The Black & Greens secured their first away win of the season last night (Tuesday) on what was an emotional evening for everyone associated with Aberystwyth Town.
The club were devastated yesterday morning to learn of the passing of Tony Payne, who was Head of Security at Park Avenue and a hugely popular figure, not only at Aberystwyth Town but within the local community also. Tony’s contribution to the club over many years was immeasurable and his warm welcome, generosity and friendship will be sorely missed by all. Everyone’s thoughts are currently with his wife Sara and children Jordan & Sophie. Football is insignificant in these circumstances – however Aberystwyth Town FC would like to dedicate last night’s victory to our dear friend, Tony. Ahead of the game, Gavin Allen made one change from Saturdays’ defeat to Barry Town, with Jonathan Evans replacing Rhys Davies. Aber lined up in their yellow away kit for the first time this season, with all the players wearing black armbands as a mark of respect. It was an uneventful opening first fifteen minutes to the game, with the first real chance falling to Druids on 17 minutes – Iwan Cartwright heading wide from a corner. Lee Jenkins then had to be alert to deny Druids a shot from close range a minute later, before Jonny Evans registered Aber’s first shot on target. Druids arguably had the better of much of the first half, as Connor Roberts saved well from Josef Faux on twenty minutes before both Aaron Simpson and Alex Darlington had chances to open the scoring also. At the other end, Marc Williams was finding his range, first having a shot deflected for a corner before shooting just over from 20 yards. On 41 minutes, the Aber captain got even closer still, hitting the woodwork following good work from Gwion Owen, who was once again impressing with his tireless energy in the middle of midfield. On 44 minutes, Aber took the lead. Druids keeper Dawid Szczepaniak spilled the ball from his grasp, and Jonathan Evans reacted quickest, slotting into the net to give Aber the advantage. Less than a minute later it was 2-0, as Marc Williams hit a sublime effort into the top right of the net from 20 yards. From 0-0 with a minute to go to the break, Aber now had a commanding lead. Aber continued their good play after the restart, with Jonathan Evans doing well down the right hand side and finding Williams again, who was unlucky to see his header flash just wide. Lee Jenkins had to be alert on a couple of occasions to deny the home side, before Steff Davies just failed to connect with another cross from Jonathan Evans, who was giving Druid’s left back a torrid time. Steff Davies did not have to wait long for another opportunity however, and on 62 minutes it was 3-0 to the visitors. Jonathan Evans was once again involved in the action, beating his marker before sending in a superb cross to Marc Williams at the back post. The Aber captain nodded down for Steff Davies to net his second goal in as many games and the Seasiders third of the night. The Black & Greens weren’t satisfied with the scoreline however, and kept pushing for more goals. On 70 minutes Steven Hewitt, who impressed all game in only his second start of the season, combined well with Marc Williams who set up Jonathan Evans, but keeper Szczepanick was not to be beaten on this occasion. Jamie Veale then registered another shot on target from a free-kick, before Richie Ricketts entered the action in place of Steff Davies. With ten minutes left on the clock, Aber were dealt a blow when Jonathan Evans pulled up and had to be substituted. The winger had been in terrific form all game, contributing to much of what was good about the team’s performance, and everyone at the club will be hoping that the injury sustained does not keep him out for too long. Jack Thorn came on in Evans’ place. As the clock ticked down, Druids had a bit of a resurgence, with Aber’s defensive line doing well to deal with a number of attacks and Connor Roberts saving from an Aaron Simpson header. The back four of Miles John, Louis Bradford, Lee Jenkins and Mathew Jones along with keeper Roberts must be commended on their performance, which was outstanding for the entirety of the game, and was rightly praised by manager Gavin Allen after the match. The Black & Greens weren’t quite finished for the evening however and just as the match was reaching its conclusion, Richie Ricketts burst down the left. Holding off a couple of opposition defenders, the youngster crossed for Jack Thorn, who claimed his first goal in senior football. The referee blew for full time and with that emphatic victory, Aber climb to 8 points and into the Top Six! Gavin Allen was pleased with his teams work, commenting “I thought we were on it. It was a great performance from the boys with four goals and a clean sheet. They have showed character tonight. I thought the back line were excellent – they won everything. At times we’ve looked threatening, and it was a decent performance. I hope Tony would be looking down on us and smiling tonight and Tony, that’s 3 points for you mate”. Next up for The Black & Greens is a trip to Bala Town on Saturday, which is live on Sgorio with a 5.15pm Kick-Off. As usual coverage will also be provided on our Twitter platform @AberystwythTown, as the team will look to replicate last night’s performance – a fitting tribute to a man who did so much for Aberystwyth Town Football Club. That one is for you, Tony and for Sara, Jordan & Sophie too. We’re all thinking of you. ![]() Aberystwyth Town Football Club has great sadness to report the passing of Head of Security Tony Payne after a short illness. Tony and his family Sara, Jordan and Sophie have been the welcoming faces and first contact at the turnstiles of Aberystwyth Town FC for many years since they moved to Aberystwyth. A hugely popular figure with all at the club and in the local community, Tony was the club's match day organiser and Chief Steward, an ever willing coordinator of ball boys and girls as well as programme and golden goal sales, his contribution to Aberystwyth Town FC on a match day was immense. Club Vice Chairman David Evans commented: “Tony and his family epitomise everything that is so wonderful about the Aberystwyth Town football family, his dedication will be sorely missed by us and his welcome to Park Avenue I’m sure will be missed by the players, supporters and officials of every club that has ever visited the ground. I personally will miss a great character and friend who was always willing to help others in whatever way he could” Aberystwyth Town Football Club extends its deepest sympathies to Sara, Jordan and Sophie, and all who were lucky to call Tony a friend. Cefn Druids vs Aberystwyth Town
JD Cymru Premier Tuesday 6th October MATCH BEHIND CLOSED DOORS It is another quick turnaround this Tuesday for The Black & Greens, as they head to North Wales for the second time in seven days, with Saturday’s home match against Barry Town sandwiched in the middle. Aber impressed for the majority of the game on Saturday against a strong Barry Town United side who will no doubt be optimistic of securing another European place this season. Taking the lead through Steff Davies early in the second half, Aber looked good value to get their second successive home win. However, despite going down to ten men, clinical finishes from Kayne McLaggon and Jordan Cotterill gave the visitors all three points and left the Seasiders wondering what could have been. Gavin Allen’s side therefore go into Tuesday’s match looking to return to the sort of form that saw them undefeated for three games going into last week, and with Miles John & Jon Foligno now on board plus the debut of Steven Hewitt on Saturday and the return from injury of Owain Jones, the Manager’s squad is really starting to shape up, as the first transfer window reaches its close tonight (Monday 6th). 2020 has been a transitional year for Cefn Druids so far. Long serving manager Huw Griffiths departed for Caernarfon before the lockdown, and key players Nathan Peate, James Davies, Ramirez Howarth and Neil Ashton left during the summer. The blow of losing these influential figures has been softened by some impressive new arrivals. Newly appointed Manager Bruno Lopes has a strong CV, having been interim head coach for Portuguese Primeira Liga side Portimonense last season. Alex Darlington won seven Welsh Premier titles whilst at TNS and Niall Flint has Football League experience with Shrewsbury Town. Druids also have two familiar faces in their ranks. Steff Edwards has had two spells at Aberystwyth University Park Avenue; the first under Alan Morgan in 2010-11, rejoining in 2018 before departing for The Rock in January. Jamie Reed wrote himself into Aber folklore after joining on loan from Wrexham in 2007, scoring a hat-trick on his home debut to help defeat reigning champions The New Saints 5-1! He went on to score another 6 goals before returning to his parent club in January 2008, but returned to Ceredigion on another loan in 2015/16, this time netting 7 goals in 17 appearances before returning to parent club The New Saints. Tomorrow’s game will be behind closed doors, but the Black & Green Army can follow all the action via our Twitter platform @AberystwythTown. Our next outing, to Bala on Saturday, will be live on S4C’s Sgorio with a 5.15pm kick-off! ![]() Aberystwyth Town FC Chairman Donald Kane has issued an impassioned plea for financial help from the Welsh Government to help save the Cymru Premier League in its current form. Following a meeting of Member Clubs last night, it has become clear that unless financial help is found, a number of member clubs are unlikely to reach Christmas, let alone the end of the season. Clubs are currently operating without gate receipts, or secondary income, such as match day sponsorship and hospitality, and many view the current status quo, with matches being played behind closed doors and other income streams also closed off, as unsustainable. Kane said: "I really worry that our League in its current form is dying. After hearing from the other Chairman in the Cymru Premier and FAW representatives in a meeting last night, it seems that without new finance being injected, many clubs will fold." The loss of Cymru Premier Clubs would be devastating for their local communities. Having been developed through the community hubs model, quite apart from the First Teams, all Clubs run vibrant community ventures such as Academies which offer weekly coaching sessions for up to 200 boys and girls, as well as Women's teams, Disability and Mental Health teams, to name but a few. However Kane does see a solution to the dire situation: "The U.K. Government has invested £10 million over the next three months into the National Leagues in England, which are benchmarked as the same level as the Cymru Premier." "Using the Barnett Formula a proportionate amount of money should also be made available to the Welsh Government for Cymru Premier Clubs, and we are urging the Welsh Government now to pursue this urgently, to help preserve our National Football League." Aberystwyth Town FC Officials are already in contact with their local Member of Parliament and Senedd Member to pursue this appeal further. ![]() Two second half goals in little over three minutes saw Barry Town United come from behind to earn three points at Aberystwyth University Park Avenue. Aber had led early in the second half thanks to a strike from Steff Davies but the visitors earned the three points thanks to goals from Kayne McLaggon and Jordan Cotterill who’d earlier seen Clayton Green sent off. Aber made five changes to the starting line up from Wednesday’s defeat with debuts being handed to Stephen Hewitt and Miles John. Matthew Jones, Rhys Davies and Gwion Owen returned to the starting eleven in place of Ilan Hughes, Jonathan Evans and Jonathan Folingo. The woodwork at both ends of the ground were busy early on with Barry being denied twice and Aber once in the opening quarter of an hour. Nat Jarvis hit the bar although the linesman’s flag would have denied the striker the opening goal before Kayne McLaggon saw a glancing header bounce off a post for the visitors. At the other end, Steff Davies came within inches of giving Aber the lead as his deftly executed lob beat the returning Mike Lewis but not the crossbar with the ball bouncing agonisingly off the bar and to safety for Barry. Having to contend with a driving wind and torrential rain, to their credit, both sides looked to play expansive football although there was little to report in terms of goal mouth action as the half progressed. For the visitors, a glancing defensive header from Matty Jones nearly caused the Seasiders’ defence problems whilst for Gavin Allen’s side, Marc Williams hoisted the ball superbly over the head of Luke Cooper but his shot was comfortably stopped by Lewis. With the game meandering towards half time, Aber were awarded a freekick around 25 years out. Jones whipped it brilliantly around the wall and with the ball destined for the bottom corner, a superb save from Lewis kept the scores deadlocked. Aber took the lead with the second half just four minutes old. A free kick from the edge of the box was whipped in by Jamie Veale. His cross found Davies unmarked who, whilst falling, managed to swivel and get his shot off and into the goal for his first JD Cymru Premier goal of the campaign. The goal sparked the game into life with both sides looking to up the tempo to the play. David Cotterill’s freekick was superbly stopped by Connor Roberts in the home goal and from the resulting corner, the ever dangerous McLaggon could only scoop the ball high over the Dias stand from eight yards out. On the hour mark, Barry were reduced to ten men when Clayton Green challenged Stephen Hewitt late in front of the home dugout. After a consultation with his linesman, referee Lee Evans reached for his red card and the former Carmarthen Town man headed to the dressing rooms. Despite having a numerical disadvantage, Gavin Chesterfield’s men were level midway into the second stanza. Cotterill fizzed in a dangerous free kick from the left and the slightest of touches from McLaggon saw the ball find the far corner of the net. Just three minutes later, Barry completed their turnaround. A mistake at the back allowed Jordan Cotterill a free run on goal and one on one, he coolly slotted the ball home, capping it off with an acrobatic celebration. Despite plenty of endeavour to get back on level terms from the home side, the visitors defensive unit held firm and earned the spoils. The defeat will be a tough one to take for Town although Gavin Allen will be pleased to have the opportunity to right the wrongs of today at Cefn Druids on Tuesday evening. Kick off at 7:45. Aberystwyth Town Football Club are delighted to announce the signing of Miles John from JD Cymru Premier rivals Haverfordwest County. The 25-year-old becomes the latest addition to Gavin Allen’s Seasiders for the 2020/21 season and goes straight into the squad for tomorrow afternoon’s battle with Barry Town United.
A hard-working and versatile player, Miles has plenty of experience in the Welsh Pyramid having represented Port Talbot Town, Cambrian & Clydach and most recently Haverfordwest County, as well as featuring for Merthyr Town of the English Pyramid in 17/18. Away from the pitch and towards the sideline, Miles is a UEFA B License holder and holds a BSc in Football Coaching, Development and Administration having achieved First Class Honours in his studies this summer. Miles spoke to atfc.org.uk upon his arrival: What made you decide to join Aberystwyth Town? The club excites me as they’re a well-established Cymru Premier club. The ambition of getting a Top Six position was set out from Day 1 by Gav and his staff to me on the phone; I want to be a part of reaching this ambition best I can. Who have you spoken to at the club? I know a few boys at the club: Owz (Jones), Harri Rowe, Matty Jones and Vealey. They spoke to me and have given nothing but high praise about everyone at the club. Give our #GreenArmy an idea of your playing style: I’m a hard and honest worker whatever position I play. I like to get on the ball and play but also get forward as much as I can to help chip in with assists and goals. And finally, what are your ambitions for the season? Top 6 is the priority! Personally, I want to get as many minutes as I can to help the team and my own development by testing myself at the highest level in Wales. All at Park Avenue welcome Miles to the family and look forward to a successful season together – Croeso i Geredigion, Miles! |
Gem Nesaf
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Ebost / Email: [email protected]
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Cyfeiriad / Address: ATFC Ltd, Park Avenue, Aberystwyth, SY23 1PG.
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