|
Port Talbot Town Football Club News Archive - December 2007
31st December 2007
Experienced Burrows released as McGibbon signs
David Burrows has been released by Port Talbot Town Football Club following the signing of Mark McGibbon from Cwmbran Town. Experienced Burrows, 35, has played in the Welsh Premier League since 1992, amassing 330 appearances for seven different clubs but chances have been limited for the former Aberystwyth Town player-manager who has made only three starts this season. Youngster Daniel Lancey is also expected to be loaned out to a Welsh League club for the remainder of the season having struggled to break into the side since signing in the Summer after his release from Swansea City. Lancey remains part of manager Nicky Tucker’s long term plans however but he is keen for the youngster to play regular football.
31st December 2007
Port Talbot 7/4 outsiders for New Year derby
Our betting partners Betway have made Neath Athletic favourites for the return match at Llandarcy on New Years Day.
Neath to win 5/4 Draw 11/5 Port Talbot to win 7/4
30th December 2007
Admission slashed as Blues look for local support
Port Talbot Town Football Club have reduced admission for the remainder of the Welsh Premier League season following an alarming decrease in attendance figures this year. Admission for the remainder of the season will now be just £4 for adults and only £2 for concessions. With an average gate of only 176 this season, only Connah’s Quay Nomads and Airbus UK Broughton have a worse average figure. The most alarming figure however is that crowds at the RE/MAX Stadium have dropped 19.9% this season, the biggest drop of any Welsh Premier League club. Just 1755 people have come through the Port Talbot Town turnstiles this season, compared to 4160 at Rhyl and 4080 at Bangor City.
30th December 2007
Tucker makes double signing ahead of Neath test
Port Talbot Town have completed the signing of right-back Mark McGibbon from Cwmbran Town and former Cardiff Grange Quins and Llanelli midfielder Kyle Sheppard. Both impressed in the friendly against West End earlier in the month and are available for the match away to Neath Athletic on New Years Day.
29th December 2007
Blain target for County ahead of transfer window
Haverfordwest County manager Derek Brazil has made an official approach for midfielder Dylan Blain ahead of the January transfer window. Blain played for Haverfordwest for six seasons before signing for Port Talbot Town in 2006 and has scored 13 goals from his 209 Welsh Premier League games, two of which have come from his nineteen starts this season for Port Talbot Town. Manager Nicky Tucker has also started shopping in the January sales by making an approach for Cwmbran Town defender Mark McGibbon. The 29 year-old right-sided Londoner has also played for Birkerod FC in Denmark and is expected to complete a move to the club in the next few days.
29th December 2007
Jan Bekker
The club are sorry to announce that former manager Jan Bekker died on Boxing Day, aged 56. Jan managed the club for two seasons in the late 1980‘s after a playing career with Swansea City and also managed Tondu Robins, Garw and Bridgend Town.
26th December 2007
Town squander two goal lead....twice
Port Talbot Town twice threw away a two goal lead on Boxing Day as Nicky Tucker’s side were held to a 3-3 draw against local rivals Neath Athletic at the RE/MAX Stadium. Neath fielded a number of former Port Talbot Town players in their team and an afternoon of drama was the result as Port Talbot dropped points through a series of defensive errors. Chad Bond opened the scoring on 16 minutes before Scott Barrow put Port Talbot two goals ahead less than a minute later. A defensive mix-up on 19 minutes however let Neath back in the game as goalkeeper Kristian Rogers clearance was blocked by Richard French and deflected into the empty net. Port Talbot restored their two goal advantage on 59 minutes with the goal of the game through Scott Barrow but within ten minutes Neath had again reduced the deficit through former Port Talbot Town striker Carl Shaw and captain Andy Hill grabbed the all important equaliser for the visitors on 77 minutes.
26th December 2007
Welsh Premier League round-up
The New Saints remain at the top of the table following a convincing 3-0 victory over Welshpool Town. Steven Beck, Scott Ruscoe and Alfie Carter were on target for Ken McKenna’s side in the win. Llanelli needed a last minute winner from Mark Jones to win at Carmarthen Town while Haverfordwest claimed a 3-2 win at Aberystwyth Town in a day of high scoring games. In the biggest crowd of the day, Caersws won the mid-Wales derby over Newtown 1-0 through a goal by Neil Mitchell in front of 835 people at the Recreation Ground. Over 700 people witnessed Bangor City defeat Caernarfon Town 5-1 while Rhyl moved upto third place with a 5-0 win at Connah’s Quay Nomads. Airbus UK Broughton again had the lowest crowd of the day as only 142 people watched their 3-2 win over NEWI Cefn Druids while there was also a disappointing crowd as Port Talbot Town were held to a 3-3 draw against local rivals Neath Athletic. At the bottom of the table Porthmadog claimed a convincing 4-1 victory over Llangefni Town. The return fixtures will now be played on New Years Day.
24th December 2007
Double your money with Betway on Boxing Day
Port Talbot Town have been priced at 11/10 with our betting partners Betway to claim a second victory over Neath Athletic at the RE/MAX Stadium this season. Port Talbot defeated Andy Dyer’s side 3-0 in the Challenge Cup on the opening day with goals from Leigh De-Vulgt, Martin Rose and Dylan Blain. Neath have been in excellent form since however and are now level on points with Port Talbot ahead of the Boxing Day and New Years Day double header. Kerry Morgan remains the only player out through injury for Port Talbot Town. Kick off is at 2.30pm.
23rd December 2007
Dyer confident ahead of holiday derdy double
Neath Athletic are the visitors to the RE/MAX Stadium on Boxing Day with manager Andrew Dyer confident his side can build on their fantastic start to the season and avenge their 3-0 defeat to Port Talbot Town in the Loosemores Solicitors Challenge Cup at the very start of their inaugural campaign in the Principality Welsh Premier League. Neath warmed up for Boxing Day with a superb 4-0 victory at home to Connah’s Quay Nomads and with a number of ex-Port Talbot Town players in their ranks they will be fully prepared for the task ahead. Neath’s Chris Pridham, Billy Timothy, Rob Folland, Stephen Pockett, Carl Shaw, Ryan Frankcom and one time Player-Manager Simon Dyer have all played for Port Talbot Town in the Welsh Premier League and their experience has helped Neath reach ninth place in the table to be level on points with Port Talbot ahead of the Boxing Day and New Years Day double header. “We are a good, young team, well-organised and we do our homework,” said Dyer. “We are a professional club and you can see the benefits in our play. We are ninth in the table and, if anything, I'm surprised we are not higher.” Kick off on Boxing Day is at 2.30pm.
22nd December 2007
Blues do everything but score in Newtown stalemate
Port Talbot Town were held to a goalless draw at Newtown on Saturday despite creating the far better chances and dominating for long periods. Chad Bond had the best chance for the visitors to deservedly take the points when he was one-on-one with Newtown goalkeeper David Jones but the highly-rated 17 year old shot-stopper was in superb form all afternoon to prevent Bond and earn his side a share of the points. Newtown had a strong appeal for a penalty turned down by referee Neil Morgan in the opening half when Lee Surman appeared to handle the ball in the area but it was Port Talbot who were the far better side on the day but could not convert their chances into goals. Newtown have one of the better grounds in the Welsh Premier League and have further increased their seating capacity over the last year. While it is good to see other clubs investing into their grounds as well as their playing squad, the playing surface at Newtown is without doubt the worst in the league. With more sand in the goalmouths and touchlines than on Aberafan Beach, quality football cannot be an option at Newtown. With all the criteria being enforced on clubs, surely some standard is required on the actual playing surface.
22nd December 2007
Welsh Premier League round-up
The New Saints and Llanelli remain in the top two positions but moved eight points ahead from the chasing pack as a number of the leading sides dropped points. The New Saints were 1-0 winners at home to Aberystwyth Town through a goal from Jamie Wood while Llanelli came back with two second half goals from Rhys Griffiths to defeat Rhyl 2-1 at Stebonheath. Carmarthen Town were held to a surprise 2-2 draw at home to Llangefni Town while Welshpool Town suffered a surprise 1-0 home defeat to NEWI Cefn Druids in the only Friday night game of the weekend. Port Talbot were held to a 0-0 draw at Newtown despite creating the better chances while Caersws claimed maximum points at Airbus UK Broughton through first half goals from Graham Evans and Neil Mitchell. Porthmadog moved off the bottom of the table with an impressive 4-2 win at Caernarfon Town with Gareth Parry and Paul Roberts both grabbing a brace in the victory. Bangor City claimed a 1-0 win at Haverfordwest County through an Ashley Stott goal while Neath Athletic claimed the biggest win of the weekend with a 4-0 win over Connah’s Quay Nomads at Llandarcy Park.
19th December 2007
Tucker prepares for January sales
Manager Nicky Tucker offered a number of trialists the chance to impress ahead of the January transfer window on Tuesday night as an experimental Port Talbot Town line-up defeated Welsh League side West End 3-0 at the RE/MAX Stadium. A number of impressive individual performances on the night will have given Tucker optimism and the club have been handed a further boost with the news that on-loan Swansea City striker Kerry Morgan should be back to full fitness by January.
19th December 2007
Academy look back at the season so far
Under-14‘s Academy coach Mark Pike takes a look at his sides season so far in a special feature for the official website. Following the decision of the club to withdraw from the local league at the start of the season to concentrate on the Academy, Mark looks back at the effect it has had on his team to play a higher standard of football every week.
17th December 2007
O’Shaughnessy chirps up as Canaries appeal
Caernarfon Town manager Steve O’Shaughnessy has said his club will appeal over the straight red card handed to his captain Eifion Jones. Port Talbot Town defeated Caernarfon 2-1 at the RE/MAX Stadium on Saturday as the visitors were reduced to nine men to further add to their already awful disciplinary record this season. Jones was shown a straight red card by referee Kerry Morgan shortly after Port Talbot had equalised for a blatant elbow on home striker Chad Bond. “Eifion’s simply not that kind of player and was gutted at the decision," said the Caernarfon boss. “We were in control of the match and playing well on a good surface, and I am sure that we would have taken the points.” he added. Port Talbot dominated the match especially the second half and created more than enough chances to have claimed a far more comfortable result, unfortunately O’Shaughnessy’s view of the elbow incident is as wrong as his opinion of the game itself. Maybe the reason for an appeal has more to do with his side facing a double header against local rivals Bangor City in which Jones will now be suspended, than a genuine belief that the elbow didn’t occur.
16th December 2007
Under-19‘s suffer League Cup defeat
Our Under-19 side were defeated 2-1 against Bryntirion Athletic at the RE/MAX Stadium on Sunday in the MacWhirter Welsh Football League Youth Cup. Bryntirion will now face Carmarthen Town in the Quarter Final of the competition after their 1-0 win over Cambrian and Clydach.
16th December 2007
Two defeats and a draw for Academy against Aber
Our three Academy sides were in action on Sunday as they took on Aberystwyth Town in the latest round of FAW Academy fixtures. In freezing conditions our Under-12 side lost 2-1 through a controversial last minute goal while the Under-14 side left it late as they needed a last minute equaliser to claim a share of the points in a 1-1 draw. Our Under-16 side suffered a 4-2 defeat. The side are now back in action on 6th January when they take Exeter’s Elite Academy away from home.
16th December 2007
Griffiths on trial with Swiss Super League side
Former Port Talbot Town striker Rhys Griffiths has returned from Switzerland where he had a trial with Super League side FC Aarau. The striker joined Llanelli after claiming both Welsh Premier League Player of the Year and the Golden Boot awards while at Port Talbot Town and is currently the league’s leading goalscorer with 23 goals already this season. “I've just been experiencing the football out there to see what it's like," said Griffiths. “There's nothing concrete happening, they've shown a little bit of interest, but it's just a tie between the two clubs. It's out of my hands, it's to do with Llanelli and FC Aarau, but I'm very happy where I am and my life outside football is good as well, so it's in the lap of the Gods,” he added.
16th December 2007
Brian Carpenter
The club are sorry to announce that former manager Brian Carpenter passed away earlier today. Brian was manager back in the 1980‘s and more recently worked as a scout for Llanelli after being involved in football all his life. Everyone at Port Talbot Town would like to offer their condolancies to his family.
16th December 2007
Welsh Premier League round-up
The New Saints have extended their lead at the top of the table to two points after a comfortable 3-0 victory over NEWI Cefn Druids on Friday that was followed by the six clubs directly below them all drawing the following day. Their main challengers Llanelli were held to a 3-3 draw at Welshpool Town in which Rhys Griffiths scored two penalties for the visitors. Craig Jones added another while Calvin Davies grabbed a hat-trick for Welshpool. Carmarthen held Rhyl to a 0-0 draw at Richmond Park while Aberystwyth drew by the same score with Airbus UK Broughton at Park Avenue. Port Talbot Town and Neath Athletic both claimed 2-1 home victories over Caernarfon Town and Porthmadog respectively while Connah’s Quay claimed a much needed 2-0 win over Llangefni Town. Bangor City thought they had done enough to win at home to Newtown when Les Davies scored both his and his sides second goal in the last minute but Newtown grabbed an equaliser in injury time through Damian Daniels to make it 2-2. The match between Caersws and Haverfordwest County was postponed due to a frozen pitch.
15th December 2007
Blues hit back against nine man Caernarfon
Scott Barrow and Martin Rose were on target for Port Talbot Town on Saturday as new manager Nicky Tucker claimed his first win since taking charge of the side against Caernarfon Town at the RE/MAX Stadium. A mistake by goalkeeper Kristian Rogers allowed the visitors to take the lead on 54 minutes through James Thomas but Scott Barrow equalised just six minutes later with a well taken effort from close range. Caernarfon were then reduced to ten men when captain Eifion Jones received a straight red card for an elbow on striker Chad Bond and Port Talbot were able to pile on the pressure as the visitors sat back to play for a share of the points. Port Talbot created a number of chances but could not find a way past on-loan Wrexham goalkeeper Vinny Whelan before Martin Rose made the breakthrough on 83 minutes when he turned and drilled a low shot into the corner of the net. It was no more than Port Talbot deserved for their increased possession and things became worse for the visitors when Kieron Quinn was shown a second yellow card in injury time. The side are now home on Tuesday night when West End are the opponents in a friendly.
14th December 2007
Tucker looking for six of the best
Manager Nicky Tucker believes that this weekend’s home match against Caernarfon Town is the first of six winnable matches for his side. Speaking in the Port Talbot Guardian, Tucker was optimistic that Port Talbot can now move forward and challenge for a European place. “From now until Christmas and the New Year is a crucial period,” said Tucker. “It’s very tight at the top of the table and any side that can put together five or six wins will push away and challenge for that third spot. You look at our next six games and they are all winnable matches. Nothing happens like that but we are looking at winning them all.” Striker Kerry Morgan is the only player out through injury although the Swansea City forward has resumed training.
14th December 2007
West End friendly arranged for Tuesday night
Port Talbot Town will take on West End at the RE/MAX Stadium on Tuesday night in a friendly. The match will allow Nicky Tucker to further asses his squad ahead of the January transfer window.
11th December 2007
Caernarfon out for the double despite dire record
Port Talbot Town take on Caernarfon Town Saturday with the visitors yet to claim a victory at the RE/MAX Stadium. A superb performance saw Port Talbot run out 7-1 winners in the corresponding fixture last season with Andrew Mumford and current strikers Chad Bond and Martin Rose all grabbing a brace each after Lee John handed Port Talbot a fifth minute lead. Both sides are under new management since then however and Caernarfon already have the upper hand on their opponents this year following their 3-1 victory over Tony Pennock’s Port Talbot Town on the opening day of the season at the Oval. An impressive undefeated home record at the RE/MAX Stadium ended a fortnight ago when Rhyl ran out 2-1 winners but Nicky Tucker will see this as a good opportunity to get back to form. “They are having a better time on the road this season and have won four of their seven away games,” said Tucker. “We will have to be fully focused to make sure we get something out of the match which is massive game for us as we cannot allow ourselves to fall away from the chasing pack”.
10th December 2007
Beadle keeps on at ‘big fish, small pond’ John
Newport County manager Peter Beadle has once again taken a swipe at Lee John, three months to the day after he returned to Port Talbot Town after a brief spell at Spytty Park. Speaking to the South Wales Argus in a feature about former Port Talbot Town striker and now Newport County defender Mark Dodds, Beadle took the chance to show his feelings towards the Principality Welsh Premier League. “We were rejected by two Welsh Premier League players in the summer who wanted guarantees on starting games”, said Beadle. “The other one who did sign has left because he wants to be a big fish in a small pond,” he added, before his side lost to Basingstoke Town at the weekend. Dodds and John joined Newport in the summer and are the only two players to represent the Wales Semi-Pro side while playing for Port Talbot Town. Dodds’ chances have been limited after becoming a well established player in the Welsh Premier. “I have no regrets whatsoever about signing, I wanted to test myself at a higher level and that is what the Conference South is,” said Dodds. “In the WPL only four or five teams have strength in depth, this league has more quality.”
10th December 2007
Betway go Xmas crazy with 12/1 offer
Bet on Port Talbot Town and every other Principality Welsh Premier League match this weekend with betting company Betway and take advantage of some crazy Xmas odds! Despite already having defeated The New Saints at their own ground this season, NEWI Cefn Druids have been made an incredible 12/1 outside bet to win the return match this Friday night, odds are subject to change however as that has already fallen from a crazy 18/1 earlier on Monday! Port Talbot are an evens bet at home to Caernarfon on Saturday with the draw listed at 5/2. All odds are available in fractions or decimal with correct score odds also available closer to the weekend. Other tempting prices include Llanelli who are evens away to Welshpool Town and Rhyl who are 5/4 for their away trip to Carmarthen Town. Neath Athletic are also listed as evens for thier home match at bottom of the table Porthmadog. Betway offer odds on the Principality Welsh Premier League before any other betting firm and have the best prices available for those getting their bets in early. All prices correct at time of being published.
9th December 2007
Welsh Premier League round-up and washout
Only three fixtures survived in the Principality Welsh Premier League this weekend as the wet weather continued throughout the country. Airbus UK Broughton entertained Welshpool Town on Friday night and took a sixth minute lead through Paul Hallows but Calvin Davies equalised for the visitors after 15 minutes as the two sides played out a 1-1 draw. The big story of the weekend was at Carmarthen Town as Tim Hicks scored five in an 8-0 win over Connah’s Quay Nomads. A double from Danny Thomas and a strike from Jamal Easter completed the scoring. Haverfordwest were also comfortable home winners as two goals from Jack Christopher and a last minute strike from Craig George handed them a 3-0 win over NEWI Cefn Druids. The games at Llangefni, Caernarfon, Newtown, Rhyl and Neath Athletic were all called off and a late pitch inspection at Llanelli saw their top of the table match with The New Saints also postponed. The match was due to be shown live on S4C. All Welsh League fixtures were postponed while only two fixtures survived in the Cymru Alliance as both Prestatyn and Llandyrnog picked up maximum points.
7th December 2007
Llangefni match postponed as rain continues
Saturday’s Principality Welsh Premier League match at Llangefni Town has been postponed due to a water-logged pitch. Referee Kevin Parry made the decision on Friday lunchtime to prevent Port Talbot travelling with heavy rain forcast for the weekend on an already heavy playing surface. It is the first match of the season to be called off in the Welsh Premier League and a new date has yet to be arranged.
7th December 2007
Record win cancelled as Penrhiwceiber quit
Penrhiwceiber Rangers have withdrawn from the Welsh Football League Youth Division West, leaving Port Talbot Town with nothing to show for their 4-0 victory there three weeks ago. All results involving Penrhiwceber Rangers in the league have now been withdrawn. It was Port Talbot’s biggest win of the season so far and the side will be extremely disappointed by the news after improving so much since the start of the season.
5th December 2007
Contract Services announced as official partners
Port Talbot Town are delighted to announce that Contract Services have agreed to become the latest official partners of the club. “I would like to thank Mr John Brennan and Mr Peter Thomas of Contract Services for becoming our latest official partner”, said Chairman Andrew Edwards. “Contract Services have supported the club for a number of years. This latest step will help take us forward both on and off the field and we are delighted to have them on board as we look to build for the future.” Full press release to follow shortly.
5th December 2007
Jonah steps in Tucker’s shoes at Dinas Powys
Former Port Talbot Town manager Mark Jones has taken over as manager of Welsh League side Dinas Powys following Nicky Tucker’s decision to leave the club to become the new manager of Port Talbot Town. Jones enjoyed success in the Welsh Premier League with Carmarthen Town over the last three seasons before being surprisingly sacked in the summer.
4th December 2007
Andrew Edwards - The Big Interview
Midway through his tenth season as Chairman of Port Talbot Town Football Club, Andrew Edwards talks exclusively to the club’s official website in an open and frank interview covering the progress made by the club on and off the field, his disappointment at the lack of support from the local community, the club’s Academy and youth development plans, the Welsh Premier League and how it can improve, the support for the club from local business, new initiatives planned for the near future, the club’s European ambitions and much more. Andrew also reveals his top three most memorable games and his top three players to have played for the club during his time in charge.
4th December 2007
Swansea City Reserves match postponed
The scheduled match between Swansea City Reserves and AFC Bournemouth Reserves at the RE/MAX Stadium on Wednesday evening has been postponed. The game will now be played at a later date yet to be confirmed.
3rd December 2007
Tucker disappointed at first half display
Manager Nicky Tucker has expressed his disappointment at Saturday’s home defeat to Rhyl. “I'm disappointed with the first half where we never really got into the game,” said Tucker to the Evening Post. “We made a good start but we then gave away a goal through a lapse in concentration. Rhyl followed that up with a second goal soon after from a free-kick, which was a good goal. In the opening 45 minutes our play and passing was sloppy, but in the second period we came back at Rhyl with a very good team performance, and on chances created we deserved at least a point from the game. There were occasions when threats from Martin Rose and Lee John almost got us off the mark, but that just about summed up our day. Although we scored from Martin Rose's penalty, we needed to score possibly 15 minutes earlier, which would have given us enough time to grab a second in difficult wet conditions. We stepped up the pace after the break and created enough chances to have earned at least a point, but the first half was shocking. We gave the ball away far too often and their first goal was very poor from our view.”
1st December 2007
Undefeated record ends despite chances
Port Talbot Town suffered their first home league defeat of the season on Saturday as Rhyl claimed a 2-1 victory at the RE/MAX Stadium. The visitors raced into a two goal lead inside fifteen minutes but struggled to build on their lead as they failed to create any further chances on goal in the opening half. Port Talbot were dangerous in attack with Martin Rose hitting the bar with a well taken effort in the opening exchanges while Lee Surman remained a threat from set-pieces but Port Talbot could not find a way back into the match. Second half substitute Scott Barrow caused the visitors problems with a number of strong runs at the Rhyl defence but Port Talbot could not score despite creating a number of chances in the second half. Youth team striker Sam Baker was brought on as Port Talbot looked to reduce the deficit and it was Baker who won his side a penalty in injury time. Martin Rose stepped up and made no mistake with a well taken spot kick but it was not enough for Nicky Tucker’s side to take anything from his first home match in charge.
1st December 2007
Welsh Premier League round-up
Llangefni Town almost caused the shock of the weekend when they travelled to Farrer Road on Friday night to take on Bangor City in front of a 601 crowd. Llangefni were two goals ahead as the game went into injury time but the home side struck back twice to equalise. In the other Friday night match NEWI Cefn Druids defeated Newtown 3-0. Aberystwyth had four different goalscorers in their 4-0 win over Caernarfon Town while Neath came back from being two goals down at Caersws to draw 2-2 thanks to goals from Andy Hill and Carl Shaw. Rhys Griffiths scored twice for Llanelli in their 4-0 win over Connah’s Quay Nomads while Rhyl remain in third place thanks to a 2-1 win at Port Talbot Town. Carmarthen needed two second half goals from Danny Thomas and Sasha Walters to defeat Porthmadog 2-1 while a last minute penalty from Aden Shannon gave Welshpool three points with a 2-1 home win over Haverfordwest County. In the surprise of the day though champions The New Saints were held to a 0-0 draw at home to Airbus UK Broughton and also had defender Chris King sent off in the first half.
|
