Saturday 23rd September 2023 ko 11:00

West Wales Premier League

PONTARDDULAIS TOWN 1 (A Jones 35og)

ROCKSPUR FC 6 (Griffiths 2og Price 18 Williams 24 Keefe 45+4 66p C Harris 54)

Morgan sent off (foul & abusive) 74

Att 260

Entry £3

Programme £2

I’d argue we found the true nature of the West Wales Premier League on the Saturday of the hop. Whilst the visit to Cwmamman United was enjoyable, the fact was it was at a club and ground that had recently played two tiers higher. These next 3 games saw me comparing GroundhopUK’s experiences in leagues such as the Gwent Premier and the South Wales Alliance, who do operate parallel to this one.

I do have a hankering to visit grounds where I keep seeing road signs for their parent towns. Here was a classic example of it, at the end of the M4 at Pont Abraham you see signs for Llandeilo and Pontarddulais, one we did on the first Carmarthenshire Hop, so how could we not visit the other?

Coed Bach Park was intriguing, not least where the coach parked up. The park is much more than just football, the 12 acre site also features tennis, bowls, rugby and no end of woodland. I enjoyed the stroll down to the club, others were a little less keen!

There was a lovely buzz about the place when we arrived. The club had gone full tilt on the catering, the gazebos were up, and the breakfast rolls were being sold at a quite incredible rate. I found myself at the the mechandise stall and was one of many who invested £15 in a bucket hat, only for it to rain the next day!

The game saw the hosts formerly of Carmarthenshire League side take on Rockspur recently of the Swansea Senior League and top of the league. And as good as Pontarddulais’ hosting was, they were as second-best on the pitch was the score would suggest. It was a day where the home sides did badly, there were penalties, own goals, and sendings off, and none more bizarrely than here.

Pontarddulais had the unusual occurrence of having goalkeeper Wyn Walters given 10 minutes in the sin bin for a volley of verbals after he conceded a penalty. It meant he had to swap shirts with defender Iestyn Rees on his way off. Rees couldn’t stop the penalty then the two had to swap back 10 minutes later!

But the dismissal of Rockspur’s Ryan Morgan for foul and abusive comments to the home dugouts looked awkward. The nature of the alleged comments, that if true, would result in an extended ban is one thing. The fact that Morgan is also club secretary is likely to make submitting the paperwork of the incident more than a touch embarrassing..

It was if nothing else a highly entertaining way to spend a Saturday morning. We trooped back to the coach, and you know what? There wasn’t a single grumble this time. It’s always the same when there’s been a good game.