TT No.42: Mike Latham - Saturday 6 December 2014: Anglesey League: Cemaes Bay 2-3 Llangoed & District; Attendance: 60 (h/c); Admission: £1; FGIF Match Rating: 4*

Matchday images (18) https://picasaweb.google.com/footballgroundsinfocus/CemaesBayFC02

It was another game of football on Anglesey for me and another great day out. I had long meant to visit Cemaes, the most northerly village on the island and I was glad I made the effort for this was a hugely enjoyable game and a great ground.

The name Cemaes was originally spelt Cei Maes meaning Quay Area, but over the years the present spelling has been adopted. Cemaes is an ancient fishing port and is known for its beach and natural, sheltered harbour looking out towards the Irish Sea. Since the Victorian era the village has attracted many walkers, tourists and artists an, located on the Anglesey Coastal Path, it remains popular with walkers to this day.

I had my dog Finty in tow and we called off at Llanfairfechan for a walk along the front en route. We came across the football ground, just inland from the shore, where the groundsman was marking out the pitch prior to their afternoon game. I resisted the temptation to stay and headed for Cemaes, enjoying a walk on the beach and a fantastic sausage and egg barmcake from the deli on the main street before heading off for the main event.

It was good to spend some time looking around and I was pleased to have set off early. Cemaes Bay FC have only played at their School Lane ground since the 1980s and had a great spell of success in the 1990s, competing in the League of Wales, the top echelon of the Welsh pyramid from 1995 to 1998, playing for a time under the name Cemaes Ynys Mon. They were the first team from Anglesey to play at that level. Recent seasons, since 2008, have been spent in the more modest surroundings of the Anglesey League.

The ground is approached down a narrow lane from the school just inland from the harbour. There is a good car park and the ground, fully enclosed, has cover on three sides and some glorious sweeping views to sheep-clad hills and inland to a distinctive former windmill that now has been converted into a house. The main stand has some comfortable bucket seats and a great view of the action and the tea bar, fully operational and manned by friendly volunteers was well frequented.

Cemaes Bay play some games under floodlights on Friday evenings but this was a Saturday afternoon game, kicking-off at 2pm. A decent crowd assembled for kick-off and people were friendly.

The home side dominated the first half and took the lead with an excellent headed goal from their striker- the visiting official, who was manning the linesman’s duties, playing a superbly judged and fair onside (I was right in line). It was fair play to him for his honesty as I have seen several occasions where this would have been disallowed. A shame therefore that the referee, a veteran official called Derek who everyone seemed to know, later over-ruled him and gave a corner when he had signalled a goal-kick. He didn’t deserve that. In general though the referee, clearly experienced at handling local derby games had a good game and an excellent positional sense.

Just before half-time the visitors equalised from a Comedy Cuts type goal, the home ‘keeper failing to gather a cross, then a home defender on the line letting the goal-bound shot roll under his foot.  That seemed to affect the home side’s confidence and Llangoed came out for the second half in full flight. They took the lead and then added another. Cemaes pulled one back to set up a grandstand finish but the visitors held out. I really enjoyed my visit to School Lane and would recommend a visit to this relatively remote footballing outpost in a beautiful area.

contributed on 06/12/14