Santa Saints finish as Scrooges
SAINTS gifted Caernarfon an early Christmas present with a fourth-minute defensive howler, but eventually proved too strong for the league's bottom club. Gerard Doherty lingered with a John Leah backpass on the edge of his box and lost possession, for Darren Wright to steer the ball into the far corner from a narrow angle. But the lead lasted justed nine minutes before Duane Courtney beat his marker down the right to provide for Martyn Naylor, whose cross found John Toner at the far post and the striker made no mistake from six yards. TNS took the lead on 20 minutes, Naylor the scorer this time with a 15-yarder after Phil Baker and Alfie Carter had combined down the left. The Canaries belied their lowly league position with a spirited display on a poor pitch which was something of a leveller. Keiran Quinn had dragged his shot wide even before the goal, while former Leeds United starlet Chris Jones forced a good save from Doherty. Layton Maxwell also had the ball in the net five minutes before the break, but referee Lee Evans had already blown for off-side. Barry Hogan replaced the injured Scott Ruscoe at half-time and sent a 20-yarder narrowly over Paul Pritchard's crossbar, while Toner sent one shot straight at the keeper and fired wide from Greg Stones's left-wing cross. Another goal was needed to settle the contest and it finally arrived on 68 minutes. Alfie Carter chased down a long clearance out of defence and when Pritchard was forced to chest the ball clear outside his area, Carter was presented with an empty net for the third. Shots rained in as Saints dominated the late exchanges, but the Canaries' defence held firm under some severe pressure. |