Saturday 24th June 2023 ko 13:00

Pre-season Friendly

TREFELIN BGC 2 (54, 60)

CARDIFF CORINTHIANS 5 (16 40p 45 76 89)

Att 45 at Cefn Saeson Comprehensive School

Some folks, it seems, do like rules. After the Swedish Hop I’d been quite happy to do very little in footballing terms. It was a chance to rest, recharge, and pursue other interests. Yes, there is a lot more to Robyn and I than just football! But then Robyn wanted to spend the afternoon with her mum in Bristol, and I’d spotted a game, in South Wales. And if you can’t find something interesting there, then with all due respect, you probably have your eyes closed.

There was the annual discussion on social media as to which season the game would fall in. On one had its a pre-season fixture, so logically that would make it 2023/4 wouldn’t it? But FIFA rules draw the line that everything before July 1st should be in the 2022/3 season. Then there’s my take on it… who cares? Just watch the game!

The same can be said of friendlies in general. I don’t think anyone prefers them to competitive games, but I can’t completely discount the friendly nonetheless, life isn’t black and white after all. I find myself using them to visit grounds that you can’t do any other way. They could be a club’s true home ground but they groundshare during the regular season like Benfleet FC, or like this one, a third-party ground. Then there’s the games on second pitches, and that phrase, if you’re a groundhopper, has opened a whole can of worms!

You saw my thinking on this June Saturday. There were games in England scheduled, then cancelled as the FA refused to sanction them, arguing with some justification that June should be football free. But Wales seems free-er of such mores, and my choices boiled down to Carmarthen Town or Trefelin playing at a pitch in Neath. Tactically speaking I’d have visited here, even if I hadn’t already visited Carmarthen, on grounds that there are no end of opportunities to visit Richmond Park, but very few to watch a game at Cefn Saeson School.

You are on the north-easternmost edge of Neath, and I’d recommend the climb up through the valleys from Port Talbot, the views are spectacular! The school’s name translates roughly to “The English Bridge” but I must admit my interest was also piqued by the two sides involved.

Many will remember Cardiff Corinthians from their successful hop game in 2017, and Trefelin as one of the friendliest clubs around and one of quite a few clubs who’ve seen Lee Trundle play for them in his post-professional career. Nominally there was a division between the two sides, Corries play in the Ardal South West while Trefelin play in the Cymru South. The caveat of course being it was June and a friendly!

That and it was hot and humid too, in fact so humid it was hard work watching the game, and I don’t want to imagine playing in it! I wasn’t the only one flopped out pitchside, although I was probably the only one trying to get interesting items in the background of many of the photos. I don’t think anyone is a fan of watching games in 3G cages but at least here there was a backdrop to be worked with.

History will record that Corries won, for what little that’s worth, but my memory of the afternoon will be what happened straight after the game. I headed back towards Port Talbot but spotted a convenience store in nearby Efail-fâch so pulled over- I really needed something to drink! I followed two players from earlier in, and yes they did get first dibs at the fridge, their need was greater than mine.