Saturday 23rd September 2023 ko 14:00

West Wales Premier League

CALSONIC KANSEI SWISS VALLEY 1 (T Lewis 72og)

GARDEN VILLAGE 6 (C Rees 2 4 T Jones 39 Logan 58p 61)

Att 169

Entry £3

Programme £2

If ever a coach drove to a football team with a more intriguing name I’d like to know about it. We headed from Pontarddulais to the Swiss Valley, on the northern outskirts of Llanelli. The name evokes cuckoo clocks, snow-capped mountains and cheese, none of which seemed in evidence at the football ground. Mind you the pizzas must have had some cheese in there somewhere.

The name apparently derives from early residents comparing the place Switzerland’s fertile lands and steep hills, but that is only half of the name. Calsonic Kansei, now part of Marelli make thermal products (such as air conditioning units) for the automotive industry. Their sports facilities are why the club exists, with the works side merging with Swiss Valley FC in 2010. I did though find myself asking a silly question.

Kansei is the era in Japan between 1789-1801, and Kansai the region including the likes of Osaka and Kobe so had anyone else at this game watched a game there? I found myself thinking back to an odd little game I’d watched in Sazukawacho; I saw the same herculean efforts I was seeing here keeping a club going I’d seen some 8,500 miles away.

They don’t have it easy here either. The works Sports & Social club didn’t reopen after the pandemic, so the club have the use of the changing rooms and toilets and a railed off pitch, and nothing more. It explained why the catering offering included slices of pizza clearly delivered beforehand. The driver on their moped would have been a sight to behold- seriously overloaded! It reminded me of back in 2007 when Rhydyfelin opted to buy in Gregg’s corned beef pasties. Back then I found it endearing; now I do wonder whether digging out the camping stove would have been a better option?

As was the case in our previous game the difference between the top and bottom of the league was manifest. Many there will remember West End from their Welsh League days while CKSV’s history is of them working their way up from the Carmarthenshire League. Here the visitors ran in a steady succession of goals for what must a have been something new for many there. I mean, have you seen two successive 6-1 away wins?