Competition: The Welsh National League Premier Division (Wrexham Area)

Transcription

1 Date: Ground: 34 Match: 28 (55) Venue: The Globe Teams: Buckley Town V LLanuwchllyn Competition: The Welsh National League Premier Division (Wrexham Area) Admission: 3 Final Score: 3-0 (H/T 1-0) Referee: Geraint Williams Attendance: 228 Mileage to venue and return: miles Programme: 1 Drinks Coaster: 2 Town of Buckley Buckley (Welsh Bwcle) is a large town in Flintshire, North East Wales and situated on The A459 road, two miles from the county town of Mold. The first documented evidence of Buckley dates back to the year, The town was then described as, The Pastorage Of the Manor of Ewloe Some historians suggest that the name, Buckley may derive from the Old English language name of Bok Lee which means, meadow or field. In 1420, King Henry V presented Ewloe and the pastorage of Buckley to his wife, Catherine of Valois as a wedding gift to her. This was worth the sum of 26 per annum.

2 Between the 17 th and 19 th Centuries, Buckley became an industrial heartland for both pottery and coal mining. The first pottery opened in 1737 and by the early 19 th Century there were fourteen potteries in the town. Buckley eventually became a brick working centre, bricks were transported across the United Kingdom and as far away as The United States of America. Many people (particularly from Ireland and Liverpool) came to Buckley to seek work in the mining and brick industries. This influx of people gave the town a distinctive accent. The oldest parish church in Buckley is called St. Matthews and dates back to The first ever Primitive Methodist Church in the whole of Wales is situated on the outskirts of Buckley in the village of Alltami. The more than 200 year old Buckley Jubilee is held in the town every summer, usually on the 2 nd Tuesday of July The year of 1932 saw the first of an annual pantomime to be held in Buckley. One year later, a gentleman by the name of Dennis Griffiths produced a version of Dick Whittington. This particular production ran for the next 27 years. During the 2 nd World War, a German Luftwaffe Aeroplane was shot down in the surrounding areas of Buckley. Some reports suggest that the plane may well have been on it s way to Liverpool. The engine of the plane was found in a local lake, named The Trap. Buckley is home to a famous Brass Band, namely The Royal Buckley Brass Band. This band is one of only two brass bands in the United Kingdom to receive sanction from a British Monarch to use Royal in their name. Whilst on the subject of music the Tivoli Nightclub in Buckley as played host to a wide range of top musical acts over the years. Some of which are Black Sabbath, Led Zeplin, Oasis and Radiohead. Buckley is home to Etna Park which is only a short walk away from the centre of town and is part of the heritage trail in the area. There Is a community Radio Project in Buckley as well as a two storey library, the second floor of the library doubles as the town s museum. Buckley also has it s own railway station which is on the borderlands line. There is a lovely area within the town which is home to the war memorial, situated at Hawkesbury Bowling Club. Next to this is the Hawkesbury Little Theatre.

3 War Memorial Shown Above Hawkesbury Bowling Club Shown Above Hawkesbury Little Theatre Shown Above Three miles away from Buckley sits Ewloe Castle, which is a popular local landmark. The castle was one of the last fortifications to be built by The Sovereign Prince of Wales. It was built around 1257 and it is now a Grade I listed building and cared for by CADW the national heritage agency for Wales. Pictures of Ewloe Castle are shown as follows:

4 Notable People The following people all have not only a connection to Buckley but also to Football. Danny Collins Currently plays for Grimsby Town, born in Buckley and counts Sunderland as one of his former clubs who he played for whilst they were a premier league club a few years ago. Collins as also won 12 senior caps for Wales. Pictured below is a shirt given to Buckley Town FC, signed by Danny Collins whilst he was at Sunderland:

5 John Lyons Professional Footballer, born in Buckley and played for Wrexham, Millwall, Cambridge United and Colchester United. Ryan Shawcross Lived in Buckley as a youngster and played junior football in Buckley. Shawcross currently plays for Stoke City and has made more than 300 appearances for the club, winning one senior international cap for England. Mickey Thomas The former Wrexham, Manchester United and Welsh international played reserve team football for Buckley. James Williams Born in the 1880 s in Buckley, Williams was a fantastic goalscorer as a junior footballer and went onto play for Bury, Accrington Stanley (two spells) Crystal Palace and Millwall. He also won two senior international caps for Wales. James Williams enlisted in the 17 th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment (known as the footballers battalion) and served during the First World War. Tragically, he was reported as missing, presumed Dad in 1916 and he is commemorated at the Arras Memorial in France. Buckley Town Football Club Football in the town of Buckley can be traced all the way back to Around this time the club was then known as Belmont Swifts and would later become know as, Buckley Victoria. Victoria played their home games at Mill Lane and were soon playing against the likes of, Mold Athletic, Wrexham Victoria and Rhyl Athletic. Buckley Victoria were a successful team, they won their first trophy in the season by beating Llandudno Swifts Reserves in the final of, The North Wales Coast Junior Cup. The following season Victoria reached the 3 rd round of The Welsh Cup, losing 2-1 to Chirk. They reached the North Wales Coast Final only to lose 4-2 against Bangor. The saw the team go one round better in The Welsh Cup, reaching the 4 th round only to be beaten by the wonderfully named, Carnarvon Ironopolis. They again reached the final of The North Wales Cup, losing 3-0 against Llandudno Swifts. In the season Buckley Victoria played in The English F.A. Cup, losing 3-0 in the first qualifying round too Birkenhead. They also reached The North Wales Coast Final for a third consecutive season only to be defeated 9-1 by Bangor. Buckley Victoria were eventually superseded by the Buckley Engineers who continued to build upon the success enjoyed by Victoria. This included three cup final victories in The Welsh Amateur Cup. The Engineers most famous team included ten colliers and one plumber. During the same era of Buckley Victoria and Buckley Engineers, Buckley Town were founded. Town won The Wirral & District League in 1898 and won The Pike Challenge Cup during the same year. They joined the Welsh League in 1925 and went onto win The North Wales Amateur Cup in During the 1930 s, Buckley Town and other organised clubs in the area started to fall apart. By 1949, Buckley Wanderers and Buckley Rovers were the only two teams playing competitive football fixtures in the area. Rovers struggled in the lower divisions of Welsh football, while Wanderers joined The Welsh National League Division One. In their very first season they finished as runners up to Chirk AAA and

6 again runners up in the season, this time to, Overton St. Mary s. Wanderers eventually won the league in the season, scoring over 100 goals in the process. During the season, Buckley Rovers joined Buckley Wanderers in The Welsh Football League First Division. Both teams established themselves well in the top flight. Wanderers finished as runners up to Chirk AAA by only two points whilst Rovers finished in 9 th place. In the season, Rovers were relegated only to be promoted back to where they once were the following season. From 1974, Buckley Rovers became the dominant team in the area. They came runners up in both the and the seasons. The following season saw both of the towns teams finish in the bottom half of the league. This season also saw the end for both clubs as separate identities, both merging together for the season to form what is now Buckley Town Football Club. Buckley Town in their current form have won many honours, these are shown as follows: NEWFA Challenge Cup Winners: 1979/1980, 1980/1981, 2000/2001, 2001/2002, 2002/2003, 2004/2005, 2005/ / /2013 Cymru Alliance Cup Winners: 2003/2004 Cymru Alliance Champions: 2004/2005 Buckley Town currently play at the impressive Globe Stadium, having previously played at Hawkesbury Road in front of the Elfed High School. Pictured below is Hawkesbury Road and the site of where I believe the old ground to have been situated.

7 Buckley Town currently sit top of The Welsh National league Premier Division on 59 points, two points clear of nearest rivals Brickfield Rangers. Town have reached the semi-final stage of the Premier Division Cup this season and also reached the 3 rd round of The Welsh Cup, beaten 1-0 at home against Flint Town. The Globe Stadium What a fantastic ground The Globe Stadium is. The first thing that I noticed was how clean tidy everything was, both inside and outside the ground. There is parking available on site and also parking on the road directly outside the ground. You enter the ground by entering through some neat turnstiles, the next thing I noticed was a table by the turnstiles which was selling lots of Buckley Town merchandise. I thought this was a brilliant idea and not something that I have seen before at this level of Welsh Football. A picture of the entry to the ground is shown below:

8 For those spectators who wish to stand to watch the game, there is hard standing right the way around the ground. The ground is also fenced in with lovely trees behind the goal and down the touchline (dugout side) I was told by a club official that this is because league rules dictate, as you progress up through the Welsh Football Pyramid that nobody should be able to view the game from outside the ground. It is clear to see that Buckley Town comply with this ruling. The stadium comprises of two very nice seated, covered stands. The bigger one of the two (200 seats approx.) is called the Koomax Stand, Koomax I believe are an Australian Company that have sponsored this stand for the club. The picture below shows the Koomax Stand: On the opposite side of the ground is a small covered terraced area next too the smaller of the seated stands. This stand is called the Redrow Stand and is where the bulk of the home support watch Buckley Town Games from. Please see picture below:

9 For me, the highlight of the ground was the delightful Mike Jeff Bradshaw Pavilion The pavilion gives great views of the whole of The Globe Stadium, as shown below: In and around the pavilion area you will find The Snack Bar, Committee Room, Toilets, changing rooms and The Clubhouse. I went ventured into the Clubhouse for a look and was intrigued by the club memorabilia that is housed inside. There are pictures of the club s former teams, some of the pictures date back nearly 100 years. The first thing that I noticed was a copy of a programme from a game that Buckley Wanderers played in some years ago, and also a nice, looking shield which shows that Buckley Town played host to a Wales U-17 international fixture against Sweden U-17 in 2011.

10 Match Statistics Buckley Town V Llanuwchllyn 1. Joe Makaruk ( c ) 1. Rob Dascaulu 2. Dunglau 2. Iwan Roberts ( c ) 3. Dylan Roberts 3. Dan Dascalu 4. Josh Jones 4. Llion Roberts ( P.Jones, 61) 5. Tony Jones 5. John Evans 6. Luke Blizard 6. Sam Tyrer 7. Aron Williams 7. Joe Ephraim (G. Rowlands, 39) 8. Aled Bellis 8. Lewys Turner 9. Adam Eden (Kennan, 70) 9. Iolo Jones (R. Rowlands, 78) 10. Jake Roberts (Moore, 79) 10. Gwydion Ifan 11. Sean Tinsley (Reilly, 86) 11. Sam Evans 12. Rob Jones 12. Prys Jones 14. Andy Watkins 14. Gethin Edwards 15. Joe Reilly 15. Gwynant Rowlands 16. Paul Keenan 16. A. Rowlands 17. Keiron Moore 17. Riki Rowlands Goal Log Roberts, 6 Tinsley, 83 Moore, 90 Attempts On Goal: 18 Attempts On Goal: 5 On Target: 8 On Target: 2 Corners: 14 Corners: 3 Yellow Card: 0 Yellow Cards: 0 Red Card: 0 Red Cards: 0

11 Match Report Buckley Town deservedly secured all three points in a must win game for them to maintain top spot in The Welsh National Premier Division, however their visitors, Llanuwchllyn made them work very hard indeed. Town opened the scoring on 6 minutes, the goal came out of nothing, Jake Roberts trying his look with a left footed curling shot from the edge of the box. To the delight of Roberts and his team mates the ball found it s way into the bottom right corner giving Dascalu in the away goal no chance. Following the goal, Buckley were well on top without creating many clear cut chances but their possession of the ball was dictating the flow of the game. Town nearly made the game 2-0 on 33 minutes. A corner floated in by Roberts from the left found Josh Jones at the far post, his shot bounced up and clipped the top of the bar. I was very impressed with Buckley s number 3, Dylan Roberts. Roberts was getting forward with every opportunity with great pace and skill, many of Town s good moments came from Roberts in the first half. Jake Roberts almost grabbed his second goal of the game on 38 minutes with a powerful cross shot, Dascalu did well to parry this effort away from danger. Half Time 1-0 Llanuwchllyn nearly made the game 1-1 in the 47 th minute. A corner from the left was headed over by the Llanuwchllyn centre half. The first 10 minutes of the second half was being played at a very fast pace, the away side were pressing more which was in turn putting the Buckley defence under pressure. On 58 minutes, a neat build up by the home side found Adam Eden on the edge of the box. His left footed shot was well saved by Dascalu. On 64 minutes, the move of the match by Buckley nearly ended up with them grabbing their second goal of the game. Jake Roberts sprayed a lovely ball over to the right, Aron Williams sent in a fast, accurate cross into the box but unfortunately, Tinsley could not quite control his header with the ball ending up going over the bar. Buckley were now on top again with plenty of possession, however I was very impressed with the hard work and commitment shown by Llanuwchllyn. Their hard work almost paid off in the 74 th minute, a corner from the left was floated in finding John Evans at the far post, unfortunately for Evans his header went wide of the goal. Buckley made the game safe on 83 minutes. Substitute Kennan did well to find Tinsley in the penalty area. Tinsley shot low, under the goalkeeper from the left angle to make it 2-0. Buckley added a third goal in the 90 th minute, again Keenan with the assist, his neat cut back found fellow substitute Keiron Moore in space, Moore made no mistake from close range. Final Score 3-0 Match action pictures shown as follows:

12 Summary This was a new ground visit for me, my 34 th in total and one that I thoroughly enjoyed. I was made to feel very welcome by the club, I arrived at the ground at 1:30pm and the nice chap operating the turnstiles asked if my name was, Gareth. I confirmed this, he said that Alan (chap I had been talking to twitter) had asked him to keep a programme to one side so that I could have one in case they run out. I met Alan at the snack bar after I had completed my customary walk around the ground. Alan kindly invited me to have a cup of tea in the committee room at half time. I took Alan up on this kind gesture and enjoyed tea and cake with other club officials. Buckley Town look like a club that are forward thinking with lots of hardworking people at the club. I wish them every success for the near future. I am likely to make a return visit in the future, I enjoyed myself so much.

13 I was also very pleased to meet a chap by the name of Mike Dodd. Mike is a ground hopper of more than 30 years who has visited more than 3000 grounds, an amazing amount. Mike had travelled by train all the way from Surbition, Surrey to attend the game.