Dracs v Pontardawe Town 12th October 2024 by Cardiff Draconians FC

Today’s Programme at a Glance

Manager’s message.

Interview with Dan Lewis

The squads.

Dracs Vets.

Tote and 100 club

Pontardawe Brief History.

Q&A with Dan.

League Table.

Upcoming fixtures.

Managers’ Message

We’ve kicked off the month on a high note with a 2-1 victory over Llwydcoed in the FAW Trophy. It was a challenging match, and I must acknowledge that Llwydcoed was the superior team during the first half. Their work rate and strategic formation posed significant difficulties for us, making it clear that they had the upper hand in those initial 45 minutes.

In football, there are times when you must accept the situation at hand and strategise on how to improve. Fortunately, we were able to make necessary adjustments after halftime. This change in approach paid off as Sam Cawley delivered an exceptional free kick, followed by Dan Lewis securing our win with a brilliant finish. These efforts culminated in a well-deserved 2-1 victory, setting a positive tone for the rest of the month.

As we look forward to today’s game, we anticipate another tough challenge. The last encounter I had against Pontardawe was unforgettable due to a serious incident where one of my players was assaulted by their goalkeeper. This event is etched in my memory and adds an extra layer of intensity to today’s match. Many of our current players were involved in that previous game, which only heightens the anticipation for what promises to be a competitive and engaging match.

I hope everyone enjoys today performance that makes you proud. We are committed to putting forth our best effort and demonstrating resilience on the field. Your support means everything to us, and we aim to reflect that by giving our all in every match.

Thank you for your continued support

Diolch

Nana Baah

Pic by Josh Thomas

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Interview with Dan

Scoring your first ever goal is one that is often filled with jubilation and delight.

For Dan Lewis that was the case when he popped up to score for Cardiff Draconians in their FAW Amateur Trophy match with AFC Llwydcoed last weekend.

The right-back’s strike turned out to be the winner as the Dracs bounced back from 1-0 down at half-time to secure a place in the third round against Brickfield Rangers.

Lewis shares with media officer Joshua Thomas his joy of scoring for the first time, the win over AFC Llwydcoed, his first year with the club and today’s Ardal Southern game with Pontardawe Town.

JT: Last Saturday was a hard battle, a difficult game against AFC Llwydcoed, how pleased were you with the character shown by the side to come away with the win?

DL: I was really pleased by the team’s character, we knew after the first half that we had to kick on a bit, but it shows how together we are as a team.

JT: Being 1-0 down at the break, what was said to you at half time to help you turn the game around?

DL: Obviously we knew that we had to improve half-time, and with some tactical advice and a formation change from Nana (Baah) and Ben (Hartrey), really helped us put the pressure on early which led to us controlling the second half and us getting the win!

JT: The game with AFC Llwydcoed also meant a lot to you for personal reasons with your first ever goal, how great was that? And talk me through your goal.

DL: It was brilliant, to have my family there watching made it even more special. I was more relieved to see the ball go into the net, as I could have scored a few more, but the fact it won the boys the game was amazing.

JT: Now that you have scored your first goal, is that something you want more from your game?

DL: I’m always looking for assists and goals, as a player who loves to go forward and create chances it would be great to chip in and help the boys out whenever I can, however, as a defender my main job is to keep a clean sheet and support the forward players.

JT: How great is it to progress in the Amateur Trophy, and now with Brickfield at home how great would it be to get a run in the competition?

DL: It would be great to have a bit of a cup run, obviously going far in these sorts of competitions would be great for the club and for us players, who play different teams from different levels which makes a good experience.

JT: Having been with the club for a year, how have you settled in and how great is it to be part of the Dracs?

DL: It

JT: Up next is Pontardawe Town, what are your thoughts on them?

DL: Ponty are a very strong team and a big club in our league, making the upcoming game a tough challenge, having known this club since I was 11 before I moved up to Cardiff for university, I know how much of a challenge they could be, but I’m looking forward to playing them and seeing some old faces.

to keep that run going?

DL: To be honest we don’t obsess over the unbeaten run in the league, as a group we all just enjoy playing with each other and I think the results mirror the team’s chemistry, however, we want to win every game and achieve our goals at the end of the year.

JT: Having gone top recently It’s so easy to take your eyes of the prize, I guess, how important is it to keep your feet firmly on the ground and not look ahead to far?

DL: We can’t look too far ahead, especially with how competitive our league is this year, we’ve got to take it one game at a time and go from there.

by Debbie Yanez

Pics

Match Officials

Referee Tegid Richards

1st Assistant Referee David Plain

2nd Assistant Referee Joshua Taylor

Dracs Squad

Harry Johnson (GK)

Luke Bridgeman (C)

Jacob Benford

Dan Lewis

Efu Kazadi

Nathan Mathias

Marinho Manga

Callum Beckett

Dylan Amin

Sam Cawley

Charlie Hansen-Taylor

Sam Roberts

Ibby Sani

Connor Graham

Jordan Coles

Ben Vincent

Manager Nana Baah

Assistant Manager

Ben Hartrey

Assistant Manager Paul Smith

Coach Phil Booker

Goalkeeper Coach Dan Hurton

Coach Darren Buttle

Physio Emma Ryan

Pontardawe Squad

Nathaniel Osborne (GK)

Filip Liscyk (GK)

Alfie Brown

Craig Davies

Rosy-Lukabu Nzimu

Luke McDonald

Gareth Govier

Elliot Thomas

Kyle Cockings

Rhys Dix

Arnold Ncube

Ben Scannell

Josh Williams

Bradley Burchell

Dafydd Hyett

Ernest Armoo

Josh Dorward

Roman Legavec

Will Jeremiah Steffan Pryce

Will Richards

Alex Aldrich

Alex Wild

Manager

Coach

Jack Smith

Will Thomas

Christian Evans

Kyle Cockings

Coach Jerome Jeremiah

Coach

Goalkeeper Coach

Sports Therapist

Team Helper

Kraig Dhar

Mark Smith

Claire Parker

Jason Dykes

Andy Wild

Pontardawe Town FC : A Brief History

Although the present club was founded in 1947, football in Pontardawe certainly stretches back over 100 years, into the closing years of the 19th Century, when a Pontardawe club, run by industrialist CF Gilbertson, was among the members of the earliest Swansea League, and won the championship in 1899 -1900. The club went on to join the Swansea & District League in the early 1900s, playing familiar names like Swansea Town, Morriston, Skewen and Clydach, as well as long forgotten ones such as Mond Nickel, York Place and Sketty. But honors were not forthcoming, and the club disbanded at the outbreak of the Second World War.

Reformed as Pontardawe Athletic in 1947, the club entered the Welsh League in 194849, playing in Division 2 (West). The first few post war years brought reasonable success at this level and in 1960-61 the club won the championship with 28 wins out of 32 league games. However, relegation came swiftly from Division 1 in 1961-62, Ponty finishing 19th out of 20 to go back down to Division 2 (West) with Milford United.

The club failed to bounce back the following season with Milford pipping Ponty by 4 points. For 1964-65 the Welsh League restructured and Ponty spent several seasons in Division 1 until relegation to Division 2 in 1978-79.

A period of comparative success followed in the early 1980s, with successive promotions as runners up in 1980-81 and 1981-82 behind Trelewis and Brecon Corinthians respectively taking the club back to the top-flight of the Welsh League. 1981-82 also brought success in the Welsh Cup with Dixie McHale's team reaching the fourth round, beating Maesteg Park (1-0) & Cardiff Corinthians (1-0) before losing at home 5-1 to Wrexham, containing Dai Davies, Joey Jones & Dixie McNeil.

Now competing in the Premier Division, 1982-83 saw Pontardawe lift the West Wales Senior Cup and finish 13th in the league, however another restructuring saw Ponty lack a ground adequate for the Welsh League's new ‘National Division’ and they were relegated back into the middle division. Ponty went into decline again, slipping back to the third level of the Welsh League by the mid-1980s, quietly remaining there for over a decade.

In 1994-95 season, the club won the Division 3 championship, while 1997-98 the club also won the Division 2 league title to gain promotion to Division 1. Now adopting the Town name, Ponty came agonizingly close to winning Division 1 in 2001-02, losing out by a point to Ton Pentre. 2003-04 brought relegation however but this was short lived though as the club won Division 2 again in 2004-05.

For the next ten years the club played in Division 1 before relegation to Division 2 at the end of the 2014-15. Ponty also went close to League Cup success over this period, but on three occasions lost in the final to Goytre United (2005), Penrhiwceiber Rangers (2006) and AFC Porth (2014).

The club relocated to Parc Ynysderw in 2015 which is a ground now dedicated to the club and the committee has invested time and money to bring the ground to Tier 2 standard. Pontardawe Town has the foundation to further develop with both our Junior and Academy sections doing outstanding work. In addition, we have a thriving Ladies Section, our Autism Academy and are developing links with Walking Football in the community.

The club has recently spent two seasons at Tier 2 in the JD Cymru South but were relegated last season by goal difference and now play in the Ardal Southern West Division.

Prepared By : Gary Thomas (Secretary, Pontardawe Town AFC)

DRACS VETS VETS

Cardiff Dracs have an exciting new season ahead launching two new teams in the over 35’s and over 40’s vets leagues.

Are you over 35 or over 40 and looking to stay fit and enjoy football?

We invite enthusiastic players to join us for an exciting season ahead. For further information contact:

or higgsaps@hotmail.com

Q&A with Dan!

Favourite team? Swansea

Favourite Meal? Gnocchi and red pesto

Favourite car? Mercedes.

Go to Karaoke Song? Everybody wants to rule the World Tears for Fears

What is your best attribute? Sharpness and Defending

Previous clubs? Pontardawe Town and Briton Ferry

How long have you been with the club? A Year

Tell me one fact about you? I used to do musical theatre and was Oliver Twist in the Millennium Centre

Best player you have ever played with? Luke Florence

Best player you have ever played against? Luke Harris (Fulham)

Best piece of advice you would give to upcoming footballers - Learn from mistakes and just enjoy playing football

Pic by Debbie Yanez

Feeling lucky? Then join in with our club fundraisers of the Lucky 24 Tote and the 100 club!

For £1 a tote ticket there is a weekly chance of winning our current jackpot of £1275.

Join the 100 club for £10 a month and be part of the monthly draw to win a prize of either £100, £75, £50 or £25. 100 club draw takes place the end of every month!

See a club member in the shop to find out more or buy a ticket or message us online.

Thanks to everyone who supports us in this and good luck in the next draws.