Welsh League

Division 2

Saturday 11th March 2017

Kick Off 14.30 Actual 14.32

Pontardawe Town 0 Briton Ferry Llansawel 2,  attendance 76

37′ 0-1

41′ 0-2

@ Parc Ynysderw

Ffordd Ynysderw

Pontardawe

SA8 4EG

£3 Admission, including programme, 20 pages.

So, a 45 minute drive from Kidwelly saw me arrive at a match two levels higher than the alternative fixture being offered on the Welsh Hop, and some five levels higher than the game just watched.

Pontardawe only moved into their new ground in 2015 and it is still undergoing improvements. Just the far goal end is lacking hard standing now and according to the match programme, the changing rooms at the adjacent Leisure Centre have been renovated, up to Welsh League standard, so should be in use by next season, replacing the temporary ones, I assume.

I had visited their former home back on Wednesday 17th February 1999, for a Welsh Cup 4th Round Replay, 0-3 v Inter Cable Tel, in the days when clubs without floodlights still had to host the replays midweek, so this had kicked off at 14.00. How times have changed.

As for today, it was 4th bottom v 2nd in the table. BFL had a penalty saved, but opened the scoring a minute later and added the second before the break, which killed off the game.

A relatively trouble free run back along the M4 and M25 saw me arrive back by 19.45. It would be the last trip in the hire car, as we have now collected both our new cars. I suppose it was worth having a hire car for 4 weeks, as it has gone back with 5,250 more miles on the clock than it had when it was picked up !

Carmarthenshire League

Division 2

Saturday 11th March 2017

Kick Off 10.45 On Time !

Kidwelly Town 3 Drefach 1,  attendance 135

9′ 0-1

36′ 1-1

38′ 2-1

89′ 3-1

@ Parc Stephens

Station Road

SA17 4SJ

No Admission

£3 Programme, didn’t bother at that price.

This was the first game on this seasons Carmarthenshire Hop. Having done a number of teams from this league for West Wales Senior Cup matches in the past, I knew that this would be nothing more than a pitch in a field, although as there is only the one pitch here, it is probably one of the better grounds in the league, which says it all really !

With there being a Premier Division, this was actually the third level in the league, but probably not a great difference in playing standard to most of the two higher divisions.

The early kick off meant plenty of scope for an afternoon fixture, as I had already been to the third scheduled game of the day, a 16.00 kick off at Premier Division team Seaside. Despite not having visited the 13.30 game, again in the Premier Division, which was to be at Evans & Williams Sports, I had been told by others who had already been that it was an awful 4 pitch job and totally soulless, so I opted to tick off the most westerly club I still required in the Welsh League instead, so had plenty of time to head back east for a 14.30 kick off.