Damage In The Box!: LLANTWIT MAJOR AFC (Windmill Lane)

CYMRU LEAGUES CUP 1st ROUND, LLANTWIT MAJOR 3-3 RISCA UNITED* ATTENDANCE: 86

(*won 4-2 on penalties)

It felt fantastic being on the road to South Wales today, almost 18 months after my last journey down the A483.

Plenty of options to choose from, especially from the two Cup competitions taking place but, as much as I love the Welsh Trophy, I wanted for something higher up the food chain so eventually plumped for Llantwit Major versus Risca United in the Welsh Leagues (Nathaniel MG Group) Cup 1st Round. What a brilliant decision that proved to be!

Llantwit Major were founded in 1962 and were a successful amateur league team, the 1980's being a particular boom time with South Wales Amateur League titles in 1980, 1981 and 1984, along with Cup Wins in 1981, 1984 and 1987.

The last decade however has seen the club surpass those highs as they have risen from the South Wales Amateur League to the second tier of Welsh Football. The club were promoted to the Welsh League in 2012 and after a few seasons of consolidation, they won back to back titles (and promotions) in 2017 and 2018.

When football in Wales was restructured in 2019, the club were founder members of the Cymru South. Their first season was cut short due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the club were placed 11th in the final standings on points per game.

The club are based at Windmill Lane, which is in the shadow of the old Frampton Mill (pictured right) which was built around 1820, but ceased working around 1850 and was converted to a dwelling in the early 1980s.

The ground has undergone Major changes to meet the licence criteria for step 2 football in Wales. The ground is fully enclosed and has two seated stands, one on each side of the pitch. The ground looked resplendent on a gloriously sunny afternoon.

The opening exchanges were fairly even but the best chances fell to the homesters so it was slightly against the run when Risca opened the scoring through Leon Thomas after 20 minutes.

Llantwit Major were level on the half hour when Josh Jones blasted home from the edge of the box and nearly took the lead when a Rob Jones effort came back off the post. They did take the lead after 41 minutes when Josh Jones rounded the 'keeper for his second and in stoppage time it was 3-1 when Thomas Walters was felled in the box and he stepped up to convert the resulting penalty.

Leon Thomas brought Risca back into the game after 57 minutes and 10 minutes later it was all square as Jordan Thomas netted the equaliser.

In the last stages of the game it could have gone either way as both teams pushed for a winner but it wasn't forthcoming and it was the dreaded penalty shoot out.

The Cuckoo's comeback was complete as they triumphed in the shoot out, Arthur Furness scoring the winning kick after efforts from Major's Ioan Emmanuel (saved) and Josh Morgan (skied) were missed. A wonderful encounter, especially when you consider the searing heat, just a shame one team had to lose.