Ardal Southern League South West Division
Lydstep Park, Gabalfa
Admission: £2.00
Programme: £1.00
Attendance: 426
For the last day of the regular season, there were only a handful of games available to me locally, which were either places I had already visited before, or an unappealing venue. Back in the days of the Welsh League, South Wales always used to be a rich source of decent level games well into May, and it is pleasing to see that that tradition seems to be continuing under the new structure in Wales. And when I noticed this "winner takes all" final day fixture in the third tier of Welsh football in the outskirts of Cardiff, I booked a cheap National Express coach to take in this game.
For today's trip to South Wales, I used Tesco clubcard vouchers to bring the cost of a National Express coach return trip from London to Cardiff down to £9.30, although I opted to get off at the Gabalfa stop, a couple of miles north of the city centre, and from which Lydstep Park is about a 15 minute walk. The football ground is separated from a surrounding recreational area by low mesh fencing, with spectators entering via an open gate in one corner, and admission is paid at a table just inside. A stand containing four rows of seating straddles the half way line, with hard standing either side and behind the end closest to the entrance, while the other two sides just has grass to stand on. A white container unit is located close to the entrance, from which refreshments were available. There are no floodlights, and changing rooms are housed in a converted toilet block a short walk away from the ground, although it is nicely decorated with a club mural. Facilities are currently basic, but plans are in place to significantly upgrade them in due course as funds allow, but the ground is neat, smart and well maintained, and with interesting surroundings, with trees tightly lining one length, and three tall blocks of flats towering over the ground - indeed, there is a pleasant community feel to the place, with the surrounding housing estate overlong the ground.
This game was perfectly set up so that whoever would win this game today would stay up, with the losers consigned to relegation, with a draw being sufficient for the visitors. Cardiff Draconians came into this game second bottom in the table, following seven wins and five draws from their 29 league games, a point behind Cwmamman United, who had won seven and drawn six of their 29 league games. The Draconians fell like a stone into the relegation spots, losing their first four games in May, but kept their hopes of survival with a 3-1 home win against Port Talbot Town last Saturday. Similarly, Cwmamman lost three of their first four games in May, but a 2-1 win against AFC Llywdcoed in midweek allowed them to fight another day. When the two teams met earlier in the season, Cwmamman won 1-0.
I did fear that I would not make kick off, after leaving Victoria late and getting held up in several traffic jams along the M4, perhaps always a risk on a Bank Holiday weekend, and after finally arriving at the Gabalfa stop an hour and twenty minutes late, a brisk walk saw me enter the ground a couple of minutes before kick off, as the players were taking to the field. It was a big relief to have made kick-off, but inevitably it was too late to buy a programme. Admission was halved today, from an already very reasonable £4 to just £2, and it was nice to see the locals, and plenty of fellow groundhoppers, respond in their numbers with a real bumper crowd in attendance. On a gloriously warm and sunny afternoon, the home side started very much in the front foot, and they were rewarded in the seventh minute, when a cross was looped high from wide across goal, with the ball just evading the keeper before Tom McLean headed home at the far post. Just before a drinks break was called, and for the remainder of the half, Cwmamman came more into the game, and managed to mount some attacks, without really looking much of a threat. And so as half time arrived, Cardiff Draconians were on course to get the win they needed to stay up and send Cwmamman down, but a goal for the visitors would swing the outcome back in Cwmamman's favour.
The second half started off much as the first had ended, quite evenly, although the visitors looked a little more of a threat, and Cory Saunders had a free kick quite comfortably tipped over by the keeper. But in the 52nd minute, the home side doubled their lead to give themselves some breathing space. Frederick Stevens crossed the ball, Matt Gibbs stuck out a leg to send the ball looping up and back off the crossbar, and Callum Gunstone chested the ball down before slotting home. Things really were starting to go wrong for the visitors now, as three minutes later, they were reduced to ten men, when Grant Rees was shown a straight red card for a stamp on Shaun McCarthy's ankle. The outcome was put beyond all realistic doubt on 78 minutes when the Draconians scored their third when McLean passed the ball across goal, and Adam Rees struck the ball powerfully at goal, deflecting off the keeper's foot and over the line. Cwmamman did have a couple of chances to grab a consolation goal, most notably in the final minute of normal time, when Calum Rees ran through on goal, but just as he was about to pull the trigger, Jake Gammond managed to race back and stick a leg out to divert the ball away. A bad injury in the fifth minute of added on time to a Cwmamman player, who was eventually stretchered off, prompted the referee to blow the final whistle, to confirm Cardiff Draconians' survival and they can look forward to their third season in the Ardal Southern League, while Cwmamman United will face fourth tier football next season, most likely in the West Wales Premier League football. On the day, Cardiff Draconians' fully deserved the win, while it was strange that Cwmamman put in a rather limp, "going through the motions" kind of display, considering how much was at stake, and in front of such a big crowd.
Cardiff Draconians: Daniel Hurton, Frederick Stevens, Abdul Mohsin, Jake Gammond, Oscar Raisbeck, Adam Rees, Tom Mclean, Solomon Taylor St Clair, Matt Hibbs (Jack Kane, 68), Shaun McCarthy (Ben Yarwood, 83), and Callum Gunstone.
Goals: Tom Mclean 7, Calum Gunstone 54, Adam Rees 79′
Yellow Cards: Tom Mclean 87′
Cwmamman United: Kai Rees, Ethan Taylor, Cory Saunders, Grant Rees, Rhys Griffiths, Ronan Templeton (Kyle Ashford, 55), Ryan Thomas (C), Kieran Richards, Calem Rees, Charlie Davies, and Harrison Thomas (Gwion Howell, 74)
Yellow Cards: Leon Croucher 56′
Red Card: Grant Rees 56′
Video highlights can be viewed by clicking here
