Onwards in 2012

We kicked off the new year with a positive, although losing, performance at home to Taffs Well in the Cup. The lads played with a passion and determination that I am sure will see us right for the remainder of the season. In addition the Neath League lads won their first game of the new year with a good performance.

We are up at AFC Porth on Saturday to watch a repeat of their Bambi on Ice routines we saw during the FAW Welsh Cup game earlier in the season. Huw, the AFC Porth Secretary, and I have been having some enjoyable banter in recent weeks about this and I am sure this will continue throughout the game.

Off the field we are putting all our efforts into getting the new ground up and running and there is a dedicated team working on this led by Martin Blizzard. The Rec has served us well but is looking very tired and is nowhere near the required standard. That said, we did ask the FAW for a grant to help us with pitch barriers but they said NO because of out of date criterea information and an unwillingness to accept eBay as a valid source of barriers !!

The Clubhouse is really bouncing and the live coverage of the Swans is helping us no end ....

I was gutted to see Neil Warnock and Keith Curle given the elbow at QPR but happy that Sparky, and his hangers on, have taken over. Allegedly Samba and Drogba are on the target list ....

Spent last week on a Canal Boat on the Llangollen Canal which was terrific and the photo below is of us crossing the Pontyscyllte Aquaduct ... 127 feet up with not much keeping us in .....

Happy New Year then and I hope to see you down The Rec soon supporting the lads !

Sunday 27th November - FAW Youth Cup Day !!

Big day ahead here at the club with the Youth down at West End in the 3rd Round of the FAW Youth Cup. Weather has been rubbish in the last 24 hours but signs this morning suggest all will be ok. No games played at Pryderi Park yesterday so fingers crossed that the surface is in good order.

As for yesterday we went down 3-0 to Goytre United although it wasn't really a heavy defeat as the scoreline suggests. We played well for most of the game but failed to capitalise in the last quarter whilst, too be fair, they did. Nice to see Roger Williams back here in Ponty ... luckily he had to work harder as a first aider than me ... also nice to see Stuart and Nappa back on home turf !! ... where was Phil Hoskins though .... we had a special programme and entry ticket for him !!

Well done to Rourkie who is unbeaten as a caretaker manager of the Neath League side after goals from Gareth Govier, Ben Dorward and Jordan Harris gave him a 3-1 win over Inco Vale..... Bunji in the bad books for giving away a late penalty ....

Up at the club last night our hard working committee were looking knackered having work their socks off to put on our Christmas Table Top Sale. This was a well attended and successful event so well done to all especially Yvonne, Kath, Jayne, Penny and Martin ... there were more I know so thanks to all.

Finally our thanks to Dean and Fiona who have sponsored a new kit and a ground banner for us this season. After a miserable day weather wise and a miserable defeat on the field it was good to see them win a couple of decent raffle prizes up at the clubhouse afterwards. The new kit is excellent (in my washing machine now!) and we look forward to seeing Dean and Fiona at our future games and at the clubhouse.

I'm off to measure the pitch today cos the league say it is a bit small .... and to find the idiots who thought it would be fun to smash up a few of our pitchside barriers during the week ... thanks for that !!!

Remember to check out our website at www.pontardawetownafc.co.uk

Welsh Cup Round Two - Bring it On!

Off today to a new ground for me, Dinas Park in Porth, for the FAW Welsh Cup 2nd Round tie against AFC Porth. We beat them in the League Cup and I am sure there will be dustbins flying everywhere if we achieve another cup win ... gonna be a tough one but after an unbeaten October I am sure Steve and the lads are up for it.....

Off the field things are progressing with the new ground and even at the  Rec where we are eagerly awaiting a response to our grant application for new crowd barriers ... after last Saturday  me thinks we need 10 foot chain fencing ... what with umbrella pointing and things ....

At the club we have announced our Christmas Table Top Sale which takes place on the 26th November ... checkout, and join, our facebook page for details (Pontardawe Town Facebook Page)

This week I ticked off one of my bucket list by watching Blackfoot in Cardiff ... missed them at Donnington in 1981 and not had a chance until Wednesday ... well worth the wait !

C'mon the lads .... See you there !

A Win Lifted the Depression !

A weekend down in St Davids with friends was somewhat spoilt by a rugby referee who, in a split second, ruined Wale's chances of reaching a World Cup Final. The sending off of Sam Warburton reminded me of some of the decisions that we have suffered this season so far from over eager referees ... albeit Rolland's decision had a much more serious repercussions. The guy completely lost the plot and in the melee simply brandished a red card when he should have stood back, put some space between him and the players and thought it through. Now we have the worst team in the tournament in the final ... gutted !

Good news though from Cwmamman where a Scott McCoubrey goal gave us a valuable 3 points and hopefully that will spur us on to a good performance up at Bryntirion on Saturday as they will be looking to bounce back from defeat down at Haverfordwest.

Spent last night in the Welsh League SGM listening to the FAW Licensing proposals for the Tier 2 clubs (which includes Division One Welsh League) and these are frightening ... minimum criterea by 2015 includes hard standing around the ground, seats for over 60 people and full floodlighting ... not much information available though in respect of grants and funding!

Seems that all the money from internationals, SKY and other major sponsors is never going to make it's way to grass roots in this country ... but we live in hope

Good win for the Under 19s at Ely Rangers so they now earn a home tie in the near future against Port Talbot Town. The Reserves, after their demolition of Treowen Stars, can now look forward to a trip to Newport YMCA.

Off to see Joe Bonammassa tonight in Cardiff .... luvvly jubbly !!

Week Commencing 26th September .....

The Swansea Valley has been the focus of the media for the last few weeks after the tragedies at the Gleision Mines and in Alltwen. The thoughts and prayers of everyone here at Pontardawe will be with the families and friends of all those affected by these sad events. Here at the club we are focussing on some fund raising activities including an eBay auction which is being championed by Steve Price our Manager.

That said, and after Saturday, I think Steve might want to put many of the first team squad up for auction !!!

The result at Taffs Well was disappointing especially as we had taken an early lead and had showed great promise. With Jack, Kieran and Scott making their debuts we were looking odds on for the win. The home side also went down to 10 men after 61 minutes but immediately after this they scored and then went on to win the game in injury time. By this time Arwel had been sent off for the second time this season much to the disappointed of us all as he should now know better …. Thank god I am not going to be at training on Monday ….

There was some good news though as all our other teams won over the weekend. The reserves beat Garden Village 5-2 whilst the Neath league guys overcame an experienced AFC Caewern team 3-0. On Sunday Jason’s Under 19s won 1-0 at Risca in the FAW Youth Cup and the Under 18s won up at Maesteg by 6 goals to nil.

This coming Saturday the only Saturday game is the FAW Welsh Cup game against 3^rd Division Treowen Stars where we will be looking to go on a run such as the one we had in 2009 as opposed to last year when we went out at this stage !!

The Youth are home to Bryntirion Athletic on Sunday whilst on the same day the Under 18s try again in the Cup up at Penarth Town.

Finally …. Refereeing ….. and I won't mention Saturday's ref at Taffs Well or I'll be in trouble !!!

Was that really a penalty at Loftus Road yesterday against the Mighty Superhoops ?… Absolutely not … and how Hutton wasn’t penalised for handball I don’t know …. I thought Neil Warnock held back quite well cos I was blurting out all sorts of expletives at the telly !!

Nevertheless we remain the best of the 3 promoted sides and with Shaun Wright-Phillips looking as sharp as has ever been … Champions League here we come !!!!

It's Raining - Depression Returns But Some Good News !

Just a matter of weeks into the season and already 4 games called off due to the weather ... we cannot even blame the poor drainage at The Rec as the rain has been continuous .... spent today trawling through the fixtures looking for gaps to rearrange !!

Some good news, very good news, is that Fiona and Dean at Arborum Ltd have now agreed to become First Team Kit Sponsors for the season. This is great news and I will spend this week sorting things out in respect of the kit, website, programme, etc, etc.

Finally, thanks to all those of you who sponsored me on my cycle ride from Brecon to Cardiff in aid of Save The Children. It was around 47 miles (75k) and 9 of us did this in driving rain and strong winds arriving in Cardiff after a gruelling 6 and bit hours soaked to the skin but elated none the less. We set ourselves a target of £750 and, with matched funding from Lloyds Banking Group, we have reached £2,150 and still counting (www.justgiving.com/bhscycleride)

Thanks everyone ... photos coming soon !

Now have to do the matchday programme for AFC Porth next Saturday

What a week !!

Last night was at Chris Mills's Charity Night with Guest Speaker Lee Sharpe (ex Man Utd) ... cracking night and I hope the lads made a load of money. Top comedian in Lenny Dee also ....Wales had a 2-1 win over Montenegro as well so a top night !!

Passed the Red Cross First Aider Course as well this week so now I can officially dial 999 when one of the lads is injured !!

Good win on Wednesday against Bridgend Town and a decent crowd as well. Good night at the club as we saw in a new era with Meirion Davies taking the reigns .... good luck to him and I hope he can make a go of it for the sake of the club and Pontardawe Town....

As for today we have a big one up at Cambrian & Clydach who have had a cracking start and are unbeaten. If everyone is on top form though and works as hard as they did on Wednesday then we are more than capable of getting 3 points up there today....

The Reserves are at home to West End and the Neath League side open their account in Division One up at Coelbren FC .... busy times !

Just a reminder for anyone reading this and that is we have a cracking night on September 16th with Comedy Hypnotist Nigel Joseph ... should be a cracking laugh .... £5 a ticket so come and support us ....

Checkout my Twitter (when it is working!) for score updates ........ TheSecatPonty