Fuente: © UEFA (English)
http://www.uefa.com/

FOOTBALL EUROPE: New beginning for Newtown

/noticias.info/ by Trevor Haylett

Newtown AFC, one of the oldest clubs in the League of Wales, are the surprise early leaders with a maximum haul of nine points from three games. Their latest victory came at the expense of Cwmbran Town FC, a 4-1 success with skipper Danny Barton scoring twice for the second match running.

Smith winner
The Robins first saw off the challenge of UEFA Cup representatives Carmarthen Town AFC with Peter Smith, back at Newtown after a year with Rhyl FC, grabbing the late winner in a 2-1 victory. That was followed by a 2-0 triumph for Roger Preece's side at Connah's Quay Nomads FC.

Nicholas upturn
Llanelli FC, a struggling outfit last season but reinvigorated with the introduction of several signings from Spain and the return of former Welsh international Peter Nicholas as manager, have also started well. They had the chance to take pole position this week following 5-0 and 4-1 wins in their first two outings.

Fiery encounter
However, in front of a 744-strong crowd, they came unstuck at home to Carmarthen, losing 2-0. It was a fiery encounter that saw Llanelli reduced to nine men and their opponents to ten following three red cards.

Four-goal tally
Caernarfon Town FC, who finished 15th last term, are also unbeaten with two wins and a draw helping them to second place. Lee Jones, formerly of Wrexham FC and Liverpool FC, has made his mark with four goals including a hat-trick against Caersws FC in a 6-0 opening-day romp.

Bangor bottom
Caernarfon's last victory came against Connah's Quay who remain pointless after three matches. However, the Deeside club are not rock bottom, the basement position being filled, surprisingly, by Bangor City FC, last season's third-ranked team and UEFA Intertoto Cup participants.

Davenport struggle
A number of summer departures suggested things would be tougher this time round for manager Peter Davenport and a 5-0 first-day loss at Llanelli was an unhappy portent for what may lie ahead.

Slow start
Champions Total Network Solutions FC have been slow to recapture the form that won praise following their UEFA Champions League qualifiers against Liverpool, beginning with two draws. Their first win came against Bangor with last season's 34-goal marksman Marc Lloyd Williams on target along with ex-Everton FC trainee Steven Beck. It was Lloyd-Williams's second of the campaign; Michael Wilde, who scored 19 times last term, has also registered twice so far. notas_de_prensa_archivo