TT No.94: Mike Latham - Saturday 20 October 2007: Pentraeth Honda Welsh Football Alliance.        Rhydymwyn 2-4 Amlwch Town. Attendance: 30 (h/c); Admission: £2; No programme; FGIF Match Rating: 3*

View matchday images  01 02 03 04 05    It’s another beautifully sunny and warm autumnal Saturday afternoon and the traffic on the A55 towards North Wales and Anglesey is heavy with holiday makers setting off for half-term.  For the discerning there is a wide choice of football games in this part of the world and after careful consideration the destination of Rhydymwyn is chosen.   Rhydymwyn is a small village on the A541 Denbigh road out of Mold.  It’s a delightful place, set amidst rolling hills and with lots of old stone buildings, intricately trimmed hedges and mature trees.  In the bright sunshine the village looks a picture and the local football ground, located just off the main road along Vicarage Road doesn’t disappoint.   It’s typical of many Welsh football grounds at this level, with a post and rail fence around a well-kept playing area, a small seated stand on the half-way line, two dug-outs and a changing room block that also doubles up as a tea bar.   A friendly local takes my £2 admission and the car park, behind the near goal, has plenty of room.  Sadly, there are no programmes- “No one to do them, see,” he explains, adding that the committee are all over the age of 50 and he is concerned at the lack of young blood coming through- a problem commonplace throughout the land.   The ground does have floodlights and, indeed have a scheduled Friday evening game for the next international weekend in mid-November but there’s no need of them this afternoon.  The visitors arrive on a coach after their long journey from the tip of Anglesey with half-an-hour or so to go before kick-off and begin an impressive warm-up routine.  They look like they mean business, although worryingly they are wearing blue socks and shorts, just like the home players. While the home team also have all-blue shirts we just about get away with a potential colour clash as the visitors’ shirts are predominantly white.   Meanwhile the tea bar has opened for business and hot drinks and hot dogs are cheerfully dispensed.  This is a friendly place and everyone has a word for a stranger before kick-off approaches.   The referee seems well-known to the players and he controls the game expertly.  It’s a fast flowing, open game played in a good spirit and the goals are soon flying in. The visitors, 3-1 up at half-time, add a fourth to seal an impressive victory but the home side salvage some pride with a determined late rally.   Immaculately kept and with not a piece of litter or graffiti to be seen, the Vicarage Road ground is simply idyllic and its location quite memorable.  Just a pity that the village is so small and struggles to maintain a football team at this level of the Welsh pyramid. A few have made the journey from Amlwch but the total number of people lining the pitch is only around the 30-mark and with no raffle, programme sales or bar income to augment the finances it must be a struggle making ends meet.   The Welsh Alliance League has an excellent website with results and fixture information regularly updated as well as directions to grounds. It’s just a shame that Rhydymwyn do not issue programmes, no matter how modest the effort, as this will deter many travellers from making a visit to this lovely part of the world.

contributed on 21/10/07