Penydarren BGC v Pontyclun FC - Official Matchday Programme

PENYDARRENBGC

Penydarren Boys & Girls Club was initially formed in 1985. The club was originally based at St. Johns Church Hall at Penydarren in Merthyr Tydfil, where the main activities were table tennis and board games The club then became members of the Boys & Girls Club of Wales. Two children’s football teams were formed using local council grounds to play their games Due to refurbishment of the church, the club then relocated using the old Gelifaelog School as a base.

In 1994 the club was successful in gaining a lease to the current site known as ‘The Bont’. With the aid of funding from a variety of sources, work started to remove the old black ash type surface of the original pitch to provide a first class playing area and a clubhouse with changing rooms The facilities are admired by many throughout Wales and are held in high regard by all visiting teams. There are also plans in place for a new 3G surface with new floodlighting & changing facilities.

Club membership continued to increase in the late 90s with the club providing teams from Under 10’s to Under 18 level Next was the introduction of the senior team, which after playing in local leagues gained promotion into the South Wales Senior League. In 2015 16 Penydarren became members of the South Wales Alliance League following merger of the Senior League with the Amateur League.

After two seasons of consolidation, 2017-18 was to prove to be Penydarren’s season, after an unbeaten league campaign brought the prize of Welsh League Football, winning promotion at home to Cardiff Draconians 2-0 in front of a bumper crowd at The Bont, with six games to spare.

The club won 27 and drew 3 of their 30 league fixtures, scoring 117 goals and conceding just 14 in the process.The club also went on two epic cup runs reaching the quarter finals of the JD Welsh Cup and semi-finals of the FAW Amateur Trophy. The Welsh Cup run saw Penydarren knock out Penrhiwceiber Rangers (5 3), Brecon Corries (3 1), Cardiff Corinthians (4 0), STM Sports (2 1), Llandudno Junction (4 0) and Pontypridd Town (2 1) before losing to Bangor City (7 0)

Penydarren’s Welsh League debut season went down a storm, with the club romping to the Third Division title, winning 24 of their 30 league games. They won the title with a 3 1 win at Ely Rangers, with Connor Keating, Sam Gamble and Alex Long sealing the silverware. While they also clinched the double, beating Ynysygerwn to win the Welsh League Cup at Port Talbot, by a 3-0 scoreline.

Penydarren kicked off 2019-20 season in Welsh League Division One, due to pyramid restructuring and were well placed for a promotion push, with several games in hand on their rivals, when the pandemic struck. The season was curtailed and Penydarren finished in 4th place on the points per game average, just missing out on a promotion spot to Port Talbot by 0 09

PONTYCLUNFC

Pontyclun Football Club has been part of the South Wales football scene for over a century having been founded way back in 1896. It is not certain where the club played its earliest home games it may have been Talygarn - but there is documentary evidence that Ivor Park became the home ground in 1920 when Wyndham Damer Clark, formerly of Talygarn House, gave the club preferential use of the land as a football field.

In the early years, the club was a member of the Bridgend & District League but immediately after World War I joined the Cardiff & District League In 1922 the club was admitted to the Football Association of Wales one of the few amateur clubs to achieve such status

In 1968 the club was admitted to the Welsh Football League, finishing 1968 69 in 13th place in Division 2. At the same time the club continued to run senior teams in both the Rhondda and Pontypridd Leagues

In season 1979 80 the club were runners up to Lake United to win promotion to Division 1 and after relegation in 1981 82 played in Division 2 again until the formation of the League of Wales in 1992, the club being restructured into Division 3. The club won promotion in the first season in this division though as runners up behind Treowen Stars in 1992-93 until relegation in 1997 98.

However, the proudest moment in the club's long history came at the end of the 2002 03 season when on an emotional May afternoon, the club won the Welsh League Division 3 title, piping Skewen Athletic by just one goal

In the same season the Reserves were runners up in the Welsh League Reserve East Division.

The club played in Division 2 until relegation in 2007-08 and in 2011 12 the club suffered great disappointment when they finished at the foot of Division 3 and were subsequently relegated from the Welsh Football League after 44 consecutive seasons of membership.

The club subsequently joined the South Wales Amateur League and after two seasons of consolidation the 2014 15 campaign saw the club finish in a very creditable fourth place in the league & reach the final of the W John Owen Cup.

2016 17 was a time for celebration for everyone connected with Pontyclun as the club secured the championship of the South Wales Alliance League by 10 points resulting in the club regaining its place in the Welsh Football League.

The club has every reason to look forward to the future with much optimism. The impressive changing room facility is now complete, substantial ground improvements have been made to comply with Tier 3 ground criteria, while junior football is thriving with a significant number of home grown youngsters breaking through at senior level.

After spending the past three seasons establishing itself once again in the Welsh League the club was delighted to be selected by the FAW to participate in the Ardal Southern League, West Division for the 2020-21 season.

Last season, the club finished in 3rd place in the Ardal Southern League South West, one point adrift of second place and eventual promotion winners, Ynyshir Albions