F.A. Wales Trophy
2nd Round
Saturday 7th August 2021
Kick Off 14.00 Actual 14.01
Butchers Arms 1 A.F.C. Porth 3, attendance 44
11’ 0-1
14’ 1-1
55’ 1-2
74’ 1-3
@ Deep Duffryn
Duffryn Road
Mountain Ash
CF45 4AQ
No Admission
£2 Programme, 16 pages.
I wouldn’t have considered this game if I had been driving, as I’m not a fan of watching games in Saturday competitions where teams have stupid names, or are named after a pub. Having been offered a lift, I took a little persuasion, but decided to come along. Anyway, it would make a nice change, as I hadn’t been to Wales for three days! The home club had tweeted mid morning that the pitch had passed an inspection and the heavy rain that had been forecast never materialised. There was a ten minute period of rain during the first half and a lighter, briefer spell, in the second.
As far as cup games go, this had all the ingredients you need and it was certainly one of the ties of the round. Butchers Arms play in the Aberdare Valley League Premier Division (Tier 7) whilst A.F.C. Porth are in Ardal League South West (Tier 3). The pitch is part of a large sports complex, flanked by Mountain Ash R.U.F.C. one side (their reserves were at home today), with a 3G cage on the other. The far goal end backs onto the A4059, with the other end, on a higher plateau, hosting a cricket pitch and beyond that, tennis courts.
When A.F.C. Porth went in front after just eleven minutes, I feared this might be a real hammering, but within three minutes Butchers Arms were level, when a cross from the right was headed in from 5 yards. The rest of the half was nip and tuck and it was hard to believe there was such a huge gap in levels between the two sides. When A.F.C. Porth went ahead again ten minutes into the second half, through a huge deflection, it knocked the stuffing from the hosts and killed the game off as a contest. It became 1-3 sixteen minutes from time, when a ball cut back across the box to the far post was squeezed in between crossbar, post and ‘keeper to wrap things up.
