TT No.161: Mike Latham: Sunday 1st March 2008: Montgomeryshire Cup; Guilsfield 5-0
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We all have our favourite clubs, ones we look forward to visiting knowing we’ll get a warm welcome, a decent standard of facilities and an entertaining game.
Guilsfield certainly fall into that category for me and, having spoken to several esteemed groundhoppers on the subject I know that their reputation as a club is in high regard.
This season Guilsfield have moved grounds. They have literally moved next door at their impressive Community Centre ground in the neat, immaculately kept border village located between Welshpool and Oswestry. This Montgomeryshire Cup-tie, played on a Sunday with a 12-30pm kick off, was an ideal time to visit and check out their new facilities.
The day had dawned bright and sunny and the run from the A55 down the A483 was quiet. Guilsfield is located just off to the right about three miles before reaching Welshpool, and must be a pleasant place to live amidst some stunning scenery.
Football has been played in Guilsfield at least since the 1930s though the present club’s formation was as recently as 1957. During the club’s early days a variety of farmers’ fields acted as a home base, the players and committee helping with the harvest in exchange for the ground rent.
Later Guilsfield moved to a ground at the Community Centre and developed a ground to a good standard, moving through the Montgomeryshire Amateur League and Mid Wales League until joining the Cymru Alliance in 2001.
With a solid, hard-working and friendly committee in place to supplement the playing side Guilsfield have become an established Cymru Alliance club and in 2008 furthered their development by moving to an adjoining pitch.
The new ground has a small grandstand, dug-outs and a superb tea bar and committee room while the dressing rooms have been extensively refurbished. The facilities really are impressive and the next focus of attention will be on the playing pitch which though well-grassed has an uneven and often bobbly surface.
The Montgomeryshire Senior Cup is played between teams in the county with the qualification that players must have been born within ten miles of the county boundaries. It is often hard to find out when ties are taking place but visits to games in this competition are invariably rewarding.
Such was the case on a sunny and mild lunch-time that heralded the first day of March. Fixture secretary Martin Roberts was his usual friendly and charming self and, recognising me straight away, gave me a tour of the new facilities before taking over linesman duties for the afternoon. Martin apologised for the lack of a match programme but kindly proffered several past issues, including an impressive 60-pager for the game against Llanfair PG the day before.
By kick-off time around 20 spectators were in evidence but this number grew to around 50 by half-time. Waterloo Rovers, from the Mid Wales League, were distinctly unimpressive and Guilsfield cruised to a comfortable 5-0 victory. I had kindly been invited back to the club HQ at the near-by pub The Oak but had to reluctantly decline.
contributed on 01/03/09