CALDICOT TOWN (Jubilee Way)

WELSH LEAGUE DIVISION TWO, CALDICOT TOWN 1-2 ABERGAVENNY TOWN, ATTENDANCE: 75 (h/c)

After my adventures in Russia I was now back home to join the hordes partaking in the Western League Ground Hop. After visiting Longwell Sports in the morning I decided to pay my £5.60 and undertake a cross border raid over the Severn Bridge for my afternoon game.

Caldicot is the first major town In Wales after the second Severn crossing so the journey from Longwell in Bristol was straightforward enough. However time constraints meant there was no chance to go a see Caldicot's most famous landmark, the 12th century castle.

The football club is not as old as that, of course, and was founded in 1953. They found a base on the King George V playing fields on Jubilee Way and that has been home to this day. There is a covered terrace on one side of the ground and a recently installed pre-fab seated stand on the other side. This is part of the ongoing process to meet the new FA Wales ground criteria.

The club joined the Welsh League in the mid 1980's and have remained members since. They having most of their time in the league in either division two or three but have had the odd foray into the top league, with their best finish in 2009 when they finished 4th in Division One.

Today was a massive Gwent derby as Abergavenny Town were the visitors to Jubilee Way and it was Abergavenny who took all the points with a hard fought victory.

Abergavenny took the lead after 10 minutes when Sean Feeley intercepted the ball and squared to Curtis Methven for a neat finish into the corner of the net.

Caldicot enjoyed plenty of possession in the opening half but in truth rarely troubled Tom Indge in the Abergavenny goal. They did though have an effort that hit the woodwork.

Caldicot continued to press after the break and Indge was called into action to make two fine saves in a matter of seconds to keep the score at 1-0. This proved vital as just five minutes later a defensive howler gifted The Pennies a second goal.

After 65 mins instead of playing a simple header back to the 'keeper, or an agricultural hoof into the trees, Matt James attempted to play his way out of trouble and turned into Aaron Norman who dispossessed the defender and coolly slotted past Gareth Wesson in the Caldicot goal.

On 70 minutes the home side got a goal back when the ball fell to Jason Thorn on the edge of the box who volleyed the ball home from 20 yards straight into top corner. Lovely technique. A sublime strike that deserved to be more than a mere consolation.

At the final whistle I was on my toes sharpish and luckily the roads were clear and I was in the ground at Hallen 4 minutes before the scheduled 5pm kick off.

I must give thanks to all a Caldicot for a very warm welcome, there was even an Evertonian to greet me! I especially must give a big thank you to the chap who made the effort to go back to his house in order to get me a club badge. Diolch.

ABERGAVENNY TOWN (Pen-y-Pound Stadium)

WELSH LEAGUE DIVISION THREE, ABERGAVENNY TOWN 2-1 CAERLEON AFC, ATTENDANCE: 52 (h/c)

After watching a few games in sunny Spain the previous weekend, it was back to the reality of a cold and wet UK this Saturday. I scanned the fixture list looking for somewhere I could head where there was also a 3G pitch nearby, just in case things went awry.

One fixture that jumped off the page was a Welsh League clash between Abergavenny Town and Caerleon. Firstly because I remembered a fellow groundhopper headed there a few weeks ago when the weather was pretty grim and, secondly, the Pen-y-Pound Stadium was a ground that, for reasons unknown, has slipped under my radar over the years.

The Pen-y-Pound Stadium was the home of the legendary Abergavenny Thursdays (surely one of best names in Welsh football). Thursdays were formed in 1927 but folded in 2013, citing a lack of players as the reason for folding.

The club were champions of the Welsh League on four occasions, the last time in 1992 leading to the club being founder members of The League of Wales. Thursdays were relegated after one season in the top flight and thus began a downward spiral that saw the club end up in the Gwent League 3rd Division by the time they folded in 2013.

Across the town, playing in local leagues, were Govilion AFC. They won promotion to the Gwent League in 2007, quickly rising to the top division. When the club decided to seek promotion to the Welsh League, they ran into problems with their Parish Council regarding the upgrade of their ground so, when Thursday's folded, Govilion moved into the Pen-y-Pound Stadium.

The main stand, that is currently closed off. Speaking to a local
and he said it hasn't been used since Abergavenny's League of Wales days.

In 2014 Govilion changed their name to Abergavenny Town and stormed to the Gwent League Division One title, going the entire league campaign unbeaten, thus returning the name of Abergavenny to the Welsh League. The club also enjoyed a run in the FAW Trophy, reaching the Semi-Final before losing to eventual winners Holywell Town.

The club are also in the last four this year, where they will play Queens Park (from Wrexham) on the 19th March. Abergavenny are also in the mix of the promotion race, currently sitting in second place in the table, though some of the teams directly below them have games in hand.

Today Abergavenny were taking on Gwent rivals Caerleon, though that was not before a worrying moment before the game. The appointed referee failed to show but, after agreement with both clubs, a local referee stepped in to save the day.

The first half somehow ended goalless a both teams wasted numerous chances to break the deadlock. On the hour mark though a cross from the left, into the six yard box, hit Town striker Dan Jenkins on the shoulder and managed to beat the Caerleon 'keeper Gareth Wesson who only helped push the ball over the line. It was the bit of good fortune that was needed after all the sitters that had been missed!

Caerleon responded well and had their chances to level but a Paul Titchard goal doubled the home sides advantage.

Caerleon did pull a goal back late on but by that stage, despite the added time, it was mere consolation. Towards the end of tempers did flare up with some unsavoury incidents but overall it was a good game to watch.

Though it was sad sight to see the main stand in such a neglected state (there are ongoing ground improvements though) I was glad to finally get in a visit to the Pen-y-Pound Stadium. May I suggest to other football fans who have not been here to pay Abergavenny a visit, it will be well worth your efforts!

Hard standing is being installed as ground improvements continue.

What a marvellous vista.