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August 2007
The month where the serious business starts and impressive trialist Daniel Lancey was added to the squad after his release from Swansea City. A dominating friendly win at Bryntirion a week before the start of the new Principality Welsh Premier League season was followed by a midweek match at local rivals Afan Lido where things went a little wrong as both Pennock and striker Martin Rose picked up injuries. The season was set to start with a Challenge Cup match against Neath a few days later and an SOS to Kristian Rogers saw him return having been left out of the pre-season friendlies. It was a controversial decision by Pennock to continue playing while taking on his first management position and his injury proved to be blessing in disguise as Rogers returned to the side. A 3-0 win over Neath showed quality in the side with The New Saints manager Ken McKenna predicting Port Talbot to be the surprise package of the season. Lancey picked up an injury against Neath however as Port Talbot prepared for the opening league game of the season at Caernarfon. It was a less than impressive performance however as Port Talbot went down 3-1. Tony Pennock showed his commitment to the club a few days later as he stepped down from his position as goalkeeper coach at Swansea City as Roberto Martinez stated the need for a full-time appointment while another squad player left the club as midfielder Tomas Wellington signed for Afan Lido having failed to feature during pre-season. The tie-up with Swansea City was brought into use ahead of the next match as Kerry Morgan signed for the club on-lon and the young striker scored in a 5-1 home win over Newtown. Pennock made a few surprises to his team as Dean Johnston had to settle for a place on the bench while Scott Barrow and Dyfan Pierce were left out of the squad despite Pierce scoring the only goal for Port Talbot at Caernarfon the weekend before. Away form continued to be a problem though as the side went down to a 2-1 defeat at Haverfordwest.
September 2007
A crucial and controversial month for the Welsh Premier League with the transfer window closing on the 10th of September. Port Talbot made two early signings in striker Michael Whapham and midfielder Matthew Thompson and while neither could prevent a Challenge Cup defeat at Llanelli, a disappointing 0-0 draw at home to Airbus UK raised concerns over the strength of the squad. The big news of the month came on transfer deadline day as Lee John returned to Port Talbot Town for an undisclosed fee. The experience and attacking influence of John and been sorely missed despite the Newtown victory and offered Pennock a timely boost ahead of a daunting match at champions The New Saints. Dropping Dean Johnston to the bench would not prove wise however, as one of the sides most experienced players took his attacking midfield play to Welsh League Goytre United. Despite the 2-1 defeat at The New Saints there were positives to take from the match although Lee John appeared far from match fit on his return from sitting on the Newport County bench for the last two months. Welshpool Town home on a Tuesday night would offer a tough test on paper but despite the visitors playing the last 25 minutes with nine-men, Port Talbot offered little and the match ended goalless. “There have been few changes from last season's squad but we have so far failed to gel”, admitted Pennock after the match. NEWI Cefn Druids would offer the next home test for the side and with pressure building on Port Talbot to start performing Kerry Morgan lead the way with a hat-trick as Port Talbot cruised to their second 5-1 victory of the season. Off the field there were further problems however as Dyfan Pierce moved to Welsh League Dinas Powys and Robert Cockings left the club after ten seasons as both remained constantly overlooked from the squad. On the field Pennock appeared to be getting things back on track as McCreesh and the unstoppable Morgan scored in a 2-1 win over Aberystwyth to keep up there impressive home record.
October 2007
A cup double to make or break the season is the usual start to October and this season offered Port Talbot a tough test in the FAW Premier Cup at Porthmadog on the opening Tuesday with a difficult trip to West End in the Welsh Cup the following weekend. Out of favour Dylan Blain was brought back into the squad as Matthew Thompson picked up a hamstring injury against Aberystwyth and the popular midfielder put in a strong performance as Port Talbot ran out 7-2 winners at Porthmadog with Morgan grabbing another hat-trick for his efforts. A few days later Port Talbot edged out West End 2-1 despite a second half scare as the side continued to progress in all competitions. There was another distraction for Pennock however as he was appointed manager of the Wales Under-23 Semi-Pro side for their forthcoming International in Milan in November while the draws for the two cup competitions were far from sympathetic with two difficult away trips to Rhyl in the Welsh Cup and to Carmarthen in the FAW Premier Cup. A midweek Challenge Cup defeat at Neath for an experimental Port Talbot side was disappointing but a 4-1 win at Caersws continued the recent goalscoring form to make Port Talbot the highest goalscorers in the Welsh Premier League. The performance had not been overly convincing however but the result was impressive and confidence in the side was at a high. A big test at home to Bangor City was next for Pennock’s side and a frustrating 0-0 home draw as Chad Bond was brought back into the starting line-up after an impressive performance at Caersws in place of Kerry Morgan despite the recent form of Morgan and Martin Rose in attack. Pennock then returned to the starting line-up for the last Challenge Cup group match as Llanelli were the visitors to the RE/MAX Stadium but an unorganised display saw Llanelli run-out 5-2 winners on the night. Chad Bond grabbed a brace in the match but the performance would act as a sign of what was around the corner. Port Talbot were due to travel to Llanelli a few days later for a Friday night Welsh Premier League match, over the last few seasons Port Talbot had built up an impressive results record against Llanelli and approached the match confident following their recent goalscoring exploits. Despite their impressive form there were vulnerabilities in the Llanelli side and Port Talbot had the pace to take advantage of them. Things did not go to plan however. Llanelli won the match 8-0. 8-0! The single heaviest defeat in living memory for Port Talbot Town, an humiliating night and an embarrassment that will stay with the club will have for many years. Two down at half-time, Port Talbot could have pulled things back but desperate and drastic substitutions at the break by Pennock saw top scorer Martin Rose and record transfer Lee John replaced. Llanelli did not deserve to win 8-0, with the chances they created and missed it could and should have been a lot more. Gareth Phillips and Chad Bond were both sent off as things went completely wrong and major questions over Pennock’s ability to manage the side became the main talking point on the terraces. Lee Surman and Chad Bond were named in Pennock’s Under-23 squad for the match in Italy a few days later but the humiliation of the defeat overshadowed any pride the club felt in this double International honour.
Six days to go - November 2007
As with October, November also starts with a crucial cup double. A battling and spirited performance at Rhyl in the Welsh Cup did not deserve the 87th minute goal that won the match for the home side and Port Talbot were left with a difficult test at Carmarthen in the FAW Premier Cup a few days later to salvage their season. Martin Rose gave Port Talbot a 1st half lead but it was a far from convincing display by the side and it was no surprise when Carmarthen snatched a last minute (see theres loads of them) goal to take the game to extra time. Former Port Talbot midfielder Nathan Cotterrall scored the extra-time goal for Carmarthen to win the match 2-1 and as the referee signalled the end of the match, Tony Pennock announced his resignation as manager of Port Talbot Town Football Club to Chairman Andrew Edwards on the touchline and to the players in the dressing room with an emotional thank you and goodbye.
So that was it, 19 competitive games, 7 wins, 3 draws and 9 defeats. An impressive 38 goals for but 36 against. Tony Pennock inherited a strong squad but lost valuable experience in Dyfan Pierce, Robert Cockings and Dean Johnston and the side struggled for consistency. Concerns ranged from the conceding of so many late goals to an extreme lack of discipline that saw the side collect more bookings by October than through the whole of last season. The major downfall for Pennock however was one match in particular. The humiliating 8-0 defeat to Llanelli showed his side had no discipline but also showed that he did not have the quality to take charge of the situation. Irrational substitutions at half-time lost any faith people had his ability to take the club forward while his continual press statements that he did not enjoy management further increased doubt that he was the man to take Port Talbot Town forward. Pennock has no doubt learned a lot about himself over the last six months and his coaching career will be better for it, unfortunately Port Talbot were looking for a manager to take an already established team forward, but Pennock was unable to deliver. The timing of his resignation has also been called into question, he leaves the club out of all three cup competitions and in the bottom half the table. As for Pennock the pressure he felt in the job has now passed and he can enjoy his International jaunts with the FAW as the club picks up the pieces of a broken season caused by his bad decisions on and off the field.
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