession: 36% - 64%

I just really hate this cup with a passion. The match could've gone either way and I can't complain about the penalties as we got through the first round that way. But I do just really hate this cup.

Malachi Ogunleye has been present in the starting XI for almost every match this season and got us on top with a good goal. Just like in the Welsh Cup earlier this month we then stupidly gave away a penalty which cost us.

                    

A real gap has now opened up between the top 4 and the rest of the league at the halfway point of the season. We have done well to be up there and now need to show we can keep up the fight until the end.

[AM23]

December 2027

Not a lot of league fixtures in the last month of the year either. First we want to set things straight against Ruthin, as we drew them early in the season in a match we should definitely have won. After that we have a huge match against direct rivals Flint Town.

                    

Llanidloes - Ruthin

xG: 1.22 - 1.29;  Shots: 15(8) - 9(7);  Possession: 54% - 46%

We get our biggest win of the season through some clinical finishing. Stats suggest it was a close game, but that wasn't really the case, as they only got chances after it was already 3-0. Ryan Forde did do well to keep a clean sheet in the end though, his first in 2 months. Before that Billy Osborn had assisted Riley Lonergan twice to bring their respective season tallies for those stats up to 6. 

Onto the big one now. Flint Town surprisingly lost their game this week, which means we can open up a real gap over them with a win.

                    

Getting on well with these now.

                    

Flint Town - Llanidloes

xG: 0.86 - 1.00;  Shots: 12(4) - 7(3);  Possession: 39% - 61%

Ouch... This one hurts. An unnecessary loss in a very important game. Only our second loss of the season too.

We got an early goal courtesy Seamus Famer, who is starting to score more now while he has always been creating chances already. Their equaliser actually came out of thin air, and the run of play turned after that. Flint Town got the spirit and also the lead. We couldn't really create anything to give us another goal after that.

                    

I don't want to be too pessimistic, but that loss can make a big difference at the end of the season. The top 2 now have a bit of a margin over us, and we really need to move up a gear now to stay with them. We play both of them in two months time, with 6 other games before those. We need to do well in those 6 games to keep the pressure on.

                    

Awards

Third time this season he gets into the top 3.

Edited December 10, 2023 by AM23

[Hootieleece]

I can't believe you have your Continental C license and are still managing in the JD Cymru North!

In my save I had to leave Conwy to get my badges!

 

[AM23]

20 hours ago, Hootieleece said:

I can't believe you have your Continental C license and are still managing in the JD Cymru North!

In my save I had to leave Conwy to get my badges!

 

I guess my failure to win the league title earlier is some sort of a blessing in disguise on that front. If I remember correctly the board only gave me permission for my first coaching badge in my third season here. 

[AM23]

January 2028

Two tough fixtures to start the month. Especially Porthmadog away as we always have a hard time against them. I've only won one of 9 matches against them. The last two games we should win, although we did lose to Guilsfield earlier in the season.

In other news, the board have already offered me a new contract. This is the earliest in the season they have done so, which really shows how much they love me at the moment. I have declined for no, as I don't plan on staying if we win the league. That is a big if for now though.

                    

Porthmadog - Llanidloes

xG: 1.01 - 2.71;  Shots: 10(3) - 13(7);  Possession: 37% - 63%

A perfect start to the year for us here on New Year's Day as we beat Porthmadog for the first time in 3 years. The result is made even better by both teams above us in the table losing points today. 

Early on it looked as if some players had taken their New Year's celebrations a bit too far, as mistakes on both sides made for two early goals. After that we took control and deservedly got the lead back within the first half. Seamus Famer was at the base of that goal, after having already scored one himself before that. In the second half we kept them away from our goal and even scored another ourselves late.

                    

Llanidloes - Bala Town

xG: 1.26 - 1.56;  Shots: 11(4) - 13(5);  Possession: 37% - 63%

A huge blow to our title aspirations as we lose a home game in the league for the first time in 26 matches. We were not good enough in this match and missed our opportunities to avoid defeat.

Nothing happened in the first half apart from some long distance shots, but in the second half Bala Town were the better team. They took the lead from an indirect free kick and kept pushing after. It was only in the last 15 minutes when we threw our men forward that we got some chances. We had missed a big one already when we got a golden opportunity to at least get a draw through a penalty in the 88th minute. Things didn't go our way as it was stopped by their goalkeeper.

                    

Conwy - Llanidloes

xG: 1.40 - 1.75;  Shots: 12(5) - 12(3);  Possession: 49% - 51%

Oh man, it's all going south now. We started this game of furiously and got a deserved early lead after hitting the woodwork twice too. They then immediately pegged us back though, and for some reason we fully lost the plot. We couldn't create anything anymore and were lucky to be saved by another late penalty which we did score this time. Jack McCourt's brace was the only bright spot today.

                    

Llanidloes - Guilsfield

xG: 1.23 - 0.50;  Shots: 12(4) - 2(2);  Possession: 69% - 31%

Unbelievable. First of all, how do you concede after 16 seconds. Second of all, how do you concede 2 when your opponent has 2 shots all game. Even worse was that we had 2 goals chalked off due to offside. Nothing going in our favour now.

                    

Only 5 points from 5 matches and suddenly there is a big gap between us and the league leaders. With that our title chances are looking rather bleak at the moment. We need a big winning streak like we had at the end of last season.

[AM23]

February 2028

I feel like no matter who we would have played this month, three wins would always have been necessary to stay anywhere near a title race. Of course the match against Aberystwyth Town is huge, as they are one of our direct rivals now.

                   

Gresford - Llanidloes

xG: 1.01 - 1.15;  Shots: 8(2) - 9(5);  Possession: 27% - 73%

A win and a clean sheet. A little bit of relief too after not winning three matches in a row. We were dominant in the first half and did well to show that in the score too, with Daniel Ola getting the first breakthrough. After the break we suddenly got some nerves and were mostly holding back. We managed to just about do that, also thanks to some very good saves by Ryan Forde. 

                   

Llanidloes - Mumbles

xG: 1.66 - 1.91;  Shots: 12(3) - 11(5);  Possession: 60% - 40%

No consistency whatsoever at the moment. Our veteran Kristian Pierce helps us escape here, where we didn't really deserve it. We got outplayed by a mid table side for most of the game, which is really worrisome. I think I have to change tactics again. 

We have now got two big games coming up against Aberystwyth and Airbus. We need to win both of them to have a real shot at the title still.

                   

Aberystwyth Town - Llanidloes

xG: 2.78 - 0.22;  Shots: 24(8) - 2(2);  Possession: 51% - 49%

Our season is over. We just can't manage to keep up form throughout all 30 games of a season it seems. 

We were lucky to even get the lead as David Roberts headed home a corner. Then Seamus Famer made things even harder by not only getting us down to 10 men, but also making sure he misses the crucial next match against Airbus UK. Somehow we held on to the lead for a long time, but when we had to defend a set piece with 9 men due to an injury, the equaliser came. They got the win too in the end, and I honestly have no right to complain about that.

                    

All other teams last points this month too, meaning we would have been back in the race with a win last game. Now we have even dropped to 5th place, as Guilsfield pass us.

[AM23]

March 2028

6 games to go this season and I honestly just want to get it over with now. I do hope we get some wins though, to give us at least some confidence going into next season. Three home games this month should be helpful for that.

                    

Llanidloes - Airbus UK Broughton

xG: 1.21 - 0.64;  Shots: 10(6) - 6(0);  Possession: 47% - 53%

I can't believe it. Incredible really. FM just getting my hopes up again now to disappoint me somewhere in the next few games. A win against the league leaders to get the gap back to 5 points with 5 matches to go.

We got of to the best of starts when David Roberts scored an absolute screamer. A volley from 20 metres straight into the top corner. He also was a rock in defence, where we gave nothing away in the first half. On the verge of halftime we were made even happier, when veteran and assistant-manager Kristian Pierce, only in the starting XI due to Famer's suspension, scored from a great solo. He was the man of the day really, as he got two assists too. An early goal in the second half meant we actually cruised towards victory here. Unreal.

                    

Holyhead - Llanidloes

xG: 0.97 - 1.91;  Shots: 8(3) - 11(4);  Possession: 41% - 59%

Oh man, what a game! A late winner to keep us in the hunt for the title, it doesn't get any better than that really.

This was our last difficult fixture on paper and it showed in the first half. Holyhead were just better and took a deserved lead. After the break we switched to a very attacking 4-2-4 formation and it actually worked out well. First we got the equaliser through a short-corner routine ending at David Roberts, who got a goal for the third game in a row from center back. We kept creating chances, but eventually needed the same corner routine to get us the win, with substitute Archie Hatcher scoring his first goal in a long time.

                    

Obviously we have the best schedule now, but we still need a lot of help to be able to get that first place. The only thing we can do is just try and win all of our own games.

                    

Llanidloes - Llangefni

xG: 1.54 - 0.31;  Shots: 12(4) - 4(1);  Possession: 59% - 41%

A good win and it was all about one man today. A man who made his debut to be precise. We tried signing Sonny Lewis in January already, but his wage demands were too high back then. Those dropped so I signed him on a free transfer now, and the midfielder got his Llanidloes career of to an amazing start with a MOTM performance. Not only did he get two goals, but he also created the third.

Guilsfield lose, but the other teams around us all win. Still 5 points away from first place.

                    

Llanidloes - Rhyl 1879

xG: 1.79 - 0.79;  Shots: 8(7) - 10(3);  Possession: 70% - 30%

A dominant win to end a perfect month. Good first half were two headers got as a comfortable lead. David Roberts scored his 7th goal in the league as a center back, which is quite something. He is a real weapon from set pieces. For the rest Seamus Famer was our man today, as he got two assists and created loads.

                    

Unfortunately Airbus UK bounced back well from their defeat from us and are still 5 points ahead. We need to keep belief though. It ain't over 'till its over!

                    

I would exchange every individual award I've won for the league title.

One of our players with the most goals somehow 

 

[AM23]

April 2028

So, these are our two fixtures for the deciding matchdays. We need to win both and get a lot of help from other fields to become champions. It is probably too much of an ask, but we can't give up hope just yet.

I will be trying something new given the importance of these matches. I'll do some commentary as I play these matches (the second depending on earlier results of course).

                     

Caersws - Llanidloes (Matchday 29)

We play last placed Caersws, who have only accumulated 13 points so far and are relegated already. Should be an easy win, but you never now. These are the other fixtures important to us:

A difficult away match for the league leaders. Flint Town have not been in the greatest form as of late though, falling to 5th place in the process.

Aberystwyth Town is only 1 point above us at the moment, so we can afford them to win once. Their opponents Ruthin are in a relegation battle at the moment, being in 13th place.

This is how we start. We play in our 4-3-3 as usual.

Kick-off

00:00 - A highlight immediately as we start with the ball. We move forward swiftly and Seamus Famer dribbles into the box. His shot goes just wide of the far post.

03:44 - We're on the attack again with a throw in from the right wing. We throw it directly into the box to Sonny Lewis. He tries to control the ball but gets fouled, it's an early penalty! Lewis steps up himself and slots it into the top left corner. Perfect start!

05:51- Another highlight starts with a goal kick for us. We build up patiently and regularly get the ball back to our defenders to avoid the crowded midfield. The ball eventually comes to striker Daniel Ola who dropped back to receive it, he makes a forward run down the right side and finds Sonny Lewis in the middle an odd 25 meters away from goal. The latter finds full-back Ben Davies on his left and goes for a one-two with him. This ends with Lewis in a free shooting position just inside the box, and this time he finds the top right corner! We're 2-0 up inside 10 minutes!

13:57 - Again a throw in for us on the right wing. Both teams exchange possession a few times as Caersws are desperately trying to get the ball away. Finally the ball falls to our right back Wayne Staines who plays it over the top to Seamus Famer. Our right winger wins the sprinting battle to their left back and arrives on the edge of the right side of the box where the ball has just bounced. Then a hand emerges to pull his shirt back and he falls down. The ref blows his whistle, it's another penalty! No chance at a hattrick for Sonny Lewis yet, as left wingr Jack McCourt steps up to the spot. He shoots it to the right corner, which is the same way as the goalkeeper is headed. The shot is good enough though, it's 3-0!

27:47 - Now Caersws have a throw in on their right wing. A quick one-two leads to a cross which Wayne Staines heads away. The ball falls to one of their midfielders at the edge of the box though, and he goes for glory with a left-footed volley.  It's in! Straight into the top right corner, a tremendous goal! A piece of magic really.

35:22 - Ben Davies with the ball at left back and we go for the slow build up again. The ball comes to left winger Jack McCourt in the end, who finds Sonny Lewis with a short pass. Lewis shoots but a defender throws himself in front of the shot and blocks it. Finally a highlight without a goal.

Halftime - A perfect first 15 minutes have us with a comfortable lead at halftime. At both Airbus UK's and Aberystwyth Town's matches there have been no goals yet. The virtual standings are left looking like this:

45:00 - Just like in the first half, we immediately have a highlight going. This time it's Caersws with the kick-off. Some build up from them now, but we quickly win the ball as Seamus Famer intercepts a pass to their left winger. He plays it back to our defence from where we quickly search midfield for a counter. Famer has returned to his position at the right time and receives the ball there, immediately playing a through ball to striker Daniel Ola. The ball is perfect and suddenly sees Ola in a one-on-one with their goalkeeper. He decides to shoot early from the edge of the box, and it flies past the left side of the keeper into the net! 

49:07 - Caersws have the ball at the back and although we looked to have intercepted it twice, they get it back immediately both times. A trivela pass finds their right winger, who cuts inside and easily dribbles past Ben Davies. He's into the box and shoots it perfectly into the near top right corner. A second goal for Caersws with only their third shot of the game.

55:13 - Again Caersws are going forward with the ball. This time though, Billy Osborn intercepts it in midfield and quickly moves up the field with the ball. Their midfield is nowhere to be seen, and suddenly he finds Daniel Ola free just inside the box. A good pass and perfect finish in the bottom right corner! What a spectacle this is turning out to be!

Goal alert - While we were celebrating our fifth goal of the day, a notification comes in from the Memorial Playing Fields in Ruthin. The home team have unexpectedly taken the lead against Aberystwyth Town!

59:00 - A substitution for us as fan favourite Kristian Pierce comes on for Seamus Famer. This might be his last match ever as he will retire and go on as our assistant-manager from next season onwards.

65:29 - Caersws with a throw in at left back. They move up the field where Malachi Ogunleye puts in a tackle to win the ball, but it falls back to a Caersws midfielder who unexpectedly shoots from 30 meters out. Ryan Forde tips it wide. The following corner results in nothing as it is headed away.

72:00 - Some more substitutions as ball winning midfielder Malachi Ogunleye leaves the pitch with Amirul Abd Razak taking his place, while Wayne Staines goes off for left back Danny Williams, which means Ben Davies moves to the right side of defence.

Goal alert - A late goal has been scored in Ruthin! In the 85th minutes the scores are level again through an own goal. Aberystwyth Town still need another goal to stay above us in the table though. And more importantly for them, to stay in the title race given the fact that Airbus UK are still drawing.

Goal alert - We move to Ruthin again! Aberystwyth Town have managed to turn it around late! An 88th minute goal does it for them. But wait, Ruthin have pegged them back immediately. It's 2-2!

91:51 - Only three minutes of extra time here, but we do have a highlight starting with a throw in for us at left back. We lose the ball in midfield, and a long pass finds their right winger who goes into the box and shoots! Just wide.

Full time - So that's how the day ends. A convincing win for us with in a real spectacle. We did the damage in the first 15 minutes and never had to worry after that. Daniel Ola got the MOTM award with his 2 goals, he now has 11 in the league this season.

More importantly, Flint Town have held Airbus UK to a draw, which means it will come down to the final matchday. Aberystwyth Town are out due to their late draw against Ruthin. We need a win and need Airbus UK to lose. 

                     

One more game to go. Well, you know what, I think this post is already pretty long, so I'll make a special post for the last matchday. Will be a nice post of disappointment and misery to look back on.

Edited December 11, 2023 by AM23

[AM23]

Title Decider

We have arrived to the most important day of the save so far. A chance to win my first trophy. It will not be easy though, and I need luck to go my way. Looking back though, it is already an achievement that we have got to this last matchday with a chance at the title. This is what I said after our loss against Aberystwyth Town in matchday 24.

5 hours ago, AM23 said:

Aberystwyth Town - Llanidloes

xG: 2.78 - 0.22;  Shots: 24(8) - 2(2);  Possession: 51% - 49%

Our season is over. We just can't manage to keep up form throughout all 30 games of a season it seems. 

We were lucky to even get the lead as David Roberts headed home a corner. Then Seamus Famer made things even harder by not only getting us down to 10 men, but also making sure he misses the crucial next match against Airbus UK. Somehow we held on to the lead for a long time, but when we had to defend a set piece with 9 men due to an injury, the equaliser came. They got the win too in the end, and I honestly have no right to complain about that.

I had lost hope. We had a good season, but all came crashing down during the winter, like we have experienced before. A series of 8 matches with only 2 wins (and 3 draws). After that last match, the gap to the top of the league had increased to 8 points, which seemed an impossible amount to overcome in 6 games. We played the league leaders Airbus UK next though, and beat them. We went on a winning streak and won our next 4 matches too, which brings us to today.

One time before were we involved in the league decision on the last day. It was in my second season, when we were in 9th place and had nothing left to play for. 3 teams were fighting for the title back then and our opponents Holywell were in pole position. This is how that went:

On 25/11/2023 at 20:48, AM23 said:

Holywell - Llanidloes

xG: 2.50 - 1.52;  Shots: 19(6) - 14(6);  Possession: 53% - 47%

Oooh the drama! Big controversy too.

Holywell was the better team overall, but one last 'Danger Duo' special seemed to ruin their day, their season. A late, late goal saved them, with the ball hitting the bar and bouncing mere centimeters over the goalline. All of this was after we looked up to yet another early disadvantage, when the referee gave a very discutable penalty to Holywell.

For us none of it mattered, but Llandudno will be gutted, missing out on the championship and promotion on goal difference.

We have to congratulate Holywell too, as they have had a phenomenal second half of the season. They were in 7th halfway through, but went unbeaten after that only drawing four games aswell. They can make their season even better still, as they play in the Tier 2 League Cup final too.

Quite a dramatic finish it was. One thing is certain though, we won't be missing out on goal difference, as ours is far superior to Airbus UK. The bad news is that this is the only thing to give us hope as well, because Airbus UK have 3 more points.

                    

Llanidloes - Hay St. Marys (Matchday 30)

We meet Hay St. Marys at home. We played them twice earlier this season, both away. The first time we met them was in the Tier 2 League Cup, when we completely outplayed them and got our biggest win of the season, 5-1. The second time was only a month later, but went very differently. We gave away two leads in a match that ended in a 2-2 draw.

Hay St. Marys is safe from relegation after a win last match, so they have nothing to play for anymore. We need a win today.

It's Ruthin again! They helped us out with a draw against Aberystwyth Town last match, and will need to do one better for us by winning this one. They are semi-officialy safe from relegation, as they are 3 points ahead with a much better goal difference.

Just the one change in our starting line-up, with Danny Williams coming in for Wayne Staines. Hay St. Marys however have taken their best 3 players out of the squad altogether, and I fear Ruthin might have done the same.

Kick-off

04:34 - We have the ball in midfield and after some build up get it to Seamus Famer on the right wing. He plays it to Billy Osborn, who immediately gives it back with a through ball into the box. Famer shoots and it seemed as if the goalkeeper should save it, he got his hands to it, but deflects it into his own goal! We have the perfect start again!

05:30 - A highlight directly from kick-off. We win the ball quickly and then move up the pitch. Sonny Lewis has a go from distance but it goes over the bar.

08:39 - We have the ball at left back and swiftly move up the field. Billy Osborn dribbles into the box and shoots right at the keeper. Another shaky moment from the latter as he can't hold on to the ball, but this time it goes out for a corner. Sonny Lewis is over the corner and puts an outswinger to the middle of the box, there all of a sudden left back Danny Williams rises up higher than anyone else end heads it into the top right corner! Once again we're 2-0 up within 10 minutes.

Goal alert - Bad news from Broughton, where Airbus UK have taken the lead against Ruthin.

Goal alert - More bad news... A 2-0 lead for the league leaders. All seems to have been for nothing now.

Goal alert - On the verge of halftime another notification comes in. Ruthin have gotten a goal! Is there any hope?

Halftime - We have done what is needed of us so far. Two early goals got us in the drivers seat and we have restricted Hay St. Marys to 0 shots. Now we just need to stay in front and hope for a miracle.

Goal alert - It's not happening. A quick goal after the break and we need Ruthin to score 3 again.

53:21 - We have the ball on the right wing and have some pressure on our opposition with two near chances. The ball is hoofed away, but we get it back immediately. Eventually the ball falls to Malachi Ogunleye, who dribbles into the box towards the goalline. He passes it back to the penalty spot where Billy Osborn is ready to shoot it in. He does exactly that to give us a 3 goal lead.

Goal alert - Done and dusted.

60:49 - Just after we've made some subs we get a corner, which is taken by Seamus Famer. He finds the head of Livesey Barkhuizen, who comes in with a good header but hits the post.

Goal alert - They are rubbing salt into our wounds now.

Goal alert - Something done back.

Goal alert - A miracle in the making?

90:40 - The life has been sucked out of our game with the title dreams gone now. One last attack with Kristian Pierce in the team, but he shoots it over.

Full time - For the second season in a row we end the year with a big winning streak, this time of 6 matches. It started just one game too late sadly, as we miss out on the title by three points. Billy Osborn the man of the match today with a goal and an assist. Nice to end the season with a clean sheet too.

                    

It ends here. We improve our record point total from 2 seasons ago, while also ending up the closest to the title we've been. Best defence in the league for the second year in a row too. Our mid-season slump cost us dearly, as it went on for one match too many.

                    

Painful. Even more so as we were also the previous holders of this unwanted record.

Edited December 11, 2023 by AM23

[Navelgazer]

A cruel end, you staying for 1 more attempt?

Really enjoying the updates and the layout of them 

[AM23]

52 minutes ago, Navelgazer said:

A cruel end, you staying for 1 more attempt?

Really enjoying the updates and the layout of them 

I've made myself the promise to stay at Llanidloes until we win the league. I do really hope it will be next season though, because I also want to start moving on now. And of course for the challenge it's not great to have not won any of the 49 trophies after 5 seasons.

Great to hear you like my style!

[AM23]

Season review 27/28

A good season all in all, but disappointment prevails as we fall just short of the title. We did manage to take the title challenge to the end, which is something we couldn't do before, and therefore something we can be proud of. The fact that the xG table does have us in first place makes things even more bitter. Our defensive performance was great like last season, conceding just 27 goals again. In attack we did much better than in previous years. We scored a grand total of 64 goals, which is 10 more than our previous best. 

In the cups we did well too, though there were no special cup runs. In all of them we progressed through the first two rounds, and twice we fell short on penalties to crash out. 

                     

Competitions

Like we seem to be able to do every season, we got of to a good start. This time around though, we managed to keep it going longer than we have done before. At the halfway point of the season, at the end of November, we were in 3rd place. We did have a big points total of 32 already then, only losing one game up until that point. It was in the winter months from December to February that we lost the plot a little though. 9 games with 3 wins, draws and losses each, saw us fall to 5th in the table. We then won an all important game against Airbus UK Broughton in the race for the title, which preluded an end of season winning streak of 6 games. It was just short of what was needed in the end sadly, meaning we will be in this league for another season.

Opponents of increasing quality here. First an easy win to a non-league side, after which we just about got the better of Cymru South side Cwmbran Celtic. We put up a very good fight against the Cymru Premier side too, but gave away a late penalty which prevented the match from going to a penalty shootout.

A convincing win to start of our season in the League Cup, before we managed to shock Haverfordwest just two weeks later. Sadly we couldn't get into the quarter finals, as we went out on penalties after an even game against one of the best Cymru South sides. Llanelli Town actually surprised and went all the way to the final in the end.

For only the second time in 5 seasons we progressed past the first round in this cup. It didn't come easy though, as we had an early red card and needed penalties to win. That was also the way we went out eventually, before which we had easily dispatched Hay St. Marys in which was the biggest win of our season.

                     

Squad

• Ryan Forde: In his three seasons here he has gotten an increasing number of clean sheets. 9, 10 and 12 respectively. He got his highest average rating this year too, but for some reason I feel like he wasn't as good as before. I might be looking for a better goalkeeper next summer.
• Ben Davies: has been an important part of the team for three seasons now. His constant development has also ensured he will be a good player for the club next season too. This was the first year he mostly played at right back and he did very well there.
• David Roberts: last season he didn't fully satisfy me, but he did this year. Not only did he lead our defence like I asked of him, he also got some vital goals including a hattrick.
• Livesey Barkhuizen: could just as well have been Craig Edwards here, as they battled for this spot all season. Both did well, but not great.
• Danny Williams: was brought in as a back-up left back, but the lack of another transfer meant he played a lot of games in the starting XI. His performances positively surprised me, although I am disappointed by his lack of development.
• Malachi Ogunleye: according to the season preview screen one of the best players in the league. He has some insane mental attributes for our level too, but never really excelled. He is leaving us on a free in the summer sadly, which is still a big blow for the club.
• Billy Osborn: was actually one of the best players in the league. First season he fully played in his preferred deep lying playmaker role and he filled it in so well. 15 goal contributions from midfield is not something that is achieved that easily.
• Riley Lonergan: another solid season from him. The last few games he was moved to the bench though, as new signing Sonny Lewis is significantly better than him.
• Seamus Famer: I tipped him to have his breakthrough season here after coming into the starting XI towards the end of last season. And he definitely lived up to expectations. First mostly with assists, but in the second half of the season he also started scoring regularly. Still only 19 years old and developing very well.
• Jack McCourt: no special player looking at his attributes, but he did have some very good seasons at Llandudno before this. Mostly brought him in on stats and he didn't have an easy first half of the season, with two red cards too. He did get better towards the end, though I might be looking for a replacement in the summer.
• Daniel Ola: biggest surprise of the season for me. Last year I mostly had him as a back-up winger, but we found out he is way better as a striker this year. Archie Hatcher wasn't living up to expectations and I gave Ola the chance in a cup game. He scored 4 and the rest is history.

                     

Awards

Second time winning this, although I would have preferred the title of course.

A team dominated by players of Airbus UK. Very deserved for our two present players to be here though. I personally feel like Seamus Famer should have gotten in too on the right wing. He was the league's fifth best player by average rating and had 18 league goal contributions.

                     

Next season

No big changes in the budgets and I expect the board to want a top half finish again. Scrap that, they now say they want a top four finish. Love the ambition to be honest.

As for myself, last year I said I wanted a league title. We just fell short, but the goal stays the same for next year.

                     

Progress

[Hootieleece]

So are you going to stay at Llanidloes until you win a title? Or are you thinking of moving on now that you have a decent amount of Coaching Badges.

[AM23]

11 hours ago, Hootieleece said:

So are you going to stay at Llanidloes until you win a title? Or are you thinking of moving on now that you have a decent amount of Coaching Badges.

Yeah, I need to win this league for the challenge anyways, so might as well do it now. I don't really mind staying here either for now, as I do feel like I have managed to build something at the club, so would be nice to leave them with a promotion.

[AM23]

Pre-season 28/29

Quite a lot has happened here, and not only thing I'm happy about. First of all, I had a difficult start to the transfer window as the players that would be direct reinforcements for us often don't want to come to the club, or want too much wage. Eventually I got going by again signing young players with the hopes that they can emerge this season. The biggest news on the transfer front this year has been on the way out though, with at least one very important player not being with us this season, and most likely another one soon to follow.

The biggest problem on the transfer front is getting in good midfielders and attackers. Defenders have been easier to get in my time here, and they often require less wage as well. I feel like I have already been busy with transfers, but there could still be some more to come than I will show in this post.

Again just the 3 friendlies, but results have been very good. We drew TNS only after they scored an injury time penalty, and the draw there wasn't fully undeserved either. Then a match against a non-league opponent which could have ended in a much bigger score, before we only lost by one goal to a League Two team. Quite promising actually.

                    

Finances

Nothing special here. Currently spending a little bit more than at the start of last season, but that could still fluctuate to either side.

For the second season in a row we lose about €20k. This has unsurprisingly come since we have had an increase in the wage budget.

                    

Transfers

Transfers out first. Two very notable ones are already showing. Not many more important ones have happened yet, but maybe one to come.

• Malachi Ogunleye: was marked as our best player last season. Although he never performed as well as his attributes suggested he could, he will be missed dearly. Last summer offers came in from Cymru Premier teams and from that moment onwards he didn't want to renew his contract. He moves a league up, and has gotten the promise that he will be an important player at his new club directly.
• Seamus Famer: still at the club, but probably not for long. He was amazing for us in the past season as a right winger and developed very well too. Cymru Premier sides came in with bids for him and this time with actual money. He wanted to go, I promised I would let him for €20k, and to my surprise Haverfordwest have actually bid that now.
• Craig Edwards: served us well at center back over the past three seasons, but with some new players coming in there he wasn't really needed anymore.
• Linden Bridge-Wilkinson: was our reserve goalkeeper from the own academy. Sadly he never developed and has already been surpassed by a younger goalkeeper now.
• Kristian Pierce: the fan favourite was 34 years old and has retired. He is now a coach at the club.
• Amirul Abd Razak: a back-up midfielder who I felt wouldn't feature much this season.

Transfers in:

• Sonny Lewis: this midfielder came in on a free at the end of last season and immediately got a spot in the first XI. He performed well with 4 goals and 2 assists in only 4 matches.
  
• Richard Sanderson (see below) and Lee Hamilton: back-ups for both the left back and center back position. Hamilton comes from our senior affiliates TNS, while Sanderson is actually a full international!
  
• Daryl Williams (see below) and Jerry Fawcus: two good young center backs who will be competing for a spot in the starting XI with each other and maybe Livesey Barkhuizen too.
  
• Jonathan Fraser: a player who will probably get enough playing time as a defensive midfielder. I quite like the looks of him, though his physicals are lacking.
  
• Chris Owen: I needed a back-up for both the right wing and striker position, and he can do both. Now however, with Seamus Famer close to leaving the club, he might need to play more than expected. He is not a bad player, but I don't expect him to develop a lot due to his personality
  

I am still looking for some reinforcements in midfield and attack, but will only go for players I think will make a real difference now.

                     

Squad

I have been looking for a better goalkeeper, but am yet to find one. The biggest problem now is that Ryan Forde got injured during a friendly and will miss the first two months of the season.

We have a lot of depth at the back for this season, which is quite nice. Ben Davies will still be our starting right back, while Danny Williams performed well enough last season to get the nod again at the left. David Roberts is of course our leader at the back and will be starting most games, while there is some healthy competition for the spot next to him. Jonathan Fraser will be used mostly in midfield, which is also where I've been trying Wayne Staines out lately.

Billy Osborn earns a lot, but he showed to be worth it last season, being our best player on the field. Next to him in central midfield Sonny Lewis showed that he is a real reinforcement in his first few games. There are some players fighting for the defensive midfield spot including the two named under the defenders.

The positions I'm still looking for transfers the most. Especially with Seamus Famer probably leaving the club now. 

I'm fairly happy with our strikers actually. Especially if Daniel Ola can keep scoring like he did last season.

                    

Season preview

Same position as last year. I'm mostly hoping that we will make the step up now with some players being at the club longer.

                    

Board expectation

I like to see the board have some ambition, so don't mind this at all. First time they expect anything in any cup too.

[AM23]

July 2028

As always we start our season in the League Cup. In Cwmbran Celtic we meet a time that has played mid table in the Cymru South in previous seasons. After that we get the chance to bring our opening day streak up to 4 wins as we travel to Prestatyn Town who have only just been promoted back up. After that we host Flint Town in a fixture where we can make a statement early on in the season.

                     

Cwmbran Celtic - Llanidloes (League Cup)

xG: 0.38 - 1.76;  Shots: 8(2) - 16(6);  Possession: 42% - 58%

For the fifth time in six years we manage to get through the first round of the League Cup. A promising performance all in all, as we never really gave them a chance. We got in front when left back Danny Williams put it on a plate for Sonny Lewis, who I think will be one of our most important players this season. What was also good to see is 16 year old goalkeeper Gareth Hampson getting a clean sheet on his debut.

The second round takes place at the end of this month and we will host Cymru Premier side Llantwit Major in it.

                    

Prestatyn Town - Llanidloes

xG: 1.38 - 3.04;  Shots: 4(3) - 19(9);  Possession: 55% - 45%

We took some time to get going in this match, but in the end we were much better. Some great debuts too, which is always good to see.

In the first half an hour we couldn't muster anything, and the only shot came from Prestatyn, which was a big chance saved by Gareth Hampson. After that we found our way though, with especially striker Chris Owen having a great debut with two goals. The first of those was assisted by fellow debutant Jonathan Fraser from defensive midfield.

                    

Llanidloes - Flint Town

xG: 1.51 - 0.56;  Shots: 10(3) - 7(3);  Possession: 54% - 46%

Oh yes, that is a great result! Daniel Ola is so good for us, got the assist on the first goal too.

The perfect start as Ola even performed when put on the left wing. We even scored a 3rd in the 14th minute, but that one was disallowed due to it being narrowly offside. We coasted towards victory after that, only unable to keep the clean sheet as legs started to get tired with it being a midweek game.

                    

Transfer alert

Some very big news here. Seamus Famer has been sold to Haverfordwest.

€17.5k plus his €7k salary means we immediately cancel out the loss that was made over last season. It may not seem like much, but it actually is for us. I was already devastated about losing him, but then Haverfordwest came in with the offer to loan him back to us this season! The ideal outcome for the club in the end, as he was never staying longer than that anyway. We can enjoy his dribbles for one more year.

                    

Llanidloes - Llantwit Major (League Cup)

xG: 2.37 - 2.00;  Shots: 15(5) - 12(7);  Possession: 61% - 39%

Oh wow! I did not expect this at all actually. We fielded a very rotated side and I was mostly scared of a thumping after that early goal to be honest.

There where two players that really shined for us today. First there was midfielder George Jenkins-Evans from our academy. He did not only score the 1-1, but also gave the assist on the 3-2. The MOTM Chris Owen does not appear on the scoresheet, but gave assists on our two equalisers. Them scoring after we thought we had won it with a late goal was a hard one to take, but we kept composed during the penalty shootout to get us through.

                    

                    

Awards

Another one.

Great start to his season!

Goal and assist for Billy Osborn too in those first two league games.

[AM23]

August 2028

Not an easy month by any means. The first 4 matches are all against opponents that are often on the higher end of the table. The last two matches should definitely be won though. If we can continue the way we started our season then it's gonna be a lot of fun.

                     

Aberystwyth Town - Llanidloes

xG: 1.25 - 1.50;  Shots: 12(5) - 8(6);  Possession: 35% - 65%

What. A. Match. Incredible really. Two hattricks and an injury time winner by a debutant. Football doesn't get any better than this.

This man Chris Owen has really hit the ground running at Llanidloes. 5 goals and 2 assists in his first 4 matches. When he completed his hattrick with a header from a corner today we looked set for a third 3-1 win in a row. However, just mere minutes later when looking at the scoreboard, it showed a draw again. It was a rollercoaster of emotions all game long, and to top it all of, Sean Lynch pulled of an amazing volley from a corner headed away to give us the win. 9 league wins in a row now.

It is a historic win too, as it brings us to the top of the table for the first time since I took over 5 years ago!

                     

Llanidloes - Porthmadog

xG: 1.12 - 0.84;  Shots: 14(4) - 6(1);  Possession: 60% - 40%

A boring draw gives us our first point loss of the season. A fair result, as neither team did enough to win this one. They got the biggest chance of the first half which was saved by MOTM Gareth Hampson, we got the best in the second half, when Daniel Ola dribbled around the keeper but hit the post from a tight angle.

                     

Llanidloes - Gresford

xG: 2.17 - 1.01;  Shots: 15(8) - 10(3);  Possession: 60% - 40%

Defying expectations is Chris Owen. Unbelievable stuff. Might be the most deadly striker we've had here. I honestly got him in mostly as a back up, but 8 goals in his first 5 league games tell quite a different story. As a comparison, the most league goals any player has gotten for us with me in charge was Jack Orbell with 15 back in the 24/25 season. 

Owen's excellence has had the consequence that Daniel Ola has moved to the left wing position. He is not doing too shabby either there though, and got assists on the first two goals today. For the rest it was great to see defensive midfielder Jonathan Fraser get his first goal for the club, in what was ultimately a very flattering result.

A little bit of rest now with the lack of a midweek game. After that we travel to Bala Town for a very tough away game.

                     

Bala Town - Llanidloes

xG: 1.53 - 0.96;  Shots: 15(4) - 10(2);  Possession: 64% - 36%

Ouch.... This time we are the ones getting a lesson in effectivity. We immediately give the goal difference we got from last game back in what equals my biggest defeat at the club. They got gifted there first two goals by two Livesey Barkhuizen mistakes, and we couldn't come back from that.

It's also the third season in a row that we get dealt our first loss of the league in the sixth game.

Some more bad news. He has already had an awful start to the season on the field, this doesn't make it better.

                     

Llanidloes - Carmarthen Town

xG: 3.16 - 0.18;  Shots: 22(11) - 1(0);  Possession: 49% - 51%

Another 4-0! We bounce back perfectly, with our best game of the season so far. We left them absolutely nothing to work with whatsoever.

We got off to a perfect start when Daniel Ola finished of a solo by hitting the top corner. He became MOTM as he got an assist late in the game, which was the 4th time he served Chris Owen. The latter scored his 10th goal of the season already, with his first of the day being an absolute banger from 25 meters out.

                     

Mumbles - Llanidloes

xG: 1.61 - 3.14;  Shots: 8(4) - 19(10);  Possession: 39% - 61%

We outplayed them from start to finish, so it's disappointing we couldn't get the win here. I am happy with our ability to react so fast though, making two goals against us undone very quickly. In the end it was our finishing that let us down in this match. Jack McCourt was not to be blamed, as he was great today creating lots of chances.

                     

We have had a good start and played some tough opponents already. The only thing I'm disappointed about is the amount of goals we've conceded. Llandudno have been in very good touch early on after they came straight back down from the Cymru Premier.

                     

You can't really get around someone that scores two hattricks in a month can you?

                     

Transfers

Two more attackers have come to the club to complete the squad:

• Sean Lynch: a very creative player who is versatile too. He does lack in some areas though, mostly a back-up
  
• Matthew Dennis: pretty excited about this guy. He has quite a few appearances the English Football League, and can play in any position in attack, with striker being his best. He is in his prime too.
  

[AM23]

September 2028

Big month with all the cup games. We play away in every cup, but I can't really complain as we have had some relatively good draws. Carmarthen are a lower table team in our division who we have just beaten 4-0 last month. Brickfield are a non-league side and in the League Cup we battle for a place in the quarter final with a mid table Cymru South side.

In the league we need to become a little bit more consistent. We should win the first two games before we take on the current league leaders Llandudno at home.

                    

Carmarthen Town - Llanidloes (Tier 2 League Cup)

xG: 0.94 - 1.60;  Shots: 10(3) - 16(5);  Possession: 56% - 44%

Phew. The win didn't come easily this time around, but we do get through in the end. With our attackers unable to make the difference today, we needed our midfield to step up, and that's exactly what happened. Both Sonny Lewis and Billy Osborn chipped in with a goal and an assist. We only scored the 2-1 after we had went for a more attacking tactic to avoid a penalty shootout.

Prestatyn Town is who we will meet in the second round, which is a good draw.

                    

Brickfield - Llanidloes (Welsh Cup)

xG: 1.23 - 1.93;  Shots: 11(3) - 9(4);  Possession: 41% - 59%

We scrape past. I thought a second string team would be able to do the job here but was proved to be very wrong. Brickfield were the better team for most of the game, and we were lucky to get the lead courtesy new strike Matthew Dennis' first goal at the club. When they then got the equaliser they deserved I was finally convinced to make some changes. It was only then that we started creating chances, while Jerry Fawcus also missed a penalty in the 82nd minute.

We have another lucky draw as we will play a non-league team again in the second round.

We will be without our first back-up on midfield for a while too as a result of this match.

                    

Port Talbot Town - Llanidloes (League Cup)

xG: 1.10 - 3.03;  Shots: 10(4) - 17(11);  Possession: 47% - 53%

On to the quarter finals we go! Second time we get this far. A very interesting scoreline as we score 6 in a competitive fixture for the first time under my reign. It doesn't tell the whole story of the game though, as we had a pretty difficult time out there before we took the lead in the second half.

We were incredible from the corners today, with a grand total of 4 ending in the back of the net, albeit only one directly. The most notable one was the 3-2, when we took the corner short and the following cross was headed on the bar by Daryl Williams. The ball bounced straight up however, and when it came down Daniel Ola was the most alert to get his the second goal of his hattrick today. After that moment we quickly built up the lead too, which meant Port Talbot had no chance of coming back anymore.

Only 3 Cymru Premier sides are left in the competition and we don't meet one of them! We go away to another Cymru South team in Briton Ferry, which is an even matchup.

                    

Llanidloes - Conwy

xG: 0.85 - 1.14;  Shots: 9(4) - 9(4);  Possession: 49% - 51%

This is very concerning. We have been conceding way too much this season and that streak continues today. We aren't even giving away that many chances, but our opponents are just scoring like maniacs. Conwy had 4 shots in the first half and scored three. Ryan Forde has been back from injury for a few games now but hasn't been able to make a difference either. I honestly don't understand it, as our defence has only become better in quality and we are playing the same tactic as last year. I hope this is just a phase, but it does need to stop very soon, as we're already 8 points behind Llandudno who are destroying everyone in their path at the moment.

We will miss him. He is our captain and one of our most important players in the field too.

                    

Buckley - Llanidloes

xG: 1.77 - 2.39;  Shots: 7(4) - 18(8);  Possession: 53% - 47%

We're awful... Again conceding way too easily. Matthew Dennis came on at halftime and completely turned the game around, only for us to give it all away again. They even got a golden opportunity to win it too, but missed a penalty in the 84th minute. 

We have the 'big' match against Llandudno up next and it is already a must-win. We are 10 points behind them after only 10 games. I feel that if we lose, our league season is over.

                    

Llanidloes - Llandudno

xG: 1.15 - 1.80;  Shots: 10(3) - 9(6);  Possession: 59% - 41%

This is going to be a long season 

                    

 

We've been terrible, Llandudno have been phenomenal. They are not the ones we should have our focus on anymore. Could a 19 game winning streak save us? 

Edited December 13, 2023 by AM23

[AM23]

October 2028

Again we start the month with 3 cup games, again they are all away, again we can't complain about the teams we've been drawn against. As for the league, wins are required to have anything to play for in the rest of the season.

                     

New Inn - Llanidloes (Welsh Cup)

xG: 0.10 - 3.14;  Shots: 4(1) - 32(14);  Possession: 35% - 65%

Poor New Inn. We had some irritations to get rid off and did just that in this match. It resulted in a huge score, which is our biggest win since my appointment. Chris Owen was the pick of the bunch with a 10 rating, while Wayne Staines scored only his 3rd ever goal for the club in 156 appearances.

We keep having some incredible luck in the draws as we get one of the few remaining non-league sides in the third round.

Hmm... He opened his account for the season today with a beautiful solo, but will miss out on a big part of the year now. We have been having a lot more injuries than in previous seasons.

                     

Prestatyn Town (Tier 2 League Cup)

xG: 1.04 - 1.77;  Shots: 10(2) - 15(7);  Possession: 53% - 47%

Great result! Our attack has not been the problem at all this season. They might be the best we've had. The problem lies in our defence, and it is striking that we can't even keep the clean sheet in a game like this where we've been all over the opposition. Ben Davies was back from injury at right back and immediately took home the MOTM award. The best goal was scored by Matthew Dennis through a beautiful free kick.

In a few days time we meet Briton Ferry in the quarter finals of the league cup. They are leading the Cymru South and have been in some very good form lately. 

                     

Briton Ferry - Llanidloes (League Cup)

xG: 1.71 - 1.71;  Shots: 17(5) - 10(6);  Possession: 47% - 53%

We fail to make the semi final. It was an even game but we end up on the wrong side of things as has happened so often this season.

We were very dangerous in this match. For 3 minutes at least. We got a penalty in the 1st minute, but Billy Osborn's attempt was saved. Then from the following corner a header was kept out of their goal by another miraculous save. The next corner did end up in the net, but was apparently handballed. To make matters worse they then took the lead through an own goal. We got the equaliser quickly, but they did the job after the break.

The same story we have seen all season. Our goalkeepers are unable to even save a Word document. This time their goalkeeper showed what a difference the man between the poles can make, as he became man of the match.

It only gets worse, although he isn't out for long luckily.

                     

Ruthin - Llanidloes

xG: 2.20 - 2.36;  Shots: 12(7) - 12(4);  Possession: 42% - 58%

Fair result. Sean Lynch was our standout performer from attacking midfield, creating lots of chances and getting an assist.

                     

Llanidloes - Guilsfield

xG: 2.57 - 1.05;  Shots: 14(7) - 8(4);  Possession: 53% - 47%

Finally a league win again! Against one of the best teams in the league too. It didn't happen by keeping them from scoring, but luckily our attack was amazing once more.

Matthew Dennis is becoming the next sensational signing after Chris Owen. He took some time to get going but has bagged 8 goals in all competitions now already. The latter had another good match with a goal and an assist. He is the league's top scorer with 14 goals in 13 matches. 

                     

Still in 5th. We're only 13 games in but already close to the 27 goals we conceded in both previous seasons.

                     

Awards

No team won both their games this month surprisingly.

Two dangerous attackers to have.

[AM23]

November 2028

Another 2 awaydays in the cups as well as one in the league. In the Tier 2 Cup we have a chance to get to the semi final. Winning that one could save our season a little bit if we don't manage to win the league (which looks almost certain now). The only problem is that every time I have gotten optimistic about this cup we have been knocked out immediately.

                    

Risca - Llanidloes (Welsh Cup)

xG: 0.28 - 5.66;  Shots: 8(2) - 30(15);  Possession: 45% - 55%

It took us a whole lot of chances to get that second goal, but we are through to the next round. Again we can't keep a clean sheet though. I am on the hunt for a new goalkeeper.

We have been drawn at home against Cymru Premier side Haverfordwest in the fourth round. We met them in cups twice before and actually went through both times.

The injuries keep on coming. This time it's our back-up left back.

                    

Holyhead - Llanidloes

xG: 0.47 - 2.05;  Shots: 8(2) - 14(5);  Possession: 44% - 56%

What a story! He came on in the 90th minute for an injured Sonny Lewis in midfield, touched the ball exactly once in that time, but did get us the winner with the last kick of the game. Amazing to see from 17 year old youth product George Jenkins-Evans.

The other story of the day was Chris Owen equaling the record of league goals in a season by a Llanidloes player under my reign as he got his 15th to give us the lead. We're not even halfway through the season. In the end, we could have made things a lot easier for ourselves had we just finished our chances better or kept a clean sheet for once.

We play Aberystwyth Town in the Tier 2 League Cup in 14 days. They have been struggling in the league this year and are only in 12th place right now. I have been disappointed often in this competition though, so wouldn't be surprised by another letdown.

                    

Aberystwyth Town - Llanidloes (Tier 2 League Cup)

xG: 1.53 - 2.66;  Shots: 10(4) - 19(9);  Possession: 51% - 49%

A third late win of the month takes us to the semi final! We weren't great in defence once again, but we did manage to outscore our opponent. For the first time we get this far in the Tier 2 Cup.

We were lucky to be in the lead at halftime, as Aberystwyth had been the better team up until then. Some changed after their 2-2 got us in control though, and it was substitutie Matthew Dennis who got us over the line with a goal to give us the lead and an assist to decide the game not long after. He may have been the matchwinner, but the MOTM award went to left back Danny Williams. That man was everywhere today and got 2 assists together with a goal.

In the semi final, which is naturally also the last regional round, we will meet Porthmadog. Could've been a lot worse looking at the table as they are in 6th place. They are however the team that I think I have the lowest winning percentage against. Anyways, that match will only take place in March, so no need to think about it too much for now.

                    

In the past 2 months (only 3 games) Llandudno have lost some points, which means the gap is back to the 10 points it was before our encounter with them.

[AM23]

December 2028

Lots of home games this time around. First we will play Haverfordwest for a place in the quarter final of the Welsh Cup. After that all teams we meet are currently in the bottom half of the table, although Flint Town and Aberystwyth are clearly underperforming according to previous seasons and expectations.

                    

Llanidloes - Haverfordwest (Welsh Cup)

xG: 1.64 - 1.94;  Shots: 17(10) - 14(7);  Possession: 58% - 42%

Conceding just before halftime is never a great moment. That gets worse when you concede 4 around that time. Our highest ever attendance with 484, and we get humiliated being 5 goals behind at the break. 

4 of their goals came from defensive mistakes as well, with especially David Roberts having a horrible match. With some luck it could've been 0-0 at the break, as their xG was (only) 1.3 at that point. Because of that I do think I need to get in a new goalkeeper as soon as possible too, as this is not the first time our opponent overperforms their xG. Even worse, in the league we have conceded 50% more goals than we should have according to the stats.

                    

Llanidloes - Hay St. Marys

xG: 3.05 - 1.09;  Shots: 17(9) - 9(6);  Possession: 62% - 38%

We can do it too! Our biggest ever win in the league. Our results have really been all over the place this season, with big scores both for and against us. Today we were 4-0 up in the first half to give us a very easy game.

                    

Flint Town - Llanidloes

xG: 0.88 - 1.60;  Shots: 9(2) - 10(3);  Possession: 55% - 45%

Another win and a first league clean sheet since August! We had a pretty difficult time in the first half, which led me to change from our 4-2-3-1 to a 4-4-2, to counter Flint Town's defensive system with 5 at the back. This worked out well as we got our goals and were very solid at the back in that second half. Left back Danny Williams was the MOTM with a goal and an assist. He has got 10 goal contributions across all competitions now.

                    

Llanidloes - Prestatyn Town

xG: 2.17 - 0.00;  Shots: 17(6) - 0(0);  Possession: 61% - 39%

Same result! A perfect defensive performance is something that really pleases me. In the first half we had some trouble creating chances ourselves too, but Chris Owen won us a penalty which he scored himself for the first half of his brace. He has scored in 6 league games in a row now.

There must have been an update that causes this, because we rarely had injuries occuring in earlier seasons. Luckily Jack McCourt is almost back from his injury.

                    

Llanidloes - Aberystwyth Town

xG: 2.65 - 1.66;  Shots: 9(5) - 16(6);  Possession: 61% - 39%

Someone needs to remind me of this match the next time I start complaining about always being on the unlucky side. We were completely outplayed in the first half, having the penalty as our only chance, while Ryan Forde made some great saves to keep them to one goal. In the second half we switched to a 4-4-2 again, which helped us get some grip on their attackers. Yet another penalty helped us in the lead and then it was two swift counter attacks that got us a very flattering score.

What an achievement by Chris Owen again. Third hattrick of the season. Became our first player to score 4 goals in a league game, with only Daniel Ola having done it in a cup before. Also, he is 9 goals clear on the league's topscorers list with 23 goals from 18 matches.

                    

We have actually been doing very well recently and are on a 6 game winning streak in the league. Despite that, we didn't come any closer to Llandudno this month, as they won all their games too. A championship does look like an impossible mission now to be honest.

                    

Awards

A goal difference of 14-2 this month was not enough to win this.

You just can't look past this guy.

An in-form goalkeeper is what we lacked earlier in this season!

[AM23]

January 2029

Not an easy month by any means. Porthmadog are in 5th place and in very good form as of late. Also, we've never liked meeting them. Bala Town are 5 points above us in the table in 2nd place, while Gresford away is the game we should be winnning.

                   

Porthmadog - Llanidloes

xG: 2.18 - 0.78;  Shots: 19(8) - 7(4);  Possession: 38% - 62%

Very lucky in this one. We were second best for most of the game and got nowhere near their goal in the second half. To be fair to us, they didn't create a lot of big chances either. They did however miss a golden opportunity when Ryan Forde saved a penalty in the 83rd minute. 

                   

Gresford - Llanidloes

xG: 2.97 - 2.05;  Shots: 20(6) - 12(4);  Possession: 45% - 55%

A criminal win! We had absolutely no right of winning this game whatsoever. In the last three games we have had incrediblel luck with our results, so I have to keep that in mind when I want to start complaining again.

They should have been up by at least two at the break, after having been all over us in the first half. Somehow the score was equal though, as Matthew Dennis equalised shortly after they finally did get the deserved lead. Like we've been doing regularly in recent times, we switched to a 4-4-2 again at halftime, which helped us get some more control. That worked again, although I wouldn't say we had the upper hand in the second half.

                    

Llanidloes - Bala Town

xG: 2.45 - 1.58;  Shots: 18(7) - 11(4);  Possession: 42% - 58%

Great game! I decided to go with the 4-4-2 from the start for this match as Bala Town are a very good team. This turned out to be a great choice, as we kept them very quiet except for the penalty.

It was our right back Ben Davies who gave us the lead early with a well placed shot. We couldn't keep that first lead, but were dominant in the second half. Best moment of the match was Daniel Ola coming back from injury and giving an assist on a Chris Owen goal only 3 minutes on the pitch. 

                    

We move up to 2nd with that last win. No reason to look up anymore as Llandudno are way too good for the rest of the league this season.

                    

Awards

He took some time to get going at the club, but Matthew Dennis has been very good for us this season.

[AM23]

February 2029

February is an easier month on paper. Carmarthen Town are in the relegation spots, while Mumbles are also in the bottom half of the table. Conwy are having a good season but we should still be able to beat them too.

                    

Carmarthen Town - Llanidloes

xG: 0.82 - 3.01;  Shots: 8(4) - 17(7);  Possession: 51% - 49%

We better our record league win again! I don't know if we were just amazing, or if they were just that bad here. A great result either way though. Best performers were attackers Matthew Dennis, who got his first hattrick at the club, and Chris Owen with 4 goal contributions. Both got a 10 match rating.

                    

Llanidloes - Mumbles

xG: 0.72 - 1.61;  Shots: 7(3) - 12(6);  Possession: 55% - 45%

We are lucky to get a point here. Just couldn't get anything going in attack, with tactic switches not working either. We tried to go for the win at the end but this only resulted in chances for them. Only good thing about this performance was winter signing in midfield Joel Hart getting his first goal for the club, after he already got two assists last game.

                    

Conwy - Llanidloes

xG: 1.30 - 1.47;  Shots: 11(2) - 7(3);  Possession: 51% - 49%

It wasn't easy but we got the job done here. A swift counter attack got us the lead early on, after which Ryan Forde made two very good saves to keep that score. We then decided the match in the short period we had a man more on the field, as Ben Davies scored an incredible backheel volley.

                    

Well, well, well. Llandudno have started slipping up all of a sudden. They didn't win a single game this month, and instead lost as many points as in the 21 games before. Is there a chance?

                    

Awards

Full podium!

The most we've ever had! Mostly because of that 6-0 win.

Edited December 16, 2023 by AM23

[AM23]

March 2029

A busy month this. That Llandudno game can be very important. The gap is 7 points now, so if we win we 'only' need to close a 4 point gap on them in the other 5 league games we've got left this season. Could unexpectedly make for a real title race this season. For the rest the cup semi final would be great to win too, as that is our best chance of a trophy right now.

                    

Llanidloes - Buckley

xG: 2.42 - 1.17;  Shots: 15(8) - 7(4);  Possession: 64% - 36%

 Two deadly offences make for a sensational match! We were by far the better team in the first half, but it was Buckley who scored the first 2 goals, both times after a ball over the top. We then came in with an incredible turnaround kickstarted by a Matthew Dennis brace. It got us 4 goals in 16 minutes and meant we actually went into the break with a comfortable lead. It got a little bit tight when they got one back again, but we held our nerves well in the end.

A first goal of the season for Seamus Famer capped of this game. I was very happy to get him back on loan after selling him last summer, as he is one of our best players on paper. He has been awful for us this season however, and has been demoted to the bench.

Next up is Llandudno. They were the last team to beat us in the league back in September. A win here and things suddenly get very interesting towards the end of the season.

                    

Llandudno - Llanidloes

xG: 3.54 - 1.09;  Shots: 19(9) - 9(4);  Possession: 48% - 52%

They beat us 3-0 again. We just got outplayed in this game and never had a real spell of dominance. The big blow came when they doubled their lead just before the break. After that the task had become to big for us and my faith was sealed. I will be at Llanidloes for another season.

The Tier 2 League Cup is now our only chance left to get a trophy from this season. We play Porthmadog on neutral ground, in a 15,000 seater for some reason. I guess not even 2% of the stands will be filled. I am going to start that game in a 4-4-2 formation, and maybe I should have done that this game too, as it has shown to give us more stability at the back against good opponents.

                    

Llanidloes - Porthmadog (Tier 2 League Cup)

xG: 1.55 - 0.73;  Shots: 19(8) - 11(3);  Possession: 56% - 44%

We are left in disbelief. So close, yet so far. In our minds we were already in the final, but one last chance from a corner got them level with us again. 

After a nervy first half an hour from both teams, we took control and got some chances before halftime. We went on like that in the second half and took a deserved lead after Matthew Dennis had found Daniel Ola at the edge of the box and the latter had curled it past the keeper. We were solid in defence all game as the 4-4-2 seemed to be working well. They got one last chance though with a corner very late in the game.

Third year in a row we go out on penalties in this competition. I really, really hate this cup.

                    

Llanidloes - Ruthin

xG: 4.51 - 0.93;  Shots: 21(11) - 5(3);  Possession: 56% - 44%

I am happy we aren't playing for the title anymore because this game would have pissed me off otherwise. We were amazing and utterly dominant, could've been 10-0 up in the 80th minute. Instead we were only up by two, and their only shots in the second half both go in.

Chris Owen got his season league tally up to 29 with his brace today. In the second half he did however miss a penalty that could've gotten him his 4th hattrick this season. He might live to regret this, as with 30 goals he would have set a new all-time league record. Still 3 more games for him to get that one goal now.

                    

Guilsfield - Llanidloes

xG: 0.54 - 1.59;  Shots: 8(4) - 13(8);  Possession: 47% - 53%

Another very good game. Guilsfield are in 4th so no easy opponent by any means, but we managed to keep them at bay the whole game, as they couldn't create any real chances. We played the 4-4-2 again and just like in the cup game it gave us the defensive stability we needed. Matthew Dennis scored his 20th goal of the season in all competitions from a beautiful free kick to put us in front.

                    

A 7th season as I have set myself the challenge to win the league here before I move on.

                    

Llanidloes - Holyhead

xG: 2.69 - 0.79;  Shots: 17(9) - 5(1);  Possession: 60% - 40%

Another complete performance and Chris Owen grabs his 30th goal to get the illustrous all-time goal scoring record of the league! Almost a perfect game except for the fact that we conceded the first goal. Midfielder Joel Hart has hit the ground running at the club and got already his 5th assist in 10 games for us today.

We only have one game in April so I will put that in this update aswell since we aren't playing for anything anymore.

                    

Hay St. Marys - Llanidloes

xG: 1.57 - 4.10;  Shots: 11(6) - 28(12);  Possession: 37% - 63%

And we finish the season with one more great game. We were awful in the first 30 minutes but took control after and never looked back. Daniel Ola the man of the match as he created loads of chances.

                    

Llandudno stopped doing anything after they clinched the title, otherwise they would have ended with an insane points total. Biggest shock in the league is Flint Town going down. They played in the Cymru Premier only 3 seasons ago.

We scored the most goals in the league, which is a first under my reign. It was however our defence that let us down, mostly early on in the season. We conceded 14 goals more than in our last two seasons. In the end, we do get another record points total under my reign. In the last four seasons our respective points totals have been 60, 54, 62, and 64. It was in that second season that the league winners only had 59 points...

                    

Records

We better our own record again...

This is quite special. Even more so when you keep in mind he also played a fair few games as a right winger.

[AM23]

Season review 28/29

This has been a pretty weird season. We had our annual form dip a lot earlier than in previous years, which meant we were already far behind Llandudno before the halfway point of the season even. After that though, we actually put together a very good season, managing a new record points total for us. Sadly Llandudno were just amazing this year, which means I will be here for at least one more season. We did have one thing that looked like it might save our season, but that thing, the Tier 2 League Cup, ended in dramatic fashion for us. Overal we did very well in the cups, as we got at least our previous best in all three of them.

                    

Competitions

We started the season very well with 13 points from 5 games. This even meant we were top of the table twice for the first time under my reign. Things went downhill quickly though, as in the next 7 matches we only managed 1 win. Suddenly we were already 13 points behind the phenomenal league leaders, and a very anonymous season looked to be coming our way. We managed to turn things around though, as we went on an incredible 15 match unbeaten run, with only 3 draws in it as well. Our only problem was that Llandudno kept winning too, and when we eventually started coming a little bit closer to 7 points of the top, they beat us comprehensively for the second time in the season. In the last few games we got ourselves together to end up on 64 points, but to be honest we never really were in a title fight this season.

It was mostly some very good luck in the draws that got us in a position to play for a spot in the quarter final this Welsh Cup campaign. We met non-league teams in the first three rounds, and kept our streak of not (yet) having been beaten by any of them. After that though, we were humiliated in our own backyard, as Haverfordwest put 5 past us in the first half.

We had a very good run in the League Cup to get us to the quarter final for the second time. We beat two Cymru South sides away from home, before the third time proved too much of an ask. In between all that we had also knocked out Cymru Premier Llantwit Major in a penalty shootout. We were not at our best in the Briton Ferry game, and as they eventually became champions of their league, there is no real shame in having lost to them as well.

We got the furthest we've ever been in the Tier 2 League Cup, though we were a tad lucky to not meet the best teams from our league. We did manage to get through the first 3 rounds relatively easily though. In the semi final we were the better team too, and looked set for my first final of the save. A 90th minute goal prevented that though, as we lost the following penalty shootout.

                    

Squad

• Ryan Forde was injured early in the season and took some time to get back in some good form. He was good for us though in the second half of the season, but I feel like he might not be here next season, as for his salary a better goalkeeper should be getable.
• Captain Ben Davies has already played 150+ matches for the club and was ever present at right back. On the other side of defence Danny Williams started almost every game.
• In central defence I got two new players in to accompany David Roberts. In the end however it is Livesey Barkhuizen who played there the most, although it could just as well have been Daryl Williams to make this team. 
• Wayne Staines moved to defensive midfield for the most of this season, but his time at the club might be coming to an end, as his ability isn't that high in comparison with the rest of the squad. The same goes for Billy Osborn, who did well, but not as good as last season. He is still a good player to have for us, but earns too much to be honest. His replacement is already in the team too, as we got in Joel Hart in the winter transfer window.
• Sonny Lewis has been very good for us in midfield, getting into double figures in both goals and assists. Though we might not see him back next year either, as he is asking for a very high wage.
• On the wings Seamus Famer and Daniel Ola get in to the team. Ola was very good this year, while Famer was actually awful after we had loaned him back. 
• Chris Owen was incredible this season, and even played a lot of games from the right wing too, as we had another very good striker in Matthew Dennis.

                    

Awards

3 hattricks, more than one goal a game and some assists too. Not bad for someone of who I didn't know if he would be a starter.

Incredible season as Chris Owen becomes our first player to become top scorer and even breaks the all time league record of goals in a season.

Winning everything he is. Got goal of the season as well.

Is there a new 'Danger Duo' forming?

                    

Next Season

Lots of money to spend, but again I won't come close to it, as financially I don't think it's justifiable. I am actually looking to get rid of some players on high wages too now, but of course I don't know what players will come in next season.

As has been the case for the past few seasons now, I want to win a trophy next season. We have ended in 2nd with at least 60 points in the last three seasons, so if we can just make one more step the championship should be ours.

                    

[AM23]

Pre-season 29/30

Well, this has not been a lot of fun. Just after last season ended there were rumours of a potential takeover. This got serious pretty fast which meant we had a transfer embargo put in place. It has only been two weeks since the takeover didn't go through. Because of this a lot of players I was eyeing had already signed contracts at other clubs, while it also just put me in a hurry to get some good players in before the start of the season. The only good news is that I did manage to hold on to a few of the players that were asking for high wages, as some of them lowered their demands.

The friendlies weren't great. We first beat a non-league side, before being outplayed by another. Against TNS we also got completely outplayed and were lucky to keep the margin to two.

                    

Finances

Still about the same as in previous years. Not spending that transfer budget obviously, it will go to scouting instead.

The Seamus Famer sale kept our loss last season to only €7k, but we are still slowly bleeding some money. 

                    

Transfers

As said before, not a lot of transfers done yet due to the transfer embargo we had. Let's go to the important players that left the club first:

• Ryan Forde: our first-choice in goal for the past 4 seasons. He was an important asset to the squad, but for the wage he wanted now I felt like I could get a better goalkeeper in.
• Riley Lonergan: a central midfielder who has been at the club for three seasons. In the first two he was an integral part of the squad and started in the majority of matches. Last season he mostly featured as a back-up and that would only become less had he stayed.
• Jack McCourt: he came in from Llandudno two years ago. A left winger whose attributes were nothing special, but who had put in consistently good performances before joining us. He never showed that for us though while earning the salary of a starter.
• Isaac Matthews: a product of our own academy. This striker burst on to the scene a few seasons back when he scored a hattrick in his first competitive match. He never really developed though and wasn't good enough anymore for the team.

Only 4 players in so far:

• Louis Valere (see below) and Dylan Shanahan: I already got my goalkeepers sorted out with those two. Shanahan is a good back-up, while Valere looks like he could be a real game winner for us. I do hope he doesn't get called up to his national squad too much, as he has made his debut there already.
  
• Stuart Wilkinson: a TNS academy product who is a good back-up striker for us. He has some incredible finishing for this level. Will probably be mostly used from the bench, although I do think he will get his chances from the start as well.
  
• Kai Ludvigsen: a central defender who will be one of the players fighting for a starting XI spot.
  

I am still looking for a defensive midfielder and a winger, as we lack quality in the first position, and depth in the second.

                    

Squad

Two very good options in goal. With Louis Valere the club looks set in this position for the forseeable future.

Again Ben Davies is our man on the right side of defence. On the left Danny Williams is still our best options, but I might look to get another player in for that position. David Roberts will be our most important defender once again, while next to him Daryl Williams and Kai Ludvigsen will battle for a spot. Even Livesey Barkhuizen might get in the mix there, while he also is a good back-up at right back.

We could really do with another midfielder now I look at this. I did offer a contract to one player here, but he chose another club sadly. Joel Hart has been very good since coming to the club. Both Billy Osborn and Sonny Lewis agreed on a reasonable wage for their contracts which meant I could keep them here.

I am quite happy with the offensive options we have. Matthew Dennis is our first choice striker, which means last season's top scorer Chris Owen will have to do with a place on the right wing. On the left Daniel Ola is still our starter.

                    

Season preview

We are really being seen as one of the teams to battle for the title now. We have gotten lucky this season, as none of the relegated teams have been put into our league for the first time. Joel Hart is our only player in the league's best eleven.

                    

Board expectation

Just like last season they want top four.

 

Edited January 13 by AM23

[AM23]

July 2029

No real difficult matches yet. In the cup a team that has been in the bottom half of the Cymru South the last few seasons and will be in our division this time around. In the league we meet two relegation candidates.

                    

Blaenavon Blues - Llanidloes (League Cup)

xG: 1.14 - 2.95;  Shots: 12(4) - 22(12);  Possession: 34% - 66%

Well, that was a disaster. For only the second time we lose in the first round of the League Cup. The stats suggest we were the better team, but that was only after we were three goals down.

A horror start for new goalkeeper Louis Valere, as he conceded the first three shots on target he faced at the club. They deserved to be up at the break, although the margin they got was a bit too much. We played a much better second half, were Stuart Wilkinson immediately got his first goal at the club after being brought on from the bench. We were unable to overcome the deficit though. 

                    

Hay St. Marys - Llanidloes

xG: 2.48 - 3.03;  Shots: 9(4) - 20(9);  Possession: 39% - 61%

We start this league season in the same way we finished the last: a win away at Hay St. Marys. We were utterly dominant in this match but needed a lot of chances to get the lead here.

Again Louis Varele is the talk of the game. He gifted our opponents the lead by dropping the ball, but redeemed himself in injury time by saving a penalty, only for having to concede one anyway two minutes later. Between those moments we had managed to turn the game around to get a deserved win. Chris Owen was the hero with two assists and a goal.

                    

Llanidloes - Buckley

xG: 1.02 - 0.09;  Shots: 14(4) - 2(1);  Possession: 55% - 45%

A very boring match but we get the job done. The clean sheet is nice, especially as it happened because our defence didn't give away any chances. Coming in for the suspended Ben Davies at right back, Livesey Barkhuizen became the unlikely matchwinner with the only goal.

                    

[AM23]

August 2029

The league season really gets going here. Two difficult fixtures against other teams expected to fight at the top, as we meet Holyhead and title favourites Bala Town. Home matches against Denbigh and Mold Alex should result in easy victories for us.

                    

Holyhead - Llanidloes

xG: 1.18 - 3.51;  Shots: 10(2) - 18(6);  Possession: 44% - 56%

An unexpectedly easy win here. Of course the red card helped a lot, but even before that we had the upper hand and already got the lead as well. Again Chris Owen was our best player as he got an assist too besides his goal. I am a little bit annoyed at our second half, since we just stopped doing anything and even let them get a goal.

                    

Llanidloes - Mold Alex

xG: 1.84 - 0.16;  Shots: 13(5) - 2(0);  Possession: 49% - 51%

Another very easy win. This time an amazing defensive performance too. We got the lead through Sonny Lewis, who later assisted Matthew Dennis for the first of the latter's brace today just before halftime.

We go top of the table with this one, as Bala Town have just lost to Gresford. We meet both of those teams in our next two games. Will be interesting to see if we can keep our run going.

                    

Gresford - Llanidloes

xG: 2.05 - 2.50;  Shots: 13(8) - 16(7);  Possession: 42% - 58%

No we can't... A very unnecessary loss here. We missed a penalty early on through Chris Owen, while they did not miss out on the same opportunity later in the first half. They doubled the lead with their second real chance, and even though I nicely curled shot by Ben Davies got us back in the game, we couldn't get the draw. 

We were the better team here and Gresford only managed to string some chances together at the end when we had most of our players forward. Disappointing to lose this one.

                    

Llanidloes - Bala Town

xG: 1.53 - 3.14;  Shots: 7(3) - 14(5);  Possession: 44% - 56%

This time it's the other way around! I don't know if I should be happy or sad to be honest, as we did have the lead until 15 minutes before the end.

It was Louis Valere who prevented them from taking the lead early on, as he denied Bala Town's penalty in the 5th minute. After that it was a pretty even game up until the 70th minute, after which they suddenly got a flurry of chances to turn the game around. In the end we might have been a little bit lucky to get the draw, which came when we put together one last attack that ended with Matthew Dennis getting another brace.

                    

Llanidloes - Denbigh

xG: 3.87 - 0.07;  Shots: 21(8) - 3(0);  Possession: 51% - 49%

Pffft... It took a whole lot of doing, but we eventually got the win we very much deserved.

We scored an early goal through Sonny Lewis, but that one got ruled out as a man had been offside in the build up. I can't say the ref was against us in this game though, as he gave Denbigh a red card and not long after that a penalty to us too. Chris Owen missed from the spot for the second time in a row, which meant we kept searching for an opening. Lots of chances went begging, and just when it looked like it wouldn't happen anymore Joel Hart played a perfect through ball to Stuart Wilkinson who calmly slotted home.

                    

Both Bala Town and Gresford lose points, which means we are back on top again! It is still very tight though, so we will have to keep winning to stay here.

Edited December 18, 2023 by AM23

[AM23]

Transfers

Forgot to put these in the last post, but we have managed to attract a few extra players.

• Abraham Odoh: a relatively experienced winger who can play on both sides. He has put up some good numbers in the last two seasons at Ruthin in our division, and has also played quite a lot of League Two football a few years ago. He will probably be our first back-up on both wings, so enough playing time will come his way.
  
   
• John Foster: a left back who is good enough for the starting XI. This guy got relegated with Prestatyn Town last season, but he actually looks like quite a good player for us and is still young as well. We were in need of an extra left back, so happy to get him in. 
  
   
• Maxwell Edwards: a very good center back. He should be able to be a regular starter. I am also looking to retrain him to be a defensive midfielder, as that is a position I was looking for reinforcements, but couldn't find anyone. I feel like he could be very good there too.
  
   
• Joel Hart: has already been at the club for half a year, but I don't think I ever showed his profile.
  

Besides these incoming transfers, Daryl Williams has left the club, as he didn't have sight on a lot of playing time with the new center back signings.

[AM23]

September 2029

We meet some mid table teams in the league this month, so I'm looking for at least two wins there. In the Welsh Cup we host a non-league team, while we do have a relatively tough draw in the Tier 2 League Cup.

                   

Mumbles - Llanidloes

xG: 1.65 - 1.17;  Shots: 13(2) - 13(4);  Possession: 39% - 61%

It just wasn't our day. Two of our midfield trio got injured within 30 minutes, and although we had been the better team in that time, we could not follow that through without them.

                   

Holyhead - Llanidloes (Tier 2 League Cup)

xG: 3.04 - 1.30;  Shots: 12(7) - 12(3);  Possession: 46% - 54%

It's crazy how we just manage to replicate the first cup game we played this year. Down by three goals at the break as we let every shot on target they had go in. We went all out on attack in the second half, but even then we couldn't create anything for some reason. A terrible game with a likewise result.

Our third loss in a row in away games. Let's hope this doesn't turn in to anything.

                   

Llanidloes - Rhayader (Welsh Cup)

xG: 4.34 - 1.18;  Shots: 23(10) - 5(4);  Possession: 64% - 36%

We needed to bounce back from those previous bad results and poor Rhayader found that out in the first half. A crazy performance from midfielder Sonny Lewis as he got a hattrick in 18 minutes. For the rest I am still a little bit annoyed that we completely switched off after halftime, as this isn't the first time that has happened when we have a comfortable lead.

We need to take this win with us to our league form now. We meet Porthmadog at home next, and somehow we have never beaten them in our own backyard before. Our last three league home games against them have all ended in a 0-0.

                   

Llanidloes - Porthmadog

xG: 2.07 - 0.72;  Shots: 14(5) - 8(2);  Possession: 59% - 41%

We beat them! They got the lead very early but we didn't let that spoil the fun for us. First it was Daniel Ola who surprised the goalkeeper with a quick shot when the ball came to him after it was headed away from a corner. Just after halftime left winger Abraham Odoh dribbled past a few men before putting the ball on a plate for our striker to get us the lead. 

                   

Ruthin - Llanidloes

xG: 1.81 - 2.35;  Shots: 15(7) - 14(5);  Possession: 45% - 55%

We didn't have an easy time out there today, but we do manage to get the win and break the small streak of away losses that was building. 

We conceded very early again and initially weren't able to really trouble them. A boring first half without any chances followed, where the most notable thing happening was our second goalkeeper Dylan Shanahan getting injured on his league debut, which meant our third goalkeeper had to come on as Louis Valere is away on international duty with Mauritius. 

We needed goals, so we switched to a 4-2-4 formation at halftime. The match got very entertaining, and in the space of 15 minutes we twice levelled the scores through Matthew Dennis and took the lead too eventually. We were looking to play out the game without too much trouble then, but almost gave it all away in injury time when we gave up an enormous chance. Luckily for us their striker couldn't get it on target.

                   

Our loss to Mumbles means we haven't held on to first place, but we're still right up there. Gresford have been the real surprise so far as they were predicted to finish mid table. 

                   

[AM23]

October 2029

No tough matches this month, which means I want to see 3 wins here. A non-league team in the Welsh Cup at home again. In the league Blaenavon Blues are in the top half at the moment, but we should be able to beat them to get redemption for our League Cup defeat. Baglan Dragons are with the relegation candidates.

                    

Llanidloes - Blaenavon Blues

xG: 0.67 - 0.91;  Shots: 6(2) - 7(3);  Possession: 52% - 48%

Not good enough for a home game. It was the most boring of matches, but for a long time we were in the lead as a ball over the top by Ben Davies had put Matthew Dennis in front of their goalkeeper. It looked like we would hold on to the lead, as they were creating even less than we did, but in the end a similar goal from them got the match a fair result.

                    

Llanidloes - Kerry (Welsh Cup)

xG: 2.02 - 0.71;  Shots: 16(6) - 4(2);  Possession: 57% - 43%

An easy win with a very much rotated side. A great moment for the club as 17 year old attacking midfielder Sam Michael who came through our youth intake a couple of years ago made his debut and scored his first goal immediately with a beautiful free kick.  

We will take on league rivals Conwy at home in the next round. Could definitely have been worse, although Conwy are no pushovers.

                    

Baglan Dragons - Llanidloes

xG: 1.23 - 3.93;  Shots: 7(4) - 22(10);  Possession: 55% - 45%

We save a point with two late goals, but it should have been so much more. We can add this game to the list of matches this season were our opponent have just scored almost all of their shots. 

The worst thing about this match was that our best period besides the last few minutes was actually the first 10 minutes after halftime. We created 4 good chances in that time, of which at least one should have been scored. Instead of that Baglan Dragons got a lead of two as we gifted them both goals. Chris Owen then saved us a little bit with his first hattrick of the season, and showed me he belongs in the starting XI after I had dropped him in the previous 2 league games.

                    

Luckily for us most other teams high up the table also dropped points this month which means we still have first place in sight. Talking about first place, Conwy have taken advantage of the other teams not winning and are surprisingly in the lead for now. The league so far has been very competitive this season, which is really in our favour as it may allow us to drop some more points.

[AM23]

November 2029

Conwy have just become league leaders and now we face them twice in a row. We have played teams back-to-back two times before in this saves, and both times we drew the league game 2-2 and then lost the following cup game 3-1, so no good past with this. As for the league, we need to become more consistent now. We won the first four games, but after that our record has been 3-3-2 which is just not good enough if we want to go for the title.

                    

Llanidloes - Conwy

xG: 0.51 - 0.24:  Shots: 8(1) - 4(0);  Possession: 53% - 47%

A not at all entartaining match gets lit up by a tremendous Ben Davies strike. Our captain received the ball just outside the box and sent it straight towards the top right corner. It was the only shot on goal this match by either team, but beautiful it was. Another standout performer was central defender Maxwell Edwards, who was absolutely brilliant in his defensive actions today.

This result means we overtake Conwy, and as Gresford lost to Aberystwyth at the same time we actually take first place! 

                    

He is a back-up who I was looking to move on in the winter anyway. The first time I have seen this though!

                    

Llanidloes - Conwy (Welsh Cup)

xG: 1.57 - 0.56:  Shots: 13(3) - 8(3);  Possession: 50% - 50%

A great fight! We deservedly go through, albeit after needing a penatly shootout. We had the best chances during the match, and kept their offence at bay even with 10 men.

The first chance of the match came early, but was squandered by Matthew Dennis, who has not been in great form lately. Like last match, not much happened after. Until our red card that was, after which we surprisingly actually got better and created another 2 good chances courtesy some good dribbles from Abraham Odoh. We had the best chances and although we didn't finish those, we did take our penalties better.

We have gotten incredibly lucky in the draw, as we will play the only non-league side left in the cup. We will play Seven Sisters for a place in the quarter final.

                    

And this again... I mostly hope the embargo will be lifted before the winter transfer window.

                    

Guilsfield - Llandidloes

xG: 0.79 - 0.86:  Shots: 7(5) - 11(6);  Possession: 42% - 58%

We gave it all away! After we had taken the lead we looked to be cruising towards victory as Guilsfield had no say in this match whatsoever. Only 2 shots by them before the 85th minute, but there was a big twist in the tail.

It was no spectacle again, but another solid defensive performance and another screamer scored by a defender in Wayne Staines looked to give us the win here. All fell apart very, very late though. 

                    

Other teams keep losing as well, but we should have been right up there together with Aberystwyth Town. We really are just not consistent enough right now. Anyways, our last match of the first half of the season is against the current league leaders, so a good chance to stay close to them.

The big underperformer of the league is Bala Town once again. For the third season in a row they were sky high favourites to win the title, but again they look unable to do so.

                    

Good to see our defenders get some recognition. We were close to 3 clean sheets in a row until those last few minutes against Guilsfield...l

[AM23]

December 2029

An exciting month ahead, as we first have a chance to get into the quarter finals of the Welsh Cup, after which we immediately have a huge league match. The league is most important of course, and we should finally get some consistency there with hopefully a few wins in a row.

Seven Sisters is the first team we meet though. We have never reached the quarter final of the Welsh Cup before, so this is a golden opportunity to do just that as we play a non-league time. Getting there would not only be good news on a footballing front, but also finance wise. Getting through would mean €8k in prize money for this round and another €10k even if we lose in the next round. That money would really help us to prevent making a loss this season.

                    

Seven Sisters - Llanidloes (Welsh Cup)

xG: 0.46 - 2.47;  Shots: 8(3) - 18(5);  Possession: 46% - 54%

We get the job done! A convincing win in the end, with two players scoring their respective first goals for the club.

Seven Sisters kept our attack very quiet in the first half an hour, and it looked like we might have been in for a tough match. After that it looked like we had settled into the match though, as in the next 15 minutes before halftime we created loads of chances and got a two goal lead. Captain Ben Davies was the one leading the way, as he got both assists today.

Only 4 Cymru Premier teams remaining in the competition and again we don't meet one of them! In the quarter final we will travel to Pontypridd, who are currently 2nd in the Cymru South. Not an easy game by any means, but one of the better draws we could have gotten. The match will take place in February.

                    

Llanidloes - Aberystwyth Town

xG: 1.33 - 1.56;  Shots: 12(4) - 10(3);  Possession: 43% - 57%

It's happened again! 5 points given away in extra time in the last two league games, and it went in very similar fashion to last time here. 

We were the better team here and some good finishing in the first half helped us get a 2-0 lead. That margin didn't last long though, as David Roberts gave away an unnecessary penalty shortly after our second goal. That was Aberystwyth's only real opportunity for the whole match though. Until extra time that was, when first Roberts made a mistake to give them a big chance, which they missed. I thought we had won it after that, but then a late corner came. They managed to head the ball towards goal, but it hit the crossbar and bounced right up, and down again still in play. Somehow none of our defenders or goalkeeper could get to the ball, which meant they could easily head it in. 

We're now at the halfway stage of the league, and without all the injury time goals against us in the last two games we would have been on top. Instead we are four points behind league leaders Conwy, who have been a real surprise package.

                    

Buckley - Llanidloes

xG: 0.32 - 2.40;  Shots: 6(3) - 15(6);  Possession: 44% - 56%

15 matches, 6 points, 0 wins, last place. That is how things had gone for Buckley prior to this match. They won today though, and it makes a title look very far away for us all of a sudden.

It is really inexcusable that we lost this match, but I can't really blame how we played. We bossed Buckley around the pitch for 90 minutes straight, but were unable to finish our chances, while they scored two goals from distance. It was just one of those days really, one that hurts a lot though.

Yeah, we should really have won this one...

                    

Llanidloes - Hay St. Marys

xG: 2.07 - 0.62;  Shots: 21(6) - 7(2);  Possession: 64% - 36%

He scored on his debut in the cup, and now he scores on his starting XI debut in the league as well to become the match winner. Sam Michael is doing some special things this season. Always great to see a player from the own academy performing well, especially as no academy player has really broken into the first team in my time here.

We played another very good match, but took a long time to secure the win. Our problem lately has partly been our own effectiveness in front of goal, but mostly just how good our opponents have finished their chances.

Anyhow, we're back to winning ways in the league with what is only our 2nd win in the last 7 league games. We really need to step things up now.

                    

A little bit of a seperation between the top 5 and the rest has formed now. We're on the good side of that seperation, but I do feel like we should have had more points by now.

[RaySunshine]

Just had a read through and am enjoying your journey so far - good luck on getting that trophy!

[AM23]

5 hours ago, RaySunshine said:

Just had a read through and am enjoying your journey so far - good luck on getting that trophy!

Good to hear! I fear the wait for a trophy might last longer than just this season as we haven't been able to string some wins together. It has been a real struggle so far but that will only make me relish it more when we finally do get the count going.

[AM23]

January 2030

Two big home games this month where we will play two of our fellow top 5 teams. We had a convincing outing against Holyhead in the league earlier this season, but did get destroyed by them in the Tier 2 Cup. They have also been in some very good form as of late. The match against Mold Alex is one we should really be winning, as they are in last place right now. We don't have a good record in away games at all though, so I can't say it will be a walkover. Gresford dealt us our first loss back in August, so this is a perfect opportunity to get revenge.

                    

Llanidloes - Holyhead

xG: 0.84 - 1.97;  Shots: 12(2) - 13(6);  Possession: 52% - 48%

We can't even get two wins after one another. This was just not good enough, and to concede another late goal only makes thing worse. Center back David Roberts severly lacks in pace, which is something that has shown multiple times already this season when a long ball is played by our opponents. I sort of fixed it by starting to play him as a stopper with a cover behind him. Today though, it was one ball over the top were our cover wasn't in his right position, and of course Roberts couldn't keep up with their attacker who calmly scored the only goal of the game.

Before all that Holyhead had given us a hard time already. Our goalkeeper Louis Valere was the best man on the pitch and had already stopped a penalty too in the first half. They were really all over us in that first half, so in the second half I decided to switch to a 4-4-2 as that had worked in similar situations last season. It seemed to work again as we got a lot more solid at the back, but it only took one chance for them after the break.

We have lost 5 league matches now, which is already more than in our last 2 seasons.

                    

Mold Alex - Llanidloes

xG: 0.06 - 1.43;  Shots: 2(1) - 16(6);  Possession: 47% - 53%

We get the win but could have made it so much easier for ourselves. We shouldn't concede in these kinds of games but somehow we do every single time. I am really getting sick of conceding every shot we face against bad opponents.

After left back John Foster had put us in front early with his first goal for the club, I was hoping to get an easy match. The last time we won a game by a margin of more than one goal in the league was back at the start of August, and it still is, as we couldn't expand our lead and conceded the equaliser instead. We did get the deserved win through Joel Hart, who got the MOTM award today as he also got an assist on the first goal.

                    

Llanidloes - Gresford

xG: 2.06 - 1.52;  Shots: 15(6) - 11(3);  Possession: 58% - 42%

We do win by a margin this time! Not a game where I expected it either. Matthew Dennis had been struggling with his form with only 1 goal in 9 matches, but got a very hand brace today.

We were simply phenomenal in the first half and I felt like we had not done ourselves justice with only one goal at the break, which came after a perfect Ben Davies cross. Gresford had barely done anything up front up until that point, but came out of the dressing room a lot better. Luckily for us we were deadly in the second half and put the game to bed with a quick double strike.

                    

I think we got exactly what we deserved in our matches this month and that keeps the gap to Conwy at 5 points as they lost one game too. We need to keep this going.

                    

Joel Hart might've been our most important player so far in this season. Good to see him get some recognition here.

Not often that we have so many players in this team! Especially pleased by the performances of John Foster as of late. He is starting to show he is a real reinforcement at left back.

[AM23]

February 2030

Three difficult away games before we get the chance to take revenge on Mumbles for our defeat earlier in the season at home. In the league Denbigh are actually our highest placed opponent. They were tipped as relegation candidates and played like it early in the season, but have now made an incredible rise with 7 wins in their last 8 matches.

                    

Bala Town - Llanidloes

xG: 1.07 - 0.94;  Shots: 9(2) - 9(2);  Possession: 35% - 65%

Oh yes! What a morale boost this is. After losing quite a lot of points because of late goals against us recently, we now show we are capable of scoring late as well.

It was a tense match with not much spectacle. We were a little bit better in the first half, but after the break it looked like Bala Town had the better chance to get the win. A late second yellow for our opponents was a real blessing for us, as it led to us going on the front foot for the last few minutes. A good cross from Chris Owen and an even better finish from Matthew Dennis got us a somewhat lucky win.

We travel to Denbigh next. We completely outplayed them earlier in the season, but I don't expect that to happen again as they have just improved their streak to 8 wins from 9.

                    

Denbigh - Llanidloes

xG: 0.88 - 3.19;  Shots: 10(6) - 18(5);  Possession: 47% - 53%

We do dominate them again! What an amazing display this was. Matthew Dennis has completely turned his bad form around with another two goals today, but it was a real team performance here. Especially the first goal was one to remember, as after some quick passing play youngster Sam Michael gave perfect through ball to assist Dennis and get us the lead.

We have a big game coming up now. A Welsh Cup quarter final against Pontypridd, who are 2nd in the Cymru South. We have played 5 cup quarter finals before in this save (2x League Cup, 3x Tier 2 Cup), and only won one of them, so history does not go in our favour.

                    

Pontypridd - Llanidloes (Welsh Cup)

xG: 1.07 - 1.43;  Shots: 6(2) - 12(6);  Possession: 37% - 63%

We crash out sadly. I can't blame it on our performance as they are a very good team and we managed to play an even game against them away from home. Also, we put up a great fight to even get to the penalties.

The way they took the lead was very dispiriting for us too. We had a corner, hit the bar, they countered, scored via the post. They got one more big chance in the rest of the match, whilst we did have a hard time to get in front of goal. That changed when we started searching for the equaliser in the last 20 minutes. Our substitutes delivered as Abraham Odoh won the ball in midfield and made a dribble to the right wing from where he put in a good cross to back-up striker Stuart Wilkinson.

In the penalty shootout our shooting was disappointing. Louis Valere looked to bail us out by twice stopping one of their attempts after we had missed, but in the end we missed one too many.

                    

Llanidloes - Mumbles

xG: 1.36 - 0.16;  Shots: 8(6) - 1(1);  Possession: 59% - 41%

5 league wins in a row! Chances were very scarce today, but we did get a big win in the end. Our defensive performance was very pleasing today, giving op no shots after the 5th minute when Louis Valere was needed to make a good save.

We kept Mumbles quiet, but they did the same to us. We had also only had 3 shots prior to our first goal, which came from to subs linking up with Daniel Ola getting the assist. After that we started to relax and got another couple of goals that might be important for our goal difference in the end. Joel Hart had a great outing in midfield today, distributing the play and controlling the tempo. 

                    

Conwy have really surprised me with their ability to just keep their good form going. They were predicted midtable so a very special season by them. We look to be their only real threat right now together with maybe Holyhead.

                    

My first this season.

For the second month in a row four of our players make the team. Already the third time for Ben Davies this season.

[AM23]

March 2030

4 of the 7 league matches that remain will be played this month. It is crucial for us to continue our current form, as we are still 5 points behind Conwy (who we'll play next month). Both home games are against relegation fighting teams and should result in wins. The away games are a little bit trickier, but still fixtures where we will be the favourites.

                    

Porthmadog - Llanidloes

xG: 1.62 - 1.00;  Shots: 12(6) - 12(2);  Possession: 46% - 54%

Porthmadog prove to be a very difficult opponent for us once more, as we are lucky to go home with a point. They were clearly the better team for 60 minutes, while we were lucky to only trail by 1 goal after that with Louis Valere making some good saves. We finally took some initiative in the last half an hour of the game and got an equaliser when Matthew Dennis put it on a plate for winger Abraham Odoh. No real chances for either team came after that though.

Conwy had a scoreless draw against Holyhead, which means the gap to the top is still 5 points. 

                    

Llanidloes - Ruthin

xG: 2.74 - 1.70;  Shots: 19(8) - 16(8);  Possession: 49% - 51%

A big win which helps the goal difference too! This win was made possible by our youth academy, more specifically the coaches that helped develop Sam Michael into the player he already is. In recent times I have often preferred him as our most attacking central midfielder above Sonny Lewis. He had already put in some good performances and gotten some goal contributions, but today everything came together for him with two goals and an assist.

It was in the first half that we really had the game under control. Like has been the case before in this season, we couldn't finish our chances then, but were much more clinical in the second half to give us a comfortable lead. We did start giving Ruthin space to attack themselves after our 3-0 which resulted in us not able to keep the clean sheet. Chris Owen has not been talked about too much this season, after he had his recordbreaking goalscoring last year. He has still been of good value for us though and chipped in with two assists today to bring his tally up to 8 in the league.

This is not a great moment. Probably out for the rest of the season. He has been a regular starter for us on the right and left wing, where we don't have that much squad depth either.

                    

Blaenavon Blues - Llanidloes

xG: 2.15 - 1.29;  Shots: 17(8) - 13(4);  Possession: 45% - 55%

Ouch... I was already a little bit scared of this as we were unable to beat Blaenaveon Blues in our two previous meetings too. It wasn't good enough from our side and the match got a fair result. Big blow to our title hopes.

We started the game in the worst possible way. Our opponents created loads of chances in the first 15 minutes and could well have been up by more than 1 goal. We got more grip on the game after that, although we never had the upper hand. An equaliser by Sam Michael again did Blaenavon no harm as they got a deserved win in the end.

We do have some good news though, as Conwy, who played a day later than us have lost to Gresford. They had already drawn their previous two games too. We are 3 points away from them now.

                    

Aberystwyth are 3 points behind us right now. All teams still with some difficult matches to go.

                    

Llanidloes - Baglan Dragons

xG: 2.01 - 0.98;  Shots: 12(7) - 6(5);  Possession: 58% - 42%

A perfect first half gets us the win. We took the lead from the spot and after that it was our wingers that helped us build our lead together with some clinical finishing. Two assists by Chris Owen and two goals by Daniel Ola. We allowed no shot in the first half either. We did get complacent in the second half which meant some of the goal difference we had won got taken back, and that may prove costly in a few weeks time. One of their goals was scored by our former player Mac Masters.

                    

What I thought might happen finally did, as Conwy lost the plot this month and accumulated only 2 points. In their last match they got hit with a 96th minute winner by Bala Town. Also notice how our goal differences are tied. We would've been on top if we did not concede that late goal ourselves. Next month will be very, very tense. I think I might split the monthly update up and do the live updates for all 3 matches, as we immediately have the game against Conwy coming up.

                    

[Hootieleece]

I hope you win the Six-Pointer against Conwy. Even if I started my save with them.

[Navelgazer]

Can't wait for next update. Another year in Cymru North would be tough