Swansea Senior League

Premier Division

Saturday 22nd February 2025

Kick Off 14.30 Actual 14.29!

Ragged School 5 Clase Social 2, attendance 34

9’ 1-0

39’ 2-0

47’ 3-0

62’ 4-0 (pen)

85’ 4-1 (pen)

87’ 4-2 (pen)

90’ 5-2

@ Paradise Park

Powys Avenue

Townhill

Swansea

SA1 6PW

No Admission or Programme.

I’d seen Ragged School play home games twice before. In November 2005 I saw them beat Seven Sisters 3-1 in a West Wales F.A. Senior Cup tie, played at Plas Marl Sports & Social Club,in Beaufort Road, Swansea, then in September 2012 they beat Swansea Dockers 5-0 in a Swansea Senior League match played at Elba Playing Fields in Gowerton. They’re now based here at Paradise Park, in Townhill, which took just over two minutes to drive to from Rosehill Community and consists of two parallel pitches, today’s game being played on the furthest one from the changing rooms. The pitch runs alongside Townhill Road and is roped off along each side between the two 18 yard boxes. Both hot and cold refreshments are available from the cafe inside The Phoenix Centre, which also houses the changing rooms. Plenty of parking here, helped by the fact the player’s from the reserve game at noon were just leaving as I arrived.

The match was 11th (bottom) versus 8th, with Ragged School having won just one of their fourteen league games coming into this. It was far more evenly matched than I’d been expecting and the level of skill was a huge step up from this mornings game. A long ball over the top saw Ragged School break the deadlock after nine minutes, finishing one on one from the edge of the box. Seven minutes before halftime, the game turned hugely in their favour, when the Clase Social ‘keeper was red carded for a foul just outside the 18 yard box, followed by a second red card, issued for dissent, seeing the visitors reduced to nine men. From the resulting free kick Ragged School then scored to make it 2-0. Goal number three arrived two minutes into the second half, before a penalty just after the hour mark saw them make it 4-0. With five minutes left the nine men scored a penalty of their own, before then scoring from the penalty spot again a couple of minutes later, pulling it back 4-2, before Ragged School rounded off the scoring in the final minute, when a free kick from wide on the right was headed in at the near post to make it 5-2.

Swansea Senior League

Maes-y-Gollen Cup 3rd Round

Saturday 22nd February 2025

Kick Off 12.00 Actual 12.09

Rosehill Community 7 Sandfields 4, attendance 33

14’ 0-1

16’ 1-1

21’ 2-1

36’ 3-1

47’ 4-1

52’ 5-1

63’ 5-2

72’ 6-2

75’ 6-3 (pen)

78’ 6-4

82’ 7-4

@ The Ganges Field

Pentyla Road

Cockett

SA2 0YN

No Admission or Programme.

Having stayed overnight following the game at Rockspur last night, I decided to take in one of the noon kick offs in the Swansea Senior League. My original choice was at Penllergaer, but by 11.05, no one had arrived (it subsequently appeared as postponed on the Cymru App at 1 o’clock!) so I made the seventeen minute drive south towards Swansea, arriving at The Ganges Field, pleased to see players arriving and that the game was going ahead. Well, that’s what I thought. Unbeknown to me, there was no referee, despite one being assigned according to the app, but the game was actually reffed by a ‘home official’. According to one of the away team substitutes, this is perfectly normal for this league and he commented “we haven’t had a proper ref for about 8 weeks now”!

The ground is a ‘pitch in a large field’, very undulating and sloping towards one side. There is a small area for parking just inside the gate leading off Pentyla Road, but almost everyone parked roadside, whilst a couple of metal containers acted as changing rooms. This was a cup game, between two teams from Division 2, the lowest of the three tiers that make up the league. What it lacked in skill, it certainly made up for it with entertainment. It was the sort of game that looked like every attack would end with a goal. Neither defence were good, but that didn’t really matter, because the attacking players wasted chance after chance.

The visitors took the lead with a 35 yarder that sailed over the ‘keeper and it set the tone for what was to come. Rosehill equalised within minutes, quickly followed by a second goal and by halftime they’d made it 3-1. Halftime was just five minutes, with everyone staying out on the pitch and within two minutes of the restart it was 4-1, scored with a superb bicycle kick and five minutes later a 25 yarder saw their lead increase to 5-1. Sandfields did pull one back, but a header from a corner soon made it 6-2. A penalty, then a corner from the right, scrambled in at the far post, unbelievably saw the visitors pull it back to 6-4 and a comeback looked on the cards, but Rosehill put the game beyond doubt when they added a seventh goal with eight minutes left, courtesy of a volley from the edge of the 18 yard box.

So, despite not getting to my first choice game, this was certainly a great backup and for anyone thinking of coming along to a Rosehill game in the future, I’d recommend bringing along an abacus!