Cambrian & Clydach Vale BGC - Cambrian Lakeside Sports Academy

Cambrian & Clydach Vale BGC

Cambrian Lakeside Sports Academy

Clydach Vale

Tonypandy 

CF40 2XX

Official Website

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Ground Number: 1170
Friday 7th April 2023
Cambrian & Clydach Vale 3-1 Afan Lido
Cymru South

CAMBRIAN & CLYDACH VALE BGC - A BRIEF HISTORY

Cambrian & Clydach Vale Boys & Girls Club was founded in 1965 as Cambrian United. In its formative years, the club played in the Rhondda & District League before joining the South Wales Corinthian League in 1972. In 1980, Cambrian United merged with Clydach Vale Boys and Girls Club but the merger proved disappointing as the club were nearly relegated from the renamed South Wales Amateur League. The two clubs subsequently split. In 1992, Cambrian United returned to the First Division of the South Wales Amateur League after winning the Second Division title. By the end of the decade, the club was regularly competitive at the top of the First Division, missing out on winning the league title in 2001 after being deducted six points. Cambrian United and Clydach Vale Boys and Girls Club merged for a second time in 2002 to become Cambrian & Clydach Vale Boys and Girls Club and the venture proved more successful. In its third year, the club won the South Wales Amateur D1 and were promoted to the Welsh Football League. In 2006 they were runners-up in Division 3, the following year they were runners-up in Division 2, winning promotion on both occasions. They won Division 1 in 2012 and were runners-up the following year but lacked the facilities to progress. They were runners-up again in 2019 and this was enough to become founder members of the Cymru South where they remain to this day.

The club reached the Quarter Final of the Welsh Cup in 2019, losing 3-2 to Barry Town United. They were also runners-up in the 2019 Welsh League Cup, losing 2-0 to Cardiff Met Uni. The club is based in Clydach Vale which has a population of around 2,800. It is named for its situation on the Nant Clydach, a tributary of the River Rhondda. It has a plentiful history in mining, sadly including a couple of disasters.

MY VISIT

The second of my Saturday treble was rather easy to pick. Ynyshir Albions had kicked off at 12 as an isolated fixture and there was only really Cambrian and Clydach reachable unless I wanted to did deep into the Welsh Non-Leagues. It would mean a Cymru South treble and although I'd rather save the 3G surface for the winter months, it was an easy choice. Not that the weather had corresponded much with April as it was chilly and damp.

From our last game at Ynyshir, it was just seven minutes drive to my next game. We passed AFC Porth on the way which looked well worth a visit. The roads were quite full when we got there but there was plenty of parking in a side street. It was a short walk to the ground, where £5 got you entry. In common with a lot of Welsh grounds, there was no bar and limited food and merchandise. A bloke spotted our Wycombe badge, he was the son of former Wycombe manager Mike Keen who managed us in the early 80s. His own son, Ben, was on the bench for Afan Lido.

 

Cambrian & Clydach Vale were 7th, whilst Afan Lido were 4th. The hosts were in mixed form, having drawn their last game 1-1 against Ammanford. They'd lost 2-0 to Cwmbran Celtic and 1-0 at Carmarthen but had beaten Trefelin BCG 5-0 and Goytre United 4-2. The visitors had lost 4-2 at Ammanford in their last game as well as 2-0 at Llantwit Major and 1-0 to Llanelli. They had won 3-1 at Swansea University and 2-1 against Cwmbran Celtic. The hosts took the lead early on, Keiron Coles finishing from close range after seven minutes. The second goal came on 26 minutes, the ball only partially cleared and Liam Reed finished with a low shot. Cambrian and Clydach Vale were dominant and it was 3-0 on 42 minutes when a good through ball found Sam Johnson who slotted home from ten yards. Just as the game looked dead and buried, Afan Lido scored one out of the blue. Liam McCreesh blasted home on 78 minutes, a decent strike. The visitors tried to make it 3-2, coming close on a number of occasions.

THE GROUND 

THE CAMBRIAN LAKESIDE SPORTS GROUND is a smart and tidy venue. The 3G pitch is great for wet weather. There are four small seated stands, and these have around 350 seats between them. The facilities are very limited and there's little nearby. However, the scenery is great.