Cambrian United vs Afan Lido FC

One cambrian 16.08.24

Match report

Guest editor: Callum Watts Last Friday, we beat Pontypridd United 3-1 in the USW Sports Park with a fantastic performance. The boys showed levels of maturity and class throughout the 90 minutes which ultimately brought the three points home, and moved us second in the table.

The game was hottly contested before Liam Warman struck us infront in the 18th minute, with Josh Allen providing a lovely through ball towards him setting Liam up for a calm finish across the goal.

After the first goal, the game was getting feisty as The Ponty players were getting more and more frustrated as the half went on. Eventually, the first yellow card was given to Ponty player Jamie Veale six minutes before half - time. After this, the ref blew up for half-time.

The second half began, and Ponty immediately put the pressure onto us as they moved the ball quickly, but couldn't find the back of the net. The best chance they had was a free header from former Cambrian player Liam Eason, which went over the bar. This was not the only chance he had as Ponty punished us from some sloppy play in the middle of the pitch, which allowed them to break up the pitch and score in the 56th minute from Liam Eason cancelling out Liam Warman's goal from the first half.

However, Ponty's aggressiveness held them back for the rest of the game as Ashley Evans was shown a second yellow card for a challenge on Thomas Hillman. We would take advantage of this eleven minutes later as Josh Allen found some space in the middle of the pitch to provide an exquisite pass to Thomas Hillman, who slotted the ball home comfortably for a 1-2 advantage to Cambrian.

The one goal advantage became a two goal advantage in the 78th minute when a corner came in from the right hand side, which was cleared, but only as far as Jack Fox who smashed the ball through multiple bodies in the box and into the bottom corner to make it 1-3 to Cambrian, and all but make sure of the 3 points.

Overall, it was a memorable night with great performances across the pitch from Cambrian. Hopefully we can replicate that performance tonight against a strong Afan Lido outfit.

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 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 became champions of the Welsh League for the first time in its history.

today’s opponents The club was formed shortly after the opening of the Lido Sports Centre in Aberavon and entered the local Port Talbot and District League for season 1967-68. In 1971-72, the club was accepted into the Welsh Football League reaching the National Division in 1989-90 We were invited to become founder members of the League of Wales for the inaugural 1992-93 season. A healthy mid-table position was achieved in this first season, finishing 12th overall. However, success in the League Cup, beating Caersws on penalties provided a superb end to the season.

This was not the club’s first major cup success however; in 1986-87 we had won the Welsh Intermediate Cup beating Taffs Well 1-0 in a replay at Briton Ferry. Our cup exploits continued in 1993-94 when in a thrilling final at Aberystwyth we retained the League Cup by beating a rampant Bangor City side that had just clinched the League title by 1-0.

At the end of the 1994-95 season we finished in second place and earned an UEFA Cup spot.

Defeat in the UEFA Cup at the hands of RAF Riga of Latvia was a bitter pill to swallow, a 2-1 defeat at home gave us a mountain to climb away but we battled hard and deserved our nil-nil draw. We were one of the first League of Wales sides to avoid defeat on foreign soil. Sadly we failed to build on this performance and we were relegated at the end of the 1995-96 season.

Our first season back in the Welsh league saw us consolidate by finishing in sixth position.

We won promotion back to the League of Wales at the end of the 1997-98 season.

A number of ground improvements had taken place, including a 400 seated stand and a new clubhouse. Consolidation was again the aim and we finished in 14th place in our first season back. In season 1999-2000 we finished tenth.

Season 2001-2002 we finished 5th and we qualified for the FAW Premier cup. Topping the group and qualifying for the knockout stages against Wrexham at home. Wrexham fielded a full first team and ran out 4-0 winners.

In 2003-04 we were again in the FAW Premier cup, our league form was disappointing and we finished in 14th place with only 32 points from 32 matches.

2004-05 was again a huge disappointment, our best results of the season were two wins against newly promoted Airbus UK, a 4-1 away win followed by a 4-0 home win. Unfortunately in the 4-0 win one player was serving a ban picked up while playing for another side. We were unaware of this as the football authorities hadn’t informed us and it was to cost us dearly. We were found guilty of playing an ineligible player and were deducted 3 points. An appeal fell on deaf ears and we returned to the Welsh League for the first time since 1997-98.

today’s opponents We ended the 2005-06 in seventh place with 47 points and in 2006-07 we reached the finals of both the Welsh Cup and the Welsh League Cup in both cases for the first time. We were unlucky to lose 2-3 against Carmarthen in the Welsh Cup at Llanelli. We finished the season on a high defeating Goytre United by the only goal in the final of the Welsh League Cup at Port Talbot. Inevitably our cup success affected our league performances but we still managed a respectable fifth place. 2007-8 was the Club’s fortieth anniversary. We ended the season in 7th place with 62 points.

2008-09 we won the Welsh League Cup for a second time beating Penrhiwceiber on penalties and we finished the league campaign in seventh place with 54 points. There was a terrific climax to 2009-10 season with any one of three sides able to win the league. We met Goytre United at home and a win would guarantee second place and possible promotion to the Premier League. We took the lead with 8 minutes to go only for Goytre to level in added on time. In going for a winner we got caught and conceded a second which gave the visitors the league title with Cambrian winning their final games we finished in third place. 2010-11. A tremendous run from January 2011 saw us cement 2nd place in the Welsh League. Together with our successful application for the Domestic Licence, Afan Lido ensured their return to the Welsh Premier League for 2011-12. We finished a creditable 10th and won the League Cup for a third time beating Newtown in the final. We returned to Welsh League at the end of the 20132014 season. 2014-15 was a difficult season we ended the season in thirteenth place five points clear of the bottom three. However, 2015-16 saw us finish in eighth place and reaching round 4 of the Welsh Cup. Our youth side completed the double, winning the Youth Division West on goal difference and beating Monmouth 3-0 to win the Welsh League Youth Cup. 2016-17 saw us finish in eighth place, we also were awarded the team and manager of the month for November but the manager of the month ‘curse’ kicked in and we didn’t win again until February 18th. 2017-18 saw the first team finish in fifth place, our youth side won the youth league by an impressive 11 points and our Port Talbot league side completed a league and cup double. We ended the 2018-19 season in fourth place winning 10 matches away but only 5 at home. The Youth finished as runners up to Taffs Well only losing the title on goal difference. 2019-20 was abandoned due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Our final match which ended in a 20 defeat was at Ammanford on February 29th. saw us finish in tenth place. Our Youth suffered by a number of final year players finish but the youngsters who came in didn’t let themselves down. We also ran a number of female sides, the seniors topped their league but on PPG ended in second place.

However, they were still promoted. 2021-22 saw virtually the whole first team squad leave, we recruited reasonably well but struggled to be consistent. The January window again saw several players come and go. We flirted with relegation but won our last three matches to eventually end the season in a respectable tenth position.

2022-23 was a strange season, we lost our first two league games before going on a twenty match unbeaten league run only to lose seven of our last eight matched to finish in sixth place.

Senior l. Warman

i. Martin

j. jones

T. Parker f. Skiverton

m. Davies

e. Griffiths

k.Coles

j. Allen

D. Facey

j. Fox

r. Morgan

Squad l. Price

A. Ibrahim

L. Ellis

d. Spencer

e. fletcher

k. jones

c. Baker

t. Hillman

d. birch

g. welsh

t. bodger

j. Woodford

Women’s team As we embark on our 60th season as a club, the 2023-24 campaign holds special significance: it marked the debut of our women’s team. Determined to make a swift impact, we signed nearly 30 women last season and achieved remarkable milestones. We reached the semi-finals of the SWFA Cup, narrowly losing to Cardiff City U19s on penalties, and advanced to the finals of the SWWGL Cup. Our efforts culminated in a promotion to Tier 3, missing out on the league title by goal difference.

Pre-season has just begun, and while we anticipate a challenging season ahead, our ambitions are even higher. We have retained most of our players and strengthened our squad with signings such as youngster Paige Richardson and Rebecca Struthers from Penybont, Ffion Cartwright and Terri Beddows from Cardiff City, the latter having international experience and Siân Rees and Sophie Whittle from Adran South teams. These additions bring composure and experience to our young team.

We are also excited to welcome coach Andrew Rowley, who brings extensive experience in both men's and women’s football. Andrew will support Team Manager Sophie Dando and Assistant Jody Pugh, and join our board as Head of Female Pathway. He will lead on developing a complete pathway for girls to progress to the senior team and fostering links with local schools. Our mini girls' football initiative is already thriving.

Our senior team is aiming for a top 3 finish and securing a Tier 2 license this season, aiming to make us the first Rhondda women’s team to achieve this and bring the highest level of women’s football to the Valley.

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

Spotlight What an achievement for one of our own!

Callum Watts has been commended in the Young Volunteer of The Year category at the national awards Callum can often be seen helping on the gate, picking up litter, putting the kit out and Helping to clean our facilities! Being accepted for who he is within a club environment has allowed him to express himself throughout his time at the club and spread his positivity to others!

Captain Congratulations to kyle jones!

150 senior appearances tonight

Congratulations Josh Allen!

matchday squads Morgan Davies Josh Allen Jack Fox Daniel Spencer Kyle Jones Evan Griffiths Jay Woodford Lewis Ellis Liam Warman Lee Price Tim Parker Cole Baker Rhys Morgan Jacob Jones Finley Skiverton Keiron COLES Abdulrasheed Ibrahim Dion Facey Ioan Martin Efan Fletcher Thomas Hillman Danny Birch

Exauce Dimonekene Matthew Beynon Steve Cann Ioan Evans Brad Flay Liam Griffiths Jackson Hall John Hall Sean Hanbury Travis James Chris Jones Ben Keen Michael McCalmon Liam McCreesh Luke McDoanald Daniel Nagle Ieuan Owen Coby Rogers Babucar Sauane Sacha Walters Josh Webber Cory Woods

Team Manager- Liam WIlliams

General Manager – Mark Robinson

Coaches- Adrian Needs/Gareth Evans

Team Manager – Paul Evans Player Coaches – Chris Jones/Liam McCreesh Physio - Leighton Jones