Lloydy set for 30th European Appearance
Gary Lloyd is in line to make his 30th Appearance in Europe on Tuesday night, extending his record as the most experienced Euro campaigner in Principality Welsh Premier history. Neil Dymock looks back with Gary at some of the highlights and reports to the club's Official Website.
It all started for Gary when he left Stebonheath for Barry Town in the mid-90's and was part of the successful UEFA Cup run which brought Barry the scalps of Dinaburg and Budapest, before a gallant 6-4 aggregate defeat against Aberdeen in 1996.
The following two seasons saw Gary pit his wits against the likes of Rebrov and Shevchenko, £50 million worth of Dynamo Kiev talent on four occasions. Gary was next in the line of fire against Portuguese giants Boavista and the following season a win against Shamkir of Azerbaijan, gave Gary a chance to play against Porto boasting the quality of Jorge Costa, Carvalho, Deco and Pena. An 8-0 defeat in Portugal couldn't dampen spirits for the second leg and Gary converted a last minute penalty to seal an historic 3-1 win over Porto.
Gary played another two European ties for Barry Town against Skonto Riga and Macedonians Vardar, before a year out of the Welsh Premier scene with Newport County. However he was to return to the European stage at Carmarthen Town and after a disappointing 2-0 defeat in Ireland against Longford Town, the return played in Newtown added another amazing night to Gary's memoirs. He was to score twice as Carmarthen stormed to a 5-1 win and a second round tie with FC Copenhagen, a tie they went on to lost 6-0 on aggregate. Finally it was back to Llanelli for Gary to play out his days at his hometown club, but it has been far from a quiet wind down to his remarkable career. Gefle IF, Odense BK and FK Vetra can already vouch for that and he now has Ventspils in his sights in the country that ironically brought his first European success 12 years ago.
Gary recalls some of the games as he looks ahead to the Ventspils tie.
"I played in Latvia twice for Barry in what were two very different ties. We had a great win against Dinaburg, but Skonto Riga were an established side, the best side in Latvia for years at that time. Ventspils will be a hard game. They will come to the game in Tuesday looking to defend so if we can get a goal or two it will give us a great chance in Latvia.
"I remember when we played in Azerbaijan. We had beaten Shamkir 2-0 at home, but got absolutely battered away, but managed to come away with a 1-0 victory, which gave us the dream tie against Porto. They had phenomenal players at that time and it was a great experience to beat them 3-1 at home despite the tie being over after the first leg. Dynamo Kiev was also a fantastic experience. To play against Rebrov and Shevchenko was phenomenal and a vast difference to the bread and butter of our domestic league and cup games.
"I also remember fondly the game for Carmarthen against Longford. We had been well beaten in the first leg 2-0, so to win the second leg 5-1 and score twice was an amazing night. I have been very fortunate to play so many games in Europe, and it will be a great experience for some of our younger players as well as players such as Jason Bowen who has played at the highest level but never in Europe. Also what a night for our fantastic supporters!"
