PREVIEW: AMMANFORD (A)

A new era at Aberystwyth Town begins this Friday night as the Black & Greens travel to Ammanford, with newly appointed manager Craig Williams taking his place in the dugout for the first time.

The 37-year-old needs no introduction to the Aber faithful, having represented the club for two seasons between 2010 and 2012 after being signed by Alan Morgan. A true Newtown legend, Craig now holds the unique distinction of not only playing for Newtown, Aberystwyth, and Caersws, but also managing all three. He enjoyed a two-game interim spell in charge at Newtown at the end of last season before spending six months in the Caersws hotseat.

Craig is a familiar face to much of the current squad and coaching staff, having previously worked with many of them during his time at Latham Park. Speaking about his appointment, he said that familiarity gives him “real confidence in what we can achieve together” and added that he is looking forward to pushing the club forward with the group already in place.

In the opposite technical area will be former Seasider Wyn Thomas, who made numerous appearances in Black & Green and served as Interim Manager at Park Avenue back in 2016. Remarkably, the two managers have accumulated well over 1,000 Cymru Premier appearances between them.

Under Wyn’s guidance, Ammanford are enjoying an excellent campaign and currently sit third in the JD Cymru South with 28 points from their 15 matches. They come into this fixture unbeaten in eight league games, a run stretching back to mid-September, and claimed a 3–0 win over Baglan Dragons last weekend.

Daniel John has been the standout performer for the hosts so far, with seven goals and four assists. Adam John has also netted four times, while three players—including former Aber man Gavin Jones—have added two goals each.

The sides have already met this season, playing out a 0–0 draw in Ceredigion back in August.

Despite more than 50 miles separating the clubs, this is Aber’s second shortest away trip of the campaign. Ammanford Recreation Ground can be found using postcode SA18 3DY.

Come and support the lads as the Craig Williams era gets underway!