Abermule - Abermule Community Field

Abermule FC

Abermule Community Field

Abermule

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Ground Number: 1110

Saturday 17th September 2022
Abermule 2-2 Hawarden Rangers
Welsh Cup 1st Round

ABERMULE FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

The club was established in 1969 and a year later, they joined the Montgomeryshire League where they were Division 2 champions in 1972.. In 1986, promotion was gained from Division 2 as runners-up and then in 2004, a third-place finish in Division 1 was a high point. In 2010, they became founder members of the Mid Wales League Division 2 which sits at step 4 of the Welsh Pyramid. Their best finish was 5th in 2014 and they remain there to this day.

Local cup wins include the Village Cup and Bishop Castle Cup in 1986 and the Mike Harris Trophy & Consolation Cup in 2004. Abermule is a small village in Wales, 4 miles from Newtown. The population is around 900.

MY VISIT

Once again on a Saturday, there was a wealth of options of games to go to, but nothing really inspired me. Usually, on weekends, I like taking public transport but there was nothing that grabbed my fancy. I also considered a revisit to Derby County v Wycombe Wanderers but with the game all-ticket and sales ending 27 hours before the game kicked off, I decided a couple of hours too late that I wanted to go. I did look for some doubles on the train, but there were a couple of possibilities involving the Midland U21 League on the train, but again, there were pretty uninspiring pair-ups. I'd have loved to do Hampton U21s and Lichfield City in the FA Cup but a hopper who I have given several lifts to and once went on a 70-mile diversion to give him a list to Thetford Town was unwilling to make the adjustment to his day and give me a lift. I sometimes wonder if I will ever get the favour returned for the times I helped him out without having to travel miles out of my way. There was also a potential of a double in Hertfordshire and although I'd have too much time to kill between games, I'd just about settled on games at Welwyn St Mary and Sandridge Rovers which would be a nice cheap day out.

From my game at Llanfair, it was a 25-minute journey to Abermule. I was there at 2.15. The pitch was located around the back of a school and wasn't as traditional as your usual ground. The food and drink facilities were pretty basic too, as is the norm at smaller Welsh grounds. I helped out by buying a can of Strongbow for £2.50 and also was happy to donate the requested £2 for admission.  It was still a nice setting though and there were a few hoppers that had chosen this game for the filling in their Llanfair-Newtown sandwich.

The hosts had suffered some disruption to their games of late, playing in the tier 5 mid-Wales league. Their last game had seen a 4-1 win at Berriew and had also drawn 1-1 at Bishops Castle Town. They'd got this far with a 3-1 win over Welshpool and a 4-2 win over Presteigne St Andrews. Hawarden Rangers meanwhile had been in patchy form, losing 3-2 at Llanuwcchllyn and 2-1 against Llanwrst. To get this far, they had won 4-0 at Caersws and 4-1 at Prestatyn Sports. The hosts dominated early on and they took the lead on 42 minutes through Lloyd Cornish who headed in from a left-handed corner. Soon after, a Hawarden free kick came to nothing and on the break, Abermule lobbed narrowly wide with the visiting keeper out of position. The hosts also had a goal disallowed a few minutes into the second half for offside, but they weren't to be denied their second for long. It was Cornish again with the goal, set up by a fantastic through ball by Gareth Pryce, leaving the scorer with the job of putting the ball through the keepers' legs. Almost straight away. Hawarden Rangers pulled a goal back. It was so quick, I was still writing down the details from the last goal. I gather it was a goal from a corner, Paul Lindfield getting the ouch from close range. Abermule had the chance to make the game safe although they couldn't cap off a great run with a finish. It proved to be their undoing as on the break Hawarden scored on the break, a great run and a calm finish from James Ratcliffe. It then came down to penalties with Hawarden Rangers winning the tie. It was harsh on the hosts but Gareth Pryce blasted the first spot kick wide.

The penalty shootout from the Abermule v Hawarden Rangers game yesterday with the visitors emerging victorious. pic.twitter.com/o07e6vqzmO

— ⚽Russell Cox💙 (@RussWWFC) September 18, 2022

 

THE GROUND

ABERMULE COMMUNITY FIELD is a basic but pleasant venue. Set in a school, there is just one area of cover which incorporates the two dugouts. This holds around 100. The rest of the ground is open, but the pitch is railed. There are basic drink and snack facilities in a nearby building. I didn't see a lot nearby, but there was a decent amount of parking.