Llanhilleth Athletic AFC - Brynithel Recreation Ground

Llanhilleth Athletic AFC

Brynithel Recreation Ground

Penrhiw Estate

Brynithel

Abertillery

NP13 2GZ

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Ground Number 1262
Saturday 3rd September 2024

Llanhilleth Athletic 4-1 Panteg

Gwent D1

LLANHILLETH ATHLETIC FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

The club was established in 1946. There is not a huge amount of information about their history online, but they've spent much of their history in very local leagues such as the North Gwent League. It is unclear when they made the step up to the Gwent County League but they won the Division 3 title in 2000. Llanhilleth then spent 15 years in Division 2, finishing 3rd on three occasions. In 2015, they were runners-up to Cromwell, earning promotion to Division 1. Their stay would last just one season as they finished 13th out of 16 teams. The following season, they finished bottom of Division 2, resigning and returning to the North Gewnt League. In 2020, they won the title once more and promotion back to the Gwent County League. The pandemic forced them to wait a year but they finished 3rd in the Gwent County Division in 2022 and then last season had their best ever finish - 5th in Gwent County Division 1 (the 4th level of football in Wales) 

They are based in the village of Llanhilleth which has a population of around 4,800. It is located on the A467 road between Ebbw Vale and Crumlin in Blaenau Gwent. It was a colliery village up until the pit closed in 1969. It also has a train station which reopened in 2008 after originally being in service from 1901 until 1962. The most prominent sport in the village is rugby union, played by Llanhilleth RFC who play in the WRU National League Division 3 East.

MY VISIT

Originally on this day, our second game was due to be at Clydach Wasps which would have been decent. However, I was glad when driver Dan suggested we change our second game to Llanhilleth Athletic. We had originally intended on paying a visit back in July but it was postponed due to rain. As such, I'd started a blog but had never used it until now. The week before the game was fairly dull with no new grounds. On Tuesday, the nearest new options were Fakenham Town and Whitchurch Alport, both over three hours away. With a 5 am alarm the morning after, I decided against it. I considered a revisit to Flackwell Heath for their game against Balham, but I couldn't be bothered when it came to it. I watched Wycombe Wanderers hammer Brighton & Hove Albion 4-1 on Wednesday night. It was only in the correctly-maligned Bristol Street Motors Trophy but a win is a win with our league form so terrible. Rather than go to the game, I took the option of watching it online rather than going down to the ground. Usually, there's no substitute for getting out to a game. However, with me either having to drive and stay sober or walk home, I opted to stay in. It was nice with a couple of drinks to relax and I managed to get an early night for work too. Thursday and Friday were tiring, perhaps because I'd not managed to get out to a game in the week. It was a sober evening as I'd had my 'Friday night' on Wednesday and liked to stick to only drinking two days a week, unless on holiday.

From our game at Abertillery Bluebirds, it was a very hilly and picturesque couple of miles. It was only around five minutes drive to the ground. It was drizzly and although not as superb as the last ground, it still had some nice touches. It was mainly locals along with a couple of fans that had come over from Abertillery. Llanhilleth Athletic were 13th and Panteg were 14th. Both were in disappointing form with Llanhilleth losing 4-1 to Neuadd Wen and by the same scoreline to Machen as well as a 3-2 away loss to the same opponent. They'd drawn 1-1 at Nantyglo and beaten whipping boys FC Tredegar 4-2. Panteg's sole win had also come at FC Tredegar where they won 2-1. However, they'd lost 4-2 to Nantyglo and 7-0 at the same opponent. They'd also drawn 2-2 at Fairfield United and 0-0 against AFC Pontymeister.

Panteg started on the front foot. A dipping free kick from the centre found the top left scorer, Shane Harris after 3 minutes. Both teams had good spells, especially Llanhilleth. However, Craig Williams in the Panteg goal was using his large stature to have an inspired game, making several great saves. However, a free kick was repelled but it resulted in a penalty. The keeper's heroics could not continue and the penalty was scored by Rhys Jones on 70 minutes. A corner from the right possibly went straight in on 76 minutes, either way, it ended up in the back of the net to give Llanhilleth the lead through Dan Jarrett. The game seemed confirmed on 83 minutes, a shot on the turn from 10, yards by substitute Cai James. The game was sealed in the last minute by another sub, Josh Gregoire Jones. He pinched the ball wide on the right and finished from a tight angle to make the final score 4-1.

 

Wycombe were leading 3-0 when we left, though by the time we reached the car, it was 3-1. Thankfully though, they held on for only their second win in the league since September. Elsewhere, Plymouth Parkway v Harrow Borough was called off at 2PM in another ludicrous situation. We listened to an exciting game as Newcastle United drew 4-4 with Luton Town in the Premier League. I'd hoped to complete my blog on my laptop but once more, my battery was dead. My new battery bank which was supposed to alleviate this did nothing to remedy the situation and it's something I'll have to look into. We dropped fellow hopper Lee off at Pontypool station and then stopped at Sainsbury's in Newport so Dan could fill up with fuel. I had a great Brie, bacon and chilli chutney sandwich as part of a meal deal for £3.50. It was a good day for all of us with Wycombe and Braintree winning whilst Chelmsford and Milton Keynes lost.

THE GROUND

THE DAI JANE RECREATION GROUND is basic but pleasant. There is no cover for football but there looked to be a stand for the rugby but it is shuttered off. The ground is shared with Brynithel RFC and there is a few steps of terracing as well as flat standing. There was no food or drink facilities but there is a chippy within walking distance. Parking is adequate for most crowds but public transport appears to be patchy.