228.09.24 8.09.24
matchday squads matchday squads
Morgan Davies Morgan Davies tomos bodger tomos bodger
Ollie Withers Ollie Withers
Josh Allen Josh Allen
Jack Fox Jack Fox
Daniel Spencer Daniel Spencer
Kyle Jones Kyle Jones
Evan Griffiths Evan Griffiths
Jay Woodford Jay Woodford
Lewis Ellis Lewis Ellis
Liam Warman Liam Warman
Lee Price Lee Price
Tim Parker Tim Parker
Cole Baker Cole Baker
Rhys Morgan Rhys Morgan
Jacob Jones Jacob Jones
Finley Skiverton Finley Skiverton
Keiron COLES Keiron COLES
Abdulrasheed Ibrahim Abdulrasheed Ibrahim
Dion Facey Dion Facey
Ioan Martin Ioan Martin
Efan Fletcher Efan Fletcher
Thomas Hillman Thomas Hillman
Danny Birch Danny Birch
Calum Salter Calum Salter
Jac Joseph Jac Joseph
cameron keetch cameron keetch
dai thomas dai thomas
Jack Cooper Jack Cooper
Lewis Watkins (GK)
Iwan Hooper (GK)
Andrew Larcombe ©
Samuel Powell Lewis Iles
Tyler Broom
Kian Bodenham
Andrew Hewitt
Curtis Patel
Joshua Hinwood
Dominic Connor
Isaac Powell
Shaun Moss
Alex McDowell
George Jenkins
Cole Doolan
Adrian Maguire
Alex Bonthron
Thomas Meechan
Alfie Foster
Gabriel Howells
Manager: James Kinsella
Assistant: Connor James
Team Manager- Liam WIlliams
Team Manager- Liam WIlliams
Coach: Matthew Williams
Coaches- Adrian Needs/Gareth Evans
Coaches- Adrian Needs/Gareth Evans
GK Coach: Sam Lewis
Cambrian United has it’s own clubhouse situated just 100 yards from the ground. We would like to welcome all visiting supporters to come and join us after the match.
The Lakside is open from 9am-5pm every weekday and until 8:30pm on Monday and can be used for private functions. On Friday, Saturday and Sunday the club is open from 10am10:30pm.
For a home cooked meal, Sunday lunch, private function or any other catering requirements please contact:
Amanda Newman (Manager)
Chairman’s welcome Chairman’s welcome
Ceri jones Ceri jones
Good afternoon and welcome to the M&P for the latest instalment of our Cymru South season.
After a long and distinguished history under the name of C&CBGC, the club has started our new odyssey as Cambrian United. The rebrand is part of an exciting new chapter for the club that will underline its renewed commitment to becoming a powerhouse for community regeneration in RCT. All of our football divisions will rebrand in line with our new club name, with Cambrian United sitting under the Cambrian Village Trust as part of a new governance structure.
And you therefore join us today as rapidly evolving Cambrian United; the evolution that is happening here is very much on and off the football pitch with progression very much at the heart of our club.
On the pitch, Liam and his management team have had a busy summer rebuilding the playing squad with the revolving door spinning relentlessly. But the football leadership team have grasped the opportunity to reconstruct the squad to great effect; there is now a nice balance of youth with proven Tier 2 experience. Beyond the Mens squad, the Womens senior squad have been also busily preparing for their inaugural campaign in Tier 3 and have also strengthened with some proven talent and experience.
At the younger age groups, the Academy continues to flourish and during the summer we took our first steps into mini football for girls as part of our new ambitions to grow female football at the club. We are hugely grateful to RCTCBC and the Levelling Up Fund for the support in helping us launch our "Kickin Queens" initiative and this is just the first step in our bold ambitions to establish the club as a provider of girls football in RCT. We are hoping to launch our first ever U7/8s mini girls squad soon; so if you have a football mad daughter then please do get in touch with us.
Off the field, visitors will be able to see that the rebuilding process has also been very much in play. We have recently opened our pristine new 3G surface, and in due course the Club and the Cambrian Village Trust will be opening our new state of the art changing facilities (including female only facilities) and our new multi purpose gym. These new developments are a testament to partnership working and collaboration and we must acknowledge the support of the FAW and the local authority for their investment in not only the bricks and mortar, but also their buy in to the future vision that we have as club as an anchor organisation for our community.
Enjoy today's a game and let's hope it will be another positive result for the club.
Our History Our History
Cambrian United is a football cub nestled in the heart of the Rhondda Valley in small village called Clydach Vale. Formed in 2001, we have grown exponentially since that time and have become arguably the biggest and best football cub in RCT. Within a decade we have had numerous successes including winning the Welsh League Division 1 title in 2011/2012, our highest accolade to date. Another huge milestone for the club happened within the decade also, with our Academy being formed in 2008 after the devolution of RCT Schools/Council Football. The Academy was set up with a sole purpose, to provide elite opportunities for young players within RCT. Starting with 1 team, the present day we have grown to 11 teams from u7 to u16s with the brand #CamArmy renowned within football circles all over Wales. Since the Academy's inception, over 40 players have gone on to professional clubs in that time and over 20 players have since graduated and played senior football in the Welsh League for the club. Our model for player development is second to none and we are the only affiliated FAW Academy in RCT. Through our innovative thinking, we became the first club in RCT to have an artificial 3G pitch in 2013, which has helped propel our brand of football to new levels. We have also been loyal to our roots, keeping grassroots teams playing in the local leagues through our link with the ever-present Boys & Girls club Cambrian United was formed in 1965, taking its name from the local colliery. After success in the Rhondda & District League, the club was elected to the South Wales Corinthian League in 1972. They won the second division championship at the first attempt and followed up the following season by winning the Corinthian Cup with a 5-2 extra time victory over Cardiff Corries.
In season 1977-78 the side were runners up in the first division losing out on goal difference to near neighbours Ton and Gelli In 1980, the club joined with the very successful Clydach Vale Boys and Girls Club seniors, but the merger was. spectacular failure and almost led to the club losing its Amateur League status after several poor seasons during the decade.
Our History Our History
The 1990's saw the rebuilding process begin and the second division title was won for the second time in 1992. in 1994, manager Neil Foulkes joined the club and celebrated by winning the Corinthian cup a season later. In 1996-97, the club had a terrific year winning the FAW Trophy by defeating Rhyl Detta 2-1 at Jenner Park and won a second successive Corinthian Cup beating Cardiff Civil Service 4-2. In addition, they were league runners up to Ely Rangers. There then followed a run of four more runners up spots in six years and another Corinthian Cup triumph, this time by 4-1 margin against Llantwit Fardre, before the Championship was finally won in 2004/5. In 2000, the club had re-merged with the Boys and Girls Club. The club is also very active off the pitch working closely with the local Village Trust to develop facilities in the area, two full time soccer coaches are employed to work with local schools and major improvements have taken place at the ground. An all-weather, floodlit AstroTurf area has been built at a cost of £116,000 and a clubhouse facility opened in October 2005 after the club and the Trust successfully generated the £130,000 required. Floodlighting on the ground was completed at the start of August 2007. The Club entered the Welsh League for the first time in season 2005/06 and a very successful year ended with the Third Division Championship being won after close rivals West End had been deducted three Points. Season 2006/7 turned out to be even more memorable as promotion was gained to the top division of the Welsh League with second placed finish behind champions Garw, in addition the Youth side won the MacWhirter Cup defeating Pontardawe Town 5-2 in the final as well as finishing runners up in their division. In the 2007/8 season, the clubs first ever in Division One began with an incredible 5 straight wins and although the small squad could not sustain this long term, a creditable ninth place was achieved. The club also embarked on a new venture, taking over and forming the new RCT UEFA Academy programme. This part of the club has gone from strength to strength over the past few seasons and the club now runs age groups from 7 through to 19 at elite level. A major change also took place on the Management Committee in 2008, with former England Manager Terry Venables agreeing to become chairman of the cub. Terry was already Patron of the highly successful Cambrian Village Trust and has close links with Clydach Vale, where his mother was born. Last season after challenging for the title over the last few seasons Cambrian & Clydach
today’s opponents today’s opponents
Cwmbran Celtic football club was formed in 1925. In the early years the club was known as CYMS (Catholic Young Men's Society). After the immediate success of winning the Newport & District Division 2 Section A title in 1925/6 there was then a 25 year gap before the next trophy, the Premier Division title in 1950/1. The club disbanded in the late 1950’s largely as a consequence of national service call-ups but a large influx of junior and youth players brought about the reforming of the club in 1964 under the new name of Cwmbran Catholics. In 1970/1 Celtic won the Gwent Senior Cup. In 1972/3 with playing membership open to all denominations the club dropped the catholic title and re-named as Cwmbran Celtic winning the Gwent Amateur Cup and finishing runners-up in the Gwent Premier League. In 1979 the club bought its own premises at Oak Street, Old Cwmbran, the club's present headquarters. The club's ground was in Cwmbran Park but around 1995 they moved to the grounds outside Cwmbran Stadium which were shared with Cwmbran Cricket club. The cricket club later moved to Caerleon and Celtic obtained the lease from Torfaen Council. Celtic played in the Gwent County League in the 1980s and 1990s and after gaining promotion as champions of Division 2 in 1986/7 remained in the 1st division for the next 10 seasons. However a disastrous slide found the club languishing in the 3rd division when Paul "Dishy" Richardson became manager in 1999. He transformed the side bringing in experienced exCwmbran Town stalwarts Mickey Copeman and Kevin Payne alongside teenage striker Shane Williamson who for a dozen seasons was top scorer. The side was later bolstered by the return of ex-professionals Ben Graham and Mark Parfitt who had started their careers with Celtic as juniors. There were successive promotions from the 3rd to 1st division between 1999 and 2001 and in 1999/2000 Celtic won the Gwent County league cup.
In 2004/5 under new player-manager Mickey Copeman, the club were runners-up to Clydach Wasps who applied for membership of the Welsh Football League but their ground was adjudged to be not of the required standard. Celtic applied instead. Their ground was also not up to standard but they were able to share Cwmbran Stadium with Cwmbran Town and the Welsh League accepted the club's application. In their first season in the WFL, 2005/6, Celtic struggled near the bottom of the 3rd division all season. In April Celtic travelled to Chepstow Town needing a win to stay in the league. They went 1-0 down. With minutes of normal time remaining substitute Jason Price equalised but a draw was not enough. In the 9th minute of time added on player manager Mickey Copeman went up for a corner. The ball was cleared off the goal-line by a Chepstow defender, it hit Copeman on the back and rebounded into the net. Celtic had achieved a last gasp win and, by winning their final match against Seven Sisters, Celtic escaped relegation on goal difference.
today’s opponents today’s opponents
The following season, 2006/7, Celtic now back at their upgraded and newly named ground, Celtic Park, were transformed. They only lost 2 games and enjoyed a 24 match unbeaten run. They went to Risca for their last match already promoted but needed to win to secure the Championship ahead of Llanwern. With 3 minutes left Celtic were 10 down playing with 10 men after a red card for Kevin Payne. Then Sammy Winter equalised with a speculative long range shot and in the last minute a Risca clearance found full back Ben Graham outside the box. He hit a perfect looping volley over the goalkeeper's head and into the net. Celtic were champions. In Division 2 Celtic consolidated their position in 2007/8 and 2008/9 during which they introduced a number of players from their new partnership with Fairwater High School Football Academy in Cwmbran managed by Celtic coach Della Cheedy.
In 2009/10 Celtic were front runners destined to win the Championship. However they lost two key defenders at a crucial time and vital points were dropped. Nevertheless Celtic finished their games in 1st place and would win the title if Penrhiwceiber failed to win at Newcastle Emlyn. The home side was 2-0 up at one stage but Ceiber clawed their way back to win 3-2 and deny Celtic the championship. At the end of the season Mickey Copeman stood down after 7 years during which he secured 3 promotions which took the club from Gwent County League to the top division of the Welsh League.
In their first season in the 1st division, 2010/11 under new manager Ben Graham, Celtic struggled for much of the season and were firmly planted in the relegation zone but a superb run-in during which they won 7 and drew 3 of 14 games earned them 12th place out of 16. In 2011/12 a good start was made under Alan Dibble who stepped down in September with the team in 5th place, to be replaced by Gareth Morgan. Either side of Christmas, Celtic were 2nd but they had a dismal end of season run and again finished 12th.
In 2012/13 with head coach Della Cheedy at the helm, Celtic started brightly with some fine performances including a 4-2 win versus reigning champions Cambrian & Clydach but they lost their way in the New year and at one stage were in last place. However, with characteristic determination they dragged themselves up the table and sealed another season in the top division with a resounding 5-1 win against Haverfordwest County. Under Steve Morgan in 2013/14 Celtic underperformed finishing 4th from bottom and with Afan Lido relegated from the Welsh Premier League, Celtic were relegated despite appealing to an FAW arbitration. With Della Cheedy back as manager in 2014/15 Celtic finished 7th in Division 2.
In 2015/16 Nicky Church started as manager but he resigned mid-season. Ex Ton Pentre boss Dean Morris took over, won two manager of the month awards, and guided Celtic to the runners-up position and promotion on the back of 10 straight wins. The club also reached the quarter finals of the Welsh Cup, going down 2-1 after a brave fight at home to WPL side Port Talbot. Josh Bull was the Welsh League’s top scorer with 32 league goals.
In 2016/17, back in the 1st Division, Celtic went top of the league early in the season. Dean Morris resigned in March 2017 and first teamer Lee Challenger took over, winning his first 5 games in charge as the team ended in 6th place, their best position in 5 seasons in the top tier.
SSenior enior
T. Parker T. Parker f. Skiverton f. Skiverton m. Davies m. Davies e. Griffiths e. Griffiths
x x l. Warman l. Warman i. Martin i. Martin j. jones j. jones
k.Coles r. Morgan j. Allen D. Facey
SSquad quad
e. fletcher k. jones k. jones
e. fletcher
Woodford
l. Price l. Price A. Ibrahim A. Ibrahim
c. Baker c. Baker t. Hillman t. Hillman
d. birch g. welsh
Senior S Senior S
J. Cooper J. Cooper
D. Thomas D. Thomas
C. Keetch
C. Keetch
Youth Youth
well ell l. johns l. johns l. roberts l. roberts b. gill b. gill
c. williams c. williams w. evans w. evans r. evans r. evans j. rees j. rees
m. riley k. crossley a. cartwright o. withers
SSquad quad
j. joseph j. joseph j. salmon j. salmon
j. pope j. pope k. woodruff k. woodruff
Women’s team Women’s team
Women’s team Women’s team
The retention of players, new signings, and Andrew’s appointment have been positively influenced by ongoing facility developments. We look forward to utilizing our enhanced pitch and changing rooms, which include dedicated women’s facilities with individual cubicles. These improvements address confidence and self-esteem issues that can lead to higher dropout rates in girls' and women’s football and are crucial for our Tier 2 license aspirations.
Last month our Senior team and our Walking Football Team - Cambrian Hot Steppers were joined by James Norris - JN Fitness. Our team suffered two ACL injuries last season. ACL and knee injuries are disproportionately prevalent in women’s football. James joined us to discuss what additional steps our players can take in warm up to activate certain muscle groups and has invited our players to his studio to go through strength and conditioning exercises to help reduce the risk of knee injuries.
We extend a heartfelt thank you to ExtraScope, our women's team sponsor for this season. ExtraScope, a female-owned IT Services company based in Rhondda Cynon Taff, South Wales, shares our values of empowering women and recognizes the benefits of team sports. They provide IT support to schools and businesses across South Wales and offer competitive prices on hardware and software sales. As SSIAB accredited, Hikvision, and Paxton certified installers, ExtraScope delivers comprehensive proposals, installations, and maintenance/support services for your security and IT needs.
For more information, contact ExtraScope at 01443 606111 or info@extrascope.com.
We’d also like to thank CALGAR plumbing and heating who has sponsored our player, Toni Evans and Nick Forbes - WH Surfacing Equipment Ltd who has sponsored ALL of our remaining players! Yes, all!
www.wh-surfacepreparation.co.uk
We invite anyone interested in supporting the growth of our girls' and women’s section—whether through coaching, sponsorship, or cheering on the team—to contact us at femalepathways@cambrianunited.com
cambrian village trust cambrian village trust
Summer highlight so far;
This gentleman hadn’t been on a bike for many years, so he jumped at the chance to hop back in a seat and have a ride around our beautiful lake. To see him smiling and hear him laughing through our 3 laps of the lake highlighted to me the power of our work within the community.
We run a variety of programmes here at CVT:
-Musketeers Social Group, combating loneliness and helping people with dementia, once a week.
-Forkers Group, our army of volunteers who come together once a week to tend to our gardens’ needs; they seed, maintain and pick fruit and vegetables for sale in our Siop Y Llyn, and personal use.
-3 x Inspire Groups, educating adults with learning needs, giving them unique opportunities to broaden their experiences
-Walking Football & Rugby, weekly sessions that bring all ages and abilities together, enabling them to still continue to play the sport of their choice, and have a social gathering afterwards at our Lakeside Cafe Bar.
-Little Ducklings, Mini Explorers, Eco Warriors groups, working with 0-16 years old educating them about green energy and life skills.
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cambrian village trust cambrian village trust
-Alternative Education, helping 11-16 year olds access vocational qualifications when mainstream education isn’t the right path for them.
-Football Camps, Multisport Camps on offer during all school holidays to help parents/guardians with affordable quality provision for 5-16 year olds.
-Afterschool clubs to numerous local schools offering a range of sporting and outdoor activities
-Bank Holiday community days, we offer free activities such as canoeing, sports, arts and crafts, bushcraft and more.
-Alongside the above we also take ad-hoc bookings from council, schools, companies to run bespoke programmes to fit their needs.
-Lastly we now have a designated Community Engagement Officer who looks after our volunteers, this adds so much value to CVT and our volunteers undertake tasks such as running our shop, helping maintain grounds, helping out on football match day, etc.
This perfectly aligns with our aims to:
#engage #participate #progress
For more information please contact: info@cambrianvillagetrust.org
Reflecting on all the above it brings home how much CVT brings to the community. The employees we have are incredible, the volunteers we have are incredible and lastly we live in an incredible community.
JD Cymru South JD Cymru South
Hot steppers Hot steppers
Hot steppers Hot steppers
Hot steppers Hot steppers
Cambrian United Hot steppers-Womens Walking Football
Founder of the hot steppers Jo Davies first played walking football in 2020 aged 40, not playing football since she was 16 years old this instantly ignited her passion for playing football again. Jo sent a text to a friends, neighbours and the school mums asking if they wanted to give football a go and the hot steppers journey began.
Set up in September 2021, Hot steppers are a women's walking football team. Encouraging of players, from complete beginners to those who have played previously - we are all abou fun, keeping fit, and enjoying football.
Walking Football is recognised by the Football Association of Wales as an inclusive small-side format of the game. Aimed at the over 40s, it offers the opportunity to maximise participation for all groups and to encourage sustained participation for players of all abilities. Some members have joined to learn a new skill, play for fitness, continue their football journey from 11 a side to walking football. There is also an opportunity for players to play competitively too, the hot steppers have 2 teams participating in the Welsh women's walking football federation league. The now Cambrian United Hot steppers are excited to be part of the Cambrian United family an start training at M & P Group 3G
Every Monday 7-8pm from Monday 9th September 2024. If you are interested in playing walking football, having fun and meeting new friends we would love to hear from you. For more information contact:
jo@thehotsteppers.org
https://www.facebook.com/groups/141065621468445
https://www.instagram.com/hotstepperswalkingfootball/
