 Aberystwyth Town FC's Disability side Aber Stars' second tournament of the season took place at Tregib Sports Centre in Llandeilo on Sunday, writes atfc.org.uk's Steven Brookes. Once again Aber had a team in the Champions League, Premier League and a few players in the Championship. With some players unavailable two Premier League players moved up to the Champions League team.
Our Championship players were Peter Williams, Meilyr Llwyd and Dave Baker. All three players seemed to enjoy the day and last season’s top scorer, Peter also managed to get his name on the scoresheet. The Premier League team managed by Eirian Reynolds managed to put in some good performances. Unfortunately they could only manage one victory on the day but they all worked hard. Gwyn Morgan was also impressive in the Aber goal. Afterwards, defender Mark Kemp said “I was a bit disappointed with the scores but we worked well together as a team.” In the Champions League, Aber Stars began the day with a narrow 1-0 defeat to Bridgend Herons. This was followed by a 4-2 defeat to the first of two very strong Swansea City Bravehearts sides. This team were called ‘Bravehearts B’. The Bravehearts were 2-0 up at half time. Aber Player Manager Steven Brookes pulled one back seconds after the second half kicked off. Swansea made it 3-1 but once again Brookes scored straight after the restart. Unfortunately every time Aber closed the gap Swansea opened it immediately afterwards and their fourth goal was enough for a 4-2 victory. Aber's third opponents were Cleddau Warriors and from the first minute Aber took control of the match. They had some great early chances and eventually the Aber Captain, Derfel Reynolds opened the scoring and Aber led 1-0 at half time. Aber doubled their lead in the second half with Reynolds getting his second. Cleddau did pull it back to 2-1 after a fantastic goal but two late goals from Aber which included Aber’s captain completing his hat trick and another for Brookes meant the game ended with a deserved 4-1 victory. The final match was against the second Swansea team known as ‘Bravehearts A’. It was a very scrappy first half but Aber did lead at half time, Steven Brookes getting his fourth of the tournament. The team looked tired in the second half and once Swansea equalised they began to control the game and Bravehearts won the match with the last kick of the game. They may have lost three but considering the absences there were a lot of positives to take out of the performances and the team didn’t deserve to lose three matches. Aber’s Player-manager said “We have a close squad and they all get on well together and help each other. It’s quite clear that they enjoy playing football.” The squad numbers have increased a lot over the last few months and to have so many players unavailable and still get to two teams playing shows this. “These players have kept this team going, they’ve been telling their mates about the team and many of them have then joined. They’ve really helped to increase the numbers and their attitude has been great. They are always ready to help their teammates”. The Champions League team’s match highlights can be found on their YouTube page here. The club would also like to thank S4C’s ‘Clwb 2’ who came down to film recently for their show which aired on Sunday.  Just six days ago, evening Dafabet Welsh Premier League football at Park Avenue seemed impossible for the foreseeable future. Club Officials however have moved quickly to ensure that Friday night’s game at home to Bala can go ahead. Here is the full story.
When two of the floodlights at Park Avenue were dramatically felled by gale force winds of 95mph last Thursday morning, the first response of most people at the Club was one of shock and incredulity. Astonishing CCTV footage caught the moment one of the lights fell, and you can view that moment here. The Steel structures had only recently been upgraded as part of Aber Town’s 3G Project and were a vital part of the entire scheme, ensuring that the Facility could stay open for business until 10pm each evening. With glass and metal debris on the field and two floodlight pylons literally blocking the field of play it was clear that last Friday’s game at home to Cefn Druids had to postponed, and that was the first backroom task, as well as communicating the non availability of the 3G Facility to those who had booked matches. The pitch was cleared of debris in time for bookings to be re-opened last night. The next step was to find venues for the rearranged Cefn Druids game, and Friday night’s home game against Bala Town – and negotiations were held with Newtown FC to this end. However Club Official David “Dai Caprice” Evans carried out some research into the feasibility of hiring temporary floodlights in order to bring ground lighting back up to the 500 Lux measurement required for WPL matches. Club Secretary Emyr James then took up the baton, liaising with WPL Secretary Gwyn Derfel. Emyr explains what followed: “We had looked at a couple of options to hire floodlights in, but they weren’t tall enough. It was very important to us though to keep the game in Aber if at all possible, and Gwyn Derfel was kind enough to pass on details for HSS, a Company based in Carmarthen. They have 9 meter lights which are acceptable for WPL matches, so we made the booking over the phone. ” “The two temporary Floodlights are being delivered tomorrow, and will be situated in front of the broken floodlights. They come with big generators, one of which will be in front of the John Charles Lounge, while the other will be located on the old Astroturf pitch.” Hard working Club Officials have gone the extra mile to ensure that Friday night’s game is kept at Park Avenue for the delectation of our home supporters, and we hope a large crowd will turn up in 48 hours’ time to view another thrilling Dafabet WPL game – and maybe cast a curious glance over the famous temporary floodlights too!  Following last week's postponement of the game against Cefn Druids, Aber Town's crucial Dafabet Welsh Premier League tassle with Bala Town this Friday night will showcase the Club's annual Student Promotion night.
Friday night games guarantee a superb atmosphere anyway at Park Avenue, but this week's encounter will really whet the appetite for a number of different reasons. Aberystwyth University Students will be admitted for half price - a mere £2 - and Admission will include a free hot dog in the Clubhouse. University DIGS League Teams are expected to be strongly represented on the night. Last year's promotion encouraged around 250 Students to turn up for the home game against TNS, and Club Media Assistant Matthew Wallace produced an excellent video giving a real flavour of the event. Pre Match Queues round the block, Cheerleaders, free Hot Dogs, DIGS Teams and many other highlights were featured and you can whet your appetite for Friday night but watching the full Matchcam here. Kick off at Park Avenue on Friday is at 7.45pm and Admission will cost £6 for Adults, £4 Concessions, £2 for Students and £1 for Children. It's the only place to be on Friday the 25th!!  Aberystwyth Town FC are delighted to confirm that Friday night's Dafabet Welsh Premier League match between the Black and Greens and Bala Town will be held at Park Avenue, as originally planned, with a 7.45pm kick off.
The fixture had appeared in serious doubt after two of Park Avenue's floodlight pylons were blown over just four days ago, but the Club has arranged to hire temporary additional lighting in order to ensure the game can be played at Aber Town's spiritual home. We would like to thank our friends at the FAW for their help in ensuring the game can go ahead and we are looking forward to welcoming a big crowd to the game in four days time, which until today looked a near impossibility. Although Aber Town's First team was condemned to inactivity this weekend after the dramatic damage to Park Avenue's Floodlights on Thursday, the Black and Greens' Ladies, Under 19s and Disability Teams did the Club proud over the weekend.
Kevin Jenkins' Ladies side earned a fantastic 1-1 draw on Sunday away to third placed Cardiff City FC Women, who have been dominant in the Welsh Premier Womens League for years. Amy Jenkins' goal helped to retain Aber's seventh place in the WPWL, with six points from seven games to date. Emyr Jones' Under 19s side also enjoyed their Sunday afternoon, beating Haverfordwest County Under 19s by eight goals to nil. A strong line up included First Teamers Jack Rimmer, plus Luke Sherbon, Cledan Davies and Geoff Kellaway, who scored four of the goals. Further strikes came from Josh Abbott (2), Harri Horwood and Tomos Evans. Finally our Disability Team the Aber Stars were featured on S4C, as Club of the week on Clwb's Clwb Ni Feature. You can view the report here. Congratulations and thanks to all three Teams for bringing a smile to all at the Club after a difficult week at Park Avenue. Aberystwyth Town is pleased to announce that the 3G Facility will reopen for regular bookings on Tuesday evening (22nd November). The damaged Floodlights will be removed and debris cleared by that point, and the six remaining floodlights will provide sufficient light for bookings to continue as normal. Repairs to the damaged floodlights are expected to take a number of weeks and the Club is working hard to try and ensure that Aber Town's six remaining Dafabet Welsh Premier League and JD Welsh Cup home games can be played at Park Avenue in the near future. Further, more specific updates will follow. The Club would like to thank those who have sent messages of goodwill at a difficult time. Please find below a series of photographs taken by Club Director David Evans, showing the damage caused by the 95mph tornado yesterday lunchtime.     |
Gem Nesaf
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