Mid Wales League

East Division

Friday 3rd September 2021

Kick Off 18.30 On Time !

Newtown Wanderers 3 Forden United 3, attendance 32

3’ 0-1

11’ 0-2

43’ 1-2

61’ 2-2

70’ 3-2

81’ 3-3 (pen)

@ Trehafren Fields

off Park Lane

Newtown

SY16 1EN

No Admission or Programme.

It is baffling how this ground can possibly be classed as good enough to host tier 4 football. The players get changed at Latham Park, home of Newtown F.C. and having walked across the car park, they then head down a track towards the river. Here they reach an overgrown area, where there are a couple of very small sized goal posts set out around 200 yards apart. They turn left here and walk into a second area, beyond a hedge, where there are two more pitches that run lengthways, end on end, with the pitch furthest away being the one in use. There is nothing here, bar a rope at one end and along the side that runs parallel to the footpath.

Newtown Wanderers have not had a great start to the season, having lost six of their seven games so far, with their only points coming from a 9-1 win away at bottom club Llanfyllin Town. Forden United had done little better, managing just 7 points from their opening seven matches.

Two defensive mistakes by Newtown saw Forden go 0-2 ahead after eleven minutes and they were well in command. An absolute scorcher for Newtown, that flew into the top corner, pulled it back to 1-2 just before halftime. By the hour mark it was 2-2, as the Forden ‘keeper seemed to totally misjudge a 25 yarder that looked an easy save and ten minutes later Newtown completed the comeback to edge 3-2 ahead. Nine minutes from time Forden equalised from a penalty to make it 3-3. A draw was probably a fair result overall.

The journey up was trouble free, but 40 minutes were lost on the return (we ignored the SatNav, deciding not to take the £7 rip off on the Toll Road). The M6 was closed for bridge work at Junction 10, meaning queuing up the slip road and across the roundabout, before rejoining the other side, then just south of Junction 7 the Police stopped the traffic for 15-20 minutes. There was no evidence of anything having happened, as we were finally allowed to continue on our way.