Pontypridd Town AFC V Afan Lido

Sponsor

Thank you

FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT THIS SEASON!

We welcome the Management, players and supporters of Afan Lido FC to the USW Sport Park this evening just two weeks after an amazing game at their home ground. Just briefly we were two goals up into the second half and then everything changed with the Lido scoring from three penalties and we had two players sent off . I am sure that we will not have the same excitement this evening.

The important recent news in the club is that our Chair and sponsor Phil Gibb has stepped down after an innings of thirteen years with the club.

Phil has overseen some exciting times during his Chairmanship that has included a number of promotions as well as two tours to Spain to play La Liga teams Valencia and Deportivo La Coruna and of course our move from Ynysangharad Park. The club then moved to the excellent facilities here at the University of South Wales Sport Park which has provided a Tier 2 ground. We have now applied for Tier 1 Welsh Premier Division football. Phil is now an enthusiastic Welsh Vets football player but will still be watching our games and hoping we achieve the aim of bringing the highest level of football to Pontypridd.

We would also like to confirm that the Board of Pontypridd Town AFC have appointed Vice Chair Paul Ragan to the position of Chair of the club and we all look forward to continuing our progress under Paul’s leadership.

Finally we hope to see you all after the game at the Pottery Restaurant/ Bar and have a safe journey home. Max James.

Welcome from The Chairman It gives me great pleasure to write my first programme notes as the new Chairman of Pontypridd Town Football Club. I would like to take the opportunity to thank Mr Phil Gibb, for his commitment, hard work and financial support for the club over many years. Thank you from us all at the Club.

The Club has never been in such a strong position as it is today, and I’m excited about taking the reins and being a part of the future growth of football in Pontypridd.

For those who may not know we have over 550 playing members at the Club and this number is growing. Our Men’s first team have only lost one League game all season and sit second, only one point behind first place. Currently in the JD Cymru South division, the Men are pushing for promotion to the top tier of Welsh Football next season, hoping to be in the JD Cymru Premier League, which would be a first for the men – so I’d like to wish the very best of luck to JJ, Gav, Savs, Staff, Coaches, and players – I know we can do this!

Our Women’s team under the leadership of Fern Burrage-Male are already playing in the top tier of Welsh Football in the Genero Adran Premier League, something we as a Club are very proud of. The women usually play their home games on a Sunday around 2pm, so please feel free to visit and watch the best women’s football in Wales. The women’s team are in an exciting position within their league, and we would like to wish Fern and team good luck for the next few matches and the rest of the season.

In addition to the men’s and women’s performance teams, we also offer a growing Academy and Junior Grassroots teams for both Boys and Girls. The ongoing development and success of these teams are vital if we are to succeed in growing a reputable Club over future years.

Pontypridd Town looks to provide the local community with a club they can be proud of, and importantly improve the lives of so many through sport participation, benefiting both the emotional and physical wellbeing of all those who participate.

I would also like to mention our amazing strategic partners - University of South Wales.

USW has a strong sporting background back with fantastic facilities, and we are very fortunate to work closely with them. The University does so much for Welsh football, and they work very closely with both the Welsh Government and Welsh FA to ensure football continues to play a big future in Wales, with courses in coaching and research as an example.

Behind every growing success story, there is always a good team, and I’m pleased to say the Board is no different. I would like to formally welcome recent additions in Kieran, Sarah and Fern to complement the already established board that includes Steve, Darren, and Gav. I would also like to say a special thank you to our Club President, Max James who approached me some months back to join the club. Thank you, Max, for all you do and please get well soon. These truly are very exciting times for the Club.

My final thank you goes to you the supporters of both teams, travelling staff and players and of course our growing family of commercial partners. Without your support none of this would be possible for Pontypridd – thankyou.

Turning to the game today, I must be honest and say the performances have far outweighed my own expectations and that’s a great credit to the Manager, his players and to everyone who works so hard to make sure they are fully prepared for every game they go into.

The attitude around the Club since my arrival has been fantastic, yet nobody is getting carried away, despite our hunger for success. I think it’s a case of slow and steady progress over the next few years, necessary to ensure we build a club which is both constitutionally right and commercially viable.

Enjoy the game – come on Ponty Dragons!

Paul Ragan Chairman

O F F I C I A L

B A L L

S U P P L I E R

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today’s sponsor!

Company Name: clubcore what does your business do?

Digital Creative and Media Company Based in Cardiff. We help grow brands and individuals online. We manage social media accounts, social media and Google advertising campaigns, design and develop websites, create brand assets and creative copywriting.

Why are you a sponsor?

Love Football and want to be part of this growing c ommunity.

Who’s your favourite player this season?

For Ponty? Tough one! Between Luke Gullick - My son likes him and thinks he’s Thierry Henry and Big Gavin Beddard - In the Premier League? Phil Foden If you were a football manager, who would you manage?

Not Newcastle, that’s for sure! Toss up between my beloved Swansea City (sshhh) or Cardiff Corinthians U13’s

our visitors - history 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.

FROM

£ 18 a mont6 h

our visitors - history continued 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.

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 2013-2014 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

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LOCAL LOCAL RATE RATE

afan lido - pen picks Steffan Rogers Signed for the club in July 2021 from Ynysygerwn. Vastly experienced keeper who has played for several Welsh League clubs.

Steve Morris Steve signed for the club ahead of the 2019-20 season. Australian by birth he spent 18 months playing in Spain before being a squad member for Penybont in their undefeated season.

Cai Owens Cai signed for us ahead of the 2015-16 season. Previous clubs include Swansea City and Morriston. Made the right back position his own but left towards the end of 2016-17 to play for Goytre United. Cai re-signed for the club ahead of the 201718 season. He is a former Swansea schools representative and captained the Boys Clubs of Wales in 2015-16 in an International tournament in Germany. Re-signed from Ynystawe Athletic in June 2020 Harry Davies Signed from Swansea University in September 2020. Also played for Llantwit Major, Garw and Penybont Ioan Evans Signed in September 2020 from Cardiff Met; has also played for AFC Llwydcoed.

Taylor Evans Youngster who played for our under 16’s Academy side and has bags of potential.

Made his senior debut in the League Cup tie against Panteg in August 2017. Selected for the Welsh Colleges and Schools sides for the last couple of seasons. Signed for Briton Ferry in 2018-19. Re-signed for the club in June 2020. Brother of Kieran.

Patrick Finneral Joined us in January 2019 from Port Talbot. Played a number of youth matches scoring 6 goals and made his full debut against Pontypridd in March 2019. A pacey winger.

Liam Griffiths Joined us in August 2021 from Goytre United. Scored on his debut against Briton Ferry. Previous clubs include Pontardawe Town and Carmarthen Town.

Lewis Holder Lewis signed in October 2020 joining us from AFC Llwydcoed. Has also played for Ton Pentre and Aberdare.

Harry Jenkins Harry joined us in July 2020 signing from Porthcawl Town Athletic. Also played for Briton Ferry and Exeter University.

afan lido - pen picks continued Luke McDonald Youth player who was involved with the first team before football was suspended. Has represented the Boys and Girls Clubs of Wales.

Samm Harrison Sam signed in July 2021 from Ynystawe, has also played for Cwmamman United, West End and Eastleigh.

Jordan Edwards Played for the club in the 2016-17 season. Played for several local clubs before re-signing in July 2021 from Port Talbot.

Connor Harris Played a handful of games in the Welsh Premier League before leaving. Played for a number of local sides before re-signing in July 2021 from Port Talbot.

Jack Underwood Played a couple of games in the Welsh Premier League before leaving and signing for Port Talbot. Re-signed from them in July 2021.

Jackson Hall Played half a dozen games in the Welsh Premier league before leaving. Resigned in Jully 2021 from Port Talbot.

John Hall Signed in Jully 2021 from Port Talbot, scored on his league debut at Risca United.

Owen Williams Owen signed for the club in 2013 from Tata Steel. Made his full debut at Bala in the Welsh Premier League. Transferred away early in 2017-18 but resigned in February 2018. Joined Port Talbot in November 2018. A very competitive midfield player. e-signed for the club in August 2021

An update from our Womens Team CATCH UP WITH PLAYER COACH ROBYN PINDER We’ve made some really exciting signings and it’s only a matter of time before we start to gel and really click into gear.

We caught up with our latest signing and new number 12, Robyn Pinder.

Robs, welcome to the club, it’s great to have you onboard as both a player and coach.

What attracted you to the club and how have you found it since joining?

Thank you. A number of things really but the two most influential factors were the quality of the squad and the opportunity to play for, and work alongside, Fern. Fern is one of many amazing people working behind the scenes to develop this club and women’s football in South Wales. I also recently started working for USW so it’s nice to be able to walk down from the office and onto the pitch.

You’ve now got a few games under your belt, how do you feel you have settled in?

I’ve really enjoyed everything so far. The players and staff have been so welcoming.

In terms of my performances, I had quite a long spell out so I’ve got a way to go to get where I want to be but I’m confident with game time and the intense training sessions it won’t take me too long.

Looking ahead to the game on Sunday against TNS, they are a very different side to the side we played in the first game if the season, what threats do you think they will pose this time round?

Yes from what I gather they’ve made some really good signings so we’re expecting a very different, but equally tough, game. I don’t know too much about them but I assume they’ll be quite direct, physical and look to use their pace.

We have also made a number of good signings since the first game of the season, including yourself, how do you foresee us being able to breakdown this change TNS side?

We’ve made some really exciting signings and have been putting a lot of time and effort into developing partnership and relationships between players - especially in the attacking third. It’s only a matter of time before we start to gel and really click into gear.

To break them down we’ll need to be at our best and the girls know that. Spirits are high and training has been really good so I’m confident that will carry through to the game!

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