Caernarfon Town - 19.04.2025 - Match Report
The Archers headed north to close out the regular season with a fixture against 4th placed Caernarfon Town at the Carling Oval. A win for Met would see them leapfrog the hosts and face local rivals Barry Town in the European play-off quarter-finals but without a win in their previous five games, the visitors were hoping to replicate their 4-2 home win earlier in the season.
On a difficult surface, Met tried to keep possession while the hosts were more direct in their approach, using set pieces to look for openings against a stubborn Archers rearguard. Met began to get a foothold in the game and broke the deadlock just after the 30-minute mark, Ben Hughes parried a Craven shot into the path of Adam Roscrow and the Met striker hooked the ball home from close range. Minutes later Vincent cut inside and looked to curl an effort into the corner only to see Hughes push the ball away to safety.
With both sides hoping to keep key players fit for the play-offs, Met were dealt a blow on the stroke of half-time, a robust challenge from Phil Mooney on Sam Jones saw the Met striker unable to continue, replaced by Jake Morris.
Not for the first time this season, Met conceded early in the second half, Mooney firing home from a tight angle to level the score in the 52nd minute. With the home fans urging their side on, midway through the second half the Cofi Army had more to cheer as top scorer Louis Lloyd gave the hosts the lead, another close-range goal supplied by Adam Davies giving Lloyd the simplest of tasks from six yards out.
Met pressed forward in search of the equaliser however were unable to breach the home defence and it was Caernarfon Town who emerged with all three points, in doing so confirming a 4th place finish.
Met will now welcome Bala Town to Cyncoed on Saturday for a quarter-final showdown, with the victors taking on the winner of Caernarfon v Barry.
