PFC v Port Talbot

‘THE CLUN’

SEASON 2022-23

PONTYCLUN FOOTBALL CLUB

PROGRAMME £1.00

OUR BOTTLED BEAUTIES

GLAMORGANBREWING.co.uk

PONTYCLUN FOOTBALL CLUB

Founded 1896 Member of The FAW

Affiliated to The South Wales Football Association

Ground The Ivor Park , Cowbridge Road, Pontyclun

Trustees T.G. Davies, S.W. Lewis, T. Pope, P. Preene

OFFICERS AND COMMITTEE

Club President P. Preene

Secretary G. Kennard

Treasurer P. Miller

Chairman T. Davies

Assistant Chairman M. Lawrence

Junior Section Chairman M. Martin

1st Team Manager B. Quinn

Coaches E. Davey & H. Jones

Reserve Team Manager P. Shilton

Committee Members T. Pope, P.T. Shilton, M. Lawrence, T. Bishop, G. Harrison, S. Tweedy, H. Jones, D. Morgan, J. Williams, A White, R. Harris

CHAIRMANS WELCOME

It is my pleasure as Chairman of Pontyclun Football Club to extend a warm welcome to all those visiting Ivor Park today. Whether as an official, a member of the visiting team, a home supporter or as an impartial observer, we trust you will enjoy the game and our hospitality on offer.

Please respect those around you and remember there is no place for RACISM as we are fully supporting the FAW campaign to “Show Racism the Red Card”.

Pontyclun Football Club was founded in 1896! How the club has progressed during all those years has been quite phenomenal. From initially starting in the Bridgend League and then founder members of the Cardiff and District League with one senior team; we are now able to offer football starting at under 5’s right through to our Veterans team at over 60’s. In excess of 500 players, which is some achievement for a small village club!

I hope that all our players and coaches remember our club motto of “Gorau chwarae, cyd chwarae” translated as “the best players play together” which has since been adopted by the Football Association of Wales.

Hopefully we can build on last season both on and off the pitch and if ‘Covid 19’ is behind us, we can all get back to enjoying the football on offer and meeting up with friends from other clubs on the way These are extremely challenging times for us, in not only having to work within the rules and administrative requirements imposed by the FAW and Ardal League South; to having to plan and fund raise to enable the Football Club to achieve further ground improvements in the hope that we can qualify for the Tier 2 status within the current league setup.

I would like to express my sincere thanks to all my colleagues on the football club committee, which without their valuable hard work and diligence the above efforts in striving towards Tier 2 would be impossible.

Finally, to all our sponsors many thanks for your continued support, it is much appreciated. I hope you enjoy today’s game and wish you a safe journey home.

Tudor Davies Chairman of Pontyclun Football Club

MANAGERS NOTE

Hi everyone and welcome to Ivor Park, I hope you enjoy your visit today.

We kick off the 22/23 Ardal League season, after what seems like a very short break from the end of the previous season.

Season 21/22 for the 1st team was a very strong one, with us being in contention to finish as champions (and to be promoted into the Cymru South), right up until the final game of the season. Ultimately, it wasn’t to be and we missed out by the narrowest of margins.

Our lads can still be very proud of what was a fantastic season, finishing 3rd in Tier 3, which is the club’s highest ever finish, in our 126 year history.

We also reached the quarter finals of the FAW trophy, losing out 1-0 to eventual winners Mold Alexandra.

I would like to say a big thanks to all those who continue to support us week in, week out - it really is appreciated by us all!

We look forward to what the new season brings and hope to build on the success of last season.

Cheers Barry

PONTYCLUN VETERANS

As one of the original founder member teams in the South Wales Veterans league Llantrisant Vets merged with Pontyclun FC earlier this year to form a very credible force with the newly formed Pontyclun FC Veterans section. Llantrisant Vets were huge supporters of Pontyclun FC over the years and also had numerous former Clun players in their ranks.

We are delighted to announce that we have four separate league squads playing football on alternative weeks starting in September. These are the over 40’s,50’s,55’s and 60’s squads who are competing on all fronts this season. Over the years the club has recruited and managed hundreds of players both locally and from across the breadth of South Wales.

Success Story:

We have enjoyed many successes over the years winning the League & numerous Cup successes over the years, the most recent was the League & Cup Double victory in 2015. We also have a number of players who are currently and numerous players who have previously represented Wales Veterans Internationally at all age levels.

Some of the games our players have played in were held at the Millennium / Principality Stadium in Cardiff and St Georges Park in England.

Current Veterans Management structure: Pete Banks is the over 40’s player manager, Andrew “Chalky” White is the over 50’s player manager and Robbie Ryan who is the Veterans Section Secretary also player manages the over 55’s & 60’s.

Squads Detail:

Each of the squads have a minimum of 20 squad players to participate in the leagues. The match day squads are a maximum of 16 players with 5 rolling subs who can be introduced at any time throughout the game. This format allows plenty of game time for each of the 16 match day players.

Pitches / Match Day Venues:

We intend playing locally on the Y Pant School 3G pitch subject to availability, Ivor Park, Talbot Park in Talbot Green and then return to the Pontyclun Clubhouse for refreshments.

Player Recruitment:

We are actively looking for new players to join our squads at all ages and you can join us for a training sessions section every Friday evening from 6pm to 8 pm on Talbot Park.

League Fixture Schedule:

In general, the teams will play opposite each other on alternative weeks on a home & away basis with the other 10/12 teams in their respective age group/leagues. The Winners will receive the trophy and medals at the annual ceremony which has been held at numerous prestigious locations over the years. There is also the Annual “League Cup” for the respective age group which is played via the agreed format for the season.

PONTYCLUN MINI & JUNIOR SECTION

The last few years has seen Pontyclun Junior Football Club go from strength to strength. This would simply not be possible without the hard work and dedication of a number of volunteers, all of whom have a common goal: To provide the best Mini & Junior Football experience to as many age groups, both boys & girls, within our community. From our committee members to our Coaches, our Players and, last but not least, our parents; nothing would be possible without the collective efforts of us all.

Presently we have over 350 registered children within our Mini & Junior Section ranging from U5s to U16s. The majority of our age groups run more than one team, and with the recently resurrected Youth Team within the Senior section, the future conveyor belt of players looks a healthy one for Barry Quinn’s Senior squads.

We have a dedicated U11s Girls team which is in its 4th season, but we would dearly love even more dedicated Girls teams within the Mini & Junior Section; It is very much part of what we would like to expand upon moving forward.

In recent years we have looked to continuously invest within the club, with improvements to our playing pitch and infrastructure. The new dugouts were an addition last year and give a professional appearance to the match day experience, along with new goalposts and nets. The tall netting behind the goals and along the touchline also help us reduce the number of lost balls per season. In time we have plans to add further investment to our facilities, with improved drainage being high on the list, albeit it may seem like a futile effort at times, given the rainfall we encounter!

Whilst children initially join to have fun and learn the benefits of being part of a team, it goes without saying that as they progress, some may develop quicker than others and find themselves quickly identified to earn higher representation or recognition. Over the years we have been fortunate to provide a number of players to represent RCT Schools, Boys & Girls Clubs of Wales, FAW Academy squads and, indeed, some have gone further and been offered trials at Professional Club Academies. However, it’s our sincere belief that all children have something significant to offer and it’s that belief that drives our desire to ensure we keep as many children playing for as long as possible; some will play all through the age groups, some will continue to the Youth Teams, some will hopefully go on and play in the Senior section or even higher, but ALL will have benefitted from being part of a team, and hopefully feel an association to Pontyclun FC and the community, which ultimately is what we are - a vital part of the community.

PONTYCLUN F.C. A BRIEF HISTORY

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 relegated from the Welsh Football League after 44 consecutive seasons.

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.

After spending the next three seasons establishing itself once again in the Welsh League the club were delighted to join Ardal Southern League for 2021-22, finishing in third place and just missing out on promotion on the last day of the season in the South West Division and reaching the Quarter Finals of the FAW Amateur Trophy.

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.

ARDAL SOUTHERN TABLES 21/22

ARDAL SOUTHERN TABLES 22/23

RESERVE LEAGUE TABLES 21/22

RESERVE LEAGUE TABLES 22/23

TODAYS SQUADS

TOP SCORERS

MAN OF THE MATCH AWARD

OUR FRIENDS AT INDIAAH HAVE KINDLY DONATED A MEAL FOR TWO FOR OUR FIRST TEAM MAN OF THE MATCH. WE ARE TRULY GREATFUL TO THEM FOR THEIR SUPPORT.

If you would like to visit the restaurant here are the details:

34 COWBRIDGE ROAD, PONTYCLUN CF72 9EE

01443 449899

www.indiaah.co.uk

OPEN MONDAY TO SATURDAY17:30 - 22:00

AND SUNDAY 16:30 - 22:00

PONTYCLUN FC GENTS EVE

FRIDAY JUNE 24TH 2022

The return of our annual fundraising evening took place on Friday 24th June. The evening returned after a two year COVID break. We were not let down once again from what was a fantastic evening both for the club and our supporters. Over 200 people attended to listen to the stories of the wonderful Bruce Grobblelaar who was simply fantastic and extremely hospitable.

The feedback has been incredible and we also thank the Caterers Cresta, the U16s who were waiters, Joleen and the team at Pontyclun Athletic Club, the compere and committee in organising the night. The profit raised will once again be invested on our ground improvements and only recently we were able to upgrade our CCTV along with the support of the Junior Section in order to protect the facilities that unfortunately has been let down by some locals lately. Thank you also to Stephen Hughes of JMG Plumbing for his donation of £260 to our charity Velindre.

Please watch this space for the announcement of nexts dinner.

1st TEAM FIXTURES

1st TEAM FIXTURES

RESERVE TEAM FIXTURES

FAW FAIRPLAY 21/22

Fair Play

TEAM CAUTIONS DISMISSALS POINTS

SEASON TICKETS

ADULTS £50

CONSESSIONS £40

ALLOWS ADMITTANCE TO ALL PONTYCLUN FC 1st & 2nd TEAM GAMES PLAYED AT IVOR PARK

SEE A COMMITTEE MEMBER FOR DETAILS

PRESENTATION EVENING

On Friday 1st July 2022 we help our presentation evening for our Youth, Reserve, 1st Team and Vets Sections at Pontyclun Athletic Club.

This was the first time that all of these sections have been together and it was a brilliant evening capped off with a great Hynoptist performance from the excellent Rod Stevens. Congratulations to all sections on a great year all rounds and to those individuals who achieved their individual awards.

THE CLUB ARE DELIGHTED TO HAVE BEEN SHORTLISTED DOWN TO THE FINAL TWO BEST PROGRAMMES IN TIER THREE FOR THE 2021/22 SEASON BY THE NATIONAL FAN MAGAZINE IN WALES.

We are very proud of this achievement and congratulate Cwmmanan Utd on winning this category.

We hope you enjoy the content and thank you all for your support in purchasing our programme on matchdays. Any feedback or ideas you may have on what you would like to see then do not hesitate to have a chat to our programme editor Tyrone Pope.