TT No.87: Mike Latham - Saturday 5 April 2014: Welsh National League (Wrexham Area) Division One:          Point of Ayr 6-1 Venture; Attendance: 20 (h/c); No admission or programme; FGIF Match Rating: 3* 

Matchday images (24) https://picasaweb.google.com/footballgroundsinfocus/PointOfAyrFC

The Welsh National League (Wrexham Area) covers the third and fourth tiers of football in the Principality and, as the title implies is based primarily around the Wrexham Area- a real hotbed for football. It’s a league I enjoy watching because it’s well administered and though the standards are variable the players generally play in the right spirit and there are some beautiful grounds in rural locations.

Point of Ayr are newcomers to the league this season and were much welcomed after a number of departures reduced Division One initially to ten clubs. They progressed via the Clywd League East and had made a good fist of the new level, leading the table into April. However, with only one promotion place available they have been continually looking over their shoulders at FC Nomads of Connah’s Quay, who have a 100pc record but are well behind with their fixtures.

Point of Ayr is the northernmost point of mainland Wales and is to be found north of Talacre on the Flintshire coast, at the mouth of the Dee estuary. Its location, to the southwest of the Liverpool Bay area of the Irish Sea, makes it a haven for wildlife.  There’s a lonely, now disused lighthouse here and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds has a nature reserve while the dunes are designated as a site of Special Scientific Interest.

But there’s also a rich industrial past and for over a century a colliery, one of the last remaining deep mines in Wales operated at Point of Ayr at the northern extremity of the Flintshire Coalfield, finally closing in 1996.  Point of Ayr is also the point where natural gas from the gas-fields comes ashore and is processed and sweetened at a nearby plant.

Ffynnongroyw is a small village, located just south of the busy A458 road between Flint and Prestatyn, just beyond Mostyn when travelling westwards. It’s here that Point of Ayr FC are based, at the Recreation Ground, a former miners’ welfare ground which also has a bowling green, tennis courts and a children’s playground.  Though there are some new houses, many of the cottages and terraces in Ffynnongroyw are remnants of the village’s mining past.  Sons followed fathers and grandfathers into the mines, with over 500 men being employed at one time in the colliery whose shafts went out into the Irish Sea. Recently work began on erecting a memorial in their memory and to prevent current generations forgetting their heritage.

The Recreation ground is typical of many in this league with a small dressing room area and a railed-off standing area at a level slightly above the pitch providing the main vantage point. No attempt is made to sell programmes, serve refreshments or charge admission. There are no dug-outs and the small contingent accompanying the Wrexham based visitors take their place on the far side of the field, which backs on to a deep stream and the A458 road with the coast beyond. There are some rural views and a couple of horses graze contentedly behind one goal, but largely it’s amateur football in the raw and none the worse for that.

The home side, known fittingly as the Colliers, win this one with something to spare. It’s 3-1 at half-time, 6-1 by the finish. Around 20 spectators watched the action. Not the greatest game, though the young referee emerged with credit, especially as he had no official linesmen. There were some talented players on both sides, and some with somewhat less ability, a mix of ages and fitness levels. As I remarked earlier, it was a game typical of this league. An interesting trip to an area of great interest and heritage, I’d recommend a visit here.

contributed on 05/04/14