ABERFAN FC (The Grove Field)

FAW WELSH CUP 2ND ROUND, ABERFAN 0-3 BRITON FERRY LLANSAWEL, ATTENDANCE: 106 (h/c)

It was another round of the Welsh Cup this weekend and the competition has now reached the stage where the 'big boys' enter. There were plenty of ties involving the Cymru Premier clubs but the tie that interested me the most was one that involved one of the lowest ranked teams left.

After seeing South Wales Alliance League Championship Division Aberfan knock out Merthyr Saints in the 1st qualifying round back in July, they have progressed to this stage thanks to further wins over Tonyrefail BGC and Pontyclun. When they pulled out Cymru South Briton Ferry Llansawel, then heading down the A470 to the outskirts of Merthyr Tydfil seemed a no brainer. A smattering of other groundhoppers obviously had the same idea!

The village of Aberfan is about four miles south of Merthyr Tydfil and is a former mining community in the Taff Valley. The village is synonymous with the worst coal mining related disaster in British history. At around 9.15am on October 21st 1966, a colliery spoil tip collapsed sending a 40ft tidal wave of coal waste down the mountain and onto the village. It was Pantglas Junior School that took the brunt of the avalanche and 116 school children died along with 5 of their teachers. Several houses and a farm were also destroyed and the final death toll was 144. A memorial garden now stands on the site of the school.

After a visit to the garden and cemetery to pay my respects ahead of the 57th anniversary next week, it was back to the trivial matter of a football match, where there was an impeccably observed minutes silence before kick off.

Founded in 1968, Aberfan Football Club play their home games at The Grove Field, on the banks of the River Taff. The main football pitch is railed off, but there is no furniture to protect you from the elements. In the 24 hours prior to the game the weather had been dreadful, with heavy rain, but the pitch held up well, even if it was very squelchy underfoot for us spectators.

After playing in the local district leagues the club joined the South Wales Amateur League in 2012 and then became founder members of the South Wales Alliance League in 2015, where they currently play in the Championship Division, which sits at level five in the Welsh pyramid.

Visitors Briton Ferry are currently top of the Cymru South (level two in Wales) and were overwhelming favourites to win the tie. In the end a 3-0 scoreline suggests The Ferry did with relative ease but Aberfan made them work hard for their victory and they can take a huge amount of pride in their performance.

Briton Ferry Llansawel dominated the possession from the off but it wasn't until the 20th minute that they made the breakthrough. Kris Evans broke into the Aberfan penalty area before exchanging passes with Jasper Payne before slotting home. Harry Jones in the Aberfan goal made some good saves to keep it at 1-0 at half-time.

The second half followed a similar pattern but as the half wore on Aberfan started to push forward a little more. In the 83rd minute they had their big chance and with just the 'keeper to beat the effort was saved.

Showing how football turns in the blink of an eye, Briton Ferry immediately went up the other end and scored their second goal, when Payne netted to effectively clinch the tie. In the 87th minute Briton Ferry had their third when an attempted clearance by the 'keeper was charged down by substitute Luke Bowen and the ball rolled into the unguarded goal.

Briton Ferry Llansawel march into the next round, the gulf in class was obvious, but Aberfan bowed out of the competition with their heads held high. 

Whilst I am here, may I thank Aberfan for going to the effort of producing a programme, in this day and age it is much appreciated.

RADNOR VALLEY (The Bypass)

FAW WELSH CUP 1st ROUND, RADNOR VALLEY 0-4 GRESFORD ATHLETIC, ATTENDANCE: 102 (h/c)

After travelling to Kington in midweek, I found myself travelling along the A44 once again this afternoon, this time though I remained firmly on the Welsh side of Offa's Dyke, in the former county town of Radnorshire.

The first round proper of the Welsh Cup drew me to the village of New Radnor, where Ardal North East Radnor Valley were hosting Cymru North Gresford Athletic at The Bypass. This was the first ever meeting between the two clubs, so you could say it was an historic occasion.

The Bypass has been home to The Goats since 2021 when they were forced to leave their previous home at School Lane. The ground is accessed from the A44 and fortunately, for me, the entrance was marked with a couple of high-viz poles otherwise I would have driven straight past the ground. The new ground has a small seated stand, plus hard standing down two sides of the pitch, and is a vast improvement on their previous home.

Gresford started as favourites for the tie and those predictions were justified as The Colliers eased into round 2. That said Radnor put up a spirited performance and did have a couple of half chances before James Smith bundled in the opener after 37 minutes.

The game was effectively over just after half time when Toby Gallagher-Keenan (49) made it 2-0. Smith headed home his second goal on the hour mark and Gresford were then on easy street. 12 minutes from time Radnor were awarded a penalty and a chance of a consolation but Joe Price's spot kick was sent over the bar and into the tree behind the goal. Haci Ozlu (81) then made it 4-0 to make it a comfortable win for Gresford.

I was definitely glad to get back in the car after the game after standing out in the cold and wet - this was the first time this season the woolly hat made an appearance - it felt ridiculous after burning in the heat of the hottest day of the year last Saturday!

NFA FC (Ffordd Derwen)

FAW WELSH CUP 2nd QUALIFYING ROUND, NFA 4-1 LLANDYRNOG UNITED, ATTENDANCE: 82 (h/c)

I stayed close to home this weekend and headed down the coast to Rhyl.

NFA FC was formed in 2018 with the purpose to give players a fun, friendly & professional environment to enjoy their football. NFA originally stood for North Football Association but to avoid confusion with any governing bodies, Association was changed to Advance in 2020.

The club are based on land off Ffordd Derwen, which is about a mile or so from Rhyl train station. The pitch is fully railed and dugouts are in the process of being built. There is no cover for spectators but that was fine today as, despite the strong wind blowing across the pitch, sunny Rhyl lived up to it's nickname.

It was NFA who played the conditions best and it was no surprise when James Stead (37) gave The home side an interval lead.

The tie was sealed thanks to three goals in five second half minutes from Antonio Jacovelli (63, 68) and substitute Jordan Bellham (65). Nathan Rose (75) managed a consolation goal for Llandyrnog.

An enjoyable afternoon of football, all for the bargain admission price of £2.

James Stead opens the scoring for NFA

MERTHYR SAINTS (ICI Rifle Fields)

FAW WELSH CUP 1st QUALIFYING ROUND, MERTHYR SAINTS 0-2 ABERFAN FC, ATTENDANCE: 124 (h/c)

There are always plenty of options when it comes to the very early rounds of the Welsh Cup and today was no exception. Anyhow after much deliberation I headed to South Wales and the Borough of Merthyr Tydfil.

Merthyr Saints were hosting Aberfan in an all South Wales Alliance League clash at the ICI Rifle Field.

The history of Merthyr Saints effectively began in 1995 when, after winning the South Wales Amateur League, Hoover Sports entered the Welsh League, groundsharing at Penydarren Park, before merging with St. Illtyds FC in 2000 and relocating to the ICI Rifle Fields ground in Pant, just off the A465 'Heads of the Valley' road. The club raised £500,000 to upgrade the facilities and they changed their name to Merthyr Saints FC.

The club remained in the Welsh League until 2007 before being relegated back to the South Wales Amateur League. The Hoover factory closed it's doors in 2009.

The club moved pitches in 2020 and installed a seated stand and floodlights. The old pitch is still used by the reserves, and there was a game taking place on there this afternoon - can I count that as a double?

 The old first team pitch at the ICI 

This Welsh Cup tie was a lot more closer and competitive than the one I attended at St Asaph City on Friday night! A close encounter with both teams giving no quarter. In a game of few chances, the difference was a couple of clinical strikes in the second half from Luke Tarr (55) and Josh Powell (70) that saw Aberfan safely through to the next round.