Caernarfon Town manager Huw Griffiths has called for his side to be at their very best ahead of tomorrow’s European play-off against Newtown (12:00).
Griffiths’ side defeated Barry Town last weekend to give themselves home advantage in the final which has been billed as the biggest game in the club’s history.
Newtown were underdogs in their semi-final tie at Penybont last weekend with former Caernarfon Town striker Jamie Breese scoring the only goal of the game.
The Robins are no strangers to play-off success having won the 2015 final and went on to defeat Maltese side Valletta before being eliminated by FC Copenhagen.
A win for against Newtown would not only see Caernarfon qualify for Europe for the first time in their history, but also secure the club a significant financial windfall through Uefa prize money.
“We’ve created history by getting there, but we don’t want to talk about what we’ve nearly done, it’s about taking that next step forward and trying to achieve our goals,” Griffiths told Dai Sport.
“It’s going to be difficult and they’re on a fantastic run – they’ve beaten a very good Penybont side and we’re going to have to be at our very, very best to compete with them.”
It is expected that the league’s current play-off format will be quashed next season as Wales loses one of its four current European qualification places.
Griffiths believes that means Caernarfon must take the opportunity to compete on the continental stage and follow in the footsteps of a number of their North Wales rivals, who’ve achieved the feat in previous seasons.
“I look at the North and the clubs who’ve qualified for Europe – Cefn Druids, Airbus, Llandudno, Rhyl and the team in the Blue that I’m not allowed to mention anymore! All those teams up the coast who have achieved Europe are much smaller than Caernarfon Town – it’s quite astonishing that Caernarfon Town have never qualified,” he said.
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“I’m sure our club have got FA Cup stories they can talk about but in terms of what they have achieved in Welsh football… it’s a financial thing for the clubs in the Welsh Premier.
“The top-three have been the top-three for the last five years and they are streets ahead of everyone else, and with that [European] position going next year, it makes it the last chance for anybody outside of that top-three to get in there.
“The three guys who’ve got the money are the three guys who’re finishing there and that’s understandable, so it’s the last chance for anyone outside of that to have that big boost.
“The remaining cohort are all very similar and it comes down to who performs best on the day because there is very little between the rest of us,” he explained. “We can all beat each other, we’re all capable of getting something off the top-three but it’s very few and far between and they’ve been, by far, the strongest three teams in the league for some time now and the rest are just trying to get to the top of the pile and are fighting for fourth place.”
Since their promotion back into the Cymru Premier in 2018, Caernarfon have finished in the top-six for three consecutive seasons but were denied the chance to compete in the play-offs last season after the league was forced into suspension mid-campaign.
That resulted in a squad overhaul last summer with a number of regular first-team players departing The Oval. Despite the changes in personnel, the club have fared better than many outsiders had anticipated and Griffiths says that is of credit to his backroom staff, who he insists have been unsung heroes during the side’s rebuilding process.
“To be in this position we’d have snatched your hands off at the start of the season,” he said. “It’s been a total rebuild and lots of players left – I think we counted six players that started in the semi-final were players that we had brought and I really can’t complement my staff enough.
“It’s been great this week to get all the messages, but I have got a brilliant, brilliant backroom staff.
“Richard Davies [first-team assistant manager] has been here through three different managers – he supports the club first and foremost but works tirelessly behind the scenes. They do everything for me and I really can’t thank those guys enough – a lot of people need to realise that they are a huge part of what has been achieved at this football club this year.
“[The players] got to manage their emotions and focus on the game – it’s a huge game for the club, it’s a huge game for the players and the staff, the board, the committee, the volunteers and as long as we do them proud, that’s all we can ask for really.”
Caernarfon have a fully-fit squad available with goalkeeper Lewis Brass returning from a two-match ban, while Newtown could name an unchanged side from the team which beat Penybont.
The game will be televised live by S4C/Sgorio starting from 11:45 (12:00 kick-off).
